Wolf Money(world market review 22-28 May 2023)

The Children’s Biennale from 27 May 2023-31 March 2024@National Galley Singapore

 

Market Summary 22-28 May 2023

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- US inflation rose 0.4% in Apr and 4.7% YoY; key gauge for Fed 

+ US consumer spending up 0.8% in Apr, beats expectations

+ Biden and McCarthy reached a tentative deal to raise federal govt US$31.4 trillion debt ceiling to avert default 

+ McCarthy: I expect a majority of House Republicans to vote for debt-ceiling bill 

+ US debt ceiling deal keeps non-defence spending roughly flat until FY 2024: Reuters 

- US House voted to block Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan

+ US economic growth in Q1 revised up to 1.3% annual rate from previously estimated 1.1% 

- Fed emergency lending to banks fell in latest week to lowest level since banking crisis began in Mar

- USD share of official gold and foreign currency reserves dropped to nearly 3 decades low of 58% in Q4 2022

- US won’t tolerate China’s ban on Micron chip: commerce secretary 

- JPMorgan cutting about 500 employees this week across various depts 

+ Musk’s brain implant firm Neuralink says it’s gotten approval from US regulators to begin testing its device in ppl  

+ Moderna said looking for opportunities in China after confirming it had registered a legal entity  

- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals filed new lawsuits against Pfizer and Moderna over infringe Covid-19 patents 

+ Nvidia close to being first trillion-dollar market value chip firm on AI use 

- Nvidia CEO warns chip war would cause enormous damage to US tech 

- Meta fined US$1.3bn over transfer of EU user data to US 

- Guess reportedly bought back its 30% share for Russian local partner for €8m, consolidated 100% of Russian business after deal approved by US Treasury Dept 

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- China’s industrial profits down 20.6% YoY in first 4 mths: NBS 

+ China’s C919 passenger plane completes inaugural commercial flight form Shanghai to Beijing 

+ China and South Korea agreed to strengthen talks and cooperation on chip industry supply chains 

- China’s new home prices will see slower growth this year: Reuters poll 

- China steel rebar prices hit lowest in 3 years this week on demand woes 

- China’s leading credit agency CCXI (JV with Moody’s) downgrades sovereign credit score for US by one notch 

+ China gp of >130 representatives from local govts and enterprises starts first visit to US in 3 years 

+ China world’s largest photovoltaic (PV) power station project construction starts in Xizang to boost regional development   

+ China has 2.73m 5G base stations; user base world’s largest 

+ China bought nearly 89,000 tons of refined aluminium from Russia in Apr, up by 200% YoY 

+ China-Laos railway taken >16m trips since line opened in Dec 2021 

+ China allowed Morgan Stanley to set up China futures unit 

- Wanda weighing sale up to 20 shopping malls in wealthy areas of China as debt mounts 

- Lenovo net profit decline 21% to US$1.16bn for year ended Mar due to further weakening demand for personal computers 

+ HK to allow crypto trading in licensed exchanges starting from Jun 

+ Macao’s GDP rose by 38.8% YoY in Q1, lifted by resumption of gp tours from Chinese mainland  

- Taiwan lowers 2023 GDP growth forecast to 2.04% from earlier 2.12% growth forecast 

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+ Japan’s net balance of external assets hit record US$3 trillion in 2022, up 0.2% YoY

- Japan to freeze assets of 78 gps and 17 individual including army officers link to Russia and ban some exports 

+ SoftBank mooted plan to move into private credit 

- Russia timber export declined in Q1, down >20% to 4.5m cubic meters, attributed to EU sanctions 

+ Russia restoring sales of fertilizers to int’l markets, could return to levels of 2021, when exports hit record highs

+ Argentina economic chief to fly to China for swap line talks 

+ Solar power investment expected to overtake oil for the first time this year; clean energy spending outpaces fossil fuels: IEA 

- Coffee prices skyrocket; wholesale costs of robusta beans at highest level in nearly 12 years: Bloomberg 

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- Eurozone manufacturing activity shrank to 3-year low in May, key PMI index plunged to 36 mths low to 44.6 from 45.8 in Apr 

+ ECB readying proposed design for digital version of the euro

- Europe largest cargo port of Rotterdam, Hamburg, Antwerp reported significant decrease in container volumes due to Russia sanctions 

- EU gas consumption reportedly decrease by 60 bn cubic meters in 2023 compared to average last 5 years 

- EU considering sending profits form frozen Russian assets to Ukraine: FT

- German economy entered recession as Q1 GDP data revised lower from 0% to -0.3%; also recorded -0.5% in Q4 2022 

- UK Apr inflation at 8.7% in annual terms, slid below 10% first time since Aug last year  

+ UK govt seeking agreement with supermarkets to cap basic food items like bread and milk to tackle inflation 

- France formally banned domestic flights on short routes can be covered by train in <2.5hrs at reducing airline emissions 

- Italy still mulling whether to pull out of China pact: PM

- Finland terminated long-term natural gas contract with Russia’s Gazprom after unable to resolve payments issue 

- Portugal cybersecurity council could bar telecom operators from using Chinese equipment in high-speed 5G mobile networks 

+ Turkey polls close in presidential run-off 

- Ukraine will significantly raise transit fees for Russian oil running through its territory to EU 

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+ Hyundai, LG Energy to build US$4.3bn EV battery plant in US

+ Saudi Arabia in talks to join China-based BRICS bank: FT

+ Saudi imported 174,000 barrels diesel n gasoil a day from Russia in Apr vs 137,000 in Mar, supplies of fuel are being sent to EU 

+ UAE replaced UK as top destination for bullion from Russia 

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+ Indonesia recorded surplus of US$6.5bn in its balance of payments in Q1, up by US$1.8bn from previous qtr  

- Indonesia’s economic growth to decline under 5% for 2023 fiscal year: HSBC 

+ Thailand’s Chinese tourist arrivals reached 1m this year 

- Vietnam to cut annual rice exports by 44% to 4m tonnes by 2030 

+ Vietnam’s central costal province Binh Dinh seeking central govt approval for US$2.3bn steel plant project 

+ Malaysia’s inflation eases to 3.3% YoY in Apr, lowest in 11 mths 

+ Malaysia mulling the notion of establishing a Johor-Singapore economic region to strengthen state’s economic potential 

- Ringgit recent weakness due to global cues, not local economy: central bank 

+ Malaysia to boost domestic food production, reduce reliance on imports 

- Sg GDP grew 0.4% in Q1 vs 2.1% in previous qtr, external demand outlook for the rest of year weakened

- Sg downgrades 2023 full-year forecasts for both NODX and total merchandise trade on weaker-than-expected Q1 growth

- Sg factory output fell 6.9% YoY in Apr in 7th straight mth of contraction: EDB

- Sg services receipts industry grew 7.9% YoY in Q1, down from revised 11.7% in Q4, 3rd straight qtr of decline 

+ URA released 2 residential sites expected to yield 1125 units n short-term lease commercial site for sale under H1 GLS 

+ Sg int’l visitor arrivals continued to exceed 1m in Apr for 2nd straight mth this year to 1.13m 

Contribution by Derek@valueinvestments chat group. Thank you

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