vestact posted: " Market Scorecard Yesterday, US markets swung between small gains and losses as investors await the Fed's latest policy decision and a slew of corporate earnings reports. Tomorrow, The Fed is expected to deliver another 0.75% interest rate increase" Vestact - Money with a dash of funny
Yesterday, US markets swung between small gains and losses as investors await the Fed's latest policy decision and a slew of corporate earnings reports. Tomorrow, The Fed is expected to deliver another 0.75% interest rate increase as it attempts to cool soaring inflation.
In company news, Alibaba is up 5.2% after the e-commerce giant plans to seek a primary listing in Hong Kong, paving the way for investors in China to buy its shares directly.
Yesterday, the JSE All-share closed down 0.47%, the S&P 500 rose 0.13%, and the Nasdaq retreated 0.43%.
The round will value the company at $5.5 billion, the same value as its previous funding round. Airwallex provides services that facilitate end-to-end cross-border payments and collection solutions for customers. The company already has 1000 employees operating from 19 offices around the world.
Airwallex has a very decorated list of investors, which includes Sequoia Capital, Tencent, DST Global, and Mastercard. It looks like Visa might be getting FOMO. As Michael mentioned yesterday, it is during the tough times when the best prices are available.
Michael's Musings
If you knew for certain that you would live to 100, would it change how you live your life? Scientists estimate that over half the babies born today in developed countries will reach 100. It is weird to think that my daughter has a good chance of living that long.
Living for that long changes how we approach life. It means that the traditional idea of retiring at 60 is no longer valid. We can probably work till we are 80, giving us an extra two decades to save for retirement. If we have more time to save, we don't need to put as much aside each month. Alternately, it means we can afford to spend some of our working lives on low-paying passion projects. Maybe spending a few years backpacking to new places should be mandatory before we start university?
If I'm going to live to 100, I want to ensure that my body and mind are in a state that makes it worth living that long. It's why we own shares in Nike and Stryker. Nike's products strengthen both body and mind. Stryker's products help to put us back together when things go wrong.
While writing this piece, I realised that thinking 10, 20, or 30 years into the future isn't enough anymore. Long-term thinking should consider where I will be 40 or 50 years from now.
Bright's Banter
Last week, Bill Gates gave away shares worth more than $6 billion to his charitable foundation. The Microsoft co-founder donated close to $5.2 billion worth of stock in Canadian National Railway and another $995 million worth of Deere & Co., SEC filing shows.
This is a week after he pledged to give an additional $20 billion of his personal wealth to his charity which supports causes such as reducing child deaths, managing climate change, and preventing future pandemics. He's given $39 billion of his wealth since 1994. I'm always happy to see the ultra-rich play such a big role in philanthropy.
Bill Gates said the following in a Twitter thread, "I have an obligation to return my resources to society in ways that have the greatest impact for reducing suffering and improving lives, and I hope others in positions of great wealth and privilege will step up at this moment too."
Investing in the stock market is a bet on human ingenuity and progress. The ability to think and act for the long-term is one of the few advantages left in the markets - Stocks For the Long Run.
Signing Off
Asian markets received a fillip from tech shares this morning. Hong Kong, Japan, mainland China, and South Korea are in the green.
Tonight is a big night for Vestact clients. Google, Microsoft, Visa, and Stryker all release their earnings after the market close. Fingers crossed for some good news and buckle up for the ride.
US equity futures are slightly down in early trade. The Rand is trading at around R16.75 to the US Dollar.
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