U.S. Midterm Elections Underway

After weeks of campaigning, the 2022 U.S. midterm elections are set to be held on 8^th November, Tuesday.  With inflation in full swing and multiple signals of an impending recession, it looks the economy – more specifically the cost of living – might decide who the winning party is. All 435 House seats and 35 out of 100 Senate seats are on the ballot. A win by the Republicans might create additional obstacles for many of the current administration’s policies, including aid to Ukraine and Biden’s student debt policies. 

Elon Musk’s Big Changes at Twitter

It’s official, Elon Musk now owns Twitter. The Tesla and SpaceX CEO paid a grand total of US$44 billion for the social media platform, turning it into a privately-held company at the price of $54.20 per share. One of Musk’s first moves was to fire upper management – letting go of CEO Parag Agrawal, CFO Ned Segal, head of legal Vijaya Gadde and general counsel Sean Edgett. Roughly half the company, 3700 staff members, were also laid off in a manner that was described as haphazard. The company is now in a precarious state, with many advertisers suspending or pulling out of their Twitter partnerships due to concerns over the kind of objectionable content Musk’s “free-speech absolutism” might invite to the social media platform.

Rate Hikes Across the Board

The Fed announced another outsized rate hike at its 2 November meeting, confirming the market’s expectations. While Fed Chair Jerome Powell announced that the pace of hikes might slow in the coming hikes, rates are not about to reverse any time soon as inflation continues. Powell’s hawkish outlook sent the markets risk-off. Meanwhile, the BoE also delivered its largest hike in 33 years even as new PM Rishi Sunak navigates the country through an impending recession.