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☆ The Bomber Jacket Is Now Sleek, Sophisticated and… Almost Formal?
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( Todd Plummer | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

SUEDE AND SWEATS Former soccer star David Beckham’s handsome jacket elevates a sporty look in October. FOR A RECENT dressy work dinner with his company’s leadership team in Wayne, N.J., Cameron Birch took a style detour. Instead of defaulting to a tie and sport coat like his colleagues, the medical-device strategist, 34, reached for his emerald-green Club Monaco bomber jacket. This bomber aligns with his post-lockdown mood: These days he hankers for clothes that are “simple, clean, versatile and as comfortable as athleisure—but more dressed up.”A dressy bomber? Though this style of aviator jacket has typically skewed casual and utilitarian, it has lately been reborn as a sophisticate.

REUTERS/Tingshu WangHONG KONG/BEIJING/SHANGHAI, March 3 (Reuters) - As unprecedented protests against China's zero-COVID policies escalated in November, Li Qiang, the man recently elevated to No.2 on the ruling Communist Party's Politburo Standing Committee, seized the moment. Meanwhile, some local-level party workers and healthcare officials were grappling with growing challenges in implementing the zero-COVID policy. "From my perspective, it's not that we set out to relax the zero-COVID policy, it's more that we at the local level were simply not able to enforce the zero-COVID policy anymore," the official said. In mid-November, when Xi was still in Southeast Asia, he ordered Chinese authorities to "unswervingly" execute the zero-COVID policy, said two of the people, after which some cities retightened curbs. Xi's vacillating led to renewed debate on COVID policy among top leaders during mid to late November, one of these people and another person said.

☆ 'I can't get my money out': Billionaire investor Mark Mobius says China is restricting flows of capital out of the country
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( Carla Mozée | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Emerging markets investing veteran Mark Mobius says China is restricting capital outflows. Mobius said he's been unable to get an explanation about the "crazy" restriction. The government is restricting the flow of money out of the country," Mobius said on Thursday on the Fox Business show "Mornings with Maria". "So I would be very, very careful investing in China," the founder of Mobius Capital Partners said. The previous executive chairman of Templeton Emerging Markets Group said he's been able to get his money "in and out" of the financial center.

Such efforts to attract foreign investment come as the pandemic and geopolitical tensions push companies to diversify their supply chains away from China. The Commerce Ministry said Thursday that for the first time, it would launch events for an "Invest in China Year." Apple later said the Zhengzhou factory disruptions would delay deliveries of some iPhone 14 models. He also noted "serious challenges" to attracting foreign investment. Those include unfair competition with local players in China due to industrial policies, lack of legal protection for foreign business in China and geopolitical risks, Wang said.

☆ 3 Must-Know Truths to Remain a Profitable Stock Trader
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Laila Maidan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Jason Shapiro trades the opposite side of overcrowded positions. "I believe that going against mass participation of the crowd is what's going to give you good risk-reward trades," Shapiro said. The disciplined traderThe biggest tip Shapiro wants new traders to understand is that the stock market isn't an ATM machine. There are already thousands of analysts and millions of traders working off the same information. There are also trades that may have worked at one point that eventually stop working, he noted.

☆ I quit my job as a nurse to house-sit — and I've now lived rent-free in LA, Portugal, Costa Rica, and more
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Claire Turrell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Costa Rica and Mexico were the top two. We booked a trip to Costa Rica, but in March 2020, the pandemic hit and all our travel plans were put on hold. We checked out the site, and we typed in "Costa Rica" when it asked "Where do you want to go?" So far, we've stayed in 10 homes in landscapes as varied as the desert of Palm Springs and the jungle of Costa Rica. Our first house-sit was at a jungle casita in Costa Rica, where we looked after a little rescue dogIt proved to be one of our favorites.

☆ UK house prices show first annual fall since 2020 - Nationwide
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

With inflation still above 10% and borrowing costs rising, the house price fall represented the first annual drop since June 2020 - early in the coronavirus pandemic - and the biggest such decrease since November 2012, Nationwide said. Economists polled by Reuters had expected prices to fall by 0.9% from a year earlier and by 0.4% in monthly terms. Nationwide said prices were now 3.7% lower than their peak in August last year. "Solid gains in nominal incomes together with weak or declining house prices will also support housing affordability, especially if mortgage rates edge lower in the coming months." Nationwide forecast in December that house prices would fall 5% in 2023.

