Here are today's main business stories:

• 🧺 U.S. food prices fell in December 2023, leading to hopes of interest rate cuts in 2024.
• 📈 Microsoft's market cap reached $2.887T in Friday's closing trade hours, surpassing Apple.
• ✈️ Delta Air Lines lowers its 2024 financial forecast.

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U.S. food prices fell during December 2023, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. Experts estimate lower prices could lead to interest Rate cuts this year.

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• Food prices fell by 0.9% in December 2023. The cost of eggs fell 20.5%, a product that surged 71.2% in price in the last few months.
• The producer price index dropped 0.1% in December 2023, which is the third consecutive month a cost drop has been recorded.
• Overall, goods prices dropped 0.4%, with the cost of diesel fuels leading the way with a 12.4% cost drop.
• Experts estimate that if deflation continues, it could lead to interest rate cuts by the U.S. Federal Reserve System.
• The latter is targeting a 2% inflation rate before lowering the current 5% interest rate.

Delta has lowered its earnings forecast for 2024, even though it doubled its quarterly profit in Q4 2023. The company's share price dropped by 9% following the announcement.

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• Delta reported $2.04B in net income in Q4, an increase from the $828M it reported for the same period in 2022, showing a strong post-pandemic recovery period. 
• According to the company's prediction, its annual earnings per share will not surpass $7, while it was previously expected to surpass the figure in 2024.
• In 2023, the company's stock price surged 20%, making more than 1.6 million flights for millions of passengers.
• The stock's price on closing hours stood at $38.47, while the share prices of United, American, and Southwest also dropped following Delta's announcement.
  • Delta stock's all-time high is $63.16.

Global shipping rates are continuing to rise following the Red Sea crisis. The situation is expected to worsen following the US and UK attacks on Houthi rebels.

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• Following consistent attacks by the Houthi rebels against many shipping companies that were carrying cargo in the Suez Canal, the US and UK have carried out a military response in the last few days.
• The world's largest shipping companies, such as the MSC and Maersk, have all previously announced that they are going to avoid shipping through this region.
  •  12% of global trade is done through this area, while MSC carries out nearly 20% of all global trade.
• Rates for a 20-foot container on the Shanghai-Europe route surged to $3,103, an 8.01% increase compared to last week.
• Rates on 40-foot containers on the US West Coast soared to $3,974, a  43.2% increase compared to last week.
• This increase in shipping has led to worries over a new inflation crisis at a time when global markets are slowly recovering from price increases caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

EU investigators are set to launch a probe on BYD, Geely, and Saic over the potential implementation of protective tariffs, according to reports. Non-Chinese EV companies will not be investigated.

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• The investigation will last around 13 months and will aim to determine whether Chinese EVs, which are cheaper, are receiving state benefits that make European cars inferior and unable to compete. 
• China has claimed that the measures taken by the European Union are "protectionist."
• The investigation will include visiting the manufacturing plants of BYD, Geely, and Saic.
  • These visits will be carried out from January 2024 up to April 2024.
• Last week, China launched an anti-dumping investigation on EU-made brandy. The measure affects mainly France, the EU's second-largest economy.

Quick Hits:

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• Italy-based D-Orbit has raised a $110M Series C funding round led by Marubeni, with participation from Avantgarde, CDP VC, Seraphim Space Investment Trust, United Ventures, etc. D-Orbit is a space logistics company that has flown 70 payloads into orbit.
• NASA and Lockheed have presented the X-59, a supersonic jet that could fly at a speed of 925 MPH without making the noise that supersonic jets are usually associated with. The plane is still in the experimental phase.
• Regardless of Burberry's significant share price drop compared to the same period in 2023, some fashion industry experts claim that the company's crisis could lead to an increase in investor interest.
• Smart investors are generating passive income by selling their shareholder voting rights.Register on Shareholder Vote Exchange to start earning.*

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