The Week in Numbers: central banks, center stage
From a big week for central bankers, to why dogecoin felt the Musk effect, this is the Week in Numbers.
0.75 percentage points could be the total rise in U.S. interest rates next year. With inflation a worry, Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell signalled this week that rates would have to rise. But he says the economy can take it:
"Economic activity is on track to expand at a robust pace this year."
A day later the Bank of England went one better, becoming the first major central bank to raise rates since the global health crisis began.
$70 billion – that's how much Toyota will invest in electric vehicles by 2030. The world's biggest automaker is seen as a bit of a laggard on EVs, but Tuesday saw it unveil more than a dozen planned models.
Over 20% was the sudden jump in value for dogecoin, thanks to guess who. Elon Musk again put cryptocurrency markets in a spin after saying Tesla would take the meme-inspired coin as payments for some merchandise.
Over $15 billion could be the value of another meme-driven asset. That's the price tag message board platform Reddit is hoping for in a share sale. Its ad revenues almost trebled this year as it became the hub for frenzied discussion of GameStop and other meme stocks.
And $767 million is, or isn't, how much AI startup SenseTime will raise in a Hong Kong IPO. The Chinese firm pulled listing plans after it was added to a U.S. blacklist over allegations it aided surveillance of the country's Uyghur minority. But by late in the week, sources said the IPO would be back on before year's end.
