💵 US Dollar hits 7 month lows

Good Morning!

This morning, the dollar continued its decline, hitting seven month lows. Meanwhile, the yen soared to seven month highs whilst investors wait for the BOJs meeting on Wednesday. Elsewhere, U.S. officials are currently in Taiwan for some high-stakes negotiations, and there's no shortage of drama as China raises objections. Back in the US, despite some gloomy reports about layoffs, employers are still on the hunt for new talent.

Markets

Yen jumps on hopes of BOJ policy shift; dollar slides to seven-month low  (3 minute read)The dollar fell to a seven-month low against major peers on Monday while the yen surged to an over seven-month peak, as traders ramped up bets that the Bank of Japan may make further tweaks to its yield control policy at its meeting this week. With decades-high inflation in the world's largest economy showing signs of cooling, investors are now growing increasingly confident that the Fed is nearing the end of its rate-hike cycle, and that rates would not go as high as previously feared."

US and Taiwan hold trade talks in a move blasted by China (4 minute read)U.S. trade officials have traveled to Taiwan to begin four days of negotiations over a proposed trade deal that has been met with opposition from China. The talks, which started on Saturday and will run until Tuesday, are the first formal negotiations after an initial round in November. The meetings will focus on proposed deals in areas such as anti-corruption standards, trade by small- and medium-sized businesses, regulatory practices, and trade facilitation.

Companies still hungry for U.S. workers (2 minute read)Despite some negative headlines about layoffs, most employers are still looking to hire. This is evident in the low unemployment rate, which is currently at 3.5% and near a historic low. There are still plenty of job opportunities available for American workers. Even though the pace of jobs added each month has slowed down, there are still 1.7 open positions for every available worker. Some economists thought that the unemployment rate would have to increase in order for inflation to decrease, but so far that has not been the case. Inflation is decreasing even as the unemployment rate continues to drop.

Recession is top concern for CEOs worldwide, survey finds (2 minute read)According to a survey by The Conference Board, CEOs around the world are most worried about a recession this year. This aligns with some comments made by companies during their Q4 earnings calls. JPMorgan Chase even said that their central case is for a mild recession. On top of that, the World Bank has lowered its global growth forecast due to inflation, higher interest rates, and geopolitical events. Most of the CEOs surveyed by the think tank expect little or no economic growth for most of 2023.

Investing

Seven Factors Bitcoin Investors Should Watch In 2023 (9 minute read)As we head into 2023, keep an eye on the big picture. The world's economy is affected by global events and policies. For example, the U.S. and EU are in a recession, China is moving away from using the U.S. dollar and Japan has changed its interest rate policy. All of these have a big impact on markets. And don't forget, Bitcoin's rise in 2020 and 2021 was influenced by the extra money flowing around the financial system during the pandemic, but then in 2022, the trend has reversed, shifting to removing that liquidity.

Billionaire Leon Cooperman Shares Value Investing Wisdom And 2023 Stock Picks (10 minute read)Leon Cooperman built his fortune at Goldman Sachs and compounded it at his hedge fund Omega Advisors. He began at Goldman as an analyst and eventually became chairman and CEO of Goldman Sachs Asset Management. In 1991, he left to start his own hedge fund, which returned 12.5% annually by betting on undervalued stocks and outperformed the S&P 500 Index by 3%. He converted the fund to a family office in 2018. Forbes estimates Cooperman's net worth to be $2.5 billion.

9 Large-Cap Stocks With Unusual Options Activity (4 minute read)Many investors like to "follow the flow" and see what the big funds and institutions are doing when it comes to options. Luckily, there's a leaderboard to keep track of options activity for both calls and puts, and outsized volume can give us an idea of what's happening. So, have a look at 10 stocks that had heavy call flow over the last week.

Money

Sneaky Ways Inflation Affects Your Money in 2023 (4 minute read)Inflation can affect your finances in various ways. Familiar examples include reduced purchasing power at the grocery store, higher costs on variable-rate debt due to Federal Reserve interest rate hikes, and a slight increase in savings account rates. However, you should also keep an eye out for other less obvious ways inflation may impact you in 2023.

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