Market

The Reasons Behind the Decline in Younger Generation Home Purchases in China’s Real Estate Crisis
21Dec mmBy Joe RodriguezNo Comments
China, Market

The Reasons Behind the Decline in Younger Generation Home Purchases in China’s Real Estate Crisis

Go to college, find a job, buy a house, get married: For decades, homeownership has been seen as an essential part of life in China. Based on that long-standing truth, analysts are forecasting optimistic outcomes for China’s housing market. However, all this may come to an end if China’s younger generation ceases to acquire residential properties. From 2010 to 2020, the proportion of Chinese adults aged 25 to 34 who own homes fell from over 70 percent to 50 percent, with major cities seeing nearly 30 percent of young adults renting their homes, compared to just 11 percent of those aged 45 to 54 This change has been years in the making. Between skyrocketing home prices, the housing market debt default crisis, and a shifting culture, China’s younger generation is facing a vastly diffe...
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Jidu Auto’s shutdown signals trouble in China’s EV market
20Dec mmBy Michael SmithNo Comments
China, Market

Jidu Auto’s shutdown signals trouble in China’s EV market

Jidu Auto, a rising star in the Electric Vehicle (EV) sector, grabbed headlines just a few months ago with the launch of its second model. However, the company abruptly announced massive layoffs and the closure of its operations this week, stirring concerns about an impending shakeout in China's EV industry. "It's over. Don't watch anymore; we're shutting down. Just leave. Yes, our car company has gone bankrupt. It happened today. Leave quickly," declared a Jidu Auto live stream host tearfully, highlighting the shock and devastation among the employees.  On December 13th, BYD and Geely released a joint statement revealing that Jidu Auto would undergo layoffs and cease operations. The statement cited "tremendous changes" in the industry's competitive landscape, making the curre...
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Singapore’s Inflation Data Is Essential For Future Monetary Actions
20Dec mmBy Walter ParezNo Comments
Market, Singapore

Singapore’s Inflation Data Is Essential For Future Monetary Actions

What’s going on here? Singapore is closely watching November's inflation report, which could influence the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s (MAS) upcoming policy decisions amid global trade uncertainties. What does this mean? November's core inflation in Singapore is expected to remain steady at 2.1%, aligning closely with MAS's quarterly forecast of 2%. However, with economists at DBS Bank predicting a core inflation average of 1.8% by 2025, MAS might hold off on easing until US policies provide a clearer backdrop. Singapore uses the Singapore dollar nominal effective exchange rate (S$NEER) to guide its monetary policy, adjusting factors like slope and width to manage economic conditions. Recent surveys show reduced expectations for a January policy easing, backed by Moody's an...
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Quarterly economic overview for Southeast Asia: Mixed growth
20Dec mmBy Brian ThompsonNo Comments
Asia, Market

Quarterly economic overview for Southeast Asia: Mixed growth

Southeast Asia economies continued to deliver credible economic performance, although growth momentum was mixed across the region. Vietnam’s GDP growth of 7.4 percent in the third quarter was its third-highest attained in the past five years, while Singapore saw its strongest quarterly GDP growth since 2022 at 5.4 percent. Thailand, too, saw accelerated growth. Growth momentum, meanwhile, abated in Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines (Exhibit 1). Core growth drivers remained broadly solid, with the combination of strong exports, higher investments, output expansion, and stable consumption prevalent across most markets.1 The resilient labor markets and lower inflation conditions, coupled with sustained demand from key global markets, such as China and the United States, should prov...
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Closing Bell: IT, banks suffer the most, and pharmaceutical is the only exception as the Sensex drops 960 points and the Nifty closes at 23,950.
19Dec mmBy Walter ParezNo Comments
Market, World

Closing Bell: IT, banks suffer the most, and pharmaceutical is the only exception as the Sensex drops 960 points and the Nifty closes at 23,950.

Shrikant Chouhan, Head Equity Research, Kotak SecuritiesToday, the benchmark indices corrected sharply, with the Nifty ends 247 points lower and the Sensex down by 964 points. Among sectors, the Pharma and Healthcare indices rallied over 1 percent, while the IT, Defence, and financial indices shed over 1 percent. Technically, after a gap down, the market hovered within the range of 23,900/79,200 to 24,000/79,500 throughout the day. We believe that the short-term market sentiment remains on the weak side; however, due to temporary oversold conditions, we could see a quick pullback rally from the current levels. For traders, the key support zones are at 23,870/79,000 and the 200-day SMA (Simple Moving Average) or 23,825/78,800. If the index remains above these levels, we could see a q...
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In the third quarter, the U.S. economy grew at a faster rate of 3.1% than previously predicted.
19Dec mmBy Mike TrudellNo Comments
Market, USA

In the third quarter, the U.S. economy grew at a faster rate of 3.1% than previously predicted.

