The World This Week So Far

The World This Week

There’s been a lot going on in the world as of late. While most of the headlines consist of cryptocurrency, President Trump, and various companies around the globe pivoting into the blockchain industry, there are a number of other things that are worth mentioning.

Today, we are going to look at all that has happened in the world this week, leading up to Wednesday, January 17. However, before we begin, we have to mention what happened on Saturday, January 13, because, well, you’ll see.

Saturday, January 13

On Saturday, the people of Hawaii received an alert on their iPhones that stated that a ballistic missile was heading towards the state, telling the population to “seek immediate shelter,” adding that the alert was “not a drill.”

However, minutes later, the alert was retracted, with a number of political leaders coming forward and saying that the alert was a mistake. But, as one could imagine, the damage had already been done.

The state was sent into a mad panic, with some reports saying that people were running out of brunch screaming and that one family was sitting in their bathtub with their children praying.

Monday, January 15

Despite experiencing a number of losses recently, Bitcoin jumped almost 5% on Monday, allowing the digital currency to trade above the $14,200 mark.

Meanwhile, Ripple, another cryptocurrency that has made a name for itself as of late, dropped significantly, trading close to $1.81, which then caused its market cap to drop to $70 billion. This might not sound like a bad market capitalization, but there’s a considerable difference when you think about the fact that Ripple reached a market cap of $123 billion earlier this month.

Tuesday, January 16

Tuesday was a busy day. Sure, the rest of the week might surpass it in terms of announcements, but I think investors will be keeping in mind all that was announced on the 16th as they move into next week.

First, Bitcoin plunged today. Despite increasing on Monday, the price of the virtual currency dropped below the $10,000 mark on the Coinbase exchange.

Second, there was another “accidental” incoming missile alert sent to the population of Japan on Tuesday. Just days after Hawaii experienced a similar warning, Japan’s public broadcaster announced that North Korea had launched a missile, telling its citizens to take shelter.

Five minutes later, the broadcaster retracted the message.

Third, McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) announced that it plans to have fully recycled packaging by the year 2025.

There was a lot of other stuff announced on Tuesday as well, like the Dow Jones hitting the 26,000 mark for the first time, and Nestle (OTC:NSRGF) planning to sell its business for $2.9B to Ferrero, which is the maker of Nutella.

Additionally, President Trump went on yet another Twitter (NYSE:TWTR) rant, in which he criticized fake news, and the southern border, stating that it is “very dangerous,” and that a “great wall” needs to be put up in order to protect the United States.

Last but not least, the energy sector experienced some green Tuesday, after two companies announced that they would be moving into the blockchain industry. SPI Energy (NASDAQ:SPI), which actually announced the move on Monday, saw its stock go up 61.39%, while Recon Technology (NASDAQ:RCON), which disclosed the move on Tuesday, saw its stock shoot up 96.48% at one point during the trading session.

The Takeaway

After a heavy news day on Tuesday, it will be interesting to see what happens throughout the rest of the week.

Featured Image: Depositphotos/© Rawpixel

About the author: Caroline Harris is a third-year student at Capilano University in North Vancouver, Canada. Having already completed an Associates Degree in Psychology, Caroline is now finishing her Bachelor's degree in Communications. In preparation for working in the advertisement sector, Caroline is writing financial content and analysis. On a daily basis, Caroline works on articles regarding the following topics: finance, cryptocurrency, technology, and politics.