FIGURE CONFIRMED
It has been confirmed that the U.S. did experience a 3% growth in real GDP during the second quarter of 2024, as reported by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. This growth was driven by an upturn in private inventory investment and an acceleration in consumer spending, although there was a slight downturn in residential fixed investment. Meanwhile, new orders for U.S. manufactured durable goods remained stable in August at $289.7 billion following a sharp uptick in July. Notably, orders excluding transportation grew by 0.5%, although defense orders saw a slight decline of 0.2%. Moreover, within the manufacturing sector, the electrical equipment, appliances, and components segment stood out with a $0.3 billion increase, reflecting a 1.9% growth, reaching $14.4 billion. Ultimately, taken together, these economic indicators suggest a relatively stable and growing economy during this period, driven by consumer activity and investment trends.
SURPRISING DROP
According to the latest Department of Labor’s report, there has been a decrease in the number of seasonally adjusted initial jobless claims in the U.S., falling by 4,000 to 219,000 for the week ending on September 21. This figure came in below analysts’ forecasts. In addition, the four-week moving average also showed a drop of 3,500 compared to the previous week, settling at 224,750, while the insured unemployment rate remained unchanged at 1.2%, with the number of insured unemployed individuals increasing by 13,000 to 1,834,000 from the previous week. Furthermore, the 4-week moving average for insured unemployment declined to 1,835,750, indicating a decrease of 6,500 from the revised average of the prior week. Overall, these numbers have revealed a mixed trend in jobless claims, with mostly improvements, but also fluctuations in certain indicators.
APPROVAL POSTPONED
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has decided to postpone its ruling on Nasdaq’s proposed options trading for Ethereum exchange-traded funds (ETFs) by BlackRock and Bitwise until November 10. In addition, the SEC has also postponed a ruling on NYSE American’s plan for listing options on Bitwise’s Ethereum ETFs until November 11. These postponements likely indicate a need for additional time for the SEC to review the proposals and consider any potential implications or risks associated with introducing options trading for these Ethereum ETFs. Moreover, it is worth noting that despite the delays and some challenges faced by existing Ethereum ETFs, BlackRock’s ETHA ETF has seen considerable success, attracting significant investments and holding net assets of around $977 million with $1.10 billion in net inflows, the highest among its peers, thus, there seems to be a growing interest in the Ether ETF market.
CRYPTO SERVICES EXPANDED
PayPal Holdings has announced a major expansion of its cryptocurrency services by allowing U.S. merchants to buy, hold, and sell digital assets directly from their business accounts. This move follows PayPal’s entry into the cryptocurrency market in 2020, offering customers the ability to conduct transactions using virtual coins. Additionally, the company introduced stablecoins to provide a more stable value for investors amidst price fluctuations. However, it is important to remark that the new cryptocurrency services for business accounts are not currently available in New York State; nonetheless, despite this restriction, PayPal continues to show growth and innovation in the cryptocurrency space, with its stock experiencing a significant increase of nearly 26% since the beginning of the year.
OPTIMISTIC PROSPECTS
Micron (MU) stock has jumped significantly, with the chipmaker company increasing by 17% after it announced its predictions of a higher revenue than expected for the next quarter. Micron expects revenues of $8.5 billion to $8.9 billion, and the company credits this increase to better prices and strong demand for its memory chips used in AI data centers. Micron CEO, Sanjay Mehrotra, has expressed his optimism about the future of the company, especially in the AI market, and analysts are also positive about Micron’s outlook, highlighting growth potential and recovery in traditional markets. Additionally, it is worth remarking that Micron’s collaboration with Nvidia (NVDA) on memory chips has been successful, and since the company stands to benefit from government initiatives like the CHIPS Act, there could be room for further growth.
