China poses deflation risk; Trump policies may spur inflation Opposing rate paths in Japan, US may cause market dislocations Japan’s economy is at risk from price pressures from its two largest trading partners, according to the chief of the country’s banking...

Sales from top real estate companies fell about 46% in March Nation’s property crisis has weighed on big builders, banks China’s home sales slump dragged on in March, signaling a much-hoped turnaround for the sector isn’t in sight yet. The value of new-home sales from...

To paraphrase Mark Twain, it’s easier to fool people into believing they’ll make piles of money than it is to convince them they’ve been fooled. Here’s the true story of stock investors who smoked so much “hopium” they lost their shirts — and their minds. Story by Bob...

A key measure of underlying US inflation favored by the Federal Reserve cooled last month, and consumer spending rebounded sharply. Earlier in the week, the collapse of a major bridge in Baltimore will cause weeks or months of transportation disruptions in the...

The startup has decided not to release the feature more broadly due to safety concerns. OpenAI is sharing early results from a test for a feature that can read words aloud in a convincing human voice — highlighting a new frontier for artificial intelligence and...

Prosecutors open dozens of cases to seize tycoons’ holdings Russia seizes assets ranging from pasta to ferro-alloys plants Russian businesses are seeking guarantees from the Kremlin that they won’t face asset seizures and privatization reviews amid a growing list of...

Also cut financials but raise consumer discretionary stocks Strategists see defensive stocks benefiting from lower rates The US stock rally is set to broaden out beyond technology, according to Citigroup Inc. strategists whose outlook on the sector has turned more...

In the realm of stock market indicators, the Buffett Indicator stands out, especially when it flashes red. Named after Warren Buffett, the CEO of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. and a figure synonymous with investing acumen, the indicator compares the total market...

China Vanke Co.’s profit tumbled more than analysts expected last year and it vowed to slash debt by almost $14 billion, as the embattled developer tries to stave off default amid a protracted housing crisis. Net income attributable to shareholders shrank 46% to 12.2...

Dubravko Lakos-Bujas sees more risks, fewer sources of upside More risks are ‘hovering in the background,’ strategist warns It’s the talk of the stock market: What will be the sign that the five-month rally in US equities is coming to an end. But if you ask JPMorgan...

Banks exposed to falling property prices, regulator warns Investment real estate loans to get higher risk weighting Swiss banks face a “significant loss potential” in the event of corrections on property markets, financial regulator Finma said. Many lenders have a...

Agency will look at ways to improve cross-agency coordination Gaps identified in capabilities of small firms versus large Artificial intelligence is making it easier for fraudsters to carry out more sophisticated attacks on financial firms, the Treasury...

Fisker Inc. dramatically reduced the price of the Ocean sport utility vehicle — its only model — as the electric-car maker struggles to stay in business. The biggest cut the US company is making applies to the top-end version of the Ocean, called Extreme. Fisker will...

In this post, we evaluate how deposits have evolved over the latter portion of the current monetary policy tightening cycle. We find that while deposit betas have continued to rise, they did not accelerate following the bank runs in March 2023. In addition, while...

The company is raising capital through other avenues now The move follows the surprise retreat from a cloud arm listing Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. called off an initial public offering for its Cainiao logistics arm in Hong Kong, shelving a $1 billion-plus deal in a...

New York Fed economists highlight risks from China policy China is overseeing a surge in industrial investment China’s effort to boost manufacturing and shore up the economy amid a real estate slump could put “meaningful upward pressure” on US inflation and push back...

Outflows from stocks were the most in the region this year Political uncertainties add to economic woes to dim outlook A market revival for Thailand just isn’t coming. The nation’s first election since 2019 was supposed to be the catalyst to drive economic growth and...

A previous post explored the potential implications for U.S. growth and inflation of a manufacturing-led boom in China. This post considers spillovers to the U.S. from a downside scenario, one in which China’s ongoing property sector slump takes another leg down and...

Executives flock to Beijing at start of a forum-filled week China’s premier offers little new on policy steps amid angst China’s efforts to counter the downbeat narrative about a structural slowdown in the world’s second-biggest economy got a boost from enthusiastic...

SYDNEY, March 26 (Reuters) - Australian consumer sentiment eased from 20-month highs in March as worries about the economic outlook and family finances returned to darken the mood, a survey showed on Tuesday. The Westpac-Melbourne Institute index of consumer sentiment...

Price fell to 9 cents before shares were halted Monday morning EV maker’s talks with automaker for investment were terminated The New York Stock Exchange announced Monday it was suspending trading of Fisker Inc. stock after the electric vehicle startup’s shares sank...

Wall Street has a new high water mark for the S&P 500 (^GSPC). Oppenheimer chief investment strategist John Stoltzfus now sees the benchmark index ending the year at 5,500, reflecting a roughly 5% increase from Friday's close. The call comes after a surge in...

