Arte Johnson’s catch phrase from Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In may not have described U.S. stock markets last week, but there were some interesting economic, cyber-security, and consumer developments around the world.
Major U.S. stock indices finished the week slightly higher. Experts, cited by Barron’s, suggested markets seemed tired and were waiting for clarity around the U.S. election outcome, Federal Reserve rate increase, and corporate quarterly earnings.
Across the pond, opposition from Wallonia (a dairy-producing region of Belgium) killed trade negotiations between the European Union and Canada. The New York Times suggested the collapse of trade talks could signal a new chapter in modern history:
“Liberalized trade has amplified economic growth, but the spoils have been largely monopolized by wealthy and corporate interests. Recriminations over the resulting economic inequalities are now so ferocious that modern history has been altered: The phase of globalization that began with the ending of World War II is essentially over.”
Another modern development – the Internet Everything (think unsecured DVRs, CCTV cameras, baby monitors, home routers, and other unsecured devices) – may have helped facilitate a cyber attack on an Internet performance management company last Friday. The hack disrupted access to some major websites. Financial Times explained cyber criminals infected the devices without the owners’ knowledge.
Finally, we learned food doesn’t have to be gold-foiled to be outrageously expensive. AdWeek wrote:
“…To go along with the supposed epicurean majesty of its beverage, St. Erik's Brewery created a very high-class snack – potato chips featuring rare Nordic ingredients and sold in a pack of five for a whopping $56.”
The first 100 boxes sold out in a week!
THE MARKETS
DISCLOSURES
LPL TRACKING# 1-548154
SOURCES:
http://www.barrons.com/articles/after-a-bumpy-week-stocks-end-up-0-4-1477111153?mod=BOL_hp_we_columns (or go tohttps://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/peakcontent/+Peak+Commentary/10-24-16+_Barrons-After_a_Bumpy_Week_Stocks_End_Up_0.4_Percent-Footnote_1.pdf)
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/22/business/international/european-union-canada-trade-agreement-ceta.html?ref=economy (or go tohttps://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/peakcontent/+Peak+Commentary/10-24-16_NYTimes-With_Europe-Canada_Deal_Near_Collapse_Globalizations_Latest_Chapter_is_History-Footnote_2.pdf)
http://www.cnbc.com/2016/10/21/major-websites-across-east-coast-knocked-out-in-apparent-ddos-attack.html
https://www.ft.com/content/1071b192-97ab-11e6-a1dc-bdf38d484582 (or go tohttps://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/peakcontent/+Peak+Commentary/10-24-16_FinancialTimes-What_Just_Hit_the_Internet-Footnote_4.pdf)
http://www.adweek.com/adfreak/brewer-made-worlds-most-expensive-potato-chips-go-its-fancy-beer-174086