Weekly Market Update - 5 June 2023
Crude Prices Soar
Crude prices soared and energy stocks led gains in Europe after Saudi Arabia said it will make an extra 1 million barrel-a-day supply cut in July, taking its production to the lowest level for several years. Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said he “will do whatever is necessary to bring stability to this market” following a tense OPEC+ meeting over the weekend. The rest of the 23-nation bloc offered no additional action, leaving Saudi Arabia potentially sacrificing further market share to stabilize the market.
Source: Bloomberg
US Large Lenders
Large lenders in the US may face a 20% increase in capital requirements — a revision that could be proposed as early as June, according to the Wall Street Journal. Banks with at least $100 billion in assets may have to adhere to the new requirement, lower than the existing $250 billion threshold, for which regulators have reserved their most stringent rules, according to the report, which cited people it didn’t identify. Michael Barr, the Federal Reserve’s vice chair for supervision, has previously said US officials are reviewing bank capital requirements.
Source: Bloomberg
Apple Vision Pro
Apple has unveiled its long-awaited mixed-reality headset, testing whether consumers are ready to spend big bucks on a technology that the company sees as the future of computing. The iPhone maker revealed the new Vision Pro headset at its annual Worldwide Developers Conference and said it will cost $3,499 when it hits the shelves next year. So far, investors are skeptical. Shares were down 0.8% at $179.58 by the close in New York. The company also debuted a 15.3-inch MacBook Air, which sports the M2 chip and offers 18 hours of battery life, along with new versions of the Mac Studio and Mac Pro desktop machines. On the software side came new iPhone and iPad operating systems, adding features that let users make diary entries and turn their idle phones into smart displays, and a Mac OS named Sonoma.
Source: Bloomberg