While the slump in China’s property sector has been steep, Chinese policymakers have responded to the falloff in property activity with policies designed to spur activity in the manufacturing sector. The apparent hope is that a pivot toward production-intensive growth...

The American dream of homeownership is becoming increasingly elusive in many parts of the country. As people flee expensive states in search of affordability and quality of life, they’re also unknowingly sowing the seeds for potential housing market instability. This...

Pimco co-founder notes stocks unaffected by higher real yields Bonds are unattractive because there’s ‘too much supply’ Bill Gross warned that investors are in for a bumpy ride as “excessive exuberance” sweeps financial markets. The S&P 500 Index surged above...

This post presents an update of the economic forecasts generated by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s dynamic stochastic general equilibrium (DSGE) model. We describe very briefly our forecast and its change since December 2023. As usual, we wish to remind our...

As Japanese equities soar to record highs after a decadeslong slump, the government is now trying to encourage retail investors to put their one quadrillion yen in cash savings to work in the stock market. The latest Bank of Japan quarterly survey showed that...

Nike posted its first decline in its Nike brand digital sales since 2015 — when it first began breaking out growth specific to that channel or Nike.com in either earnings releases or earnings calls — raising questions about the effectiveness of its direct-to-consumer...

China is building its military and nuclear arsenal on a scale not seen since World War II and all signs suggest it’s sticking to ambitions to be ready to invade Taiwan by 2027, a top US admiral testified. Despite Beijing’s economic challenges, its official defense...

Consumer sentiment was once a reliable predictor of election outcomes. Not anymore. The way Americans feel about the economy is now largely determined by party affiliation. During Donald Trump’s administration, consumer sentiment plunged among Democrats and surged...

Nvidia and Meta have pulled away from the rest of the once-hot group as investors focus on AI. For more than a decade, the stock market has been supercharged by a handful of technology behemoths that have offered the promise of hypergrowth. You know them: household...

Ticket sales surged as youth unemployment climbed to record Nation’s young face tougher economic climate than parents did Lottery shops in China are ditching bland storefronts to reinvent themselves as hipster hangouts, with slogans that tempt youngsters hit by an...

Move to expand critical minerals supply chain away from China Offer conditional on company obtaining environmental approvals A US-backed lender has offered an Australian miner $600 million in loans to develop a rare earths project, the latest move to expand the...

China is building its military and nuclear arsenal on a scale not seen since World War II and all signs suggest it’s sticking to ambitions to be ready to invade Taiwan by 2027, a top US admiral testified. Despite Beijing’s economic challenges, its official defense...

Shares of French luxury group Kering plunged 14% on Tuesday after the company warned that Gucci sales look set to fall 20% year-on-year in the first quarter, amid declining Asia transactions. The rare profit warning forecasts overall group revenues to drop 10% in the...

Chinese solar manufacturer Lingda Group Co. has terminated plans to build a new 9.15 billion yuan ($1.3 billion) cell production plant as severe overcapacity threatens a wave of bankruptcies and consolidations in the industry. The announcement Tuesday comes just days...

China’s youth unemployment rate ticked up in February as the jobs market for recent graduates remains under pressure in the world’s second-largest economy. The jobless rate hit 15.3% last month for people aged between 16 and 24 years old, a National Bureau of...

Canada’s inflation rate decelerated to 2.8% in February, a positive development for central bank policymakers who’ve been waiting for more proof that their campaign of higher interest rates is working. It’s the first time the country has had two straight months of...

Key digital industries unit sees slower-than-expected business Shares drop most in seven months after CFO flags muted demand Siemens AG fell the most in seven months after flagging disappointing demand in China for its key digital industries division. New business for...

Will take time for banks to work through CRE loans: Moynihan ‘We’re careful in how we underwrite as an industry,’ CEO says Bank of America Corp.’s Chief Executive Officer Brian Moynihan said it’ll take time for the banking industry to work through issues with...

China’s State Council released an action plan to further open up the Chinese market to foreign firms after overseas investment fell to record lows last year. The State Council called on local authorities and government departments to come up with timetables and...

Government debt rally resumes after taking one-week break China may cut reserve ratio as it sells special bonds: Nomura A recent bull run in China’s government bonds is making a comeback after a one-week break, a sign that traders are getting over policymakers’...

Officials will have an in-depth conversation on QT this week Fed likely to discuss when and how to taper asset runoff The Federal Reserve will begin in-depth discussions about its balance sheet this week, including when and how to slow the pace at which the central...

Egypt, Ukraine, Argentina are among the fund’s top borrowers Higher interest rates, geopolitical conflict fueling crises The International Monetary Fund is lending near a record amount to almost 100 countries, evidence of its growing role as a backstop against the...

Renewable generation growth seen increasing threefold NextEra CEO speaks at CERAWeek energy conference in Houston The biggest US wind and solar farm developer expects the growth rate of the demand for electricity to soar to keep up with artificial intelligence,...

