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☆ China's service sector remains a bright spot as factory data disappoints, Caixin reading shows
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Jihye Lee | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

China's services activity remained well within growth territory in April as a private survey showed a softer reading from March. Atlantide Phototravel | Corbis Documentary | Getty ImagesChina's services activity remained well within growth territory in April, even as a private survey showed a softer reading compared with March. The latest Caixin reading suggests that services activity is still "undergoing a fast recovery," according to Wang Zhe, senior economist at Caixin Insight Group. The continued expansion in China's services activity stood in contrast to the disappointing factory activity reported earlier in the week. "It is worth noting that manufacturing and services activity diverged, with employment and input costs in the manufacturing sector contracting significantly," Wang wrote.

The company’s revenue was slightly better than what Wall Street had expected, but it nonetheless represented the second consecutive quarterly revenue decline for the iPhone maker. Despite the continued revenue decline, there were bright spots in the report. Apple also posted an all-time services sales record of $20.9 billion for the quarter. The services business — which includes Apple Music and Apple TV+ — is an increasingly important revenue driver for Apple that is less cyclical than hardware sales. Apple’s latest quarterly earnings report comes amid a sharp decline in PC and smartphone sales globally after a surge earlier in the pandemic.

☆ S.Korea factory activity shrinks in April, marks longest downturn in 6 years - PMI
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

However, it remained below the 50-mark that separates expansion from contraction for the 10th straight month in a row, the longest such streak since May 2017. "April PMI data provided further evidence that South Korean manufacturing firms continued to struggle in the face of the current global economic weakness," said economist Usamah Bhatti at S&P Global Market Intelligence. Sub-indexes showed output shrank for a 12th month, but at the joint-softest pace in the streak. New orders fell for a 10th month, with the pace also easing from the previous month. New export orders fell for a 14th month, at a pace only slightly milder than the month before.

☆ Why Prices, Inflation Are Still Soaring: Corporate Price Gouging
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Juliana Kaplan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +16 min

While many of the problems that helped trigger the upward spiral have abated, prices are still high and getting higher. The idea that companies are taking advantage of disruptions to push price increases on consumers has many names — greedflation, excuseflation, price gouging, corporate profiteering — but the gist is the same. Supply-chain issues and other disruptions made sense as drivers of higher prices, Chris Becker, a senior economist and the associate director of policy and research at the Groundwork Collaborative, told me. "Working people are suffering thanks to corporate greed, so we need to enact tougher rules to ensure corporations pay a price when they price gouge." Working people are suffering thanks to corporate greed, so we need to enact tougher rules to ensure corporations pay a price when they price gouge.

☆ Japan's factory activity contracts at slower pace in April
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

TOKYO, May 1 (Reuters) - Japan's factory activity contracted for the sixth straight month in April, but the details of a private survey released on Monday showed the manufacturing sector was edging towards stabilisation amid a slower decline in new orders. New orders contracted at the softest pace since July while remaining below the 50.0 threshold for a tenth consecutive month as inbound demand stabilised moderately. Factory output also contracted for a tenth consecutive month, with some manufacturers citing that raw materials shortages had weighed on production. Input price inflation eased to its slowest pace since August 2021, although prices were still relatively high to due rising costs for raw materials. Employment grew at the strongest pace since October, while business confidence remained robust and little changed from March.

☆ India April factory activity hits 4-month high on robust demand
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( Anant Chandak | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BENGALURU, May 1 (Reuters) - India's factory activity expanded at its quickest pace in four months in April, driven by solid growth in new orders and output, a private survey showed on Monday, signaling resilient demand and an encouraging outlook. The survey results suggest India will continue to be one of the fastest-growing major economies despite slowing global growth that has undermined momentum across several other countries. "Reflecting a robust and quicker expansion in new orders, production growth took another step forward in April. Besides seeing the strongest inflow of new work in 2023 so far, capacities were expanded through job creation, input buying was lifted." Foreign demand also expanded at the fastest pace in four months in April and optimism improved.

☆ Intel Faces a Long Climb Back from the Bottom
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Dan Gallagher | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Intel has ruled the market for central processing units since the 1980s. But rival AMD overtook Intel in market value last year, thanks in part to an expensive bet on chip design. Intel hitting rock bottom isn’t a pretty sight, but it is still a welcome one. The chip maker’s first-quarter results late Thursday took the “better than feared” concept to a new level. In another first, Intel actually lost money in its data-center segment—a business that generated operating margins of 50% in the same quarter just three years prior.

