Facebook shares crash on young user exodus
Saxo Bank’s research shows the proportion of teens in the developed world using Facebook plummeted in the last decade. The social media site, once famed for poking, has gone from being a vibrant hub of young people to a platform for older “boomers”, it said.
This has not yet shown up in its total number of users due to its family of applications that includes Instagram and WhatsApp. It has 2.9 billion monthly active users.
However, the bank said this might be about to change, with the young abandoning Facebook’s platforms in protest at the mining of personal information for profit. “Facebook’s own research has suggested younger users spend two to three times longer on TikTok, a rival video app, than on Instagram,” the report added.
How will stock markets react?
Facebook parent company Meta will struggle with shares slumping up to 30pc. This becomes a drag on global and US stock market indices, given the company is one of the largest 10 companies in the world.
US inflation hits 15pc
Investor ease about rising inflation is based on a consensus that it will prove to be “transitory” and return to central bank targets of 2pc a year by spring 2022. But Saxo Bank said wages could keep rising to counter higher prices, creating a devastating inflationary cycle where prices keep rising to counter higher wage costs for companies.
The report said: “The US central banks believes millions of Americans will return to work and fill some of the 10.4 million vacancies as Covid-19 fades. But this may be plain wrong. Some have retired early due to the crisis and thus have permanently left the US workforce.
“Across sectors and income classes, workers could realise they are now more empowered than ever. They demand a better experience: better job conditions, higher wages, more flexibility and a sense of purpose from work,” Mr Jakobsen said.
