Your editorial team wishes you a very happy New Year. We’ve put together a summary of the biggest market movers that you may have missed over Christmas to get you back in the swing of things.
Apple was briefly a $3 trillion company
It's happened. Back in December we mentioned Apple (AAPL) was a $3 trillion stock market valuation away from crossing that threshold, and over the break the computer company did just that. When it all went down yesterday news outlets rushed to report that shares had subsequently fallen, and that the company had fallen just short of the $3 trillion mark once again.
The United States set a grim record
Yesterday, the US became the first country in the world to have more than one million Covid-19 cases within one day, making the country the most affected by Covid-19. Schools in Atlanta, Cleveland and Milwaukee have gone back to remote learning.Elisabeth Holmes’ fraud trial delivered a verdict
Former chief executive of failed Silicon Valley blood testing start-up Theranos Elizabeth Holmes found guilty on four charges of defrauding investors. Even though she was convicted of fraud against investors, the jury didn't reach a verdict on whether she defrauded patients. She now awaits sentencing, and could spend years behind bars.
Proxy adviser rules
One week out from the Christmas break, treasurer Josh Frydenberg reigned in regulations that would strip proxy advisers of their ability to operate off their existing financial services licence. It was typically offered to large superannuation funds and institutional investors and helps clients determine how they vote at company AGMs. Proxy advisers have until Feb. 7 to seek a new licence that's accompanied by a slew of conditions and penalties.
“Tesla ran into trouble, then surged” Shares in Tesla dipped after the company issued a product recall of 475,000 Model S and Model 3 vehicles. And the company went on to confirm that it delivered 936,172 vehicles in 2021, up more than 87% year-on-year compared to 2020. Shares then rose. Tesla fair value estimate to $700 a share from $680. Our narrow moat rating remains unchanged. At this price, we believe Tesla shares are overvalued, with the stock trading in 2-star territory and over 50% above our fair value estimate.
Mercedes smashed through the thousand-kilometer barrier
On the subject of EVs, Mercedes gave a glimpse of its Vision EQXX electric car yesterday, which it claims could usher in a new era in EV efficiency. The vehicle will reportedly be capable of 1,000 kilometers (621 miles) on one charge. That’s 620 miles to us folk!
It was not all well at Third Point
The activist investment firm behind calls for a break up of oil giant Shell is itself in a war of words with activist investors that hold stakes in it who are now blue one listed. Hedge fund Third Point Investors is under pressure from shareholders to close an ill-performing hedge fund. Its chairman has since resigned. The boss Dan Loeb blamed the whole affair on “inexperienced” and “juvenile” activists.Inflation soared to 36 in Turkey
It was not a significant concern back in January 2021 but, 12 months on, it certainly is. Inflation is the watchword, and in Turkey it’s a 19-year high, galloping to 36 percent. Typically, central banks raise interest rates in a bid to tamp down inflationary heat, but President Erdogan has done the opposite, calling interest rates “the mother and father of all evil.”Evergrande told to demolish buildings
Troubled Chinese property developer Evergrande was back in the news when it was ordered to demolish decades of work on a man-made island in southern China, which was also home to some of the company’s ambitious development plans. Evergrande, which had racked up around $300 billion in liabilities as of June 30, has been unable to pay its debts and to complete construction on homes that it pre-sold to countless buyers.
Y2K22 was real
Remember all that fuss about a big computer reset for the millennium that would lead to chaos? Microsoft (MSFT) has admitted to both Microsoft Exchange customers struggling to receive email from their servers when their calendars ticked over to 1 January 2022. The following day it said it was working “around the clock” on a solution.
The world’s oldest person aged some more
Covid-19 pandemic surely highlighted our fragility as a species, but let’s not forget that longevity is still a big issue for retirees and older people. To prove the point, Kane Tanaka celebrated her 119th birthday over the Christmas break. Tanaka’s status was officially recognised by the Guinness Book of World Records in 2019. Seems she also enjoys fizzy drinks and chocolate!
Did we see a … ‘Santa-rally’?
Yes. The S&P 500 index ( SPX ) finished up 1.4% so far on the 5 trading days over the year so far, along with the first two trading days of the new year - its best "Santa Claus rally since 2012/13.
Largest gaining constituents of the S&P/ASX 200 from Christmas to the end of the first week of January (29/12 to 04/01) were NOVONIX up 22.18%, and Pilbara Minerals up 18.92%. Healius, Afterpay and Zip Co were down between 1.37% and 3.72%.