[1/4] A worker walks across a construction site in the Central Business District, ahead of the opening of the National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing, China, February 28, 2023. Nearly 3,000 delegates will gather in the Great Hall of the People west of Tiananmen Square for the first National People's Congress (NPC) of the post-zero-COVID era, although some precautions remain including testing and quarantine for journalists. It will also discuss Xi's plans for an "intensive" and "wide-ranging" re-organisation of state and Communist Party entities, state media reported on Tuesday, after a three-day meeting of the party's central committee. China's economy grew just 3% last year, one of its worst showings in nearly half a century. "We will strive to spur growth and have policy tools to do that, mainly by channelling money into big projects," Xu Hongcai, deputy director of the economic policy commission at the state-backed China Association of Policy Science, told Reuters.

☆ South African factory activity slumps in Feb on record power cuts - Absa PMI
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

JOHANNESBURG, March 1 (Reuters) - South African manufacturing activity contracted sharply in February as unprecedented power cuts led to a marked deterioration in business conditions, a survey showed on Wednesday. The business activity, new sales orders, employment and inventories indices were all in contractionary terrain, Absa said in a statement. "Load-shedding once again featured frequently in the commentary where respondents explained why activity declined relative to the previous month," Absa said, using a term for power outages. Struggling state electricity utility Eskom has implemented power cuts every day this year due to breakdowns at its coal-fired power plants, after a record number of days with outages last year. There was a steep fall in the PMI index measuring expected business conditions in six months' time, with the index falling to its lowest level since May 2020.

☆ Meet the 4 men tipped to run China’s economy
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Laura He | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Hong Kong CNN —The team of Communist Party officials running China’s economy is about to get a major makeover. They include the four men tipped to manage the world’s second biggest economy: Li Qiang as premier, Ding Xuexiang as executive vice premier, He Lifeng as vice premier and Zhu Hexin as the new central bank chief. That puts the 63-year-old in line to succeed Premier Li Keqiang when he steps down during the upcoming congress. Li would be the first premier since the Mao era not to have previously worked at the State Council, China’s cabinet, as vice premier, analysts say. Stringer/ICHPL Imaginechina/AP/FileThe 68-year-old would succeed Vice Premier Liu He, who led China’s negotiations with the United States during trade talks in 2018 and 2019.

☆ Here are 6 tips to navigate this year's stock market, according to the CIO of a wealth management firm for high-net-worth individuals
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Laila Maidan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

He also suggests having some exposure to small-cap stocks .. Non-US equities, especially in emerging markets, could outperform in a multi-year cycle. As for the fixed-income market, Bharath says it will continue to yield positive returns, even though they may not be massive. Second, an investor's portfolio should return to an equal balance between value and growth stocks this year. However, the same thesis for growth stocks can be applied to small-cap stocks. This is why investors that dollar cost average every month, such as through a 401(k), are able to get close to market returns, he added.

March 1 (Reuters) - A look at the day ahead in Asian markets from Jamie McGeever. How Asian markets trade on the second day of the month on Thursday may come down to which of these two forces retains the most momentum. chartSpiraling bond yields, rates and inflation expectations aren't confined to the U.S. - euro zone PMIs also highlighted stagflationary pressures, while euro zone inflation expectations are the highest in over a decade and, in a rare occurrence, pushing above U.S. equivalents. Can Asian markets withstand these pressures on Thursday and take their cue again from China's economic renaissance? There are no top-tier Asian economic data releases on tap - South Korean retail sales, Australian building approvals and Japanese consumer confidence - leaving flash February euro zone inflation as perhaps the biggest market-mover of the day.

☆ Japan's factory output posts biggest fall in 8 months on weak autos, chips sectors
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Kantaro Komiya | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

In contrast, retail sales posted their fastest growth in nearly two years, separate data showed, highlighting the divergent paths between soft manufacturing and robust service-sector activity. Factory output fell 4.6% in January from a month earlier on a seasonally adjusted basis, government data showed on Tuesday. Separate data showed Japanese retail sales rose 6.3% in January from a year earlier, beating a median market forecast for a 4.0% gain and posting an eleventh consecutive month of expansion. Despite the production cuts, retail sales of autos rose 19.3% year-on-year, suggesting strong pent-up demand among domestic consumers caused by delivery delays. Compared with the previous month, retail sales expanded 1.9% in January, following a 1.1% rise in December, the data showed.

