One more week is near it's ending this weekend is the holy week for us in Greece so i am going to post about the most interesting articles of the week today so that i can enjoy some off screen days.
Harry Potter
Harry potter is getting a series on HBO max
I am a big fan of the Harry Potter world and I can't wait for the series to come out. I hope that the series doesn't ruin everything, but the thing I love is that every book will get its own season, so we could eventually get a better adaptation of the books on the small screen.
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2023/apr/12/harry-potter-tv-series-hbo-max-jk-rowling
U.S secret documents where leaked
This week, one of the hottest topics was the classified documents that were leaked online. These documents were mostly briefings produced by the Joint Staff's intelligence arm, focusing mainly on Russia and Ukraine but covering almost all US allies. What seems odd to me is that people are only now coming to the realization that the US is spying on everyone. Of course, they spy on everyone, just as everyone else is trying to spy on the US. What I find interesting is the extensive intelligence network that the US has, especially within the higher echelons of the Russian government.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/04/12/discord-leaked-documents/
Syrian Rockets embroiled Israel
One of the most alarming things happening right now in the world is the rise of tensions in the Middle East. Israel is currently facing internal conflicts and has right-wing politicians in government. Everyone seems to be joining together against Israel, making it a ticking bomb ready to explode. Additionally, Israel is retaliating against Syria, which is adding fuel to the fire. Unfortunately, a new war seems to be starting in the Middle East, and once again, the US and Russia are behind the belligerents.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-04-11/israel-generals-give-a-stark-warning-its-enemies-smell-blood
https://www.npr.org/2023/04/09/1168834417/israeli-military-retaliates-after-rockets-fired-from-syria
Apple PC shipments dropped 40%
Are there problems for Apple? Yes and no. Right now, PC sales are declining all over the world, and it's not just Apple. Dell has fallen by 30%, HP by 24%, and Lenovo by 30%. The reason is that, in the eyes of governments, COVID has ended, so no one wants to buy a PC for home use right now. Additionally, a recession is looming, so why would someone want to buy a new PC now?
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-04-10/apple-s-40-plunge-leads-pc-shipments-down-as-tech-demand-sags
Chinese people are on a buying spree
The "zero covid" policies are over and the Chinese are starting to buy again, with LVMH being the big winner. The world's biggest luxury group reported global sales of €21bn for the first quarter of the year, a rise of 17% compared to the same period a year ago, which was ahead of analyst expectations. The company's biggest division, fashion and leather goods, saw strong sales growth of 18% to €10.7bn. The fastest pace of sales is happening in China, which suggests that the next bull run will come out of China.
https://www.ft.com/content/bc10ab2b-a4fd-4afc-8ba1-3380a5098e23
BTC
BTC has reached yet another yearly high and broken through the 30,000 range. While everything appears to be bullish, it's important to remember that the economy is going into a reccesion.
CPI
Corrected text: CPI was released yesterday, and the number was better than expected at 5% year on year and a 0.1% rise on a month-to-month basis. That's definitely great news, but energy prices are what have driven the CPI down, and the prices are coming up again after the reduction of OPEC+ oil production.
https://www.cnbc.com/2023/04/12/cpi-march-2023-.html
Shanghai Upgrade
The Shanghai upgrade is finally out. So now anyone can unstake their staked ETH and can either sell are re-stake them again.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-04-07/why-crypto-is-watching-ethereum-eth-blockchain-shanghai-upgrade?srnd=premium-europe
Twitter partners with eToro to enable users to trade stocks and crypto.
Elon did it again and with the eToro partnership will enable users to buy crypto. More pump for doge is coming.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/twitter-to-launch-crypto-and-stock-trading-in-partnership-with-etoro-reports