Week of 07/03-07/07 Meta Launches Threads, June Unemployment Report Cause Stocks to Fall

Meta launched its text-based platform called "Threads" on Thursday July 5, 2023 as a direct competitor to Elon Musk's recently acquired social media Twitter. The battle between Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk might end up settling in a courtroom as lawsuits pile up and millions of users switch to the new platform. Threads was able to gain 30 million users within the first 24 hours of launching the social platform.

Mixed signals were seen in the stock market on Friday as investors digested the released June unemployment report. As much as a strong labor market signals an resilient economy, a healthy employment rate will most likely halt the recent inflation slowdown and in turn drive the FED to increase interest rates again. The economic conditions the country is experiencing makes investors worry that if inflation remains above 2%, the annual target for the FED, it would force policy makers to raise interest rates even further than expected. This is worrisome as the risk for a recession is higher than ever since inflation remains elevated. The recent market AI tech rally has brought optimism to the future of the market, but many analysts and economist are not as confident on the sustainability of these prices.