Easy financial conditions, strong dollar have boosted stocks But weakening greenback threatens to weigh on equity multiples The chief investment officer of Morgan Stanley Wealth Management has a warning for stock bulls: the structural forces weighing on the dollar are...

NY Fed survey finds rising demand for consumer credit broadly About a third think they’ll get rejected to refinance mortgage Americans increasingly doubt they’ll get approved for a loan to buy a car or refinance a mortgage, according to a survey conducted by the...

Unlike past cycles, debt costs rose more than interest income Burden of interest falls hardest on lower-wealth households When the Federal Reserve raises interest rates, US households — in aggregate — usually get a boost to interest income that outweighs the extra...

Move follows surge in capacity, competition across industry Analysts see potential rebound by late 2024 on consolidation China’s Longi Green Energy Technology Co., the world’s largest solar manufacturer, is cutting almost one-third of its staff to slash costs in an...

Economy seen as stabilizing but consumer demand remains weak Production, investment strength may delay stimulus: economists China’s strong factory output and investment growth at the start of the year raised doubts over how soon policymakers will step up support still...

Hong KongCNN —  China’s key real estate sector hasn’t shown much improvement following a flurry of government measures taken to boost the industry, even as other parts of the economy seem to be stabilizing. New property sales reached a total of 1.06 trillion yuan...

Headline retail sales, industrial output growth seen slowing Faster growth will be needed for rest of 2024: ANZ’s Yeung China’s economic activity was likely mixed at the start of the year with property remaining a major drag, raising doubts about the nation’s ability...

The stock has traded at overbought levels for about two months TSMC shares at largest-ever premium to consensus price target The rapid ascent in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. is making it harder to ignore risks for the world’s largest contract chipmaker, even...

Total climbed to $6.108 trillion in the week to March 13: ICI Prime institutional funds saw second straight week of outflows Money-market fund assets rose to a fresh record high on expectations short-term rates will remain elevated for longer after traders reined in...

California’s high-paying industries created far fewer jobs than previously thought, as a sharp downward revision cut the number of positions in professional services, finance and information by about 250,000 compared with initial reports. The state added only 50,000...

BSE’s small cap index is down more than 11% from a record high Regulators are concerned about potential for bubbles A sharp correction in small-cap stocks portends souring risk appetite on the broader Indian market, which is now an underperformer in Asia Pacific after...

You’re likely already aware of AI hallucinations. Perhaps you’ve seen a funny chatbot response blasted on Twitter. While they may be amusing, they do create real risks to AI integrity. Imagine asking an AI for a recipe and it suggests chlorine gas or any poison (yes...

More than 300 crypto-asset providers sought permits, FSCA says FSCA to use existing financial-services law to oversee crypto South Africa will license about 60 cryptocurrency platforms by the end of the month, putting it among the first nations on the continent to...

Colorado School of Mines invests in 800-bed sophomore dorm Growing trend of colleges solving affordable housing shortage The Colorado School of Mines is turning to the muni market for the second time in six months to address a housing shortage for its growing campus...

Steelmaking ingredient tumbles by more than 5% on Wednesday Cost support set to kick in below $100 a ton, CBA’s Dhar says Iron ore extended a slide as China’s economic prospects weighed on the steelmaking ingredient, with futures nearing $100-a-ton levels that could...

An annual Northwestern Mutual survey finds financial discipline has gone down amid higher costs. Feelings of financial insecurity among Americans have reached their highest point in at least a decade. A third of American adults in Northwestern Mutual’s 2024 Planning...

Major automakers look to high-tech features beyond drivability Country’s cut-throat industry has had sluggish start to year In China, electric vehicles with built-in fridges and even in-car karaoke systems are considered passé. Instead, carmakers are turning to...

Consumer price index (CPI) grows by 0.7 per cent year on year in February, beating forecasts and marking first rise following six months of decline However, factory-gate prices fall for 17th straight month in what analyst describes as ‘warning signal’ that deflation...

Chinese consumers and central banks have bolstered gold market Timing of Fed pivot to cutting rates remains key gold driver This week’s gold rush may have been triggered by bets on the US Federal Reserve’s long-anticipated pivot to looser monetary policy, but the...

Conservatives irate over lack of major spending cuts in bill Remaining parts of the government now face March 23 deadline The US Senate approved a $460 billion funding package, sending it to President Joe Biden in time to sign before a looming Saturday partial...

Central bank posted lowest monthly CPI in almost 12 years The country is experiencing gradual economic recovery, VP says Venezuela’s Vice President Delcy Rodríguez on Friday rejected the findings of an opposition-led research group that showed consumer prices slipped...

In a previous post, we described the rapid growth of the stablecoin market over the past few years and then discussed the TerraUSD stablecoin run of May 2022. The TerraUSD run, however, is not the only episode of instability experienced by a stablecoin. Other...

