Weekly news summary for February 11 to February 17
Friday, Feb. 11: Binance to Invest $200M in Forbes
Binance Holdings Ltd. plans to invest $200 million in Forbes magazine in a deal that would aid the 104-year-old US publisher in merging with a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company (SPAC).
Should the transaction achieves completion, sources with knowledge of the deal said Binance, the world’s biggest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, would become one of the largest investors of Forbes, which will be trading on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).
Monday, Feb. 14: Oil Posts 7-Year Highs on Russia-Ukraine Tensions
Oil prices rose to a seven-year high on Monday after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy announced that Feb. 16 would be a day of national unity in response to foreign media reports citing the date as a possible start of Russia’s invasion.
Global benchmark Brent crude was up 2.2% to $96.48 per barrel, having posted its highest since September 2014 at $96.78 earlier in the session, while the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude added 2.5% to $95.46 per barrel after reaching a seven-year peak of $95.82.
Tuesday, Feb. 15: US Major Indexes Rise on Easing Ukraine Crisis
US stocks took a steep surge on Tuesday, as the Ukraine crisis showed signs of easing after Russia said it pulled back some of its troops from the Ukraine border, fueling investors’ risk appetite and weakening oil prices on fewer supply concerns.
The Dow gained 422.67 points, and the S&P 500 added 69.4 points, while the Nasdaq Composite index climbed 348.84 points, and the Philadelphia SE Semiconductor index rose 5.5% to record its largest single-day percentage increase since March 2021.
Wednesday, Feb. 16: US Retail Sales Climb to its Highest in 10 Months
US retail sales were up to their highest in ten months in January, driven by a declining number of Omicron infections, easing supply shortages, and growing prices.
Data from the Commerce Department showed that retail sales in the world’s biggest economy climbed 3.8% in the previous month from the 2.5% slide in December when the latest wave of the COVID-19 pandemic pushed spending lower, and the lack of supply left some shelves vacant.
Thursday, Feb. 17: Crude Oil Prices Fell Amid US Inventory Surplus
The West Texas Intermediate futures plummeted by 1.3% to $92.94 per barrel and the global benchmark Brent contracts declined by 1.2% to $93.71 per barrel.
According to the EIA statistics, the price decline is due to an increase in crude stockpile by 1.12 million barrels to 411.50 million in the week ended February 11th, above the drop forecast of 1.57 million and the previous week’s fall of 4.76 million.