Wolf Money(World market review 8-14 Jan 2024)



 Juan Luna Philippines 1857-1899

 Woman in Manton circa 1880s

Collection of Ayala Museum, Manila

Gift of Mercedes Zobel McMicking 



Market Summary 8-14 Jan 2024

*USA* 

- US annual inflation rate went up to 3.4% in Dec from 5 mths low of 3.1% in Nov, vs forecast of 3.2%, core CPI at 3.9% YoY  

- US federal budget deficit reached half a trillion dollars in first 3 mths of new fiscal year started Oct 1 2023, up by 21% 

+ US core PPI, exclude food and energy costs, remained unchanged for 3rd mth in Dec, up 1.8% on yearly basis in Dec 

- US producer prices declined 0.1% MoM in Dec, goods cost down 0.4%, 3rd consecutive decline, mainly due to 12.4% fall in diesel

+ US applications for jobless benefits fell to lowest level in 12 weeks 

- FAA is launching an investigation into Boeing’s quality control

- Trump’s potential election as US president is “clearly a threat” to Europe: ECB Christine Lagarde 

- JPMorgan CEO: Cryptocurrencies facilitate illegal activities such as money laundering, insisted that digital should be banned 

+ Microsoft on Thursday briefly unseated Apple as world’s most valuable publicly traded company in early trading 

- US continued to buy Russian oil, imported nearly 10,000 barrels of Russian crude worth US$749,500 in Nov 23: RBK 

- Google confirms it just laid off around thousand positions across its Pixel, Nest, Fitbit, Core engineering and Assistant teams 

+ Tesla officially launched its new mega factory project capable of producing 10,000 Megapacks a yr in Shanghai 

+ BlackRock buys infrastructure firm GIP for US$12.5bn in major alternatives push 

- JPMorgan reported a decline in quarterly profit due to US$3bn charge for deposit insurance 

+ Citigroup revealed plans for 20,000 job cuts by 2026

 - BoA reported lower Q4 earnings due to hefty one-time charges 

+ Intel ready to roll out AI-focused chip for automotive sector 

- Hertz said will sell 20,000 EVs and use the proceeds to buy traditional gas-power engine cars; Hertz ordered 100,000 Tesla in 2021 for its rental fleet 

*SOUTH AMERICA* / *GLOBE*

+ Argentina permitted to tap IMF US$4.7bn bailout as part of debt restructuring plan even though it missed targeted to its US$43bn loan program 

- Argentina’s annual inflation tops 211%, highest since early 1990s 

- Cuba to end state oil subsidies, to hike gasoline and diesel prices by 500%, to reduce country’s large budget deficit 

+ Bitcoin hits 2-year high, topped US$49,000 this week, after SEC approved first-ever spot Bitcoin ETFs to trade in US 

- Global GDP growth to be lowest for decades, set to drop to 2.4% in 2024 from 2.6 previous year: World Bank 

- Global unemployment rate will increase slightly in 2024: UN

*CHINA* 

+China’s central bank set to cut key rate, boost liquidity on Monday to aid economy 

+ China’s bank extended ¥1.17 trillion in new loans in Dec 23, up from Nov’s ¥1.09 trillion, hit records of ¥22.75 trillion in 2023 

+ China’s Dec CPI down 0.3%, rose 0.2% annually for full yr 2023, PPI down 3% in 2023 YoY 

+ China’s trade in goods grew 0.2% YoY to ¥41.76 trillion in 2023, exports up by 0.6%, imports fell by 0.3%   

+ China’s foreign trade grew 0.2% YoY to ¥41.76 trillion (US$5.87 trillion) in 2023 

- China’s focus on economic efforts on manufacturing could trigger global trade war with other industrial powers: Bloomberg 

+ PBOC signalled prepared to keep policy loose by lowering amount of money banks must keep in reserve 

+ PBOC approved ¥100bn worth of mortgages to support 8 pilot cities in buying unsold units for long term rentals  

+ China bond issuances may reach ¥9 trillion in 2024

+ Chinese Premier Li Qiang to attend annual WEF Annual Meeting 2024, to state China’s economic growth prospects 

