Markets are flat as a pancake in the early going. Investors and traders in stocks, bonds, precious metals, and more are loathe to make any big bets while they await more news on the debt ceiling front.
Speaking of which, talks continued over the weekend, with representatives of both sides ping-ponging between optimism and pessimism about the discussions. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and President Biden talked via phone on Sunday and will be meeting again today to try to hash things out.
Markets, naturally, are continuing to pay close attention. Investors are trying to figure out if a debt default is a real possibility and if so, when it might happen. Analysts at Goldman Sachs Group (GS) said June 8 or 9 would be the likeliest “drop dead date,” though it’s possible the federal government’s cash hoard could dip below the crucial $30 billion minimum as soon as June 1.
European authorities slapped Meta Platforms (META) with a record 1.2 billion euro ($1.3 billion) fine over its data collection efforts. Specifically, the social media giant drew fire for collecting data on European users and sending that to US-based servers. Europe says that allows US authorities to spy on Europeans without them having any recourse.
Finally, the US-China technology trade battle heated up over the weekend. China warned that products sold by US chip giant Micron Technology (MU) “have serious network security risks to China’s critical information infrastructure supply chain.” The government warned Chinese companies to stop buying chips from Micron, causing MU shares to slide in the early going.