And the West isn’t ready for it. On a recent Monday, when a generically named Chinese ship called the Explorer No. 1 docked in the German North Sea port of Bremerhaven, it may have inaugurated a new era in the global economy. What was special about the vessel was not...

Total climbed to $6.08 trillion in the week to March 6: ICI Institutional funds drove outflows from prime segment Money-market fund assets rose to a fresh record high for the second straight week on expectations short-term rates will remain elevated for longer after...

(Reuters) -U.S. household wealth rose to a record of roughly $156.2 trillion at the end of 2023 thanks to a surging stock market that offset a drop in property market values, the Federal Reserve said on Thursday. Household net worth rose about 3.2% in the period from...

Wage growth has moderated notably following its post-pandemic surge, but it remains strong compared to the wage growth prevailing during the low-inflation pre-COVID years. Will the moderation continue, or will it stall? And what does it say about the current state of...

FROM ONE-OFFS TO EMPLOYEE TENDER OFFERS In Silicon Valley, a tender offer that allows longtime employees at high-performing startups to get some liquidity is fast becoming an expected benefit. While secondary stock sales have always been possible, their popularity—and...

Nvidia accounted for 80% of SOX options trades in February Options trading last month jumped sevenfold from year earlier Options trading in semiconductor stocks is exploding as investors bet on the hottest thing in equity markets these days: artificial intelligence....

About 40% of government, corporate bonds mature in three years Debt grows at time when central banks reduce holdings Global bond markets are facing significant challenges as governments and companies have to refinance about 40% of maturing debt in the coming three...

Analyst says Google's reputation is on the line with Gemini fix The bungled rollout of Google's new artificial intelligence tool Gemini could end up being either a curse or a blessing for the Alphabet-owned tech giant, according to an analyst who owns the stock....

ESG fund exposure to Nvidia has dropped since mid-2023 Concern is that growing retail presence ‘portends bubble’ Concerns that Nvidia Corp.’s stratospheric gains might be unsustainable have spread to ESG investment managers who beat the market last year by betting big...

Government work report lacks specifics on property, deflation Economists say more emphasis needed on boosting consumption China set a bullish target of around 5% growth this year as top leaders try to boost confidence in the world’s second-largest economy. But for...

ISM services PMI decreased 0.8 point in February to 52.6 Employment measure declined; gauge of prices paid dropped Growth in the US service sector cooled in February, partly due to a decline in employment even as orders and business activity quickened. The Institute...

iPhone slipped to fourth place in China in first weeks of 2024 Apple focusing on other big bets like AI, Vision Pro headset Apple Inc.’s iPhone sales in China fell by a surprising 24% over the first six weeks of this year, according to independent research that may...

In the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. economy experienced a swift recovery accompanied by a sharp rise in inflation. Inflation has been gradually declining since 2022 without a notable slowdown in the labor market. Nonetheless, inflation remains above...

Bills for consumer debt service hit record high this year Mortgage burden still near historic lows with locked-in deals US households are now paying roughly as much interest on other kinds of debt, from credit cards to student loans, as they are on their mortgages,...

Work reports focus on tech innovation, defense spending Key for foreign firms is ‘full, timely’ reform rollout: AmCham China’s big annual policy report shows it may have to play nice with the US this year to counter its economic headwinds, though ambitions to ramp up...

Mainland-listed shares climb while those in Hong Kong fall China’s 5% growth traget a disappointment to some investors Some exchange-traded funds tracking Chinese stocks saw a surge in turnover, a sign that state-backed funds are supporting the market after some...

Increase in military expenditure is the biggest in five years Corruption is raising questions about nation’s armed forces China’s defense spending will grow by 7.2% in 2024 — the most in five years — an increase that comes amid signs corruption is undermining a...

TOKYO, March 5 (Reuters) - Chinese stocks stumbled on Tuesday, dragging Asian peers with them, as investors showed their disappointment at Beijing's plans to support the economy as its week-long annual session of parliament, the National People's Congress, got...

Marko Kolanovic warns equities, Bitcoin prices rising too fast Goldman’s Kostin says valuations supported by fundamentals Are US stocks forming a bubble? It depends on who you ask. To JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s chief market strategist Marko Kolanovic, the dramatic...

China became world’s biggest vehicle exporter in 2023 US could impose limits on China EVs, Bloomberg has reported China charged the US with engaging in protectionist trade measures amid signs that Washington is prepared to step up efforts to keep Chinese electric...

Unit to offer private shares to accredited investors Valuations of private firms like OpenAI, SpaceX have jumped Morgan Stanley’s wealth management arm is giving its clients a chance to buy and sell coveted shares of private companies before they are available to the...

Chinese developer saw transactions plunge 85% from a year ago Chairman pledges to deliver projects with its own resources Country Garden Holdings Co. posted its biggest sales decline in at least seven years, adding to the woes of the Chinese property developer that is...

Inflation around the world increased dramatically with the reopening of economies following COVID-19. After reaching a peak of 11 percent in the second quarter of 2021, world trade prices dropped by more than five percentage points by the middle of 2023. U.S. import...

