🖕 Facebook's no fan of Apple

What happened to Big Tech solidarity? | HSBC believes in China, even if you don’t | [Finimize]( Hi {NAME}, here's what you need to know for October 26th in 3:13 minutes. 🧐 We’re not letting you forget about inflation for a second, but we promise it’s for your own good. Join VantageFX’s Tawfiq Al Rabi for [How To Defend Against Inflation]( on Monday, and find out how to keep inflation’s grubby little mitts off your hard-won returns. [Get your free ticket]( Today's big stories - Facebook announced mixed results, and new regulations are lurking around the corner - The energy crunch is actually less of a crisis and more of an opportunity in one particular region – [Read Now]( - HSBC’s quarterly results beat expectations, and the bank’s still putting its faith in China Open Secret [Open Secret] What’s Going On Here? Facebook [announced]( mixed earnings late on Monday, so the social media giant would really appreciate it if you could just give it a little look-see into every aspect of your life. What Does This Mean? Facebook’s monthly active users rose by just 6% compared to the same time last year, bringing the total to 2.9 billion. That’s not ideal given that the company makes most of its money from selling its users’ attention – nor were Apple’s recent privacy changes, which are making it tricky for advertisers to target the right customers. That might be why Facebook’s revenue climbed by a weaker-than-expected 35%, and why its outlook for this quarter came in below forecasts too. Still, Facebook’s shares did climb 3%, and there could be a couple of reasons why. For one thing, the impact of Apple’s changes wasn’t exactly news to investors: the writing was on the wall from Snapchat’s [disappointing]( update last week. And for another, Facebook promised to buy $50 billion more of its own shares, which will reduce the number available and push up the value of those left over. Why Should I Care? For markets: Facebook’s problems are just getting started. Facebook’s got more worries than iOS: the US is toying with the idea of a new agency dedicated to overseeing Big Tech, and regulators are due to reassess whether its acquisition of Instagram and WhatsApp should ever have gone ahead. No surprise, then, that Facebook’s shares had underperformed the wider market by 15% in the three months before the results. The bigger picture: Money Toks. Recent leaks from within Facebook revealed that the number of under 30s using the platform in America is dropping, and that Instagram’s growth among younger users looks like it’s peaked. That’s a big deal: advertisers will ditch the platform in a heartbeat if they think there’s a cooler kid on the block. And there definitely is: the report showed TikTok users are spending twice as much time on the Gen Z favorite as they are on Facebook. You might also like: [Can Big Tech keep adapting to survive?]( Copy to share story: [( 🙋 [Ask a question](mailto:questions@finimize.com?body=Ask us a question: Where are you writing from? Let us know and we'll mention it when we reply.&noapp=true&subject=Open Secret&utm_campaign=daily-global-26-10-2021&utm_source=email) Analyst Take At Least These Sky-High Energy Prices Are Good For One Country’s Stocks… [At Least These Sky-High Energy Prices Are Good For One Country’s Stocks…]( What’s Going On Here? You’d be hard-pressed to find a country that’s enthusiastic about the [global energy crunch](. But [one emerging market]( might be feeling pretty smug about the whole thing, exposed as it is to the ebbs and flows of the energy industry. And given that we seem to be heading into a [potentially decade-long]( period of high demand and struggling supply, this country – and [its stocks]( – could keep firing on all cylinders. Not just because of the energy crisis either: its stocks are [looking cheap](, its finances are among [the safest]( of all the EMs, and analysts are [gaining]( confidence in its companies. (And nope, we’re not talking about oil powerhouse Saudi Arabia.) So that’s today’s Insight: which emerging market stands to do so well out of the energy crunch, and [how you can profit from its time at the top](. [Read or listen to the Insight here]( SPONSORED BY BITTREX Never miss a crypto beat You need to be on your toes as a crypto trader. Trends, after all, can turn on a dime. And with [Bittrex](, time is of the essence: you’ll get access to real-time data for [more than 250]( of the most popular crypto markets, and you’ll be able to [track]( over 100 tokens. And the moment the winds start to shift, you can take advantage of Bittrex’s lightning-fast trades and its [Instant Buy & Sell]( feature to [take advantage of every move](. Better still, Bittrex protects you and your trades with [multiple layers of protection](, because there’s no time to second-guess security when markets are on the move. [Never miss a moment with Bittrex](. [Try Lightning-Fast Crypto Trading]( Self-Discovery Channel [Self-Discovery Channel] What’s Going On Here? HSBC [announced]( strong quarterly results on Monday, but the British bank thinks its best chance of truly finding itself might still lie in China. What Does This Mean? HSBC, like [plenty]( of other banks, set aside a massive pot of cash to safeguard itself in case borrowers couldn’t pay back their loans last year. But like plenty of other banks, it was feeling confident enough last quarter to inject a substantial portion back into its business: $700 million worth, to be precise. That pushed its profit up 74% compared to the same time last year – way beyond the 23% analysts were expecting. There might be more where that came from: global central banks are looking more and more likely to start raising interest rates, which should boost the income HSBC makes on the loans it offers. That’s given the firm a skip in its step: it announced on Monday that it’d be buying back $2 billion worth of its own shares, and said there might be more to come ([tweet this](). Why Should I Care? Zooming in: HSBC isn’t giving up on China. HSBC has been cutting back on its underperforming US and European businesses since the start of the year, and instead putting the money toward its most profitable region: Asia. The bank even admitted on Monday that China is still a big draw, arguing that issues in the country’s property market – we’re looking at you, [Evergrande]( – won’t actually have any long-lasting effects on the world’s second-biggest economy. Zooming out: But Goldman might be… Goldman Sachs, meanwhile, said on Monday it’s expecting China’s economic growth to take a hit next year if the government keeps cracking down on once-booming sectors like real estate and tech. And it put its mouth where its money is: the investment bank downgraded its 2021 forecast for China’s economic growth from 5.6% to 5.2%. You might also like: [How to profit from HSBC and the other major bank stocks.]( Copy to share story: [( 🙋 [Ask a question](mailto:questions@finimize.com?body=Ask us a question: Where are you writing from? Let us know and we'll mention it when we reply.&noapp=true&subject=Self-Discovery Channel&utm_campaign=daily-global-26-10-2021&utm_source=email) 💬 Quote of the day “You only have to do a few things right in your life so long as you don’t do too many things wrong.” – Warren Buffett (an American business magnate, investor, and philanthropist) [Tweet this]( SPONSORED BY GROUNDFLOOR Welcome to the property club [Property investments]( used to be a money-maker reserved for only the richest investors. But with [Groundfloor](, you can [build a real estate portfolio]( without forking out a fortune. In fact, you can start with a minimum investment of just $10. You can even use automatic investing so your free time stays free. And if it’s all new to you, Groundfloor’s [investment wizard]( can help you choose your investments wisely. Groundfloor has helped investors bring in [returns of 10.5%]( on average over the past six years. 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