- China-US bilateral trade recorded a slump of 11.6% YoY in dollar terms in 2023 

- China’s integrated circuit imports plunged 15.4% in value YoY in 2023

+ China trade between RCEP countries up 5.3% to ¥12.6 trillion in 2023

+ China’s 2023 auto production exceeds 30m units, setting new record

+ China’s auto exports surged 64% in2023, domestic sales rose 4.2% 

+ China aims to increase proportion of new-energy vehicles registration to 45% by 2027

+ China estimated overtaken Japan as world’s largest car exporter for the first time in 2023 

+ China’s rare earth exports in 2023 up 7.3% YoY to 52,306.5 tons

+ China kicks start of 2.1m kilowatts construction of world’s highest-altitude pumped-storage power station in Sichuan 

+ China eyes launching low-cost cargo spacecraft for space station through commercial rocket 

+ Chinese Orienspace, rival to SpaceX, declared a complete success after launching a rocket at sea into low-Earth orbit 

+ Shein reportedly seeking approval from Chinese regulators to go public in US

+ HK aims to attract more high-tech industries, intelligent projects as it pushes ahead with new industrialisation 

+ HK may give green light for spot crypto ETF in the near future after US approves bitcoin ETFs 

-Taiwan elected Lai of DPP as new president 

*EUROPE*

- Eurozone probably failed to grow at end of 2023 early indicators suggest: ECB VP stated 

- EU dips further into emergency gas reserves due to cold weather 

+ Airbus reported record annual jet orders, 11% rise in 2023 deliveries, maintain top manufacturing firm for 5th consecutive year 

- Germany industrial production down for 6th straight mth in Nov, indicating entered a recession in final qtr 2023: Bloomberg 

- Germany farmers rallying for a week of protests, block roads nationwide against govt austerity measures 

+ UK announced plans described as country’s “biggest expansion of nuclear power for 70 years” to boost energy security, meet carbon emission goals 

- UK retailers reported lacklustre sales around Christmas, total sales rose 1.7% vs close to 7% growth in 2022 

- Shell flagged impairment charges of up to US$4.5bn for Q4, mainly on Singapore assets 

- France tough spending cuts are necessary to restore the financial system: Finance Minister 

+ Belgium’s business delegation arrived in Beijing to explore new avenues for economic cooperation 

- Russia would never turn to the West again, there will be no return: Buz Rights Commissioner 

+ Russian finalising legislation would create preferential tax regime in Far East via establishing several int’l priority development areas in the region

- Russia preparing legal battle over frozen reserves: Bloomberg 

+ Russian-China trade hit record high in 2023, up 32.7% to US$235.9bn YoY 

*ASIA* / *OCEANIA*

+ Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average hits 33-year high 

+ Japan posted record current account surplus of ¥1.93 trillion in Nov 23, helped by smaller trade, revival of inbound tourism 

- Japanese firms decided to opt out of Malaysia-Singapore high-speed rail project 

- Japan’s real wages in Nov fell 3% YoY for 20th straight mth  

- Indian annual inflation edged higher to 5.69% in Dec at 4 mths high, industrial output growth at 8-mth low 

+ Saudi Arabia has cut Feb price of crude for buyers in all regions 

+ Australia-China trade sees 9.8% growth YoY, exceeding pre-pandemic level, more exports to resume in 2024 

+ NZ-China FTA has been fully implemented: Chinese embassy 

*ASEAN*

+ Vietnam’s GDP grew by 5.05% in 2023, below govt’s official growth target of 6.5% 

+ Myanmar`s formal ceasefire agreement has been reached between the military and 3 ethnic armed gps after China’s mediation 

+ Malaysia hopes Johor will become a new engine of growth as it works to develop the border with Singapore  

+ Malaysia anti-graft agency questions ex-PM Ismail over RM700m spending 

+ JB-SG RTS link construction is 655 complete, on track for end 2026 start 

+ Malaysia’s high-rise home rental growth averages 5.5% in Q4 23: survey 

+ SG, Malaysia inked MOU on Johor-SG SEZ, exploring passport-free QR code clearance system at land checkpoints 

+ Sg annual vessel arrival tonnage rose to 3.1bn gross tonnage, up 9.2% YoY in 2023, set records in shipping arrivals 

+ Sg govt not ruling out separate COE category for private-hire cars: Minister 

+ Temasek buys UK tech firm Element Materials Tech for US$7bn 

+ Sg semiconductor firm Silicon Box raised US$200m in Series B round, bringing its valuation >US$1bn in less than 3 yrs 

+ HDB to launch 19.500 BTO flats in 2024


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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