Global chip sales reached $46.4 billion in April, up 15.8% year over year, according to a Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) press release. The number grew by 1.1% from March. SIA President and CEO John Neuffer stated, "The global semiconductor industry has posted double-digit year-over-year growth rates in every month of 2024, with month-over-month sales increasing in April for the first...

Wells Fargo strategists believe that the S&P 500 index may rise as high as 5,700 points during the surge following the US presidential election this autumn. The indicator's value at the end of trade on June 3 was 5,283.4 points; this means that the bank's analysts' prognosis calls for growth of about 8% from the current level. "Compared to previous election years, the S&P 500 index has...

The early season of higher demand for the service is driving up the cost of maritime freight shipping once more, writes the Financial Times. Thus, the average cost of an urgent 40-foot container delivery between the Far East and Northern Europe last week was $4343, according to the analytical firm Xeneta. When the Houthis began attacking merchant ships navigating the Red Sea in January, freight...

In response to recent remarks made by Fed officials, US bank Goldman Sachs Group has revised its prediction regarding when the Federal Reserve (Fed) would undertake a significant interest rate cut. Unlike what was originally anticipated, Goldman now projects a 25-basis point rate drop in September instead of July. The market, which places a 54% chance of a September cut and a mere 12% chance of a...

Preliminary May data from Hamburg Commercial Bank (HCOB) and S&P Global reveal that business activity in Europe has adjusted to high interest rates and is displaying a steady recovery thanks to a modest resurgence of domestic and external demand. After reaching a one-year high of 51.7 points in April, the Eurozone PMI composite index expanded to 52.3 points in May (numbers over 50 points imply...

Researchers at the specialized portal Altindex estimate that 88 million Americans will be using cryptocurrencies by 2024 for a variety of purposes, including trading, transfers, investments, storage, and payment for products and services. This is a 15 million increase from the end of the previous year. According to Altindex experts, there will be more than 100 million cryptocurrency users by...

According to data from the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UN Tourism), international tourism rebounded to 97% in the first quarter of 2024 compared to the pre-pandemic 2019 period, with over 285 million tourist arrivals globally from January to March, an increase of about 20% compared to the same period in 2023. 120 million tourists arrived in Europe in the first quarter of 2019, a 1%...

WisdomTree has been given permission by the UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to trade ETPs that invest in Ethereum and Bitcoin, two of the most popular digital tokens. The trading will start on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) on May 28. The Financial Times reports that the UK will see the introduction of exchange-traded cryptocurrency products over ten years after Sweden saw the...

Bank of America analysts led by Michael Hartnett believe that the aggregate yield on investments in 30-year U.S. government bonds has decreased by 45% since April 2020, which is the largest four-year reduction in over a century, writes MarketWatch. They argue that such a severe fall was caused by high inflation and increased government spending. Due to increased inflation, the real GDP growth...