10 things before the opening bell
Welcome to 10 Things Before the Opening Bell.
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1. Stuff is getting more expensive at a rate not seen since 1990. US consumer prices rose 6.2% from October 2020, the biggest year-over-year surge in three decades. The popular measure of inflation shattered economist forecasts and challenges the Fed's view that price hikes are transitory.
- Biggest contributors: Fuel saw the largest price jump of any category, with a 12.3% gain in October. Also driving the surprising surge were higher shelter, food, and vehicle prices.
- Something to worry about: The breadth of stuff that's getting more expensive is expanding. Prices rose faster in October across almost every category tracked by the Labor Department.
- Average hourly earnings are up - but there's a catch: Wednesday's data shows inflation is more than wiping out those gains.
- Crypto is getting in on the action: Bitcoin notched a new all-time high near $69,000 minutes after the inflation data was released. The narrative that bitcoin is a 'digital gold' hedge against rising prices may just be sticking.
2. Gold and the greenback are surging as hotter-than-expected inflation roils markets. Plus US stocks are primed to recover from their big losses yesterday after the CPI data release. Here are the latest moves on the market.
3. Elon Musk has sold almost $5 billion in Tesla stock, less than the 10% he asked about in a Twitter poll. The CEO shed about 4.5 billion shares in the past three days, but he planned to sell a big chunk of that before asking fans for their take.
4. Earnings on deck: Siemens, Merck KGaA, and Suzuki Motor Corp., all reporting.
5. Surging inflation is crushing one of history's surest investments. JPMorgan says the classic 60/40 stock-bond portfolio is under threat as hot inflation pushes bond yields closer to zero. The firm's top asset-management strategists say to target these 4 investment alternatives instead.
6. Rivian Automotive's IPO was the sixth-biggest in US history. The electric-truck maker saw its valuation surge to more than $100 billion at intraday highs, when the stock spiked 53%. Amazon and Ford are among the investors that cashed in, while Ark Invest's Cathie Wood balked at the price.
7. Crypto favorites shiba inu coin and solana are expanding to new platforms. They were among the cryptos added to the trading app Public. Here's what else they added.
8. Twitter is launching a dedicated crypto team. Led by former Interchain staffer Tess Rinearson,"Twitter Crypto" will work on blockchain applications and Web3. The move aligns with CEO Jack Dorsey's belief that digital assets will be a huge player in the coming years.
9. One of Robinhood's earliest investors called crypto a 'fad.' Venture capitalist Wesley Chan doesn't think coins are the way to make real money. Here's why he's instead focused on the infrastructure surrounding crypto.
10. Small-cap stocks are poised to win the next decade, says Bank of America. That will follow years of lagging the market, according to strategist Jill Carey Hall. Here are 3 places she says to find bargains as large-cap stocks fade.
Compiled by Phil Rosen. Feedback? Email prosen@insider.com or tweet @philrosenn.
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