Wolf Money(world market review 26 April-5 May)

Chua Mia Tee Singaporean 1931-

National Language Class Circa 1959

National Gallery Singapore 

Market Summary 26 April – 02 May 2021

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+ US GDP grew at 6.4% seasonally adjusted annual rate in Q1

+ US unemployment claims drop by 13,500 to 533,000 in latest week, lowest since pandemic hit last March 

+ Biden pledges tax hike for rich, unveils US$1.8 trillion family aid 

+ Fed held key interest rate near zero, bond purchases 

+ US Senate overwhelmingly passes US$35bn water infrastructure bill 

+ US FCC will launch temporary US$3.2bn broadband subsidy for lower-income citizens

- US said China has fallen short on its commitments to protect US IP in Phase 1 trade deal 

+ US embassy in China to resume student visa processing May 4

+ US to ease Covid-19 restrictions rules for foreign students 

- Boeing reported loss US$537m, defense business profitable

+ Boeing asking Biden administration to establish good trade relations with China 

+ Berkshire Hathaway reported US$11.7bn profit in Q1, extended stock repurchases with US$6.6bn new buybacks 

+ Intel seeks €8bn in subsidies for European chip plant 

+ Tesla allowed 6 more mths to start production at its delayed factory in Germany

- Tesla car reportedly lost control and crashed into wet market in East China’s Jiangsu, injuring 3 

- Exxon retreated from oil trading amid pandemic 

+ ExxonMobil, Chevron both return to profitability in Q1

- Microsoft to take smaller cut from video game developers 

+ Amazon posted Q1 record profits to US$8.1bn, revenue exceeded US$108bn 

+ Disneyland in California finally reopened after >400 days of closure 

+ GM to invest US$1bn in Mexico to build EVs 

+ Ripple plans to go public after settling legal action with regulators brought by SEC 

- US lumber prices skyrocket 250% which could threatens housing affordability across the country 

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+ China’s growth projected at 8.1% this year, fueled by strong exports and recovery in household consumption: ADP

+ China’s industrial profit grew 92.3% YoY in March: NBS

+ China’s factory activity PMI fell to 51.1 in April from 51.9 in March: NBS

+ China’s April home prices maintain momentum, smaller cities lead growth: private survey 

+ Xi sends condolences to Modi, offers help to India over Covid-19 crisis 

+ China scrapped tariffs on certain steel products and raw materials to curb iron ore consumption and skyrocketing prices 

+ China’s railway passenger flow expects to surge by 6.1% from 2019 level on 1st day of May holidays, expects to see 25m passenger trips during holidays 

+ China’s big 5 banks boost profits, but margins shrink 

- China will be more willing to participate in global trade reforms if it does not feel being targeted by other countries: WTO chief 

+ Digital yuan expands from consumer payments to business scenarios in B2B and wage payments 

+ China strengthened crackdown on IP rights violations, approval among public IPR protection reached record high

- China summoned 13 internet firms with financial business, vowing to strengthen anti-monopoly supervision 

- China fines Tencent, Didi and 9 others for failing to disclose deals  

- China’s population may peak next year: state media

+ China’s gold-backed ETFs added 11.5 tons of gold in Q1 2021

- Huawei crashes out of global top 5 smartphone-makers, Q1 sales down 16.5%

- Alibaba frozen pay for senior executives in 2021, to give junior staff bigger salary increases 

- Tencent preparing substantial fine of at least 10bn yuan antitrust fine 

- Meituan could face serious penalties after antitrust probe

+ PetroChina swing back to profit of US$4.3bn in Q1, best quarterly profit in 7 years 

+ JD Logistics seeking to raise up to US$4bn has been given green light for HK IPO 

- Hainan Airlines posted biggest-ever annual loss among listed Chinese firms of US$9.9bn for 2020 

- HK govt annual deficit at HK232.5bn for year ended Mar 31 2021 

+ HKEX seeking to lure more firms seeking secondary listings as it proposes to ease listing rules 

+ HK private home prices hit 20-mth high 

+ HK reopens bars, nightclubs to ppl vaccinated against Covid-19  

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- Japan’s industrial output hit 7-year low in fiscal 2020 due to pandemic 

- Japan saw biggest decline in job availability in 46 years in fiscal 2020, unemployment up 1st time in 11 years  

+ Japan approved RCEP in another step forward for the implementation of world’s biggest free trade pact 

- Japan is lagging behind developed world with just 1.15% of ppl vaccinated 

+ Japan to introduce ‘vaccine passports’ for international travel 

+ Toyota’s global sales hit record up by 31.6% on US and China, recovery rose for 7th straight mth YoY 

- ANA posted record net loss of US$3.7bn for biz year   

+ Russian exports settled in US dollars fell below 50% for the first time in last qtr 2020 

