US Stocks
Major indices in the US stock market ended Monday’s trading session on the red following news that the House of Representatives is looking at the possibility of impeaching President Donald Trump on Wednesday.
At the close of trading, the Dow Jones, which tracks the performance of 30 large companies fell by 0.29% with Apple falling by 2.32%. The Nasdaq 100 closed 1.55% lower with Chinese multinational tech firm Baidu plunging 8.6%. The S&P 500 closed 0.66% lower with Tesla emerging as the worst performer after falling by 7.82%.
Geopolitics
Meanwhile, Bloomberg reports that Donald Trump and VP Mike Pence met for the first time since the violent protests on January 6.
“The two had a good conversation, discussing the week ahead and reflecting on the last four years of the administration’s work and accomplishments. They reiterated that those who broke the law and stormed the Capitol last week do not represent the America first movement backed by 75 million Americans and pledged to continue the work on behalf of the country for the remainder of their term.” a senior official was quoted by the media.
New CIA Head
US President-elect Joe Biden’s transition team announced the nomination of William J. Burns as the next director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
Burns served as the US ambassador to Russia from 2005 to 2008 and was the undersecretary of state for political affairs between 2008 and 2011.
Global Markets Corporate News
Chinese Govt plans to nationalize Jack Ma’s Alibaba and the Ant Group
According to media reports, the Chinese government is working on a plan to nationalize Jack Ma’s Alibaba and the Ant Group.
The reports indicated that China’s ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has gone further ahead with the antitrust investigation into Alibaba.
“Based on tip-offs received by the State Administration for Market Regulation in recent days, the administration will be investigating Alibaba … for suspected monopolistic activities,” the government said.
Stripe cuts ties with Trump
Online payment processing firm Stripe Inc. has announced it will stop processing payments for the Donald Trump’s campaign website. The company blamed last week’s unrest at the Capitol as the reason for the move.
Stripe stated that Trump “encouraged violence” at his rally ahead of the violent protests. It added that it does not accept payments for “high risk” activities. President Trump’s social media accounts on Twitter and Facebook banned due to his involvement in the riots.
Walmart Plans to Launch Fintech
American hypermarket chain Walmart announced on Monday that it plans to found a fintech start-up in partnership with venture capital firm Ribbit Capital.
According to the statement, the startup will be mostly in Walmart ownership while its executive board will consist of numerous company executives, including its Chief Financial Officer Brett Biggs and Walmart US CEO John Furner.
Bitcoin
The price of Bitcoin dropped by over 18% on Monday after skyrocketing to a record +&41,000 in the preceding weeks.
Crypto.com partners Booking.com to offer travel discounts
Crypto.com has announced a partnership with Booking.com to deliver travel deals to all Crypto.com users. Crypto.com users who make Booking.com reservations in the App can now enjoy up to 25% off accommodations. As an added bonus, users who pay using their Crypto.com Visa Card can get up to 8% back on spending along with great travel perks, including free and unlimited LoungeKey™ airport lounge access, free ATM withdrawals worldwide, and no foreign transaction fees.
Kris Marszalek, CEO and Co-founder of Crypto.com said: “In 2020, our Crypto.com Visa Card program grew to become the most widely available card of its kind, and we know that travel perks are a highly sought-after benefit. Our user base also grew in 2020, and we now serve over 5 million users around the world, who are eager to travel again in 2021. We’re delighted to announce our partnership with Booking.com, the first of many we’ll be announcing this year.”
