What happened this week

Last week saw the biggest rally since June; The S&P 500 was up 5.9%, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite gained 8.1% (its best week since March) and the Dow advanced 4.2%. Investors were rallied by a lighter-than-expected inflation reading (CPI at 7.7% vs the expected 8.2%), the markets reacted to hopes that the Federal Reserve would soon slow its aggressive tightening campaign.

This week we have all been watching the Mid term elections and whilst the House is still in its final days of counting, Democrats will keep control of the U.S. Senate after Nevada Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto fended off a challenge from Republican Adam Laxalt on Sunday night. There are still 20 seats left uncalled for the House, which many expect to turn Republic after these elections.

The crypt-currency markets so another “free fall” bankruptcy this week, as the crypto exchange FTX dropping over $32 billion in value. Alameda Research, the fund started by Sam Bankman-Fried, borrowed billions in customer funds from its founder’s exchange, FTX, using FTT tokens as collateral according to a source familiar with company operations. The crypto exchange drastically underestimated the amount FTX needed to keep on hand if someone wanted to cash out, trading platforms are required by their regulators to hold enough money to match what customers deposit and are required to have even more of a cushion to cover trading in margin accounts. When news began to hit the markets, with large investors threatening to sell their positions, a major sell off was started, crashing the FTX into bankruptcy. 

Looking ahead to this week:

Mon Nov 14th: NY 1 yr and 5yr Inflation Expectations

Wed Nov 16th: Retail Sales, Industrial Production, Import Price Index

Thurs Nov 17th: Initial Jobless Claims, Housing Starts