Google CEO Name-Dropped Blockchain

3 Feb 2022 • 3 min read

MARKET MOVERS

America’s national debt soars past the $30 trillion mark for the first time ever, according to Treasury Department data. Debt-fueled spending exploded during the pandemic with various programs meant to shield Americans from the economic fallout of lockdowns and other business restrictions, job losses, and reduced consumer spending.

Condo builds near record lows. The share of condo units being built for sale over the last year was less than 5.4%—nearly the lowest level in half a century, according to a new report from the Urban Institute. Production has been low due to financing constraints for the sponsor and builder as well as defect litigation that is substantially increasing the cost of insurance and the riskiness of condo projects. Read more here.

AMD's earnings suggest that it is making further gains than archrival Intel in computer processors. AMD is reaching a level of profitability that is nearly identical to Intel's. AMD is pointing that growth to the data centers which is exactly where Intel is struggling. The advantage will only widen when TSMC releases more advanced chips for AMD this year.

Coinbase added Shopify CEO Tobias Lutke to its board. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong announced the appointment saying Tobias' experience as a founder and CEO scaling his business from a small niche online marketplace into what has become a critical backbone of e-commerce will help Coinbase bring crypto to more people. Source(48:38)

Breweries scramble to adapt to aluminum can shortages. Described as a worsening can shortage—or “candemic”—many microbrewery owners have been struggling to adapt either by stocking up on unbranded beverage cans wherever they can find them or producing more bottled beer. A situation made worse by supply chain disruptions and an overall increase in global demand for aluminum. Read more here.

GM signals an easing of the car shortage. GM projects a growth of 25% to 30% this year in the number of vehicles it ships to dealers globally. Forecaster IHS only expects 8.5% growth in vehicle production globally this year as supply constraints drag into 2023. GM’s contrasting message was that its own car production should return to something like pre-pandemic norms in the second half.

WHAT TO WATCH

Google could be a blockchain player. CEO Sundar Pichai acknowledged the power of Web3 and blockchain in the group’s quarterly earnings call Tuesday. He said their Cloud team is looking at how they can support customers’ needs in building, transacting, storing value, and deploying new products on blockchain-based platforms. Read more here.

Analysts see Alphabet soaring as much as 41% after blowout earnings. Strong core search ad revenue growth, a 20:1 stock split, substantial growth in the cloud backlog, and copacetic commentary around the outlook were more than enough to offset another weak quarter for YouTube revenue growth, slightly weaker Google Service margins, and higher cloud segment losses.

Ford to spend up to $20B reorganizing for shift to electric cars. The effort, led by a former Apple Inc. and Tesla executive, calls for Ford to spend an additional $10 billion to $20 billion over the next five to 10 years converting factories worldwide to electric-vehicle production from making gasoline-powered cars. The move is part of CEO Jim Farley’s initiative to challenge Tesla’s dominance in EVs. Read more here.

OPEC+ agrees on March output rise amid oil price rally, defying pressure from U.S. and India. They swiftly decided to green-light the return of 400,000 barrels per day for March. The move, widely expected by energy analysts, marks a continuation of the group’s strategy to gradually reopen the taps. The energy alliance is in the process of unwinding record supply cuts of roughly 10 million barrels per day.

It could be years until we see a normal housing market. We’re in a housing market where we have record-high demand and record low supply. If you want to know why prices are 20% higher than they were a year ago this is the simplest explanation. We simply didn’t build enough homes following the last housing crash to meet the demand coming from millennials reaching their household formation years.

Electric air taxis want to carry paying passengers within two or three years. Several air-taxi makers are targeting 2024 or 2025 for commercial operations, and the European Union’s Aviation Safety Agency has said that timeline is a possibility. Air mobility tech companies raised $7+ billion in public and private market investment last year, more than doubling the amount of funding attracted over the previous decade. Read more here.

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