Here are some quick updates of overnight economic action that affect the global economy. (Updated as at 9:30sm.)
Wall Street is in retreat. The S&P500 is down -1.2% -1.0% so far today, and down -2.0% -1.8% for its week so far.
The US Treasury 10 year has fallen -9 bps -8 bps to under 4.20% 4.21%.
Gold is down to US$4826/oz US$4833/oz, down -US$140/oz -US$132/oz. Silver is down harder to US$74/pz.
Oil is down -US$3 to US63/bbl in the US, US$67/bbl for the international Brent price.
Bitcoin is down to US$63,624 US$65,810, down more than -12% -10% overnight, down -28% -25% from the start of 2026. It has halved in four months.
The ECB held its key policy rate at 2.0%. (The English central bank held in unison.)
US job openings, as reported by their December JOLTs report, came in at their lowest level since September 2020, far below what was expected.
The Fear & Greed index has turned sharply lower, now well in the fear zone.
We will have a full weekly wrap-up in our Weekend Briefing tomorrow.
11 Comments
AI impacting traditional SW stocks as well
Open AI announce frontier, an AI to organize agents into a hive mind.
What a time to be alive!
If the money in people's bank accounts halved in 4 months people would be screaming Hyperinflation.
And if one of the only arguments for something like Bitcoin is to be your store of wealth, free from Central banking interference, plummets in value in a risk off environment....
How good a store of value is it? It's like it's fans never considered that the good times might end, and you need food and electricity more than digital money.
You mean like WGTN houses being down like 29% in 4 years?
Its possible, like Spruikers, many BTC holders will say you only lose if you sell.
I have always considered this to be the peak of stupidity.
You mean like WGTN houses being down like 29% in 4 years?
Yeah, like that, but 10x faster and twice as bad.
Oh, and you can't live in your Bitcoin. Or rent it out.
Oh forgot another; you probably paid for your Bitcoin with cash, the bank is not sharing the "loss" with you. It's all your money, all gone.
They are both the same thing, you speculatively overpaid for an asset compared to its earning potential. But in the case of Bitcoin, you overpaid by 100% because it has no earning potential.
Housing as a guarantee of financial betterment involves some level of faith, but also there's an obvious cost and utility.
Bitcoin's value is 100% faith based.
Fixed assets of little real value (which really includes gold and silver) are becoming speculative casinos.
AirBnB vetting really needs to improve.
Las Vegas bio lab raid possibly tied to California case, federal Chinese investigation
https://www.8newsnow.com/investigators/las-vegas-bio-lab-raid-possibly-…
https://abcnews.go.com/US/housecleaner-multiple-illnesses-tied-las-vega…
Can all the fiat naysayers finally admit they were completely wrong? Fiat changes in value by 7% in a year and we think it’s the end of the world, alternatives like Bitcoin and gold can do more than that in a day.
JC frothing at the ratty drop, waiting for the further plunge to jump in. What a year 2026 will be.
This is the big one boys
My bags are packed
Off to the Copa Cabana
Women will want to be me, men will want to be with me. Or was it the other way round?
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