Big news on Wall St

The ink is dry on the US CHIPS and Science Act 2022, promising a US$200 billion investment into R&D and manufacturing of semiconductors Stateside. Intel broke ground on their Ohio factory and world-leading chipmakers, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., are quick to follow.

The Reserve Bank may be playing Grinch this Chrissie but we’ve found a bunch of Yuletide gifts that won’t bust the budget. From Costco bargains, books about money, to tickets to outdoor and indoor summer fun, we’ve found the gifts that keep on giving, with treats to enjoy while you shop.

Will chatbots replace Google anytime soon? Seems newly released chatbot, ChatGPT, can do anything, from rapping about wealth to telling your kids the truth about Santa. Hoping it doesn’t go the way of other chatbots that are a little bit racist. For now, anyway, Google looks safe.

Do we get lippy in a recession? 1998 research says when times are tough we splurge on luxury lipstick. Estée Lauder chair Leonard Lauder dubbed this the Lipstick Effect when he saw the trend play out after 9/11 and in 2008. So which company seems to be riding the recession wave with their sales sitting pretty?

Bad Bunny took out Spotify’s most-streamed artist in the world for 2022, but a bad bear market dominated investing. While the S&P 500 index was down 25% at its worst, share prices settled about 15% down overall. One industry dominated, and Buffett’s not mad about it.

Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour sales broke the internet and Swifties are seeing red. Now the Senate is calling out Ticketmaster’s venue and ticket sales near-monopoly. The behemoth business blamed bots for their failed platform, but Tay-Tay tickets are reselling on exchanges for as much as US$30,000. How?

Washed up? Nope, Buffett’s kicking on and having a ball. Berkshire Hathaway kicked off 2022 proving that banking on long term investing - holding companies for years and even decades - can even beat a bear market, with their share price up 5% so far this year.

2022 FIFA World Cup’s the biggest ticket in town and everyone wants to back a winner. Lloyds Banking Group has predicted their top choice, and Electronic Arts has simulated all 64 matches to pick theirs. The winning team takes home US$42 million and the runner up US$30 million.

Fashion’s getting phygital! This year’s NYFW saw luxury brands hit the catwalk while simultaneously streaming on Roblox. Fashion houses have also embraced gaming and NFTs using Microsoft tech to build games and share content on Fortnite. Who else is shaking up the phygital runway?

Food and beverage companies are rolling out the welcome mat for robots. Bots are trying their robotic hands at burger flipping and barista brewing. And while employment fell during the pandemic, putting bots on the tools is paying off, with production climbing. So are robots taking our jobs?

Has the crypto contagion replaced pandemic woes? Bitcoin is now the fifth-biggest asset crash of all time, and crypto exchanges FTX and Blockfi have tanked. Sam Bankman-Fried’s Bahamas blow-out has also blown sports sponsorship outta the water. Who’s hit in the US share markets?

US midterms got you glued to the share markets? You needn’t bother because research shows that neither presidential nor midterm elections in the US impact share market performance over the long term, and legislative gridlock may even be ‘good for markets’.