It’s been a challenging 2022 so far in the markets. In our latest situation report we outline what we’re watching and cases to be made for this bull market to continue, and cases to be made that we could be shifting to a bear market.
For the second time this year Netflix shares went into absolute freefall. NFLX is the worst performing stock in the S&P 500 this year, and is down about 65% from its all-time high. Netflix shares lost more than a third of their value just this week after reporting not just a slowdown in growth, but an actual drop in subscriber numbers for the first time ever. The streaming giant lost over 200,000 subscribers in its latest quarter—and it’s expecting even more in coming quarters.
On a single day earlier this month – and for the first time ever - wind power was the second-largest source of electric generation in the country, behind only natural gas. The Energy Information Administration reported on March 29th that wind turbines produced more energy than both coal and nuclear power.
The COVID pandemic and its subsequent mandatory lockdowns led to greater isolation, greater stress, and less time outside. What better way is there to brighten such a dark time – and occupy bored kids - than to get a puppy! The online pet food and pet supply company Chewy saw its market cap quadruple from the beginning of the pandemic to its peak.
As the pandemic winds down, life in many respects is almost back to normal—except for one area—office space. According to building security provider Kastle, which monitors the use of security and ID cards in office buildings, the “Kastle Barometer” of average weekly occupancy for offices is still just 40% of pre-pandemic levels.
It wasn’t widely known to the general public before recent days, but Russia is one of the world’s largest producers of many of the commodities necessary for modern society. Inflation was already on the rise, but since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine the price of gasoline has soared. That’s because Russia is the second-largest crude oil exporter globally, only behind Saudi Arabia.