Bill Gates thinks A.I. like ChatGPT is the ‘most important’ innovation right now (2 min read)
Bill Gates considers AI to be the most important innovation at present, with the applications of generative AI such as OpenAI's ChatGPT having the potential to improve office efficiency and outcomes in health care and education. Gates cites that while AI still has limitations, such as needing too much computation and not always being accurate, recent announcements from Microsoft and Google, with their competition to lead in the AI space, suggest that progress in this area will be profound in the coming years.
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Coinbase stock drops again as SEC crackdown on staking spooks investors (3 min read)
Shares of Coinbase fell 4% on Friday and 13% on Thursday as concerns over a crackdown on crypto staking by the SEC weighed on the stock. The drop came after competitor exchange Kraken paid $30M to settle charges with the SEC over its staking program, which it agreed to close for US customers. Despite this, Coinbase has no plans to close its staking program, claiming it is "fundamentally different" from Kraken's and doesn't meet the criteria of a security. Even with the price drop in the last two days, Coinbase stock is still up over 60% YTD.
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Russia announces cut to oil output over Western price caps (3 min read)
Russia announced it will cut oil production by 500k barrels per day next month after the G7 capped the price of Russian crude due to its actions in Ukraine. Analysts say this may raise oil prices, which could lead to higher gasoline prices globally. The G7's $60 per barrel cap is enforced by blocking Western companies from shipping oil priced above the limit. Russia said it will not sell oil to countries observing the cap, which has been trading below the ceiling recently. The impact of the production cut is still unclear as the global economy slows demand for oil.
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S&P 500 and Nasdaq post worst week since December (2 min read)
The S&P 500 had a narrow gain of 0.2% on Friday, but still suffered its worst week in two months with a 1.11% drop, along with the Nasdaq which also slipped 2.41%. The Nasdaq was partially weighted down by the sharp stock drops from Lyft and Expedia on Friday. Only the Dow managed to stay in the positives for the week at 0.5%. The recent interest rate hike and Fed’s commentary were factors behind the overall market volatility. Nearly 70% of the S&P 500 beat analyst expectations for the quarter, but it's lower than the three-year historical average of 79%.
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New ETFs Target Congress’ Investments Based on Party (2 min read)
Subversive Capital Advisors has introduced two ETFs based on the financial disclosures of Democratic and Republican lawmakers, with expense ratios of 0.75%. The Unusual Whales Subversive Democratic Trading ETF (NANC) and Unusual Whales Subversive Republican Trading ETF (KRUZ) track the trades of congressional representatives associated with their respective political parties. NANC's top holdings include Microsoft, Amazon and Alphabet, while KRUZ's top holdings are Magellan Midstream Partners, Microsoft and Energy Transfer.
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ETFs vs Closed End Funds: What's the Difference? (4 min read)
ETFs and closed-end funds (CEFs) are two types of packaged securities that trade on an exchange. ETFs are open-ended funds that track a benchmark index, while CEFs are actively managed with a fixed number of shares. ETFs generally have lower expenses and offer more price stability. CEF typically sells at a discount to NAV, providing potential for investors to profit. More details on their individual pros and cons are available in the article.
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That's it for today! You can reply to this email if you have any comments or feedback.
Thanks,
Thomas
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