Is the Stock Market Risk Party Ending?
Is the Stock Market Risk Party Ending?
Your daily head start in the business of tech + filtered + focused
The most important thing in tech today is …
a woozy coal-mine canary called Dogecoin. It’s a cryptocurrency named after a dog, and it was a joke until speculators started taking it seriously. In the past week, its value has crashed 40% to around $.19. Its journey throughout the spring is even more dramatic; on May 7 it was worth $.74.
Now, I’m not saying that this marks the end of Doge’s run; it could double in value tomorrow. But it’s notable that, in a week when China’s cracking down on Bitcoin mining, Doge is face-planting twice as hard as Bitcoin.
What does this have to do with tech?
A big part of the market, including quite a few tech stocks, has been caught up in a betting bonanza for a couple of years now. First came Tesla, then a bunch of lower-quality electric vehicle pipe dreams that traders started betting on, in hopes of getting rich. First came Bitcoin and Ethereum, then a bunch of lower-quality coins that traders started betting on, in hopes of getting rich.
Meanwhile, headlines this past week suggested that the Federal Reserve’s punch bowl of easy money might not be out for much longer, and China’s crypto crackdown is intensifying.
I’m taking this Doge dump as another warning light flashing on the trading dashboard. Maybe it’s just a hiccup. Or maybe it’s a sign of sobriety creeping back into a raging market.
Coming up today on CNBC’s TechCheck, 11 a.m. ET / 8 a.m. PT …
CommerceIQ CEO Guru Hariharan, Tinder CEO Jim Lanzone
While you were sleeping …
The European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, opened a new investigation into Google on Tuesday to assess whether the tech giant has favored its own online display ad technology services, and therefore breached antitrust rules. CNBC
U.S.-headquartered semiconductor manufacturer GlobalFoundries announced Tuesday that it will build a new fabrication plant in Singapore to meet the unprecedented global demand for chips. CNBC
In the broader world …
Coronavirus vaccine booster shots will likely be needed in the fall, according to experts, who are urging governments to organize them now. CNBC
There are questions about the future of retail, but French luxury goods giant LVMH has no doubt what it will look like. “We see the future being two things: being mostly retail stores, because the client experience in a retail store cannot be matched easily online. As of today, I mean, no one has found the sort of miracle formula that would enable clients to enjoy as much online,” Jean Jacques Guiony, chief financial officer at LVMH, told CNBC. CNBC
On the horizon …
6/23: Betterment CEO Sarah Levy in a Fortt Knox 1:1
