Enter The Dragon

I think we can safely call yesterday one of the strangest news days of 2024…

A US Special Counsel decided not to prosecute Joe Biden over his mishandling of classified documents as he was likely to present himself at trial as a “sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory” and nobody would convict such a person! The report by Robert Hur raised serious questions about the president’s memory, saying it “appeared to have significant limitations”.

Joe Biden has responded by saying “I’m well meaning, and I’m an elderly man, and I know what the hell I’m doing”!

Donald Trump has responded by saying it is a two-tiered system of justice, as his mishandling of classified documents has led to ongoing actions against the former president.

Also from the US; former fox News anchor Tucker Carlson interviewed Vladimir Putin this week, and it aired in the US and on X last night. The two-hour interview contained everything you would have expected, with Putin repeating his much-used justifications for the war and saying that if the US stopped supplying weapons to Ukraine the war would be over in weeks. He’s also talked about wanting to get back to the negotiating table and that in 2022 they came close to a deal but the West, and Boris Johnson in particular, wasn’t in favour of the deal being signed.

The interview, from a firm favourite of the American right wing, comes at a tricky time, with more funding for Ukraine stuck in Congress and a handful of republican senators blocking the passing of the deal. There’s concern that this interview might lead to a few more siding with those holding out, which would make appeasing them all the harder.

Some quite amazing news that slipped us earlier in the week: Meta announced it’s fourth quarter earnings and managed an incredible 25% increase in earnings to $40.1bn. What was perhaps more amazing was that they grew those earnings and managed to reduce their costs by 8%, allowing them to pay their first dividend ever at fifty cents per share and buy back $50bn of stock. Even more impressive still was that the news led to a 20% jump in the share price, which added $200bn of market cap in a single day, which is probably a record on the stock market… Think what you will of Mark Zuckerberg and his empire, but those numbers are incredibly hard to argue with.

Today the markets have started quietly as it’s a market holiday in several Asian countries ahead of the Chinese Lunar New Year, which officially beings tomorrow and ushers in the year of the Dragon – which represents power, strength, good luck and wisdom. The European and US data sheet is reasonably light, so we’re holding out for thinner markets providing some interesting moves!

Have a great weekend.