Ainvest's Top 10 News Of 2024: In A Truly Dramatic Year, What Have We Seen?

When the crystal ball was dropped on Times Square on midnight of January 1st, 2024, not many of us would expect 2024 to be this dramatic: In a span of 12 months, we already witnessed a ballistic missile "shootout", a failed assassination, a return of the "convicted" president, and the emergence of world's first person to own $400 billions worth of money.

Yes, a lot of things happened in this year, and many people may wonder why 2025 can't come soon enough, but before we formally step into 2025, we say let's take a final look at 2024, and see what actually happened in the past 12 months.

A 'Further Escalated' Middle East

In April 2024, tensions in the Middle East escalated. On April 1st, Israel launched an airstrike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus, Syria, resulting in the death of 13 people, including 7 Iranian military personnel. In retaliation, Iran fired missiles and drones at Israel on April 14th. The conflict attracted global attention, prompting an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council, with Iran warning Israel and the United States against further actions. In the following months, Israel also carried out decapitation operations against leaders of multiple armed forces, including Hamas and Hezbollah.

The sudden increase in tensions in the Middle East has impacted the global financial market: the prices of assets such as gold and crude oil have become a focus, and it is believed to have significantly affected the commodity prices in countries struggling with inflation, such as the United States and European nations, thereby influencing the global economy and markets.

Trump 'Dodged A Bullet'

On July 13, 2024, at 18:15, former U.S. President Donald Trump survived an assassination attempt at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania. A gunman fired at Trump from a high position, injuring his right ear and causing the death of two innocent people and serious injuries to two others. The gunman was killed on the spot by the Secret Service. The incident was classified as an assassination attempt and is being investigated as a murder case.

This event shocked the United States, with many political figures, including the incumbent President Joe Biden, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, former President George W. Bush, and several other individuals, as well as entrepreneurs like Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg, publicly condemning the attempt and expressing their condolences for Trump's injuries.

The most important result of this failed assassination attempt is it provided a crucial boost to Trump's campaign: It not only led to Elon Musk's high-profile announcement of joining Trump's campaign but also helped Trump shape an image of a defender of American values and a guardian of the United States through media and Internet, significantly changing many Americans' views of the former president.

Japan's Shocking Interest Rate Hike

At the end of July, the Bank of Japan (BOJ) surprised global markets by raising its policy interest rate from the previous 0-0.1% range to 0.25%. The BOJ also signaled plans to scale back its bond-buying program in the future. This move led to a significant unwinding of the popular yen carry trade—a strategy where investors borrow yen at low interest rates to invest in higher-yielding assets. The immediate impact of this decision was dramatic, with the Japanese yen appreciating sharply from a low of 161 yen per US dollar in July to 141 yen per dollar. Meanwhile, Japan's Nikkei 225 index plummeted more than 20% from its historical high of 42,500 points to around 30,000 points. The volatility triggered a global sell-off in equities.

However, the BOJ reassured the market, stating that it would not hike rates further during periods of market instability and reaffirming its commitment to maintaining an accommodative monetary policy. As market panic subsided, asset prices stabilized, with US stocks hitting new highs and Japanese equities recovering some of their losses.

Fed's First Rate Cut In 4 Years!

On September 18th, the Federal Reserve officially announced a 50 basis point interest rate cut, lowering the federal funds rate target range from 5.25% to 5.5% to 4.75% to 5%, marking the first interest rate cut in the past four years. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell stated that the rate cut aims to prevent tightening from harming the labor market and maintaining low unemployment in the context of easing inflation. This rate cut holds indicative significance among global central banks.

Overall, the Federal Reserve's rate cut has significant implications for both the global and U.S. economies: it provides monetary policy adjustment space for countries closely linked to the U.S. economy, does not lead to a large-scale outflow of global capital from the U.S. in the short term, and reduces the cost of U.S. dollar financing for emerging markets, attracting international capital inflows, driving local economic growth, but also increasing global debt risks and monetary policy divergence.

Analysts believe that this rate cut marks the peak of the global tightening cycle and will reshape global capital allocation and asset pricing. After the rate cut, the attractiveness of U.S. dollar assets weakens, easing the pressure of capital outflows and currency depreciation in emerging market economies, while benefiting U.S. Treasury bonds and gold prices, and boosting the prices of risky assets. For the U.S., a weaker dollar enhances the resilience and export competitiveness of U.S. manufacturing, alleviates the asset depreciation pressure on financial institutions, reduces liquidity risks, and helps expand fiscal policy space and reduce government debt burdens, positively affecting the upcoming U.S. elections and fiscal policies in the new term.

SpaceX Caught a Rocket With 'Chopsticks'

On October 13th, Elon Musk's SpaceX successfully achieved another feat—capturing and recovering a returning test flight booster rocket with a launch pad mechanical arm, marking an important step towards a fully reusable launch system for the company's super-heavy rocket. Analysts believe that SpaceX's successful chopsticks-style recovery brings the Starship closer to the goal of controlling future launch costs within a few million dollars and theoretically greatly reduces the cost of human access to space in the future, as this technology is expected to enable unlimited reuse of rockets, making all costs related to rocket launches, except for fuel, approach zero.

