Launch of Boeing’s first crewed spacecraft halted amid problems with oxygen relief valve

Data analytics group Palantir lifted its full-year outlook after a forecast-beating first quarter, although not by as much as Wall Street expected.

The company forecast full-year revenue between $2.68bn and $2.69bn, which was slightly higher than its previous estimate, but below consensus expectations for $2.71bn, according to a LSEG poll.

Its projection for revenue of $649mn to $653mn in the current quarter was below Wall Street forecasts.

However, Palantir’s forecast for adjusted income from operations for the full year exceeded Wall Street estimates. Net income of $106mn on revenue of $634mn during its first quarter edged past forecasts.

Shares in the company were last down 6 per cent.

Stocks making the biggest moves after hours: Palantir Technologies, Lucid Group and more

The Growth of a $1,000 Equity Investment, by Stock Market

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May 6, 2024 Graphics/Design:

See this visualization first on the Voronoi app.

Visualizing Stock Market Growth by Country

This was originally posted on our Voronoi app. Download the app for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.

In this graphic, we show the change in value of a $1,000 investment in various leading equity indexes from around the world. This data was sourced from Investing.com, and covers a five-year period from April 2019 to April 2024.

See the following table for the five-year annual return figures of the indexes shown above.

Index5-Yr Return
as of April 1, 2024 🇮🇳 NIFTY 5092.4% 🇯🇵 Nikkei 22572.5% 🇺🇸 S&P 50070.9% 🇨🇦 S&P/TSX Composite31.0% 🇬🇧 FTSE 1009.8% 🇭🇰 Hang Seng-40.2%

In terms of stock market growth by country, India (represented here by the NIFTY 50) has impressively surpassed both the U.S. and Japan.

What is the NIFTY 50?

The NIFTY 50 is an index of the 50 largest and most actively traded Indian stocks. Similar to the S&P 500, it represents a range of industries and acts as a benchmark for investors to gauge the performance of the country’s broader stock market.

What’s Going on in India?

India’s multi-year bull market has led to several records being shattered in 2023. For example, the country’s total stock market market capitalization surpassed $4 trillion for the first time, while India-focused ETFs pulled in net inflows of $8.6 billion over the year.

A primary driver of this growth is the country’s fast-rising middle class. According to a report by Morgan Stanley, this “once-in-a-generation shift” will result in India having the third largest stock market globally by 2030, presumably behind the U.S. and China.

Japan Also Breaks Records

Japanese equities (represented in this graphic by the Nikkei 225) slightly outperformed the S&P 500 over the past five years. The index, which represents the top 225 companies on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, recently set a new record high for the first time since 1989.

Japanese companies have reported strong earnings as of late, partly thanks to a weak yen, which benefits many of the country’s export-reliant companies.

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Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser says low-income consumers have turned far more cautious with spending

Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser said Monday that consumer behavior has diverged as inflation for goods and services makes life harder for many Americans. Fraser, who leads one of the largest U.S. credit-card issuers, called it a “K-shaped consumer.” That means the affluent continue to spend, while lower-income Americans have become more cautious with their consumption.

Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser said Monday that consumer behavior has diverged as inflation for goods and services makes life harder for many Americans.

Fraser, who leads one of the largest U.S. credit-card issuers, said she is seeing a “K-shaped consumer.” That means the affluent continue to spend, while lower-income Americans have become more cautious with their consumption.

“A lot of the growth in spending has been in the last few quarters with the affluent customer,” Fraser told CNBC’s Sara Eisen in an interview.

“We’re seeing a much more cautious low-income consumer,” Fraser said. “They’re feeling more of the pressure of the cost of living, which has been high and increased for them. So while there is employment for them, debt servicing levels are higher than they were before.”

The stock market has hinged on a single question this year: When will the Federal Reserve begin to ease interest rates after a run of 11 hikes? Strong employment figures and persistent inflation in some categories has complicated the picture, pushing back expectations for when easing will begin. That means Americans must live with higher rates for credit card debt, auto loans and mortgages for longer.

“I think, like everyone here, we’re hoping to see the economic conditions that will allow rates to come down sooner rather than later,” Fraser said.

“It’s hard to get a soft landing,” the CEO added, using a term for when higher rates reduce inflation without triggering an economic recession. “We’re hopeful, but it is always hard to get one.”

