January 2022: FOMC Meeting, Earning Season & Oil Rises

Between the highly anticipated FOMC meeting, earnings season kicking into full swing and oil continued rise up the charts, the last couple of weeks has made for interesting analysis.

Fed Meeting

The highly-anticipated Fed meeting confirmed that the Fed is ready to raise interest rates at its March 15–16 meeting, marking the first time the U.S. has raised rates since 2018. All in all, the Fed anticipates that there will be three interest rate hikes this year and three rate hikes in 2023.

In case you still do not know what the FOMC is and how it affects your trades, you can read this interesting article here.

Earnings

Microsoft announced a revenue increment of 20 % and a net income of $18.77 billion days after announcing a deal to buy the video game maker, Activision, for $68.7 billion while the surge in demand for Tesla’s electric cars meant full-year profits were over seven times higher at $5.5bn (£4.1bn) and sales soared 71% to $54bn, both shattering the company’s previous records.

With respect to the banks, Wells Fargo, as well as, JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs had a stellar quarter when compared to their counterparts, Bank of America, Morgan Stanley, and others.

Oil Marches On

Brent crude, the international oil benchmark, topped $90 for the first time since 2014, adding to oil’s blistering recovery since its pandemic-era lows in April 2020. Meanwhile at a time when assets are under immense pressure, Gold continues to prove its status as a safe haven asset and one that traders should be on the lookout for as it closes in on its highest close in two months.

Manage all of your trading in one place with Harry, a first-of-its-kind 24/7 virtual trading assistant designed to easily eliminate all kinds of difficulties that come with trading financial markets.

Join the profitable fam today. Click here to access Harry for free