AMTD Digital, a little-known fintech company based in Hong Kong and listed on the NYSE (HKD) surged over 1500% in five days during last week’s trading. Since its IPO earlier this year in July, the company’s stock has surged from US$7.80 to a high of over US$1670 for a market cap of over $300 billion – well over that of fintech giants like Paypal or Stripe. The meteoric rise in HKD’s price has been attributed to a combination of low share float and high demand – a portion of which has been from retail investors. AMTD Digital became the most-mentioned stock on Reddit, the social media platform that was instrumental to the rise of meme stocks like GameStop and AMC in 2021. As of writing, HKD is trading over 30% lower at $1100.

Weak Demand from the World’s Largest Shipping Company

Dutch shipping firm Maersk has given guidance on demand slowdown for 2022, saying that it loaded 7.4% fewer containers year-on-year for Q2. Maersk is the world’s largest shipping company by the number of ships, and its volume is seen as a barometer of global trade. The company has warned that the slowdown has been especially pronounced in Europe, where goods have been building up in ports and warehouses. This comes as Maersk confirm estimate-beating profits on soaring freight costs. 

US Senate Democrats Pass Far-Reaching $430 Billion Package

The US Senate has narrowly passed a bill on Sunday to put $430 billion towards combating climate change, healthcare, and tax relief. The bulk of the sum, over $300 billion, will be going towards clean energy initiatives and incentives. The package also includes legislation to allow Medicare to negotiate prices with drug companies, potentially lowering prices of medicine. Funding for the package was raised through a new 15% minimum tax on large corporations.