The American economy grew at a healthy 3.1% annual clip from July through September, propelled by vigorous consumer spending and an uptick in exports, the government said in an upgrade to its previous estimate. Third-quarter growth in U.S. gross domestic product — the economy’s output of goods and services — accelerated from the April-July rate of 3% and continued to look sturdy despite high interest rates, the Commerce Department said Thursday. GDP growth has now topped 2% in eight of the last nine quarters.Consumer spending, which accounts for about two-thirds of U.S. economic activity, expanded at a 3.7% pace, fastest since the first quarter of 2023 and an uptick from Commerce’s previous third-quarter estimate of 3.5%. Exports climbed 9.6%. Business investment grew a lackluster 0...
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Last month, retail sales increased steadily, which is the most recent indication of the strength of the US economy.
18Dec mmBy Mike TrudellNo Comments
Market, USA

Last month, retail sales increased steadily, which is the most recent indication of the strength of the US economy.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Consumers stepped up their spending at retail stores last month, providing a boost to the economy in the early phases of the winter holiday shopping season. Retail sales rose 0.7% in November, the Commerce Department said Tuesday, a solid increase and higher than October’s 0.5% gain. Sales jumped 2.6% at auto dealers, driving most of the gain. Some of that demand likely reflected a need for new cars in parts of the southeast slammed by Hurricane Helene in October, as well as healthy incentives provided by car dealers. Big discounts at many retail chains also attracted some consumers. The boost in spending underscores that the economy is still growing at a healthy pace even with higher interest rates, a trend that could cause the Federal Reserve to lower borrowing c...
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Sectors That Can Succeed amid Economic Downturns
18Dec mmBy Mike TrudellNo Comments
Market, USA

Sectors That Can Succeed amid Economic Downturns

The U.S. economy was rapidly falling into a recession amid the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. The Federal Reserve raised interest rates and kept them higher than expected as late as 2023, forecasting another recession. It then announced in November 2024 that, "Recent indicators suggest that economic activity has continued to expand at a solid pace." The Federal Reserve maintained a somber tone but it brought the red flag down from the pole.1 The economy was rocked by a short-lived but gruesome period in the first quarter of 2020, sometimes referred to as the Great Lockdown. Only 32 stocks in the S&P 500 representing 6% of the total index posted positive returns during this period.2 These stocks increased for many reasons. Looking at which stocks did well can nonetheless show broad p...
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The Hasina administration disregarded economic warnings: Farashuddin
17Dec mmBy Brian ThompsonNo Comments
Asia, Market

The Hasina administration disregarded economic warnings: Farashuddin

The previous government, led by Sheikh Hasina, ignored repeated warnings from experts on various economic issues in Bangladesh, according to Mohammed Farashuddin, a former governor of the country's central bank. "The Hasina administration did not heed warnings from economists on the lack of good governance in the banking sector or rampant money laundering and tax evasion in Bangladesh," he said. "Rather, the people who brought up such issues became victims of rudeness," he said during a public lecture on "World Trade and Bangladesh" organised by East West University (EWU) at its auditorium in Dhaka today. The former central bank governor informed that he was prohibited from entering Hasina's residence at Gono Bhaban for six years while he was also banned from Bangabhaban for four...
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The central bank of Pakistan lowers the main policy rate by 200 basis points to 13%.
16Dec mmBy Brian ThompsonNo Comments
Asia, Market

The central bank of Pakistan lowers the main policy rate by 200 basis points to 13%.

Pakistan's central bank on Monday further reduced the key policy rate by 200 basis points (bps) to 13 per cent from 15 per cent amid improvement in inflation. The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) announced that its Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) decided to cut the policy rate by 200 bps to 13 per cent, effective from December 17, 2024. It said that the decision was helped by the continued decline in food inflation as well as the phasing out of the impact of the hike in gas tariffs in November 2023. However, it added that core inflation, which stood at 9.7 per cent, was proving to be sticky, whereas inflation expectations of consumers and businesses remain volatile. The MPC also noted that the current account had remained in surplus for the third consecutive month in October 2024, wh...
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