Bloomberg (August 11)
“Japanese equities shed $1.1 trillion in value as they kicked off August with a record three-day loss.” Having some of the froth knocked off, however, is providing bullish investors with “a fresh reason to buy what has been one of 2024’s hottest trades.”
Tags: $1.1 trillion, 2024, August, Bullish, Buy, Equities, Froth, Investors, Japan, Loss, Reason, Record, Shed, Value
Wall Street Journal (August 10)
“China was bruised by its trade war with the U.S. under President Donald Trump, but ultimately bounced back.” If he is re-elected “The economic damage to China would be much steeper than in Trump’s first term because the tariffs would be higher and China’s economy is much more vulnerable.”
Tags: Bruised, China, Economic damage, Economy, Re-elected, Tariffs, Trade war, Trump, U.S., Vulnerable
Reuters (August 7)
“Tackling China’s $470 billion bad debt pile is getting harder.” China Bohai Bank is “selling non-performing assets worth $4 billion,” underscoring “the pressure lenders are under as the country’s property bubble bursts. Yet buyers are feeling the strain too,” which will likely make the terms for subsequent disposals more onerous.
Tags: $470 billion, Bad debt, Buyers, China, China Bohai Bank, Disposals, Lenders, Non-performing assets, Pressure, Property bubble, Strain, Tackling
Washington Post (August 7)
“A summer covid wave” has cases increasing ”in at least 84 countries despite perceptions that the pathogen is a remnant of the past.” Diminished testing, vaccinations and restrictions are making it hard to precisely chart the surge and likely exacerbating it. For example, testing was pervasive at the Tokyo Games, but at the Paris Games (where dozens of athletes are known to have come down with covid), “people who tested positive are competing, there are no testing requirements, and spectators are back in attendance.”
Tags: 84 countries, Athletes, Covid wave, Exacerbating, Paris Games, Pathogen, Restrictions, Summer, Surge, Testing, Tokyo Games, Vaccinations
Financial Times (August 7)
The equity sell-off in the U.S. “could have triggered the unwinding of the carry trade, not the other way around. And the timing suggests this is what happened. The equity sell-off did not start in earnest until Friday of last week — two days after the BoJ raised rates, or after currency traders had time to digest the news.”
Tags: BOJ, Carry trade, Currency traders, Equity, Rates, Sell-off, Triggered, U.S., Unwinding
Seeking Alpha (August 6)
The “market meltdown” on Monday “isn’t getting any less volatile, with things now moving in the opposite direction. Japan’s Nikkei ended the session up 10% overnight, marking its best session since 2008, following a plunge of 13% on Monday. Much of the volatility is said to have emanated in Japan, where a carry trade based on the yen went sour as the BOJ raised rates during the same week the Fed signaled its intention to cut.”
Tags: 2008, BOJ, Carry trade, Cut, Fed, Japan, Market, Meltdown, Nikkei, Plunge of 13%, Up 10%, Volatile, Yen
Reuters (August 5)
“The market tumble presents a dilemma as another week of trading is set to unfold.” While buying “during periods of weakness has rewarded investors over the last two years,” with the S&P 500 climbing roughly 50% its low in October 2022. Today, however, “buyers of the dip risk being steamrolled if recession fears grow following last week’s run of alarming U.S. data”, especially as the “S&P 500 has fallen an average of 29% during recessions since World War Two.”
Tags: S&P 500
CNN (August 3)
“A record-breaking heat wave unfolding at what should be the coldest time in Earth’s coldest place has scientists concerned about what it could mean for the future health of the Antarctic continent, and the consequences it could inflict for millions of people across the globe.” Since mid-July temperatures have been up to 50°Fahrenheit hotter than usual “over parts of Antarctica and unseasonable warmth could continue through the first half of August.”
Tags: Antarctica, Coldest, Consequences, Earth, Future, Heat wave, Inflict, July, Record breaking, Scientists, Temperatures, Unfolding, Unseasonable
Markets Insider (August 3)
“Japan’s stocks took a hit on Friday, fueled by economic concerns in the US and the Bank of Japan’s interest-rate hike earlier this week.” Closing down 5.8%, the Nikkei marked “its largest daily decline since March 2020 after hitting record highs earlier this month.” The Nikkei was not alone. Amid signs of a cooling economy, U.S. stock indices “tanked across the board over the past two days due to a combination of discouraging economic data points, including rising unemployment and slowing manufacturing and construction.”
Tags: 2020, 5.8%, BOJ, Construction, Cooling, Decline, Discouraging, Economic concerns, Friday, Interest-rate hike, Japan, Manufacturing, Nikkei, Record highs, Stocks, U.S., Unemployment
Institutional Investor (August 2)
“Asset owners, like endowments and pension funds, are gearing up to publish their annual returns for the fiscal year.” Though CIOs insist “that 10- and 20-year returns matter more… than one-year numbers, the annual horse race has begun.” These comparisons appear inevitable, but industry experts call them “flawed” because they overlook “clear differences in performance reporting standards” and “also fail to consider each institution’s particular tolerance for risk, goals, and individual needs.”
Tags: 20-year returns, Annual returns, Asset owners, CIOs, Endowments, Experts, Fiscal year, Flawed, Goals, Individual needs, One-year, Pension funds, Performance, Reporting standards, Risk