Fortescue tipped for biggest earnings decline among peers Shares have faltered recently after months-long climb Iron ore behemoth Fortescue Ltd.’s months-long stock rally suffered a big pullback in February as investors turned sour on the company’s earnings growth and...

Premier Li Qiang will deliver government work report at NPC Investors will scrutinize policy priorities as economy falters China is set to announce its 2024 growth target and outline its strategy for supporting the slowing economy at the nation’s most high-profile...

Ban generative AI? Wait, what? Nonsense! Except that Paizo, publisher of popular tabletop role-playing games (TTRPG) like Pathfinder and Starfinder, said it is banning AI-created work and would update its contracts in the coming days to mandate that any work submitted...

More than 40% of all US mortgages were originated in 2020 or 2021, when the pandemic drove borrowing costs to historic lows and triggered a refinancing boom, according to data from Black Knight. That’s good news for all the homeowners who locked in cheap loans — but...

The market buzz around generative AI comes with heightened scrutiny, as Google (GOOG, GOOGL) was painfully reminded for the second time. The search giant said this week that it plans to relaunch its Gemini AI image generator after some users on social media showed how...

Inflation remains elevated in the US and euro-zone, supporting assertions from central bankers in both regions that it’s too soon to start cutting interest rates. The Federal Reserve’s preferred gauge of underlying inflation rose in January by the most in a year,...

University of Michigan preliminary and final readings diverged Consumers still think inflation is cooling, survey says US consumer sentiment faltered in late February as current views of the economy and the outlook deteriorated, marking a reversal from earlier in the...

ISM factory index declined 1.3 points in February to 47.8 New orders, production and employment measures decreased A measure of US factory activity shrank at a faster pace in February as orders, production and employment contracted, suggesting manufacturing is...

Errors with AI responses have contributed to stock weakness The problems have overshadowed its growth and lower valuation The only thing that matters to Alphabet Inc. investors is whether it can get artificial intelligence right. That was the message delivered this...

Need some comfort on sustainability of earnings growth: Murthy GQG’s emerging markets fund had a 5.7% weighting in China The rebound in Chinese stocks is puzzling given the lack of support from earnings growth, according to an emerging markets fund manager at GQG...

Fiscal concerns, stickier inflation poised to end premia era Higher term premium seen steepening US Treasury curve Pacific Investment Management Co. is warning that US fiscal profligacy threatens to drag the Treasury market back to 1980s, a time when bond vigilantes...

The Chicago Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) determines the economic health of the manufacturing sector in Chicago region. A reading above 50 indicates expansion of the manufacturing sector; a reading below indicates contraction. The Chicago PMI can be of some help in...

‘Super users’ received note before BLS tried to retract Jump in rent gauge spurred higher-than-expected inflation The US Labor Department’s statistical agency emailed a group of analysts about a key factor behind the jump in January’s consumer price index before...

Latest price cut is deeper than February discounts a year ago Apple’s sales in China in the past quarter missed estimates Apple Inc.’s resellers in China are slashing the price of iPhone 15 models by as much as $180, signaling an unusually prolonged slump in demand....

Seven of 15 economists see a March policy shift as possible BOJ price target ‘coming into sight,’ board member Takata says The Bank of Japan sent one of the strongest signals yet that the end is near for its negative interest rate policy — an event for which the...

Fourth-quarter GDP fell 0.1% on quarter, trailing forecasts Data shows Sweden’s economy is less resilient to rate hikes Sweden’s economy fared worse in the final quarter of last year than seen previously, upending a narrative in which the biggest Nordic nation had...

Government committed to strengthening the ringgit’s position Central bank may intervene around 4.8 per dollar: State Street Malaysia’s central bank is “always ready” to curb the ringgit’s volatility, a senior finance official said, as investors eye a key threshold in...

Japan's January factory output fell at the fastest pace since May 2020, government data showed on Thursday, as a production downturn in motor vehicles adds to concerns about the fragility of an economy that slipped into recession late last year. Industrial output fell...

In one incident, Copilot offered mixed message on suicide Company says users deliberately tried to trick the chatbot Microsoft Corp. said it’s investigating reports that its Copilot chatbot is generating responses that users have called bizarre, disturbing and, in...

February was shaping up to be a banner month for Google’s ambitious artificial intelligence strategy. The company rebranded its chatbot as Gemini and released two major product upgrades to better compete with rivals on all sides in the high-stakes AI arms race. In the...

Two things are keeping the US economy afloat right now. First is massive deficit spending, as the US dumps about $2 trillion of borrowed money into the banking system each year:Second, the AI “instant bubble,” is sending huge amounts of capital into a handful of tech...

China’s aggressive policies to develop its battery-powered electric vehicle (BEV) industry have been successful in making the country the dominant producer of these vehicles worldwide. Going forward, BEVs will likely claim a growing share of global motor vehicle...

