South China Morning Post (January 16)
Disappointing performance has marked Hong Kong’s stock market in 2024. “The Hang Seng Index hit a fresh 14-month low and has lost 2.3 per cent this week on top of a 4.7 per cent loss in the first two trading weeks of 2024.” Investors remain worried about “the strength of the mainland economy” so “it’s possible for the Hang Seng Index to test new lows under selling pressure.”
Tags: 2024, Disappointing, Economy, Hang Seng, Hong Kong, Investors, Mainland, New lows, Performance, Stock market, Trading, Worried
International Banker (December 18)
If Japan’s Financial Services Agency and the nation’s “asset-management industry work together to establish ‘customer-oriented business operations’, they may succeed in gaining the trust of retail investors, and the financial assets of Japanese households may finally show a visible shift from cash and deposits to securities.” Two decades of failed efforts starting with the Big Bang financial reform suggest “it will take much effort to gain the trust of retail investors, some of whom have experienced disappointing returns in the past. Unless the Japanese financial industry works harder than ever for customers’ interests, the goal of ‘savings to investments’ will turn out to be elusive once again.”
Tags: Asset-management industry, Big bang, Customer-oriented, Disappointing, Elusive, Failed, Financial assets, Financial Reform, FSA, Households, Investments, Japan, Retail investors, Securities, Trust
The Economist (February 9)
Foxconn is scaling back its plans to build a giant plant in Wisconsin. “At first glance, the Foxconn reversal confirms that American manufacturing is in trouble.” Other “recent wobbles” have included a Tennessee plant closing by Electrolux and Caterpillar’s disappointing results. “A closer look, however, suggests manufacturing is undergoing a revival, especially among agile smaller firms and those using advanced techniques.”
Tags: Caterpillar, Disappointing, Electrolux, Foxconn, Manufacturing, Plant, Revival, Tennessee, U.S., Wisconsin
Institutional Investor (August 12)
“Disappointing sentiment data and continued conflict in eastern Ukraine” are leading to investor apprehension. “Slowing production levels and low inflation appear to leave the door open for European Central Bank intervention but political support for action from European Union leaders is still far from consensus. With a strong correlation between primary global equity indexes that has been noted by multiple strategists in recent sessions, deteriorating investor confidence in Europe is likely to cast a shadow over U.S. equity markets in the near term.”
Tags: Confidence, Conflict, Consensus, Disappointing, ECB, Equities, EU, Inflation, Intervention, Investors, Production, Sentiment, U.S., Ukraine