+ Russia’s Arctic LNG 2 plant expected to get 50% more investment to US$6bn this year 

+ Cloud computing spending hits US$42bn worldwide in Q1

+ Copper prices hit US$10,000 for the first time in decade

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+ EU prepares to raise €800bn to finance recovery 

- Eurozone economy contracted by 0.6% in Q1 as countries implemented new lockdowns and restrictions 

+ EU Parliament voted to give formal approval to the agreement EU-UK trade deal 

- EU regulators reportedly charge Apple with anti-competitive behavior, could cost Apple 10% of global revenue

- EU introduced new, tougher criteria to tighten vaccine export control 

+ ECB set to adopt hybrid home-office work post-pandemic: Lagarde 

+ Airbus booked bottom-line net profit of €362m in Q1, compared with loss of €481m a year earlier  

- Germany moving forward its plans for stricter foreign investment control laws 

- German economy contracted 1.7% in Q1 as lockdown dampens consumption

- Germany faces lockdown until June as curbs fail to lower Covid-19 cases: Reuters 

+ Germany will spend 90% of €28bn from EU’s €750bn recovery fund on climate protection and digitalization 

- German software giant SAP agreed to pay >US$8m in penalties to US for violating laws with Iran exports 

+ Germany-China to hold 6th round of govt talks to build up cooperation: Chinese FM

+ BoE likely to slow bond purchases as economy rebounds 

- Oxford University spinoff Vacciteh that designed AstraZenca’s Covid vaccine tumbled 25% below IPO offering in US debut   

+ UK house prices jumped by 2.1% in April, biggest monthly rise in >17 years, after tax break extended 

- London’s Heathrow airport loss widen to £329m

+ SCB net profit jumped 115% to US$1.03bn in Q1

+ AstraZeneca’s revenue reached US$275m in Q1 

+ Royal Dutch Shell reported adjusted earnings of US$3.2bn in Q1, raised dividend by around 4%

+ France aims to reopen except nightclubs by July 

+ BNP Paribas’ application to set up brokerage securities firm in China has been accepted by regulator 

- UBS Gp said it lost US$774m from implosion last mth of Archegos Capital 

- Turkey tightens control on crypot firms after 2 exchanges collapsed 

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- India recorded >401,000 new Coivd-19 cases in 24 hrs, taking total case count to 19.1m in the country  

+ India’s domestic investors, including mutual funds and insurance companies, bought shares worth US$1.31bn in Apr mth 

+ South Korea’s exports jumped 41% in April YoY on upbeat shipments of chips, cars, highest growth in 10 years 

- Samsung heirs to pay billions, donate Picasso works to settle tax bill 

- Saudi may sell 1% of Aramco to an unnamed energy major: crown prince 

- Sri Lanka declares worst economic downturn in 73 years due to Covid-19 

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+ Indonesia GDP growth forecast at 4.5% amid caution over Covid-19 surge, vaccinve dealy: ADB

+ Indonesia hospitals boom as borders stay shut, affected Singapore medical tourism  

+ Gojek and Tokopeida announced merger details, combining various digital businesses under new company called GoTo

- Thailand reduced 2021 economic growth forecast 2nd time this year to 2.3% from 2.8% 

+ Thailand’s export prospect and new state-private vaccination plan may boost 1.5-3% GDP growth: Chamber of Commerce  

- Vietnam Airlines reported highest quarterly loss of US$215.6m in company history 

- Malaysia PM’s visit to Singapore postponed due to rise in Covid-19 cases in both countries 

- Malaysia to impose 2-week new Covid-19 movement curbs, with bazaars and schools to close: sources 

+ Malaysia clinched major oil palm deal with Saudi Arabia 

- Sg govt urged ppl to reduce social interactions and warned of tougher action if infections spread wider 

+ Sg growth could exceed 6% in 2021, but recovery will be more uneven across sectors: MAS  

+ MAS to offer S$42m in tech-adoption grants for financial sector 

- Singapore developers should brace themselves for cooling measures ahead: UOB KayHian 

+ Sg total employment up for the first time in Q1 since pandemic outbreak: MOM 

- Sg to have emergency legislation to address severe disruption to construction sector amid Covid-19   

+ Sg PayNow linked to Thailand’s PromptPay, allowing funds transfers ‘within a matter of minutes’ 

+ DBS profit surged 72% in Q1 to record S$2.01bn, to cut office space by 20% in next few years   

+ OCBC reviewing office space needs may cut down on number of branches 

+ UOB considering downsizing office space, but not expect major reduction in real estate: CEO

- SCB considers downsize its office space in Singapore, could become biggest floor cuts by a bank in recent years 

Contribution by Derek@valueinvestments chat group. Thank you.

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