☆ UK home prices to fall, but unlikely to come crashing down
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Jonathan Cable | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

After years of bumper price rises, the average cost of a home will fall 2.4% this year, according to the Feb. 15-27 poll of 19 housing market experts, shallower than the 4.7% fall predicted in a November poll. "House prices will fall in 2023, that is for sure. Because the number one variable for showing the direction of the housing market is employment - and that remains very, very good indeed." In November's poll, they were expected to fall 7.0% this year and flatline in 2024. (For other stories from the Reuters quarterly housing market polls:)Reporting by Jonathan Cable; polling by Aditi Verma and Vijayalakshmi Srinivasan; editing by Christina FincherOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Analysis: European stocks lure global investors as rate hikes hurt U.S. more
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( Shreyashi Sanyal | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Banks (.SX7P) accounted for nearly 16% of the STOXX 600 index (.STOXX) and have benefited from the high-rate environment, gaining nearly 20% to hit their highest in almost five years. In contrast, 35% of the S&P 500 (.SPX), the world's largest index by market value, are technology companies. Tech stocks (.SPLRCT) on the index have gained just 9% this year as rising rates make future profits for tech companies less valuable. CHEAPER IN EUROPEOn the valuation front too, the European stock market is much cheaper than the U.S. The STOXX 600 trades at about 13 times its 12-month forward price-to-earnings ratio, while the S&P 500 trades at some 18 times.

☆ Britons are shopping for holidays, says Primark
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, Feb 27 (Reuters) - Britain may be heading for a recession but many of its citizens are heading for the sun and shopping accordingly, the finance chief of clothing retailer Primark's owner said on Monday. Earlier this month, the Bank of England forecast a recession starting in early 2023 and lasting into early 2024. However, that is not deterring Britons from spending on holidays, with several airlines and holiday operators having recently reported robust forward bookings. "People are planning or have planned their holidays for this year," he said. He also highlighted strong sales of formal wear as Britons increased the frequency of their trips to the office and a big increase in sales of beauty products.

☆ How representation of Black artists in galleries, museums is changing
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-25 | by ( Lorie Konish | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

"There's a lot more support for Black artists that kind of came out of George Floyd's murder and institutions realizing that they need to do more," Peterson said. Saul Loeb | Afp | Getty ImagesThe market for work by Black American artists grew by nearly 400% between 2008 and 2021, according to a recent report from art market website ArtNet. Acquisitions of work by Black American artists peaked in 2015, two years after the start of the Black Lives Matter movement. "My impression is there are vastly increased number of solo shows and group shows dedicated to Black artists in London, in Paris, in New York, across the United States," Elliott said. Works from established artists like Kerry James Marshall that depict Black figures are influencing the work of new artists and creating a lineage, Elliott noted.

☆ Fact Check-"15-minute city" slogan on Ottawa construction site not evidence of any government policy where citizens will be "locked in"
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Furthermore, the 15-minute cities concept does not suggest locking residents within certain areas or using checkpoints and fines, as social media posts suggest. The 15-minute city concept is widely credited to Carlos Moreno, a city planning researcher who coined the term in 2016 (here). He said “15-minute neighbourhoods” are a part of the city’s Official Plan (here) but Brigil’s adoption of it “is a market choice and not a policy requirement”. Wise added: “The idea of 15-minute cities is not new and does not aim to limit movement across the city. The urban planning concept known as ‘15-minute cities’ does not include plans to limit freedom of movement or fine people for leaving their neighbourhood.

☆ A renowned market bear who called the dot-com crash warns stock valuations are at 'nosebleed' levels — and suggests that tech stocks could be the market's 'Achilles' heel'
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( William Edwards | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Societe Generale's Albert Edwards warns stock valuations are at 'nosebleed' levels. Historically, when yields are low, higher stock valuations are accepted as investors seek yield. But currently high yields in the Treasury market mean stock valuations, on a historical basis, should be lower. Societe GeneraleEdwards said the drop in long-term growth expectations could be assigned to a deteriorating outlook for tech stocks. Societe Generale"An expensive US CAPE ratio has long been justified by the US market's far higher weighting in tech," he said.

