Weekly news summary for October 21 to October 27

Friday, Oct. 21: US Yields Surge to 15-Year High on Rate Concerns

US bond yields climbed to a 15-year high on Friday amid concerns about surging inflation and more interest rate hikes from the Federal Reserve.

The benchmark 10-year Treasury bond hit 4.29%, a level not seen since December 2007, while the 2-year Treasury yield surged to a fresh 15-year high of 4.63%, as investors bet on the possibility that it will take the Fed more time than expected to push inflation down.

Monday, Oct. 24: Hong Kong Stocks Drop after Xi Secures Third Term

Stocks in Hong Kong were down to their lowest since 2008 on Monday amid fears that President Xi Jinping’s consolidation of power would result in the resumption of his campaign against the country’s top internet firms and wealthiest entrepreneurs.

The Hang Seng index fell 6.4% to its worst one-day rout since 2008, while the Hang Seng Tech index declined more than 8%, with Tencent Holdings Ltd. and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. posting more losses than the index.

Tuesday, Oct. 24: European Bank Earnings Season Kick Off

European banks’ quarterly earnings season kicked off on Tuesday, with UBS Group AG and HSBC Holdings plc providing different results.

Switzerland-based UBS reported a less-than-expected drop of 24% in its third-quarter net profit as it found support from higher client funds and reduced costs, while London-based HSBC posted a 42% slide in its profit for the same period due to loan losses and expenses from the sale of its French business.

Wednesday, Oct. 26: Alphabet, Microsoft Revenue Growth Slows in Q3

Alphabet Inc. and Microsoft Corp. saw a sharp slowdown in their third-quarter revenue growth as increased prices and higher interest rates worldwide resulted in less spending from consumers and businesses.

Google-parent Alphabet reported revenue growth of 6% to $69 billion in three months to September, its slowest since 2013, while Microsoft’s revenue growth of 11% to $50 billion in the period was its slowest in five years.

Thursday, Oct. 27: Dogecoin Registers 21% Rise in 24 Hours

Dogecoin saw its price rise as much as 21% in the last 24 hours, with broader market cues and Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk likely the major supporters of the meme coin’s price increase.

Dogecoin was trading at $0.08 on Thursday after climbing 21.4%, and over 30% in the past week, while the cryptocurrency market cap hitting above $1 trillion was believed to have contributed to its surge.