Bed Bath & Beyond Triples as Retail Traders Fuel Latest Burst (3 min read)
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Shares of Bed Bath & Beyond continued to surge for the fourth consecutive day. It was up more than 50% on Thursday, adding to the 166% gains from the previous three sessions. The rally was mostly driven by retail traders pumping their bets on social media websites. Bed Bath & Beyond has the second largest short interest among US stocks. If bankruptcy is not in the company’s future, the rallying stock price will force a massive short squeeze and short sellers to cover their position, pushing the price even higher.

American Airlines shares jump nearly 10% after hiking profit outlook (2 min read)
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American Airlines reported a higher revised Q4 revenue and profits, sending its stocks up by about 10% to the highest closing price since June. It outpaced other airline stocks’ rally and was the biggest gainer of the day in the S&P 500. The hiked forecast was due to strong demand during the holiday season and higher fare prices. The company estimates revenue rose as much as 17% over the same period in 2019, before the pandemic started.

Consumer prices fell 0.1% in December, in line with expectations (4 min read)
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The consumer price index (CPI) slowed by another 0.1% in December, which was in line with economists’ expectations and also the biggest monthly decline since early in the pandemic. It still rose 6.5% from a year ago, but it was the smallest annual increase since late 2021. The main driver for the monthly decline was the sharp decrease in gasoline prices. Following the CPI report, the market started pricing a higher probability that the next Fed hike will be 0.25%.

Stocks close higher after CPI report shows cooling inflation (2 min read)

US stocks closed higher on Thursday after December’s CPI report showed inflation cooled, lifting expectations that the Fed will be less aggressive with rate hikes going forward. All the major indexes were up with the Nasdaq on a five-day winning streak. The market has rallied in the last several days as investors bet the CPI report would confirm a weakening inflation trend. With the anticipation of slower rate hikes, the dollar fell to a nearly 9-month low against the euro.

ESG drives bulk of flows into European ETFs and ETCs in 2022 (2 min read)
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Despite underperforming the mainstream, ESG products represented 65% of all flows in European ETFs and ETCs last year. These products account for about 20.5% of total ETF assets in Europe. Most ETF providers saw a fall in both flows and assets in 2022, with the exception of Vanguard, who had a slight increase in flows that offset losses. Analysts believe that Vanguard’s exposure to ESG was likely the reason it stayed positive.

Bitcoin futures ETFs retain allure despite crypto winter (4 min read)
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After soaring to record highs in 2021, bitcoin plunged heavily in 2022. Despite the massive loss, bitcoin futures ETFs continued to see steady inflows last year. ETFs that invest in companies that benefit from the growth of digital assets have also recorded net inflows since the market plummeted. Analysts believe that investors are adding assets to these ETFs in hopes that the crypto market will recover soon.

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Thomas

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