{"id":54820,"date":"2025-10-20T11:08:55","date_gmt":"2025-10-20T15:08:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/market-movers-apple-hits-record-high-canada-faces-recession-fears-crypto-giant-eyes-spac-ipo\/54820\/"},"modified":"2025-10-20T11:08:55","modified_gmt":"2025-10-20T15:08:55","slug":"market-movers-apple-hits-record-high-canada-faces-recession-fears-crypto-giant-eyes-spac-ipo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/market-movers-apple-hits-record-high-canada-faces-recession-fears-crypto-giant-eyes-spac-ipo\/54820\/","title":{"rendered":"Market Movers: Apple Hits Record High, Canada Faces Recession Fears, Crypto Giant Eyes SPAC IPO"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Key Takeaways<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Apple (<a href=\"\/stock\/AAPL\">AAPL<\/a>) shares surged 3.1% to hit a new record high, the first since December 2024, signaling robust investor confidence and analyst optimism for an AI-driven iPhone upgrade cycle.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>The Bank of Canada&#39;s Q3 surveys reveal persistent economic caution, with 64.1% of Canadians expecting a recession and 5-year inflation expectations rising to 3.67%, while firms face soft sales amid trade tensions.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>A prominent crypto giant is reportedly in discussions to go public via a SPAC, advised by Cohen &amp; Co., following a volatile valuation history ranging from $5.2 billion to $14 billion.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>TotalEnergies (<a href=\"\/stock\/TTE\">TTE<\/a>) is divesting its Greenflex affiliate to French group Oteis as part of a strategy to concentrate on energy production and supply, with TotalEnergies becoming a key customer for energy savings certificates.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Amazon Web Services (<a href=\"\/stock\/AMZN\">AMZN<\/a>) experienced widespread network connectivity issues in its critical US-East-1 region, impacting numerous global services, though early signs of recovery have been reported.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr>\n<p><strong>Apple Shares Reach New Record High<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Apple (<a href=\"\/stock\/AAPL\">AAPL<\/a>)<\/strong> shares climbed <strong>3.1%<\/strong> today, reaching a new record high for the first time since December 2024. This surge reflects strong investor confidence, with analysts at Loop Capital upgrading the stock to &quot;buy&quot; and raising their price target to a Street-high <strong>$315<\/strong>, citing &quot;surging demand&quot; for the iPhone 17. The company&#39;s prior all-time high was $260.10, set on December 26, 2024. This performance aligns with expectations of an <em>AI-driven upgrade cycle<\/em> for iPhones, which is anticipated to drive significant shipment expansion through 2027.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Canadian Economy Grapples with Recession Fears and Rising Inflation<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The <strong>Bank of Canada<\/strong>&#39;s latest Q3 surveys paint a cautious picture of the Canadian economy. The consumer survey revealed that <strong>64.1%<\/strong> of Canadians anticipate a recession within the next 12 months, a slight decrease from 64.4% in Q2. Concurrently, expectations for 5-year inflation have risen to <strong>3.67%<\/strong> from 3.45% in the previous quarter.<\/p>\n<p>Businesses also express subdued sentiment, with <strong>33%<\/strong> of firms expecting Canada to enter a recession over the next year, an increase from 28% in Q2. Expectations for growth in domestic and export sales remain soft due to ongoing trade tensions. While 35% of firms foresee lower labor costs over the next 12 months, only 14% expect higher costs. Furthermore, 27% of firms reported an outright decline in sales over the past 12 months, up from 24% in Q2, indicating persistent demand weakness.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Crypto Giant Explores Public Listing via SPAC<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>A major crypto giant is reportedly engaged in discussions to go public through a Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC), with Cohen &amp; Co. advising the potential deal. This development follows a period where the crypto firm&#39;s valuation experienced significant swings, ranging from <strong>$5.2 billion to $14 billion<\/strong>. The move could see the company join other crypto entities like Circle and Gemini in the public markets. Cohen &amp; Co. has a history in SPAC advisory, having been a leading advisor in the de-SPAC market in 2023.<\/p>\n<p><strong>TotalEnergies Sells Greenflex, Refocuses on Core Energy Business<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>TotalEnergies SE (<a href=\"\/stock\/TTE\">TTE<\/a>)<\/strong> has announced the sale of its Greenflex affiliate to the French group Oteis. This divestment is a strategic move by TotalEnergies to streamline its operations and <em>focus more intensively on its core activities of energy production and supply<\/em>. As part of the agreement, TotalEnergies will become a major customer of Greenflex, signing an energy savings certificate production contract. The sale aims to create a leading player in sustainable consultancy and solutions.<\/p>\n<p><strong>AWS Experiences Network Connectivity Issues in US-East-1 Region<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Amazon Web Services (<a href=\"\/stock\/AMZN\">AMZN<\/a>)<\/strong> confirmed that multiple AWS services experienced network connectivity issues in its crucial US-East-1 region. The outage, which began shortly after midnight Pacific Time (3:11 AM Eastern), affected a wide array of services and popular websites globally, including Signal, Coinbase, and Robinhood. AWS reported early signs of recovery for the connectivity problems and is continuing to investigate the root cause, which appeared to be related to a DNS resolution failure in DynamoDB.<\/p>\n<p><strong>France Unveils Draft 2026 Budget<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>France has presented its draft 2026 budget, which aims to reduce the country&#39;s budget deficit through a combination of tax increases and spending cuts. Key measures include a one-year extension of additional taxes on high earners and partial renewal of extraordinary taxes on large corporate profits. The budget also proposes a freeze on pensions and benefits in 2026, alongside not indexing income tax bands to 2025 inflation. The government is targeting a reduction in spending by approximately <strong>\u20ac30 billion<\/strong> and aims to limit the deficit to 4.7% of GDP.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Zelenskiy to Attend &quot;Coalition of the Willing&quot; Event in London<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy is scheduled to travel to London on Friday for a &quot;Coalition of the Willing&quot; event. This gathering is aimed at strengthening support for Ukraine and discussing security guarantees. The UK, alongside France and other European nations, has been developing this coalition to back a potential ceasefire and provide a peacekeeping force on Ukrainian territory should a peace deal be signed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Key Takeaways Apple (AAPL) shares surged 3.1% to hit a new record high, the first since December 2024, signaling robust 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