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- Posts
- Google Loses to Fortnite
Bulls, Bitcoin, & Beyond
Market Moves Yesterday
S&P 500 @ 4,643.70 ( ⬆️ 0.46%)
Nasdaq Composite @ 14,533.40 ( ⬆️ 0.70%)
Bitcoin @ $41,138.47 ( ⬇️ 1.97%)
Hey Scoopers,
Hey there, it’s Wednesday- a day filled with possibilities and your favorite newsletter!
Here’s what’s on the menu for today:
👉 Google’s lawsuit vs. EPIC Games
👉 The stock market recovery in 2023
👉 The recent Bitcoin sell-off
So, let’s go 🚀
An EPIC Victory Against Google?
In signature style, Epic Games danced out of the courtroom on Monday after the jury ruled against Google.
What does this mean?
Fortnite-maker Epic Games has been embroiled in a court battle with major app stores for years.
Source: Statista
Epic argued that a 15 to 30% cut on in-app purchases was nothing short of extortion – but Google maintained that was only fair play.
After all, the tech titan’s Play Store brings billions of shoppers within a click of Epic’s games for a limited cost, it says, so it deserves a chunk of change every time gamers upgrade their digital worlds.
Not according to the jury on duty, though, which cast doubt on Google’s claims of altruism and sided with Epic.
Why should I care?
Epic Games took on Apple back in 2020, but that didn’t turn out well for the gutsy developer. Apple won, and Epic is still waiting for its Supreme Court appeal to come to fruition.
So, on one hand, the ruling against the Play Store – and any restrictions that follow – could give Apple’s App Store an advantage.
On the other, the verdict might compel the Supreme Court to reassess the previous judgment, forcing Apple to suffer the same fate as rival Google.
How will it impact Google?
According to Wells Fargo, Google’s Play Store will earn $38.5 billion this year, accounting for 13% of total sales.
Epic’s victory could lead to Google changing its app store billing model. It would mean:
👉 Google can no longer force app makers to use its billing system in return for distribution on the Play Store
👉 Google may have to lower its commission on digital goods and services purchased within the apps
👉 The court may decide that Google will have to give other app stores more exposure on its Android ecosystem
The S&P 500 Closes In On All-Time Highs
Major indices in the U.S. climbed for the fourth consecutive session on Tuesday as Wall Street parsed through yet another round of inflation data, searching for clues on when the Fed would begin easing its monetary policy.
The S&P 500 index is now up 21.4% year-to-date and trades less than 3% below all-time highs.
Most of the gains in 2023 were driven by tech stocks part of the disruptive artificial intelligence space, such as Nvidia, Alphabet, Meta, and Microsoft.
Meanwhile, the consumer price index rose 3.1% year over year in November, in line with estimates, increasing optimism on Wall Street that interest rate cuts are on the horizon.
Bitcoin Prices are Pulling Back
Bitcoin prices are down over 5% this week after touching 20-month highs a few days back. Why?
First, the U.S. legislators have proposed a bill to crack down on crypto. Two days back, Senator Elizabeth Warren proposed a bill called the Digital Asset Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2023.
If the bill is passed, it would:
Impose KYC (know-your-customer) rules on non-custodial software products and wallets
Extend the BSA or Bank Secrecy Act requirements to digital wallets and other network participants, such as miners that facilitate crypto transactions
Warren has proposed more than 300 bills in the last eight years, but none of them have become laws.
Second, as crypto prices drop, highly leveraged players are forced to sell their assets, driving prices even lower.
However, these liquidation dominos are a common occurrence in the world of crypto and are part of every bull market.
Headlines You Can’t Miss!
Bank of England set to hold interest rates
China is on the verge of deflation
Samsung and ASML to invest $760 million in Korean chip plant
Argentina cuts subsidies, devalues currency
El Salvador issues Bitcoin freedom visa for $1 million
Chart of the Day
A report from RedFin states a homebuyer in the U.S. with a median income would have to spend 41% of earnings on monthly housing costs in 2023, up from 38.7% in 2022 and 21.1% in 2012.
The least affordable markets include usual suspects such as San Francisco, where homebuyers would have to spend over 80% of their pay on monthly housing costs.
Here are some fascinating numbers surrounding the U.S. housing market:
👉 Median monthly housing payment for homebuyers in 2023 rose 12.6% to a record of $2,715 in 2023
👉 Median household income rose just 5.2% in 2023, not high enough to offset the rise in housing costs
👉 Monthly mortgage costs for homebuyers soared in 2023 as the average 30-year-fixed mortgage rate hit a 23-year high of 7.79% in October
DISCLAIMER: None of this is financial advice. This newsletter is strictly educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell assets or make financial decisions. Please be careful and do your own research.