Wealth Preservation

Federal Reserve expected to raise interest rates in week ahead, as Ukraine crisis adds volatility

The Federal Reserve’s first increase in interest rates since before the pandemic was well broadcast, and markets may have little reaction if the central bank carries out its quarter-point hike Wednesday.
Investor focus remains on Ukraine, which continued to rattle markets in the past week, creating volatile swings in oil and sending stocks lower.
The Fed’s rate hike is expected, but investors will be watching to see what the central bank has to say about inflation and the economy, as well as its projections for future rate hikes.

Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin aims to fly first passengers on its space tourism rocket as early as April

Jeff Bezos’ space company Blue Origin on Thursday completed the fourteenth test flight of its New Shepard rocket booster and capsule.
CNBC has learned that NS-14 also marked one of the last remaining steps before Blue Origin flies its first crew to space, with Thursday’s flight the first of two “stable configuration” tests.
Blue Origin aims to launch the second test flight within six weeks, or by late February, and the first crewed flight six weeks after that, or by early April, people familiar with the company’s plans told CNBC.

Dow rises more than 150 points as market tries to reclaim record highs in final days of 2020

Disney and Caterpillar rose 3.3% and 2.3%, respectively, to lead the Dow higher. Energy was the best-performing sector in the S&P 500, jumping nearly 2%.

Wednesday’s move higher came after a British regulator approved a coronavirus vaccine developed by the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca for emergency use. The approval followed the discovery of a new Covid strain in the U.K., which has also been confirmed in the U.S.

Trump brags about Dow 30,000 at surprise news conference, leaves after a minute

President Donald Trump briefly emerged to tout the Dow Jones Industrial Average breaking 30,000 for the first time ever, and then vanished after a minute without taking questions.
The president’s brief appearance came less than a day after his administration took a major step toward the transition to Joe Biden’s presidency.
Trump, three weeks after Election Day, still has not conceded the race to Biden.