Consumer confidence took a step back in February. The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index for February registered its first decline since November, "reflecting persistent uncertainty about the US economy," said Dana Peterson, chief economist at The Conference...

Consumers taking on smaller projects, hurting kitchen sales Home improvement retailer is rolling out a DIY loyalty program Lowe’s Cos. said its sales will fall further this year as consumers continue to hold off from sprucing up their homes amid higher mortgage rates...

Largest Canadian pension takes steps to limit office exposure Fund’s discounted sales may have ripple effects in the market Canadian pension funds have been among the world’s most prolific buyers of real estate, starting a revolution that inspired retirement plans...

Galicia, Mariva and AdCap recommend unwinding positions Monthly CPI seen falling below 10% by mid-year on Milei plan Banks and funds in Argentina are telling clients to ease off short-term bonds with interest payments linked to inflation as early signs fuel market...

UBS estimate is based on excess transactions of 54 ETFs Swiss bank says national team holdings can rise further China’s state-backed funds have poured more than 410 billion yuan ($57 billion) into onshore shares this year in a bid to prop up the market, according to...

Here are some notable charts to monitor in commodities markets over the coming days. Shipping Commodity watchers keen on taking the pulse of the global economy should note that container ships — the lifeblood of trade — are traveling at the slowest speeds since...

Shares in Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL) fell below the key 50-day moving average on Monday as the internet giant grappled with the fallout from criticism of its "Gemini" artificial intelligence system. GOOGL stock is about break-even in 2024 with Monday's retreat. On...

Wages are increasingly important price driver, she reiterates Money markets see ECB cutting interest rates before Fed European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said the retreat in inflation in the euro zone will continue but that she and her colleagues need to...

Okonjo-Iweala pushes reform of Geneva-based organization Trade volumes may not reach WTO’s 3.3% growth estimate in 2024 The head of the World Trade Organization said global commerce, after proving resilient through the pandemic, is performing weaker than forecast amid...

Recasts, updates prices as of 0618 GMT BEIJING, Feb 26 (Reuters) - Copper prices lost ground on Monday, weighed down by a firmer U.S. dollar ahead of key economic data and rising inventories in top consumer China. Three-month copper on the London Metal...

Many economists expected the U.S. to suffer a recession last year. Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal in late 2022 put the odds of a recession at 63%. The prevailing logic was that the Federal Reserve would raise interest rates too much, causing a...

Google apologized Friday for its faulty rollout of a new artificial intelligence image-generator, acknowledging that in some cases the tool would “overcompensate” in seeking a diverse range of people even when such a range didn’t make sense. The partial explanation...

/ Google says Gemini AI’s tuning has led it to ‘overcompensate in some cases, and be over-conservative in others.’ Google has issued an explanation for the “embarrassing and wrong” images generated by its Gemini AI tool. In a blog post on Friday, Google says its model...

A new report found that 52% of students who recently obtained a bachelor’s degree are underemployed and this impacts how money much they’ll make in their careers. Your first job after college is more important than you might think. Roughly 52% of recent college...

Mortgage rates climbed for the third week in a row, inching closer to 7%. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.90% in the week ending February 22, up from 6.77% the previous week, according to data from Freddie Mac released Thursday. A year ago, the average...

Canadian consumers sharply pulled back their spending in January after stronger-than-expected retail purchases at the end of last year. Receipts for retailers fell 0.4%, the biggest decline since March 2023, according to an advance estimate from Statistics Canada...

Output expanded 0.1% in fourth quarter from previous quarter Mexico has held out against region rate-cutting trend Mexico’s economy barely grew in the fourth quarter, bolstering the chances that the central bank will join the regional trend for interest rate cuts as...

After critics slammed Google‘s “woke” generative AI system, the company halted the ability of its Gemini tool to create images of people to fix what it acknowledged were “inaccuracies in some historical image generation depictions.” Google’s Gemini, formerly known as...

Google on Thursday said it is pausing its Gemini artificial intelligence image generation feature after saying it offers “inaccuracies” in historical pictures. Users on social media had been complaining that the AI tool generates images of historical figures — like...

Investors in Chinese equities are becoming increasingly greedy as efforts by policy makers to stabilize the stock market gave a boost to confidence. The so-called Fear and Greed indicator, a measure of buying strength versus selling strength, for the CSI 300 Index...

China quant funds have drawn regulatory scrutiny recently China’s CSI 300 index reached five-year low earlier this month China’s equity rout a few weeks ago was exacerbated by quantitative funds stampeding to exit positions, akin to a 2007 episode in the US when such...

Shortly after the recovery from the pandemic recession began, the U.S. economy entered a period of high inflation as surging demand, severe supply disruptions, and worker shortages combined to create large imbalances and inflationary pressures in the economy. More...

Ningbo Lingjun sold $360 million of stocks withn a minute The selling is deemed ‘abnormal’ behavior by exchanges China’s two main stock exchanges froze the accounts of a major quantitative hedge fund for three days after the money manager dumped 2.57 billion yuan...

