J. Pow needs an herbal tea… Between bank collapses and new inflation data, a lot’s happened recently that could influence the Fed’s important rate-hike decision this Wednesday. Some investors expect the banking crisis could pressure the Fed to cool on rate hikes (which contributed to banking woes). Most traders predict a hike of 25 basis points, down from 50 last week. Some firms even expect Powell will pause hikes (#Pow-se). While inflation isn’t cooling as fast as the Fed hoped, Goldman Sachs said it no longer expects a hike on Wednesday.
China's tech scene checks in… WeChat owner Tencent (also the world’s biggest gaming company) and ecomm giant Pinduoduo are set to report. The tech titans’ earnings come as China’s economy reopens after years of strict Covid policy. Meanwhile, China's tech world could be on the verge of an AI-powered shakeup. Both Tencent and Alibaba Group (the Amazon of China) are reportedly working on ChatGPT rivals. Meanwhile, Baidu (the Google of China) disappointed investors last week with its AI-chatbot demo.