CNBC

Life Expectancy by Region (1950-2050F)

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May 6, 2024 Article/Editing:

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Mapped: Life Expectancy by Region (1950-2050F)

This was originally posted on our Voronoi app. Download the app for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.

Average life expectancy at birth is projected to surpass 80 years in most global regions by 2050, according to the UN World Population Prospects 2022.

This infographic illustrates the trajectory of life expectancy at birth for both sexes, comparing data from 1950 and 2000 with the organization’s projections for the year 2050.

Life Expectancy to See Substantial Growth

At the beginning of the 19th century, no country had a life expectancy exceeding 40 years, with much of the global population enduring extreme poverty, limited access to medical care, and a lack of sanitation.

By 1950, newborns in Europe, North America, Oceania, Japan, and parts of South America were seeing life expectancies surpassing 60 years, while in other regions, newborns could only anticipate a lifespan of around 30 years.

For instance, individuals in Norway had a life expectancy of 72 years, while in Mali, it was merely 26 years. On average, Africa had a life expectancy of only 38 years.

Since then, life expectancies have substantially grown worldwide. Notably, between 1950 and 2000, significant progress was observed in Asia and Latin America and the Caribbean.

Region195020002050F North America687784 Latin America & the Caribbean497181 Europe637484 Asia426880 Africa385368 Australia & Oceania617582

The improvement in life expectancy can be attributed to various factors such as advancements in medical technology, better healthcare infrastructure, improved sanitation, access to clean water, and increased awareness about health and nutrition.

In Perspective With History

Although today it seems like rising life expectancy is a given, for much of history it’s worth noting that the situation was much more static.

As shown in the above chart, for most of human history life expectancy at birth actually sat in the 20-30 year range. It’s only since the mid-19th century that the aforementioned improvements (sanitation, clean water, etc.) allowed for the exponential and regular progress we see today.

Robinhood warns of SEC lawsuit threat over crypto business

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Robinhood has warned of an impending lawsuit from the Securities and Exchange Commission over its cryptocurrency business, in a sign that a US regulatory crackdown on digital assets continues.

The retail brokerage said in a filing on Monday that the SEC had over the weekend sent its crypto unit a so-called Wells notice, which warns a company that it faces legal action. SEC staff have made a “preliminary determination” to recommend enforcement action against the company, which could lead to civil litigation, monetary penalties and limits on business activities.

The SEC has taken a hard line on crypto enforcement, arguing that many tokens constitute securities and should be regulated as such.

Robinhood, founded in 2013, says it has a customer base of more than 23mn investors and $119bn in assets under custody. While also brokering equities and options, it offers commission-free trading of 15 cryptocurrencies in most US states, according to its most recent annual report. Cryptocurrencies accounted for $135mn of its $785mn in transaction-based revenues last year.

The company said Monday it had “made difficult choices not to list certain tokens or provide products, such as lending or staking,” to avoid fall foul of the SEC’s policy stance on cryptocurrencies.

“After years of good faith attempts to work with the SEC for regulatory clarity including our well-known attempt to ‘come in and register,’ we are disappointed that the agency has decided to issue a Wells notice related to our US crypto business,” said Dan Gallagher, Robinhood’s chief legal, compliance and corporate affairs officer.

“We firmly believe that the assets listed on our platform are not securities and we look forward to engaging with the SEC to make clear just how weak any case against Robinhood Crypto would be on both the facts and the law.”

The SEC said it “does not comment on the existence or non-existence of a possible investigation.”

The SEC’s efforts to exert control over the growing digital assets industry have intensified after the failure of FTX in 2022, which culminated this year with founder Sam Bankman-Fried’s 25-year prison sentence on fraud charges. The agency has also sued leading crypto platforms such as Coinbase, Binance and Kraken.

TD Cowen analyst Jaret Seiberg said in a policy note that the SEC’s warning to Robinhood should not come as a surprise and

Stocks making the biggest moves midday: Berkshire Hathaway, Micron, Tyson Foods, Spirit Airlines and more

Renters’ hopes of being able to buy a home have fallen to a record low, New York Fed survey shows

The share of renters who believe that they one day will be able to afford a home, fell to a record low 13.4%, according to a New York Federal Reserve survey released Monday. There’s not a lot of good news on the renting front, either. Respondents expect rental costs to increase by 9.7% over the next year. A sign advertising a home for sale is displayed outside of a Manhattan building on April 11, 2024 in New York City.  Spencer Platt | Getty Images

The dream of home ownership has gotten even further away for renters, with higher housing costs and elevated interest rates standing in the way of the American housing dream, according to a New York Federal Reserve survey released Monday.

