Big names, big moves, big value. Apple has been all the rage after the iPhone maker’s stock-market value topped $3 trillion amid a jump in gadget spend during the pandemic. Bloomberg reports the share price has climbed steadily for years, but surged more than 200% since Covid first sent the world into lockdown in early 2020 and underlined the centrality of technology for work, education, entertainment and keeping connected. The company, which became the world’s most valuable stock in 2011 with a market cap of just under $340bn, went from $1trn to $3trn in the last just over three years, leading to the bulls and bears examining the case of whether the company is really worth its mettle.
Holding its own, Elon Musk and his Tesla sped into the new year, adding $33.8bn and $144bn in market value respectively yesterday after the carmaker smashed its quarterly record for deliveries. To put it in perspective, this one-day gain alone is equivalent to the entire value of Starbucks and more than the value of almost 90% of the companies in the S&P 500 Index, according to Bloomberg. In a “jaw-dropper performance” Tesla’s worldwide deliveries totalled 308,600 vehicles in the fourth quarter, with annual handovers surging to more than 936,000 in 2021, up 87% from the previous year’s level. And Musk won’t be Musk if he doesn’t do a Twitter brag, praising his crew and encouraging them to make the roaring 20s happen. With JP Morgan analyst Ryan Brinkman raising his fourth-quarter earnings estimate to $2.22 a share from $1.98 and his price target to $295 from $250 before, and Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives maintaining an outperform rating and $1,400 price target, with the bull-case price target at $1,800, this may not be a tough ask.
On the Covid front, South Africa’s Covid death toll rose to 91,312 as 3,232 new infections were reported. Good news is that the UK added its approval to the US FDA’s of the Pfizer’s Covid-19 pill, which boosts chances of the oral drug finding wider acceptance amid the omicron surge, while the FDA expanded the use of the Covid-19 booster shots made by Pfizer and BioNTech for younger teenagers.
In the currency markets, the dollar closed firmer against its major peers last night as US Treasury yields rose sharply on the possibility of the Fed hiking rates earlier than expected. Dollar gains are being slowed, though, as the US registers over one million daily new Covid cases. Emerging market currencies all closed off their intraday best levels, with the rand closing at R15.87 after having traded as firm as R15.77 earlier in yesterday’s session, comments TreasuryONE. “This morning finds the local unit slightly stronger at R15.83, and we are likely to stay in a R15.75/R15.90 range for now.”
Commodities are starting the day a touch firmer after a poor performance yesterday, with gold currently trading at $1,805/oz, platinum at $954 and palladium at $1,849. Brent crude has extended its gains to trade just under $80 a barrel at $79.38.
Here’s a roundup of the world’s top and most interesting headlines:
SA Business
Criminal charges for South Africa’s Bitcoin Brothers — despite R80 million payoff – MyBroadband
Wind fans flames as firefighters battle second flare-up of fire at Parly – EWN
Market commentators pick their stocks to watch in 2022 – Biznews
Global Business
London’s fintech boom opens the door for dirty money – Bloomberg
Nibbling cats and Covid masks: First look at CES tech show – AFP
KFC runs out of imported potatoes for chips, snubs local farmers – Business Daily
Markets
Asian markets mixed as traders eye virus, inflation, rates – AFP
China coal futures surge on supply worries amid Indonesia export ban – Reuters
Gold up over omicron curbs, but gains capped by US interest rate hike bets – Investing.com
Opinion/In-depth
Cellphone towers don’t lie: The 24-hour potential killer in your pocket could also help solve your murder – here’s how – Daily Maverick
Bitcoin at $100,000 or popped by Fed? Analysts give their 2022 views – Bloomberg
The ANC ‘renewal boat’ has sailed, so who will rise and take up the political baton in the 2024 elections? – Daily Maverick
Video
WATCH | Drone footage shows extent of devastating fire that ripped through Parliament – News24
Reaction | State Capture | President to receive first part of report – eNCA
Discussion | Economic outlook for 2022 – eNCA
Feature image: Trusted Reviews
