💪 Microsoft and Alphabet triumphed

Tech titans showed their dominance | Europe may be headed for a recession | [Finimize](   TOGETHER WITH   Hi {NAME}, here's what you need to know for October 25th in 3:15 minutes.   📈 You don't need to do this alone. Join TPP for [Accessible Strategies For Effective Trading]( on October 26th, and take part in an exclusive workshop designed to uncover accessible trading strategies and elevate your expertise. [Grab your free ticket]( Today's big stories - Microsoft and Alphabet both beat quarterly revenue expectations, but their cloud divisions had diverging results - One of these five overlooked investment tools could be the perfect match for your style – [Read Now]( - Activity in the eurozone’s private sector saw a bigger-than-anticipated decline in October Break In The Clouds [Break In The Clouds] What’s going on here? Microsoft and Alphabet both announced expectation-beating quarterly revenue on Tuesday, even though the firms’ cloud divisions broke away from each other. What does this mean? Microsoft flew past Wall Street’s projections when it reported results late on Tuesday, announcing that revenue came in just above $56 billion last quarter, 13% higher than the same time last year. That was mainly down to strong showings in the tech titan’s Azure cloud computing division and office software businesses. Alphabet will be envious of that, mind you. The cloud sector over at Google’s parent company fell short of estimates, mustering up a roughly 22% uptick over the quarter versus 28% the one before. Why should I care? For markets: Big Tech, bigger expectations. Investors expect a lot from Big Tech, which means major companies are measured against lofty targets. Microsoft’s banking on artificial intelligence (AI) to smarten up business in the long term, which explains why the firm’s poured cash into ChatGPT’s creator OpenAI and got to work on its own chatbot. Looks like that’s already paying off: those AI-assisted quarterly results will have comforted investors’ worries that the cloud business – Microsoft’s biggest moneymaker – might be running out of steam, and given them more reason to trust the tech firm’s master plan. The bigger picture: It’s nice for some. Alphabet may have had issues with its cloud business, but the company can comfort itself with promising digital advertising results. That’ll bode well for rivals like Meta, Amazon, and Pinterest too, suggesting that companies are still willing and able to splash out on ads on social media sites. So far, so good for Big Tech, then: while plenty of businesses have been all but wiped out by market conditions and high interest rates, major tech companies have managed to hold relatively steady. And sure, they may come under fire if their AI endeavors still aren’t bearing fruit next year, but if you believe that stock-squashing interest rates have topped out, then there’s no reason to doubt Big Tech’s power going forward. You might also like: [Can Microsoft hold onto its crown?]( 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=Break In The Clouds&utm_campaign=daily-global-25-10-2023&utm_source=email) Analyst Take Five Underrated Tools, One To Fit Every Investor Type [Five Underrated Tools, One To Fit Every Investor Type]( By Theodora Lee Joseph, CFA, Analyst There’s [a lid for every pot](, or so they say. And in financial markets, that certainly seems to hold true. Whether you’re a “set it and forget it” investor, a value investor, or a nervous one, you can usually find [a fund that suits you]( – even when the economic backdrop is a bit worrying. However, you might not have considered these ones: here are [five under-the-radar investment tools](. That’s today’s Insight: [five underrated investment tools, and the investing styles that match them best](. [Read or listen to the Insight here]( SPONSORED BY MASTERWORKS This painting sold for $8 million – and everyday investors made the profit Master artist [Claude Monet’s painting]( was bought for $6.8 million. And when it was sold for $8 million just 631 days later, [Masterworks investors]( with shares in the offering received their share of the net proceeds. All thanks to Masterworks: an [award-winning platform for investing in blue-chip art](. To date, each of Masterworks’ 16 sales from its portfolio has returned a profit to investors. In three recent sales, investors realized net [annualized returns of 17.6%, 21.5%, and 35%](. See, since Masterworks files with the SEC, you can [invest in coveted artwork for a fraction of the price](. Shares of every offering are limited, but Finimize readers can skip the waitlist with [this exclusive link](. DisclaimerPast performance is not indicative of future returns, investing involves risk. See disclosures masterworks.com/cd [Find Out More]( When you support our sponsors, you support us. Thanks for that. Siesta Time [Siesta Time] What’s going on here? Activity in Europe’s private sector [dozed]( off in October, and that laissez-faire attitude might put the economy into a deep sleep. What does this mean? Whether businesses are busy or not can tell you a lot about the economy. That’s why analysts keep a keen eye on the purchasing managers' index (PMI), which turns survey answers from business managers into hard numbers. And according to the latest results, Europe’s economy is going from bad to worse: the PMI dropped to a three-year low of 46.5 in October, well below the 50-mark that indicates shrinkage and defying expectations for a slight increase from September. Combine that sluggish start to this quarter with economists’ assertions that the economy shrank last quarter, and the region’s most likely headed for a recession – that is, two consecutive quarters of negative growth. Why should I care? For markets: No commitment issues in sight. After hiking economy-bruising interest rates at the last ten consecutive meetings, the European Central Bank may use that PMI data to justify a pause when it meets on Thursday. But don’t take that as the beginning of the end: with European inflation more than double its target and energy prices on the rise due to renewed conflict in the Middle East, the central bank’s expected to keep rates where they are, or slightly higher, for a while to come. The bigger picture: The breadwinner’s back. Germany is usually the provider of Europe, even though the country's needed a helping hand lately. This week, though, the International Monetary Fund said that Germany is set to overtake Japan as the world’s third-biggest economy, spurred on by the Japanese yen sliding against both the dollar and euro. According to those projections, Germany’s economy should hit $4.4 trillion this year, coming in around $200 billion meatier than Japan’s. You might also like: [What "higher for longer" interest rates means for your portfolio.]( 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=Siesta Time&utm_campaign=daily-global-25-10-2023&utm_source=email) Engagement is more important than ever Your business spends a lot of money to [win over customers](. Thing is, that's just a waste if they don't make use of your products and services. You need [engagement](: customers that use, love, and tell others about what you do. The right content can get you exactly that – and luckily enough, we can help you [make the right content](. At Finimize, we craft some of [the industry’s most engaging financial content]( – trusted by over a million individual investors and 300-plus institutions – every single day. [This 29-page guide]( takes you through our strategic content creation, from concept to text and audio delivery, so you can [tailor your own content strategy and fire up your engagement rates](. [Get The Guide]( 💬 Quote of the day "All I ask is the chance to prove that money can't make me happy." – Spike Milligan (an Irish comedian, writer, and musician) [Tweet this]( SPONSORED BY ORACLE Prepare your business for uncertainty Business leaders are facing a real problem. 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Your dating life needs a restart. These [experts can help](. When you support our sponsors, you support us. Thanks for that. 🌍 Finimize Live 🥳 Coming Up In The Next Week... All events in UK time. 💰 [Money Matters: Her Wealth Roadmap](: 5pm, October 25th 📈 [Accessible Strategies For Effective Trading](: 5pm, October 26th 🍷 [Acquiring A Taste For Rare Wine Investments](: 5pm, October 30th 🤝 [Peer-to-Peer Lending: The Next Opportunity:]( 5pm, October 31st 🧰 [Mastering Tools for The Modern Trader](: 5pm, November 2nd 🎉 [Modern Investor Summit 2023](: 12pm, December 5th and 6th ❤️ Share with a friend Thanks for reading {NAME}. If you liked today's brief, we'd love for you to share it with a friend. You stay classy, {NAME} 😉 We’d love to hear your thoughts. [Give feedback]( Want to advertise with us too? 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