The share of renters as of February who possess hopes of “residential mobility,” or the belief from renters that they one day will be able to afford a home, fell to a record low 13.4% in the central bank’s annual housing survey for 2024.

That’s down from 15% in 2023 and well off the 20.8% series high back in 2014.

Pessimism about future prospects comes amid a confluence of factors conspiring against the likelihood of renters being able to transition to home ownership.

For one, some 74.2% of renters viewed obtaining a mortgage as somewhat or very difficult, which the New York Fed said has “deteriorated substantially” from the 66.5% level in 2023 and 63.1% in 2022.

Moreover, mortgage rates have remained high by historical standards. A 30-year fixed-rate mortgage now carries an average 7.22% borrowing rate, the highest since late-November 2023, according to Freddie Mac.

Housing affordability has improved little, with the median price in February at $388,700, the highest since November, according to the National Association of Realtors. The NAR’s housing affordability index was at 103 in February, down slightly from January but still at elevated levels with average monthly housing payments at $2,040.

Survey respondents expect housing prices to increase 5.1% over the next year, nearly double the 2.6% expected rate in February 2023 and above the pre-pandemic mean of 4.2%.

Despite prospects for the Fed to cut interest rates before the end of 2024, respondents think mortgage rates are only going to go higher. The outlook for a year from now is that borrowing costs will be 8.7%, and

CNBC

US stocks extend post-jobs data rally on rate cut hopes

The US securities regulator has issued retail brokerage Robinhood with a notice that it may face enforcement action related to its cryptocurrency business.

Robinhood Crypto has previously received investigative subpoenas from the Securities and Exchange Commission regarding its “cryptocurrency listings, custody of cryptocurrencies, and platform operations”, but the company said in a regulatory filing on Monday that it had received a so-called Wells Notice on May 4 from the regulator.

Staff of the SEC had advised Robinhood it had made a “preliminary determination” to recommend enforcement action against the company, according to the filing. The recommendation may involve an injunction, civil money penalties and censure and limitations on activities, among other potential actions.

Robinhood shares were up about 1 per cent shortly after Wall Street’s opening bell on Monday, reversing declines during pre-market trading.

Mapped: The Number of AI Startups By Country

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May 6, 2024

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Mapped: The Number of AI Startups By Country

This was originally posted on our Voronoi app. Download the app for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.

Amidst the recent expansion of artificial intelligence (AI), we’ve visualized data from Quid (accessed via Stanford’s 2024 AI Index Report) to highlight the top 15 countries which have seen the most AI startup activity over the past decade.

The figures in this graphic represent the number of newly funded AI startups within that country, in the time period of 2013 to 2023. Only companies that received over $1.5 million in private investment were considered.

Data and Highlights

The following table lists all of the numbers featured in the above graphic.

RankGeographic areaNumber of newly funded
AI startups (2013-2023) 1🇺🇸 United States5,509 2🇨🇳 China1,446 3🇬🇧 United Kingdom727 4🇮🇱 Israel442 5🇨🇦 Canada397 6🇫🇷 France391 7🇮🇳 India338 8🇯🇵 Japan333 9🇩🇪 Germany319 10🇸🇬 Singapore193 11🇰🇷 South Korea189 12🇦🇺 Australia147 13🇨🇭 Switzerland123 14🇸🇪 Sweden94 15🇪🇸 Spain94

From this data, we can see that the U.S., China, and UK have established themselves as major hotbeds for AI innovation.

In terms of funding, the U.S. is massively ahead, with private AI investment totaling $335 billion between 2013 to 2023. AI startups in China raised $104 billion over the same timeframe, while those in the UK raised $22 billion.

Further analysis reveals that the U.S. is widening this gap even more. In 2023, for example, private investment in the U.S. grew by 22% from 2022 levels. Meanwhile, investment fell in China (-44%) and the UK (-14.1%) over the same time span.

Where is All This Money Flowing To?

Quid also breaks down total private AI investment by focus area, providing insight into which sectors are receiving the most funding.

Focus AreaGlobal Investment in 2023
(USD billions) 🤖 AI infrastructure, research,
and governance$18.3 🗣️ Natural language
processing$8.1 📊 Data management$5.5 ⚕️ Healthcare$4.2 🚗 Autonomous vehicles$2.7 💰 Fintech$2.1 ⚛️