Many industry insiders view this successful recovery as a sign that the human space industry is about to undergo disruptive innovation. The success of Falcon rockets, Dragon spacecraft, Starlink, and Starship, indicates that Musk's efforts over more than 20 years have begun to take shape, establishing a vast commercial space empire, and raising SpaceX's valuation to about $350 billion, making it the world's most valuable unicorn company.

'MAGA Win, Trump King'

Trump absolutely sent A MESSAGE in the 2024 presidential election: Not only had he swept all seven swing states, but he also led the Republican Party to regain control of the Senate.

Throughout the whole counting process, Trump secured an early lead by securing the electoral votes of traditional Republican strongholds such as Alabama, Mississippi, and Tennessee, and further consolidated his leading position with victories in Ohio and Iowa. Later in the swing states, although Harris maintained an early lead in many areas, Trump caught up and ultimately overtook with a significant advantage as rural and remote area votes were counted.

In addition to the big win in the presidential election, the Republican Party also seized four seats in the Senate race, increasing their seats to 53 and becoming the majority party in the new Senate. At the same time, the Republican Party also maintained its majority in the House of Representatives, meaning that in the next four years, the Republican Party will once again control both the Senate and the House of Congress.

The results of Trump's victory and the Republican sweep of Congress are believed to bring a surge in the capital market, as Trump's tax-cutting agenda may provide substantial boosts to U.S. companies, especially stocks in the traditional energy and banking sectors. Trump also stated in his late-night victory speech that he would fix all of America's problems upon returning to the White House and create another  golden age of America.

Another day, Another 'Short-lived' South Korean Crisis

In an unexpected move, South Korean President Yoon Seok-youl declared martial law for the first time in nearly 50 years, sending shockwaves around the globe. Six hours later, the National Assembly voted unanimously to overturn the declaration, and the martial law was swiftly lifted. Following this political upheaval, South Korea's stock market and the Korean won experienced significant declines, while other major assets showed minimal movement. Shortly thereafter, President Yoon faced an impeachment motion, leading to his immediate suspension from office. In response, South Korea's central bank took decisive action by injecting liquidity into the financial markets, committing to provide unlimited liquidity amid the growing political turmoil. This intervention helped stabilize South Korean assets, allowing prices to gradually recover.

You Read It Right! Bitcoin Is Over '$100K' Now!

Bitcoin also adds some 'flavor' on 2024: On December 5th, Its price finally surpassed the $100K, reaching another significant milestone. This year, Bitcoin has surged by an impressive 160%, outperforming all other asset classes.

Several factors have contributed to this meteoric rise, with the election of a pro-crypto president, Donald Trump, being a major catalyst. Trump's cabinet, composed of crypto supporters, is seen as a favorable development for the cryptocurrency market. Furthermore, the anticipated departure of SEC Chairman Gary Gensler, a known crypto adversary, in January is another reason for optimism among investors. President-elect Trump has also announced plans to establish a national Bitcoin reserve, aiming to accumulate 1 million BTC over five years. Meanwhile, Russia's President Vladimir Putin has proposed using Bitcoin reserves to replace traditional foreign exchange reserves, citing Bitcoin's inability to be banned.

The growing support for Bitcoin is further reflected in the significant investments from firms like Macrostrategy, as well as the rising popularity of Bitcoin ETFs, which are nearing the size of gold ETFs, driving further bullish sentiment in the market.

One & Only: Musk Becomes World's First Billionaire To Reach $400B Net Worth

The big winner from Donald Trump's election victory, aside from Trump himself, is none other than Elon Musk. Musk, a staunch supporter of Trump, saw his wealth surge in the wake of the president's success. Tesla's stock price hit new highs, with the company's market value soaring as Musk's net worth increased significantly. As of December 11th, Bloomberg's Billionaires Index shows Musk's net worth at $447 billion, placing him far ahead of other global billionaires. Musk's wealth is now nearly double that of the second- and third-richest individuals, Jeff Bezos ($249 billion) and Mark Zuckerberg ($224 billion). The Trump victory has certainly propelled Musk into a new echelon of wealth and influence.

Assad's Government Became The Latest Falling Regime

The Syrian civil war, which began in 2011, has finally shown signs of resolution. The country's opposition forces have ended the Assad family's more than 50-year rule, taking control of most of Syria and establishing a transitional government that will govern until a provisional administration is formed. Investors view this latest development as another step toward peace in the Middle East. Syria's strategic geographic location makes this particularly significant. With the opposition now in power, the Red Sea region is expected to stabilize, allowing cargo ships to transit the area more safely. This would help reduce global shipping costs and ease inflationary pressures. Furthermore, as a major oil-producing country in the Middle East, Syria's improving political stability ensures a more reliable oil supply, which should drive oil prices lower.