The stakes this week couldn't be higher as Big Tech gets ready to dominate earnings season. While third quarter reports will pour in from every corner of the market, results from Microsoft, Alphabet, Meta, Apple, and Amazon are likely to define near-term market direction. Combined revenue growth of the megacaps is expected to have slowed to just under 10%, compared to a 29% increase in 2021 that took sales to $1.4T.

The IRS has raised the amount that Americans can set aside for retirement in their 401(k) and other tax-deferred plans next year. Beginning in 2023, workers will be allowed to contribute up to $22,500 to their 401(k), an increase of $2,000, or about 9.8% — the biggest jump since 2007, when the limit was $15,500. The IRS makes such cost-of-living adjustments annually, but in times of painfully high inflation, the increases are more significant and impactful for taxpayers.

China’s economy grew well below target in the last quarter, sending stock markets lower as the country enters a new political era following the appointment of President Xi Jinping to an unprecedented third term. The delayed release of gross domestic product data showed that the second-largest economy in the world grew by 3.9 per cent in the three months to the end of September compared with the same period last year. The announcement follows the conclusion of the Communist party’s 20th congress in Beijing over the weekend and the appointment of Xi to a third term in power, making him China’s most powerful leader since Mao Zedong.