Week in a Glance: Biden's plans, Powell & Yellen, Suez Blocked

29 thg 3, 2021

According to the news, the main event of the week is the Suez Canal blockage, the most important arteries of world trade. On Tuesday, a massive container ship crashed into its walls due to strong winds. The Canal hasn't been unblocked, yet, and, according to experts, it may “take weeks”.

The consequences of blocking largely depend on downtime, but in general, local shortages can arise in individual markets, ranging from robusta and oil to toilet paper.

More important news on a global scale was the information that Biden was serious to implement plans for the infrastructure development of the US economy with volumes, according to various estimates, from $3 to $4 trillion.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Fed Chairman Jerome Powell gave two-day testimony at the US Congress this week. Both said they're confident in the financial sector's stability as the US economy recovers from the Covid-19 pandemic.

It'd seem that Biden's plans, coupled with Yellen and Powell's assurances in a bright future, should've provoked a powerful rise in the US stock market. But in fact, there was confusion and vacillation - traditional indices like the Down and the S&P500 did rise, but the high-tech Nasdaq was under pressure.

As a result, this year, the three major US stock indexes ( S&P 500 , Down Jones Industrial and Nasdaq Composite ) show the second worst correlation since 2001: it's only 64% versus the historical quarterly average of 78%.