Good Evening. After the Federal Reserve’s most recent policy announcement and following comments from Chair Jerome Powell drove markets into chaos, U.S. stocks ended Thursday’s volatile day lower.
The Dow Jones lost 0.35%, while the S&P 500 dropped by 0.84%. The Nasdaq Composite fell 1.37%.
INSPIRING DONATATION
This month, Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard shocked many by announcing that he would virtually donate his $3 billion company, founded more than 50 years ago, to the fight against climate change.
According to the New York Times, the millionaire, his wife, and his two adult children have given a carefully crafted trust and nonprofit the ownership of Patagonia. The company’s expected $100 million in yearly income would be used to combat climate change and safeguard undeveloped land all around the world.
In the meantime, this week, Salesforce Chair and Co-CEO Marc Benioff and his wife Lynne gave $60 million to UC Santa Barbara. Given that UC Santa Barbara is regarded as one of the top marine research institutions in the world, the gift complements the couple’s efforts to combat climate change.
“It’s honestly just very inspiring to me — that there are many people out there who believe that business is the greatest platform for change and that they can use their businesses to improve the state of the world,” Benioff said.
SUPPLY ISSUES
Snarled supply chains significantly impacted global disruptions during the pandemic era, and despite recent improvements, continued problems may continue to devastate the U.S. economy.
Even companies like Ford (F) issued a warning earlier this week, stating that supply chain constraints would still be an issue for automakers well beyond 2023.
According to Adam Jonas, an equity analyst at Morgan Stanley, supply chain pressure is still present. Ford’s news indicates that we are still in trouble, notwithstanding what OEs (Original Equipment Suppliers) and suppliers have been telling us about the little improvement of the supply chain.
On top of that, recent labor disputes have made things more difficult: Due to continuing contract discussions involving U.S. West Coast dockworkers and an almost strike by American railroad workers, some industry analysts worry that the resolution of the negotiations may take longer than expected.