Good Evening. On Monday, Investors are anticipating the start of corporate earnings season this week, as well as a slew of new economic data, as the Federal Reserve prepares to escalate its anti-inflationary measures.
The S&P 500 fell 1.69% and Dow Jones went down 1.19%, extending losses from the previous week. As technology firms came under further pressure, the Nasdaq fell more than 2.18%. Treasury yields increased, with the benchmark 10-year yield exceeding 2.7% for the first time since January 2019.
BUSINESS
Twitter (TWTR) shares had a rocky start Monday morning, reversing some of last week’s gains, as Tesla CEO Elon Musk decided not to join the board of directors despite owning a 9.1% interest in the firm.
“Elon’s appointment to the board was to become officially effective 4/9, but Elon shared that same morning that he will no longer be joining the board. I believe this is for the best,” Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal said in a tweet Monday. “We have and will always value input from our shareholders whether they are on our Board or not. Elon is our biggest shareholder and we will remain open to his input. There will be distractions ahead, but our goals and priorities remain unchanged,” Agrawal added.
As of closing, Twitter finished up by 1.67% to $47.01 per share.
AUTONOMOUS DRIVING
A cop pulls over your automobile while a headlight is out and approaches the window for a talk. But what happens if no one is in the driver’s seat?
These questions have answers now thanks to a video posted this weekend. A Chevy Bolt driven by Cruise, an autonomous driving firm, was hauled over in San Francisco on April 1 (it’s unclear what infringement the robot committed). The automobile fled the scene after the police officer glanced inside and realized that no one was inside…and parked on the next block to await its fate.
In reaction to the video, Cruise stated that the vehicle “yielded to the police vehicle, then pulled over to the next safe location…as intended.” Even better, the robot driver escaped with a clean bill of health.
Big picture: For San Franciscans, scenarios like these will become a lot more common. On Feb. 1, Cruise launched a small-scale autonomous robotaxi service in the city, and Alphabet’s Waymo recently began offering SF residents overnight rides.
THE WEEK AHEAD
Inflation: The consumer price index is the centerpiece of an economic data-packed week. Inflation is predicted to have risen 7.9% year over year, which you and the Fed both regard to be far too high. At its meeting next month, the central bank could raise interest rates by a half-percentage point.
Earnings: The first-quarter earnings season begins with JPMorgan, Wells Fargo, and other major banks. Profits are expected to be down from last year when the economy was recovering from the Covid slump.
Holidays: Easter is on Sunday, and Passover begins at sundown on Friday night. For Good Friday, the stock market will be closed.