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

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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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All investments is highly speculative in nature and involves substantial risk of loss. We encourage our reader to invest very carefully. We also encourage reader to get personal advice from your professional investment advisor and to make independent investigations before acting on information that we publish. Much of our information is derived directly from information published by companies or submitted to governmental agencies on which we believe are reliable but are without our independent verification. Therefore, we cannot assure you that the information is accurate or complete. We do not in any way whatsoever warrant or guarantee the success of any action you take in reliance on our statements. All information provided are for education only. Buyer beware,do you own due diligence.

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