| Powell says high prices should wane, soothing global markets. Microsoft joins Apple in the $2 trillion dollar club. Developing nations are being hit by vaccine shortages. Here's what you need to know to start your day. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the price increases seen in the economy recently are bigger than expected but reiterated that they will likely wane. The Fed chair said "a pretty substantial part, or perhaps all of the overshoot in inflation comes from categories that are directly affected by the re-opening of the economy such as used cars and trucks." Fed officials responded last week to increasing inflation risks by pulling forward their expected timing and pace of interest-rate increases, while also kicking off a discussion of when to taper asset purchases. The Fed's sudden hawkish shift has thrown China a curveball, just when it's seeking stability. Asian stocks are set for a steady open after Powell's reassuring comments. The S&P 500 climbed a second day, while the dollar and Treasury yields dropped. Futures were little changed in Japan and Australia, and rose in Hong Kong. Oil fell on reports that Russia and other OPEC+ nations are considering raising production in the wake of a tightly-supplied global crude market, and Bitcoin rebounded after tumbling below $30,000. Microsoft took its place in the history books as just the second U.S. public company to reach a $2 trillion market value, buoyed by bets its dominance in cloud computing and enterprise software will expand further in a post-coronavirus world. Its shares rose as much as 1.2% in New York on Tuesday, enough for the software company to briefly join Apple as one of only two companies trading at such a lofty value. Microsoft has gained 19% so far this year, outperforming Apple and Amazon as investors piled into the stock on expectations of long-term growth for both earnings and revenue, and expansion in areas like machine learning and cloud computing. A string of nations across Asia and Africa have run out of Covid-19 vaccines or are on the brink of doing so, months after receiving first shipments from a global program meant to equitably distribute the lifesaving shots. A WHO adviser said that of 80 lower-income countries across the globe that have received vaccines through the program, about 40 are either out of vaccines or on the verge of running out. Meanwhile, New Zealand isback on high alert amid fears Covid may have crept back into Wellington; the world's financial centers are struggling to return to the office; and Morgan Stanley has told its New York staff they will need to be vaccinated to return to the office. Chip-starved industries from automakers to consumer electronics will need to wait even longer for components, as delays in filling orders continue to worsen. Chip lead times, the gap between ordering a semiconductor and taking delivery, increased by seven days to 18 weeks in May from the previous month, according to research by Susquehanna Financial Group. That gap, already the longest wait time since the firm began tracking the data in 2017, is now more than four weeks longer than the previous peak in 2018. Shortages of semiconductors have been felt the most in the automotive industry, while many electronics makers, including the biggest companies such as Apple, have been unable to meet all of the demand for their products. What We've Been ReadingThis is what's caught our eye over the past 24 hours: And finally, here's what Tracy's interested in todayBitcoin on a log-scale is becoming something of a Rorschach test: people see whatever they want to see in it. Take a look at the below chart, which logs the y-axis in order to smooth out Bitcoin's bubbly-looking price spikes and its terrifying price falls. There seem to be several reactions to it:  — Bitcoin bulls typically see a reminder of how far they've come, moving from a value of $0 to $30,000. Once logged, Bitcoin's volatile ups and downs look a whole lot smoother and the cryptocurrency, according to Bitcoin enthusiasts, makes a lot more sense over the long-term. Even Bitcoin's recent dramatic price drop, from almost $60,000 to less than $30,000, looks and feels better on a log-scale. — Bitcoin bears, meanwhile, are reminded of how much further there is to go on the drop. While Bitcoin has halved its value in a short time-frame, its price has still gone up exponentially over a longer time-frame, and all of that progress could still be erased. — Then there are the technical analysis obsessives. They see a head and shoulders pattern that signals a massive trend reversal, suggesting that the big Bitcoin rally that started in late 2020 is shuddering to a halt. I don't have a lot to add here, I just find it interesting to see the different reactions that the same chart can provoke. It's a nice reminder, per Peter Atwater, president of Financial Insyghts, that even though it's identical for Bitcoin, a $30,000 price drop can be viewed very differently by different people from a 50% price decline. You can follow Tracy Alloway on Twitter at @tracyalloway. | 
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