Washington Post (January 30)
“The outlook for the global economy in recent weeks has unexpectedly brightened, with the United States, Europe and China all outperforming expectations and avoiding — at least for now — some predicted stumbles.”
Tags: Brightened, China, Europe, Expectations, Global economy, Outlook, Outperforming, Stumbles, U.S.
Investment Week (January 27)
“Private market companies are baffled by ESG reporting requirements with 90% of companies held in private equity funds unsure how to report.” KEY ESG “surveyed over 100 industry participants including general partners and portfolio companies” based in the UK, EU and U.S., finding that 75% of the funds “were required to report on ESG and 40% of funds used ESG to differentiate themselves.” Still, these funds lacked resources and an understanding of “ESG reporting from a portfolio company level.”
Tags: Baffled, Differentiate, ESG reporting, EU, General partners, Portfolio companies, Private equity funds, Private market, Requirements, Resources, U.S., UK, Understanding, Unsure
Seeking Alpha (January 27)
“A war over silicon is brewing between the world’s two largest economies as the U.S. looks to isolate China from one of the most important technologies of the future.” As America tries “to protect the rest of the advanced chip supply chain by forging an alliance that will curtail China’s ability to produce its own domestic silicon…. Restrictions are likely to be imposed on ASML, Nikon and Tokyo Electron, building on earlier business rules and trading regulations, and marking the latest salvo in the semiconductor war.”
Tags: Advanced, ASML, China, Chip, Future, Isolate, Nikon, Protect, Restrictions, Semiconductor war, Silicon, Supply chain, Technologies, Tokyo Electron, U.S.
Wall Street Journal (January 27)
“Perhaps the best news for the Fed is that real disposable personal income grew 3.3% as the personal consumption expenditure price index eased to 3.2%, down from 4.3% in the third quarter and 7.5% in the first. This suggests that its monetary medicine may be starting to work, and it might not have to raise interest rates as high as some expected a few months ago.”
American Banker (January 26)
“The Federal Reserve may be slowing down on rate increases, but the same isn’t true for your neighborhood bank. Almost 20% of U.S. banks offered to pay savings rates of 2% or more in January, up from 15% in December and from just 1% a year ago.”
Tags: 2%, Banks, Fed, Rate increases, Savings rates, U.S., Up
Economic Times (January 23)
Big Tech’s “planned rightsizing is… unlikely to make up for the deep correction in 2022 of technology companies’ stock prices. Earnings estimates for the last quarter of 2022 are grim and Big Tech may have to go in for more job cuts to keep market capitalisation aloft. This could be a theme for the industry in 2023.”
Tags: 2022, 2023, Big tech, Deep correction, Earnings, Estimates, Grim, Job cuts, Market-cap, Rightsizing, Stock prices, Technology, Unlikely
Investment Week (January 23)
“Chinese equities took a beating in the year of the tiger, with the collapse of the nation’s property market, stringent restrictions on some of its sectors and its zero-Covid policy all hampering investor interest.” In contrast, the year of the rabbit is beginning “in a remarkably different place…. Dynamics are now shifting in a favourable direction, benefiting Chinese stocks and global growth.” Nevertheless, “investment experts remain wary and advise caution.”
Tags: Caution, China, Collapse, Dynamics, Equities, Experts, Favourable, Growth, Investor, Property market, Rabbit, Restrictions, Stocks, Tiger, Zero COVID
Wall Street Journal (January 22)
“The rash of failures showed how interconnected the crypto lenders were, allowing market shocks to ripple through one lender to the next.” Though they essentially “have the same business model as banks,” crypto lenders lack the regulatory protections and failsafe measures, which ensure “small depositors are kept whole in the case of a bank failure.”
Tags: Banks, Business model, Crypto lenders, Depositors, Failsafe, Failures, Interconnected, Market shocks, Rash, Regulatory protections, Ripple
Oilprice.com (January 22)
“Since China doesn’t report crude oil inventories, it’s all guesswork as to just how much crude the country has stashed over the past year.” Rising inventory levels “could mean that China’s imports may not be as strong as anticipated. But it could also mean that refiners are preparing for a surge in demand” in the post-Covid restriction era. “There is one certainty in the oil markets – the economic growth in China has been and will continue to be a key factor in global oil demand, capable of moving oil prices in either direction.”
Tags: China, Covid, Crude oil, Demand, Economic growth, Guesswork, Imports, Inventories, Prices, Refiners, Strong, Surge
Seeking Alpha (January 22)
“For 2022, the hedge fund industry experienced the largest net asset outflow in six years as investors steered clear of active managers against a backdrop of exceptionally volatile and depreciating markets.” Capital outflows exceeded $55 billion, still considerably short of the $70 billion withdrawn in 2016.
Tags: $55 billion, 2022, Active managers, Capital, Depreciating, Hedge-fund, Investors, Markets, Net asset, Outflow, Volatile
