Technical difficulties

It was a tough month for the US tech sector, despite some strong quarterly earnings. Amazon’s live streaming service Twitch was hacked, leading to a major data breach. Snap fell almost 25% in one day, warning of a dip in advertising revenue caused by a change to Apple’s privacy rules. This also hit Facebook, adding to a six hour global outage of its main apps, including Instagram and WhatsApp. The company later apologised for a ‘faulty configuration change’, which left frustrated users none the wiser. Meanwhile, a whistleblower testified to Congress that Facebook has placed ‘profits over safety’.

The last best chance

The UN Conference on Climate Change, or COP26, began in Scotland, attended by leaders of almost 200 countries from across the world. There were notable absences, namely the presidents of China and Russia, who together produce a third of global emissions. Plans for achieving net zero emissions by mid-century will focus on phasing out coal, ending deforestation, promoting the use of electric vehicles and developing renewable energy technologies. Meanwhile, at the Youth4 Climate meeting, teenage activist Greta Thunberg called for action after ‘thirty years of blah, blah, blah’.

Consumer prices up

The price of energy continued to surge, further raising concerns over the recovery, even as inflation expectations threaten to become embedded. In Europe gas prices jumped 18% in one day, as hopes of a boost to supplies from Russia were dashed. The Q3 earnings season brought mixed reports. Pent up demand post-pandemic remains strong. But with blocked supply chains, rising commodity prices and eye-watering increases in shipping costs, it was inevitable that consumer goods companies, such as Nestlé, Proctor & Gamble and Unilever, would announce price increases. And they could quickly trickle down to supermarket shelves.