Xi Jinping Faces Protests, Doge Tops 10 Cents, Elon Musk's 'Alternative Phone' And More: 5 Key Stories You May Have Missed From The Weekend

Developments in COVID-19-hit China and activity in the cryptocurrency space provided some life to the otherwise light activity during the long weekend due to the Thanksgiving holiday. Here’s a recap of a few major headlines that hit the wire over the weekend:

1. Doge Spikes: Dogecoin DOGE/USD extended the rally that began on Wednesday even as most other major cryptos were locked in a lackluster phase. The meme coin broke above the $0.10 psychological resistance on Sunday for the first time since Nov. 8, although it pulled back below the mark at the close. The upside was loosely linked to rumors that Elon Musk and Vitalik Buterin working together on upgrading Dogecoin.

2. China’s COVID-19 Curse: As China grapples with intermittent COVID-19 outbreaks, the government has been strict with its zero COVID-19 policy. This has put people in the country under enormous hardships. The fallout of the policy has become too great to bear that people have begun openly protesting against the Xi Jinping regime, and even calling for his stepping down. Against this backdrop, Goldman Sachs economists expect the Communist Party to roll back the policy by April, reports say.

3. Resilient Consumers Ebullient In Spending: The economy may be on the brink of a recession and the central bank has not shown any signs of relenting despite the risks. Notwithstanding these, U.S. consumers, who drive two-thirds of the economic activity, continued to splurge. Data released from Adobe Analytics showed online shopping rising a modest 2.3% on Black Friday to a record $9.12 billion. The firm also predicted that “Cyber Monday” would be the season’s and year’s biggest online shopping day yet again.

See Also: A $1,000 Investment In Apple Just After Thanksgiving Could Be Worth This Much By The End Of The Year

4. Musk’s Warning To Apple, Google: Musk mooted the idea of launching a new smartphone in the eventuality of Apple Inc. AAPL and Alphabet Inc. GOOGL GOOG deciding to boot Twitter out of their app stores. Although hoping that things don’t come to that, he said he will make an alternative phone if left with no other option.

5. Oil Collapses Amid Demand Woes: Crude oil futures, which were holding up despite economic uncertainties, pulled back to their lowest in about a year. The immediate trigger has been the protests in China over the COVID-19 curbs. A barrel of WTI-grade crude oil touched a low of $73. 61 on Monday’s session, a level not seen since Dec. 27, 2021.

What Else: As Tesla Inc. TSLA prepares to begin deliveries of its semi-electric vehicle trucks, billionaire Bill Gates got a special invite from Musk to drive the newest offering from the company’s stable.

ICYMI, Benzinga carried a list of Gates’ recommendations of five books just in time for the holidays.

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