The biggest story for the week comes from another Elon Musk’s company in neurotechnology called Neuralink. Other trending news also comes from Boeing about the 737 Max’s new electrical problem and the development of the COVID-19 pill. Before looking at the headline news, let’s jump into the market performance from last week.
Markets
| Up/Down | Market | Price/Yield | Gain/Loss |
|---|---|---|---|
 | S&P 500 | 4,128.80 | + 0.77% (+31.63) |
| Dow 30 | 33,800.60 | + 0.89% (+297.03) |
| NASDAQ | 13,900.18 | + 0.51% (+70.88) |
| Russell 2000 | 2,243.47 | + 0.04% (+0.88) |
 | VIX | 20.30 | – 1.53% (-0.26) |
| US 2-YR | 0.16% | + 2 bps |
| US 10-YR | 1.67% | + 3 bps |
| US 30-YR | 2.34% | + 2 bps |
| OIL | 59.53 | + 0.35% (+0.21) |
| GOLD | 1,739.90 | – 0.26% (-4.6) |
| Bitcoin | 59,856.20 | + 0.21% (+128) |
Stock Markets: US stock market indexes continue to gain steam, hitting a record high for the S&P 500 and Dow 30. However, the US technology index – Nasdaq and the US small-cap index – Russell 2000 had a pullback last week after multiple winning streaks, triggered by market rotation from growth to value stocks after the economic reopening and vaccine rollout.
Bond Market: US government bonds continue to climb after a better economic outlook and higher demand for government bonds during auctions.
Economy: Globalization has reduced the cost of goods which helps to reduce inflation. The US unemployment rate continues to fall to 6%, while core inflation is trending down to a 1.3% level.
Oil: Oil demand will continue to go up in the summer. However, the fear of the third wave of COVID-19 has spooked the market and caused the oil price to go down below $60 per barrel.
Gold and Metal: Demand for batteries drives the new exploration in Africa as China controls 75% of the world’s cobalt supply chain.
Bitcoin: Bitcoin hit another record high above US$60,000 due to constrained supply due to wider adoption. Tesla will start taking Bitcoin for the car sales while other companies are working on a similar path. Meanwhile, central banks across the world are working on developing their version of cryptocurrency.
Neuralink Quantum Leap
Elon Musk once again shook the world with another breakthrough in neuroscience. His company, Neuralink, has successfully inserted a chip implant into a monkey named Pager. Pager managed to play the Pong video game through chips implanted in his brain on the newly released video.
Elon Musk tweeted that the technology could enable someone with paralysis to use a smartphone faster than someone using thumbs. Neuralink has long-term ambitions to achieve a symbiosis of humans with artificial intelligence.
Trending News
Boeing 737 Max has new electrical issue
The aircraft manufacture issued an alert to its 16 customers about the electrical issue at 737 Max aircraft. The company recommended the airlines ground the planes until the solution becomes available. The issue relates to the backup power system of all the aircraft’s electrical parts. Boeing is working closely with the Federal Aviation Administration to come up with a resolution.
COVID-19 pill
After a series of delivery delays on the COVID-19 vaccine, Merck is working on clinical trials on its antiviral drug molnupiravir to provide treatment for coronaviruses and future pandemics. Read more: Merck’s Little Brown Pill Could Transform the Fight Against Covid.
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