Good evening.
Markets climb, Bitcoin moves above $20k, and extreme fear is driving financial markets.
Let's dive in.
Markets
Here are today's market moves:
What Happened?
U.S. stocks climbed on Wednesday as investors digested minutes from the Fed's last meeting.
The central bank is on track to continue raising interest rates, with a 0.50% or 0.75% hike likely this month.
The stock market remains in extreme fear as investors grow worried about a looming recession:
U.S. GDP in the first quarter fell 1.6% and is projected to decline 2.1% in the second quarter. That would put the economy in a technical recession.
The crypto market climbed on Wednesday, with Bitcoin stabilizing near the key $20,000 level.
Catch Up
The 500 richest people in the world have lost $1.4T this year as global markets plunged.
Tech layoffs massively accelerated in the first half of the year, rising from 5,700 in April to 27,000 in June.
Mark Zuckerberg recently warned employees that "this might be one of the worst downturns we’ve seen in recent history.”