Oil falls from three-week high; iron tumbles on China worries US markets closed; S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures gain 0.3% Stocks and US equity futures were steady in muted trading as investors awaited fresh catalysts after a week that saw the S&P 500 breach...

Anticipation was mounting for Switch successor debut this year Nintendo has said current Switch remains its main business Nintendo Co. shares tumbled by as much as 8.8% after game-makers were told the company was pushing back the launch of its Switch successor to the...

Authored by Steve Watson via modernity.news, A leading scientific journal faces humiliation after it published a completely fake paper, purportedly written by Chinese researchers, which contained AI generated images of a rat with a penis bigger than its own body. The...

A surge in travel over Lunar New Year bodes well for sentiment Chinese shares in Hong Kong, US jumped while mainland was shut Chinese stocks look poised for a strong open when onshore traders return from the Lunar New Year break, with buoyant travel and tourism data...

Goldman’s Garrett spots ‘SPX 5k’ hats, rush for call options BofA’s financial stress indicator hits lowest level since 2021 Remember, this wasn’t supposed to happen. The era of tight money – and an uncertain inflation trajectory — threatened to deliver a big reckoning...

Fed asking if lenders have done enough to brace for bad loans Central bank steps up pace of issuing findings and downgrades US regulators are “closely focused” on risks in commercial real estate loans, and have stepped up downgrades of supervisory ratings on lenders...

KKR’s family office survey of 75 chief investment officers around the world found that family offices will have 52% of their portfolios invested in alternative investments this year, up from 42% in 2022. Cash holdings fell from 11% to 9% from 2022 to 2023, and their...

Value of purchases dropped 0.8% in January after down revision Building material stores, auto dealers led the decline US retail sales broadly declined in January, indicating consumers took a breather after a strong holiday shopping season. The value of retail...

As we detailed in our preview for premium subscribers, if the omniscient analyst at BofA are right this morning, the fecal matter is about to hit the rotating object as they saw retail sales declining bigly (more than expected) in January judging by real-time credit...

City disproportionately hit by properties due to tax system Report calls for value of office space to dip by 20% to 30% Tumbling market values for office buildings are poised to cost Boston more than $1 billion in tax revenue over the next five years, as the pitfalls...

Alibaba, JD.com are Scion’s top holdings after stakes boosted Firm reopened positions in companies in the third quarter Michael Burry, the money manager made famous in the Big Short, added to wagers on Chinese tech giants Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and JD.com Inc. in...

In a previous post, we highlighted that financially fragile households are disproportionately likely to use “buy now, pay later” (BNPL) payment plans. In this post, we shed further light on BNPL’s place in its users’ household finances, with a particular focus on how...

Raw sugar prices are expected to post an annual gain of nearly 20% in 2024 as the global market shifts into a deficit in the upcoming season, a Reuters poll of 12 traders and analysts showed. Sugar is set to close the year at 24.5 cents per lb, up 5% versus the close...

The chief executive officer of Castellum AB warned that the rental market will weaken more as the Swedish landlord reported that the value of newly signed contracts was lower than terminated leases in the fourth quarter. “The property industry has a tough year behind...

Hang Seng Index also turns positive after starting day lower Goldman says investors want a ‘comprehensive easing package’ Chinese equities listed in Hong Kong gained as trading resumed after the Lunar New Year holiday, with positive consumption data aiding sentiment....

The consumer price index increased 0.3% in January, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. On a 12-month basis, that came out to 3.1%, down from 3.4% in December. Shelter prices accounted for much of the rise, climbing 0.6% on the month, contributing more than...

City records worst new year holiday transactions since 2010 Buyers wait for more favorable policies to enter market Hong Kong’s top 10 private housing estates had no sales during the Lunar New Year holiday for the first time since records began in 2010, according to...

Commercial-property deals in the US are starting to pick up — at deep discounts that are forcing lenders around the world to brace for souring loans. The shakeout in the $20 trillion US commercial real estate market has long been delayed for a simple reason: No one...

(Bloomberg) -- The surprise jump in the January consumer price index probably will be less pronounced in the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge and potentially less alarming to central bank officials as they weigh when to cut interest rates. Based on the...

Consumer-prices growth slowed in many US regions in January — although inflation isn’t coming down as fast as economists expected. Southern and Pacific states once again saw higher-than-average annual rates. East South Central — which includes Alabama, Kentucky,...

Apollo co-president said some firms have too much debt Zelter sees signs of ‘hardening’ economic conditions Apollo Global Management Inc. Co-President Jim Zelter said that while the overall US economy and consumer remain relatively strong, he sees pockets of stress...

NEW YORK, Feb 13 (Reuters) - U.S. small business sentiment fell to its lowest since May 2023 in January, according to a report published Tuesday, as labor costs and slowed sales squeeze bottom lines. The National Federation of Independent Business monthly sentiment...

