**__ Diplomatt’s Daily Digest – February 1, 2022__**
Good morning and happy Tuesday, everyone! Stock futures edged lower Tuesday morning, following a wild January on Wall Street that saw investors struggle with a Federal Reserve policy shift. Investors were awaiting more key earnings reports, with ExxonMobil due before the opening bell and Alphabet, General Motors, Starbucks, AMD, and PayPal are scheduled after the close. Over the past several days, investors have stepped in to buy a dip that saw the S&P 500 briefly dipped into correction territory, defined as a drop of 10% from the most recent high. The large-cap index has risen 2.4% over the past five trading days. While stocks pulled off a tech-driven rally Monday, major averages still suffered a brutal month marked by wild price swings. January’s sell-off came as the Fed signaled its readiness to tighten monetary policy, including raising interest rates multiple times this year, to tame inflation that has shot up to the highest level in nearly four decades. Investors flocked out of growth-oriented technology shares, particularly sensitive to rising rates. The latest decline points to signs of a normal market correction that does not signal a recession or the end of this bull market.
Quote of the week: „Opportunities don’t happen. You create them.“ – Chris Grosser
**General News:**
• There are signs that some Federal Reserve policymakers think that markets may be getting ahead of themselves with the projected pace of rate hikes. Four officials spoke yesterday, each emphasizing the need for gradual tightening and the need for moves to be data-dependent
• Diplomatic maneuvers over Ukraine are stepping up a gear today with Russian President Vladimir Putin meeting his closest European ally, Hungarian leader Viktor Orban while U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Netherlands Prime Minister Mark Rutte are also both expected in Ukraine to meet with its president
• AT&T announced it would spin off WarnerMedia in a $43 billion transaction to merge its media properties with Discovery.
• GlobalWafers, a Taiwanese firm that makes silicon wafers for computer chips, will no longer buy Munich-headquartered rival Siltronic after policymakers in Germany failed to approve the deal in time. The deal’s collapse seems to come from nations looking to bolster their tech sovereignty to not rely on other countries for semiconductors and chips.
• Chinese electric carmakers Nio and Xpeng saw deliveries dip in January versus December but were still higher compared to a year ago.
• China plans to lay the foundation for lofty space achievements, including exploration of the planet Jupiter and a crewed mission to the moon. The move heats up another technological battlefront between the U.S. and China, with the world’s second-largest economy positioning to become a space superpower in the coming years.
• The New York Times is acquiring Wordle, an online game that shot up to popularity seemingly overnight.
• Sony Interactive Entertainment has agreed to acquire privately-held video game developer Bungie for $3.6 billion, adding to a flurry of industry consolidation this month.
**StockTwits Top 10 Trending Tickers of the Day:**
1. NIO
2. GOOGL
3. XPEV
4. UPS
5. TIMERR
6. XOM
7. VGX
8. LI
9. SUKU
10. T
