Beat the Street: Fed countdown; UAW; Chevron; Instacart; Google’s last-ditch attempt

(Partial Video Transcript)

North America feels inflation pinch

In this exciting video of Beat the Street, Angeline Ong talks about what's happening in the financial markets. The big focus is on the Federal Reserve (Fed), which is going to make a decision about interest rates. This decision is important because it gives us an idea of what the central bank is planning to do in the future.

There's also a lot of talk about strikes happening in the US by the United Auto Workers (UAW). These strikes are getting a lot of attention in the news. And let's not forget about Google: they are trying really hard to get rid of a big fine they received from the European Union (EU) for unfair business practices.

When the stock market opens, it's expected to be a bit quiet because investors are waiting to hear what the Fed has to say. People are also worried about oil prices going up because it's getting colder outside. Last week, it was reported that there were more building permits given out in the US than expected, and inflation in Canada was a bit higher than expected. This has some people worried about inflation in North America.

BoE expected to raise interest to fight inflation

Experts think that the Fed will keep interest rates the same for now, but they might give some hints about raising them later in the year. The value of the US dollar and the price of oil are important things to keep an eye on too. Meanwhile, in Australia, the central bank thought about raising interest rates, but decided not to. The Bank of England, on the other hand, is expected to raise interest rates to fight against inflation.

A big concern right now is the strike by the UAW. They're not happy with the Detroit auto companies and are planning more strikes if things don't change. This strike could have an impact on the stock market. There's also a strike happening at Chevron's liquefied natural gas (LNG) export facilities in Australia, which is adding to the market worries.

Recently, Instacart made a lot of money by going public, which means they sold shares of their company to the public. Google is making a final effort to get rid of a huge fine for doing unfair business practices in Europe. Investors are watching closely to see what happens with Google's parent company, Alphabet.

Overall, the markets are being careful right now, but things could change depending on what the Fed says and what happens with the strikes and antitrust cases.