NFIB’s index decreased two points in January to 89.9 Share expecting better sales fell by most since mid-2022 US small-business optimism last month suffered the biggest drop in more than a year, due to deteriorating profits and diminishing sales expectations,...

Investor allocation to tech stocks highest since August 2020 Survey shows global growth expectations hit two-year high Investors are going “all in” on US technology stocks as they turn the most optimistic about global growth in two years, according to a survey by Bank...

Business climate in housing construction dropped to record low Outlook for the coming months is ‘bleak,’ Ifo’s Wohlrabe says Sentiment among homebuilders dropped to the lowest level since records began in 1991 as Germany’s construction slump threatens to intensify...

Index provider to delete 66 firms from MSCI China benchmark The changes also apply to the provider’s all-country gauge MSCI Inc. is cutting dozens of Chinese companies from its global benchmarks following a market rout that’s erased trillions of dollars in value from...

Outflow shows reduced need for hedge as Fed cools inflation Retail investors yanked money after record TIPS losses The great market inflation hedge of the pandemic era is officially over. Between cash outflows and capital losses, the combined assets of the 10 largest...

Extend and pretend kicks into high gear. For example, the $975 million mortgage on a San Francisco office tower. The portion of the $4.7 trillion in US commercial real estate debt that will come due this year – and in theory must be paid off through a sale,...

That’s what “spread far and wide” means. During the US CRE bubble, yield-chasers not just in the US but globally gorged on invincible US CRE. We talked a lot about how exposure to the massive losses in US commercial real estate has been spread far and wide,...

A commonly used measure of market liquidity is market depth, which refers to the quantity of securities market participants are willing to buy or sell at particular prices. The market depth of U.S. Treasury securities, in particular, is assessed in many analyses of...

Landlords and lenders hope falling interest rates will help Credit investors appear optimistic that issues aren’t systemic Property mogul Barry Sternlicht last week said there’s $1.2 trillion of real estate losses in offices alone and “nobody knows exactly where it...

NYCB was downgraded to junk by Moody’s, PBB and Aareal saw bonds plummet on their US CRE exposure Second Chapter The collapse of Credit Suisse in March 2023 seemingly marked the nadir of a flash banking crisis that began only a few weeks earlier with the...

The OECD expects global inflation to recede faster in most economies compared to its previous estimates, but urged central bankers to stay alert as it’s too soon to declare victory. Deflation in China is deepening, while annual revisions confirmed US inflation is on a...

Consumer prices in China plummeted last month at the fastest pace since the global financial crisis. The Chinese government is facing growing pressure to support a crumbling economy as experts warn that the consumer price index dropped 0.8 per cent in January from a...

(Bloomberg) -- The consumer price index continued to draw relatively weak response rates in 2023, calling to question the accuracy of the widely watched US inflation data. The share of completed surveys that were used in the CPI estimation stood at 71% in 2023, the...

Commercial real estate is a key focus for ECB supervisors Contagion spreading to European banks as values plunge The European Central Bank is signaling to lenders that they may face higher capital requirements if they have an insufficient handle on risks they face...

Nearly $20 billion rushed into China shares during last week Officials ramp up market intervention to stem stock rout Funds tracking the topsy-turvy Chinese stock market just recorded their biggest-ever weekly inflows, according to Bank of America Corp. strategists. A...

L’Oreal shares tumble after China weakness weighs on sales Hermes sales were boosted by strength in Americas and Japan Just over a year after China ended its Covid-Zero policy, the expected bounceback in spending on high-end consumer goods has failed to live up to...

Overseas developments from Mayfair to Toronto hit the market Discount prices could force a reassessment of industry losses Chinese investors and their creditors are putting up “For Sale” signs on real estate holdings across the globe as the need to raise cash amid a...

Narrative around economic growth has changed since 2015 Reluctance to use big stimulus makes lifting confidence hard China’s efforts to arrest a $7 trillion stock market rout are evoking memories from 2015, when Beijing took drastic steps to stem a crash. This time,...

China quants lost 7.2% in January, versus gains in 2023 Quants threatened by short-trading curbs, small-cap drop China’s deepening stock-market slump is even taking its toll on quantitative hedge funds, whose computer models have helped them outperform human traders...

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released its annual Budget and Economic Outlook, providing 11‐​year fiscal projections for 2024 to 2034. The CBO’s new report arrives as Congress gears up for another budget fight with annual discretionary spending and...

Hong KongCNN —  China’s consumer prices slid deeper into deflationary territory last month, suffering their biggest drop since the global recession in 2009 and underscoring the huge challenges facing the economy. The country’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) dropped by...

China’s Consumer Prices Drop at Fastest Pace Since Global Financial Crisis Source: Bloomberg  BullsNBears.com was founded to educate investors about the eight secular bear markets which have occurred in the US since 1802.  The site publishes bear market investing...