Market movers

NZD weakens on all fronts

The New Zealand dollar (NZD) fell on all fronts on Friday. NZD/USD is down 1.4% and NZD/JPY dropped 1.2%, while GBP/NZD is up 1.3%.

Inflation levels update

The annual inflation rate in India dropped from 5.6% in March to 4.7% in April. Brazil’s inflation fell from 4.6% to 4.1%. However, inflation in Spain accelerated from 3.3% to 4.1%, and France’s inflation jumped from 5.7% to 5.9%.

Mark Cuban praises AI

The potential of AI, according to Mark Cuban, is “beyond anything I’ve ever seen,” and he compared ChatGPT to the early days of the internet. Cuban has a straightforward piece of advice for businesses: join the AI race or perish. Cuban stated, “There are two types of companies in the world: those who are great at AI and everyone else.”

BoE lifts interest rates to 4.5%

The Bank of England followed market forecasts and increased the interest rates by 25 bps from 4.25% to 4.5%. This pushed borrowing costs to new heights not seen since 2008, as inflation still sits at double digits.

China is close to deflation

While the rest of the world still experiences relatively high inflation, China is close to deflation. China’s annual inflation rate dropped from 0.7% in March to 0.1% in April. The Netherlands’ inflation accelerated from 4.4% to 5.2%. Inflation in the Czech Republic fell from 15% to 12.7%. Inflation in Australia jumped from 4.6% in April to 5% in May. 

IRS sues FTX for $44 billion

The US Department of the Treasury and the IRS have filed 45 claims against the defunct crypto exchange FTX and its affiliates, totaling $44 billion. Alameda Research LLC was hit with a $20.4 billion tax bill from the IRS for payroll and partnership taxes. They also sued Alameda Research Holdings for over $17 billion.

USD/MXN falls to 6-year low 📉

USD/MXN dropped to $17.5, the lowest in six years, because of the divergence between the USA’s and Mexico’s monetary policies. The Fed may stop the tightening cycle with the main rate remaining at 4.25% while Banxico raised rates to 11.25%.

Tether made $1.5B in Q1 2023

Tether made a net profit of $1.5 billion in the first quarter of 2023, more than double that of the fourth quarter of 2022. USDT’s stablecoin issuer, Tether, also disclosed record-breaking surplus reserves of $2.4 billion.

Congressman Santos got arrested

Congressman George Santos was taken into custody on federal criminal accusations. This is reportedly due to wire fraud, money laundering, theft of public funds, and providing false information to the House of Representatives.

Global inflation levels continue to fall

The annual inflation rate in the United States fell from 5% in March to 4.9% in April. Core inflation also fell, from 5.6% to 5.5%. Mexico’s inflation dropped from 6.8% to 6.2%. Inflation in Egypt eased for the first time in nine months, from 32.7% to 30.6%.