Hala,
🏆✨ The Golden Globes brought the drama and comedy! Big wins include “The Brutalist” for Best Drama and “Emilia Pérez” for Best Musical/Comedy. Adrien Brody snagged Best Actor, while Brazil’s Fernanda Torres clinched Best Actress(1) — but no awards for Dune II or Wicked, eh? 😅 💔
Stock Market Update
🚀🎇 Wall Street shook off its New Year blues as tech stocks saved the day — Nvidia soared 4.7% and Super Micro jumped 10.9%. The S&P 500 rose 1.26% to 5,942.47, the Dow added 0.8% to 42,732.13, and the Nasdaq 100 climbed 1.67% to 21,326.16.(2) Tech clearly brought its cape! 🦸♂️✨
📊📶 Meanwhile, UAE stocks wrapped up mixed: Dubai slid 0.5% to 5,127 on profit-taking, while Abu Dhabi stood still at 9,323.(3) ⬆️⬇️
amana’s Take
- Investors, buckle up — this week’s data is coming in hot. Here’s what could shake the markets:
- Germany’s CPI (Monday, 1:00 PM UAE) — the eurozone’s heavyweight steps on the scale. If inflation’s high, the European Central Bank might hit the panic button. If it’s low, well…ECB President Christine Lagarde gets to breathe a little easier. Either way, all eyes are on Berlin.
- U.S. Non-Farm Payrolls (Friday, 5:30 PM UAE) — America’s job machine rolls out its report card. Expect markets to hinge on those 150,000 jobs — miss the mark, and Fed rate hawks might start looking nervous. Hit it, and Wall Street celebrates (for a minute).
- China’s CPI & PPI (Wednesday, 6:30 PM UAE) — Beijing serves up its inflation and factory price numbers. With the world rooting for a little stimulus magic, any surprise here could send ripples from Shanghai to Silicon Valley.
🚖🤖 Shifting Gears: Uber and Lyft Embrace Robotaxi Future!
Uber and Lyft, once the star drivers of ride-hailing, have made a screeching U-turn, ditching their driverless ambitions to buddy up with the pros. Now, they’re revamping like sports cars in a pit stop, partnering with Waymo and May Mobility to get a slice of the robotaxi action.(4) With new app features letting riders honk horns and pop trunks remotely, these companies are shifting into high-tech overdrive. Buckle up — the race for autonomous dominance is just getting started! 🚗⚡
🔧📲 Rev Your Engines: Robotaxi Revolution Features
- New Tech in Action: Open trunks, honk horns, and adjust AC — all from your phone.
- Expanding Fleets: Waymo rides debuting on Uber in Austin and Atlanta, with Lyft joining the party in Atlanta via May Mobility.
- Support Systems: Depots with lightning-fast internet, EV chargers, and trained staff to handle everything from lost items to lidar tweaks.
- Market Strategy: Uber signed Waymo for exclusive rides in select cities to keep competitors in check.
- Consumer Curiosity: Tourists flocking to Waymo for luxury rides in Jaguars, but Uber and Lyft retain their share with evolving offerings. 🛠️📈
🌐⚙️ Staying in the Race
This tech revamp isn’t just a joyride — Uber and Lyft aim to future-proof their platforms while maintaining a balance of human-driven and autonomous options. But with analysts forecasting a decade before robotaxis dominate U.S. streets, there’s still plenty of road ahead. For now, the question remains: will these robotaxi alliances shift the industry or simply navigate around its growing pains? The ride-hailing giants are banking on being copilots in the driverless revolution. 🌟🚀
Closer to Home
- 🚀 Abu Dhabi’s GDP flexed its muscles, growing 4.5% in Q3 2024 to AED301.8B ($82.2B), with the non-oil sector sprinting ahead by 6.6%.(5) Looks like progress is running on high gear! 💪
- 💨 UAE’s non-oil private sector hit the gas in December, with PMI racing to 55.4 from November’s 54.2 on strong demand — the fastest in nine months.(6) The upward trend marches on! 📊
- 📈 Still in UAE, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum revealed that UAE’s 2024 GDP is set to hit AED1.7T ($462.8B), with foreign trade soaring past AED2.8T ($762.3B) for the first time.(7) Talk about starting 2025 with a bang. 💥
What Else Is Trending
- ✨ U.S. manufacturing showed sparks of life in December, with PMI hitting a 9-month high of 49.3, but higher tariffs loom like a plot twist. Production’s up, but the mood’s a mix of hope and “slowdown blues.”(8) ⚙️
- 🛢️ Meanwhile, oil prices wrapped up the week on a high note, fueled by China stimulus hopes and softer U.S. interest rates. Brent rose 0.76% to $76.51, while WTI soared 1.13% to $73.96, with 3% and 5% weekly gains, respectively.(9) Smooth moves! 💧
- 💰 Lastly, spot gold cooled off, dropping 0.7% to $2,637.78 an ounce after hitting a three-week high on December 13, weighed down by a robust dollar.(10) 💸
💬Quote of the Day
“It’s not something you can do by flipping a switch.” — Andrew Macdonald, Uber Senior VP of Mobility
Build your plan: https://amana.app/campaigns/amanainvest
Sources:(1) The Guardian, (2) (9) (10) CNBC, (3) (8) Reuters, (4) The Wall Street Journal, (5) (7) Middle East Economy, (6) Zawya
