We’re halfway through 2022 (um, how?!) which so far has felt like stepping out of the frying pan(demic) into the fire. 🍳 But while the US S&P 500 index had its worst first half in more than 50 years, there’s a select few winners to be found. Yup, we’re talking energy. 

Energy was the only sector in the S&P 500 able to ignite a positive return in the first half of the year, thanks to a slick of rising oil prices. Shares in big oil producer and Buffett favourite, Occidental Petroleum (OXY), delivered a ‘soaring’ 95% return, chased by Valero Energy (VLO) rising 40% and Exxon Mobil (XOM) up 37%. While the rest of us double over in pain at the sight of prices at the pump 🤮, oil price hikes have made EV owners the other big winners of 2022. 

It’s pain that probably can’t be fixed by our hugely overworked hospitals, but in the US the healthcare sector had some of the best performing shares outside of energy. Shares in Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) and Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY) got a double shot of adrenaline, rising by 29% and 24%, respectively. 💉

Meanwhile, the rest of us have been getting our adrenaline kicks from the box office, where Paramount’s (PARAA, PARA) Top Gun: Maverick has been the highest flying hit of 2022 so far, raking in US$1 billion. The losers? Big streamers which have crashed and burned. Netflix (NFLX) was the worst performing stock of the S&P 500 in the first half of the year with shares plummeting down 70%. For Disney (DIS), losing Mickey may be the least of their concerns, with their shares melting down 39%. And the US$100 million CNN+ streaming service was shut down just weeks after launch. Great balls of fire! 🔥

And while it’s probably a stretch to call Kiwi savers ‘winners’ following rising interest rates, some households have swapped savings accounts for term deposits to the tune of NZ$1.5 billion. This shot up total deposits nearly 8% in a year - the fastest increase in 14 months. 👑 Onwards!