Dollar dips, Powell testimony and jobs data in focus (3 min read)
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The US dollar weakened and stocks remained mostly flat as investors waited for Fed Chair Jerome Powell's testimony and the jobs data later this week to determine how high the US central bank would raise interest rates. The dollar index, which had bounced off a nine-month low on February 1, was down about 0.26% for the day. While Powell's testimony and Friday's jobs data are expected to substantiate January's job report, analysts speculate that the Fed may be reluctant to increase the pace of rate hikes again.

US Banks Are Finally Being Forced to Raise Rates on Deposits (5 min read)
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US banks are facing tough competition in the battle for deposits. Banks have seen a record withdrawal of deposits last year, as people move to options such as money market funds and Treasury bills, which offer higher yields amid the Fed’s monetary tightening. Banks are increasing rates to stem outflows, but this is costly for the banking industry as they are preparing for slower lending and more writedowns. Smaller regional and community banks, in particular, are struggling to retain deposits, which could be a serious threat to their profitability.

Tesla cuts prices on its most expensive models (2 min read)
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Tesla has cut prices on two of its most expensive vehicles, Model S and X, in the US by as much as 9%. This is Tesla’s fifth price adjustment this year, which started in January when the company offered up to a 20% discount and many analysts saw it as the beginning of a price war in the EV market. Elon Musk has repeatedly said in recent months that Tesla will focus on bringing prices down to drive demand, and it has seen success in sparking new orders since the discount was first introduced.

Snap Stock Surges as Push to Ban TikTok Gains Steam in US Congress (1 min read)
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Shares of Snap rose more than 9% on Monday after the US Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman said he plans to introduce a bill this week to allow the US to ban Chinese technology, including social media TikTok. The gains on Monday pushed Snap stock above the 200-day moving average for the first time since 2021. However, it has been challenging for Snap amid rising competition in short-form video platforms. Many analysts also speculate that rivals such as YouTube or Meta will likely benefit more from a TikTok ban.

Canadian ETF inflows topped $4B in February with high-interest savings leading (2 min read)
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Canadian ETFs brought in a net of $4 billion in February, with fixed-income ETFs accounting for more than half of the inflows. Specifically, high-interest savings ETFs attracted the most assets, bringing in a total of $1.4 billion last month. These “cash alternative” ETFs have been popular since interest rates started to rise in 2022 and now represent 18% of the entire fixed income market in Canada. The top ETFs in this category leading the flows were the CI High Interest Savings ETF, and the Horizons High Interest Savings ETF.

Jim Cramer Tracking ETFs Go All in on ‘Mad Money’ (3 min read)
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Tuttle Capital Management has launched two new ETFs, the SJIM and LJIM, based on the opinions of TV host Jim Cramer's show "Mad Money". The SJIM ETF will bet against Cramer's daily picks, while the LJIM will go long on those picks. The ETFs will hold a few dozen equally weighted equity securities of any market capitalization, and positions will typically be held for no longer than a week. They are designed to be diversifiers and will use an active management approach to decide what to go long and short based on what Cramer says.

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Thanks,
Thomas

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