☆ Natural-Gas Prices Plunge, and Drillers Dial Back
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Ryan Dezember | David Uberti | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Chesapeake Energy says it will drop three of the 14 rigs drilling on its properties this year. Natural-gas prices have dropped more than 65% since mid-December and this week hit their lowest level since 2020’s pandemic lockdown, leading producers to throttle back drilling in a dramatic turn in the market for the heating and power-generation fuel. Expensive natural gas was a major contributor to inflation over the past two years, pushing up the price of electricity and staying warm as well as manufacturing costs for fertilizer, steel, glass, aluminum, plastic and cardboard.

European gas prices rallied in the run-up to Moscow's invasion of Ukraine begun almost exactly a year ago and they leapt to record highs when Russia subsequently cut supplies of relatively cheap pipeline gas. Although European prices have eased to around 50 euros ($53) per megawatt hour (MWh) from last August's peak of more than 340 euros, they remain above historic averages. That was even when they had received significant levels of Russian gas on long-term contracts prior to the shut down of the Nord Stream pipeline to Germany in August. Nord Stream's closure drove up European gas prices, as well as liquefied natural gas (LNG) prices, which also hit record levels of around 70 million British thermal units (mmBtu), compared with around $16 now . That could be tricky as the fall in gas prices this year has reduced the incentive to avoid the fuel.

☆ Colorado schools placed on lockdown after receiving threats
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/4] A police vehicle is seen in front of the Boulder High School after police responded to an unconfirmed report of an active shooter in Boulder, Colorado, U.S., February 22, 2023. REUTERS/Kevin MohattFeb 22 (Reuters) - Several Colorado schools on Wednesday were placed on lockdown after receiving threats, including Boulder High School where police responded to an unconfirmed report of an active shooter, officials said. Alamosa, another school district in Colorado, said someone called saying an armed individual entered the Ortega Middle School, triggering a lockdown that was lifted soon thereafter. Authorities made no mention of whether the alleged threats were connected and it was unclear how many were made. Police in at least two other Colorado communities - Canon and Aspen - were also investigating alleged threats against or near schools on Wednesday morning, a reporter with the Denver Post tweeted.

☆ Three Years Into Covid, We Still Don’t Know How to Talk About It
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Jon Mooallem | Photographs Ashley Gilbertson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +53 min

It will play out and reverberate for years or decades, Hagen told me. “The pathological normal,” Hagen calls it: a patchwork of homespun, bespoke realities, each one invested in a different story about what exactly happened when Covid ruptured the story of our lives. garb.”More than once, life seemed to be attaining “an uncanny resemblance to normal life,” as one man put it. But because we don’t totally understand where that experience has delivered us, we don’t know the right gloss to give it. “The days are strange,” one public-school teacher told Milstein toward the end of his first interview, in May 2020.

☆ I made $363,000 last year from self-publishing my books. Here's how I did it spending less than $20 a week on ads and winning over BookTok.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( Ella Hopkins | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

She connected with readers through authors' Facebook groups and by posting regularly on #BookTok. I decided to also publish my books through Kindle Select, which made my books accessible on Kindle Unlimited, a KDP subscription serviceI've always been a big reader, and I used Kindle Unlimited when I was struggling with money. I'd found so many authors I loved on Kindle Unlimited — it was important to me to have my book available there, too. I decided to make my books accessible to Kindle Unlimited readers. I connected with new readers by posting videos and doing takeovers of other author's Facebook pagesI hustled hard on social media.

☆ German exports to China decline in January despite lifting of lockdown
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Exports to China fell by 7.1% in January compared with the same month last year, to 7.4 billion euros ($7.90 billion). By comparison, exports to the United States grew by 20.8% to 12 billion euros, with the world's largest economy retaining its place as the most important customer for goods made in Germany. While goods worth around 298 billion euros were traded between the two countries last year, exports of German goods to China increased by only 3.1%, to around 107 billion euros. Germany, on the other hand, imported goods worth 191 billion euros from China, a third more than in 2021. Overall, Germany had a trade deficit with China of around 84 billion euros in 2022, a situation that German Finance Minister Christian Lindner called a "dangerous development".

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