☆ How Elon Musk upended Twitter and his own reputation in 6 months as CEO
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Clare Duffy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

But it’s not clear just how and when Musk might return Twitter to growth. Musk’s primary plan to grow Twitter’s business through an overhauled subscription strategy has resulted in much chaos but only a limited number of actual subscriptions. In the process, Musk has also upended his own reputation. Disrupting the digital town squareFor years, what differentiated Twitter from other social platforms was that it served as a central hub for real-time news. Tesla (TSLA) shareholders recently complained to the company’s board that Musk appears “overcommitted.”“His reputation has been diminished significantly with Twitter … and once you lose it, it’s very difficult to recover,” Klepper said.

☆ U.S. five-year credit default swaps hit new 2011 high
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, April 26 (Reuters) - The cost of insuring exposure to United States sovereign debt rose to its highest since 2011 on Wednesday, driven up by unease that the government could hit its debt ceiling sooner than expected. Spreads on U.S. five-year credit default swaps widened to 62 basis points, data from S&P Global Market Intelligence showed, up from a close of 59 bps on Tuesday. This is more than double the level they stood at at the start of the year and represents the highest level since 2011, according to Refinitiv data. U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Tuesday warned that failure by Congress to raise the government's debt ceiling - and the resulting default - would trigger an "economic catastrophe" that would send interest rates higher for years to come. Reporting by Dhara Ranasinghe; Editing by Amanda CooperOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Temu, the online superstore, expands to Europe after conquering the US
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Michelle Toh | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Hong Kong CNN —Temu, an online shopping platform that has quickly become the most popular app in the United States, has crossed the Atlantic. The company is now operating in six European countries, including France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and the United Kingdom, according to its website. Temu is a Boston-based online retailer that was launched last year by PDD (PDD), a US-listed company formerly known as Pinduoduo. PDD (PDD) was previously based in Shanghai but it has recently moved its head office to Dublin, according to the company’s regulatory filings. It’s able to drive down costs, and prices, thanks to a network of more than 11 million suppliers and fulfillment partners built up over the years by its owner, PDD, according to a spokesperson.

☆ What Goldman's top dealmaker is saying behind the scenes about M&A and its spot on the league tables after a tough first quarter
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Carter Johnson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Goldman was forced to share its M&A crown with JPMorgan last quarter. It's been a tough road in 2023 for the Wall Street banks that specialize in advising on mergers and acquisitions. In a note sent to Goldman's alumni network last Tuesday, Feldgoise acknowledged that things have been tough. The importance of Goldman's M&A franchise was underscored by the bank's first-quarter earnings released Tuesday. "The Goldman M&A franchise has been #1 for 20+ years," Feldgoise said in his letter.

Hong Kong/New York CNN —Temu and Shein are taking off in the United States, topping app stores and creating a frenzy with consumers. Shein was started in China, while Temu was launched by a Chinese company that now bills itself as a multinational firm. Both firms have enjoyed major success in the United States, noted Nicholas Kaufman, a policy analyst for the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission. Topping the chartsTemu and Shein have taken the world’s largest retail market — the United States — by storm. It has quickly become the most downloaded app in the United States, and continues to expand its user base.

☆ How the U.S. Clean Air Act lets closed coal plants keep polluting for years
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-22 | by ( Tim Mclaughlin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +10 min

Under the federal program, states distribute a certain number of allowances to power plants annually. Reuters found dozens of other examples of coal plants using credits from closed facilities to help comply with pollution rules over the past five years. During the 2021 ozone season, New Madrid’s pollution was five times higher than average among coal plants participating in the NOx-reduction program, EPA data show. RED-STATE PROTESTSUtilities and lawmakers in Republican-controlled states have pushed hard against curbs on coal pollution, including the EPA’s latest NOx-reduction regulations. But even at that price, NOx allowances will find buyers among coal plants, including those that operate at high pollution rates.

☆ US 5-year credit default swaps rise to highest since 2011
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

April 21 (Reuters) - The cost of insuring exposure to United States sovereign debt rose to the highest level since 2011 on Friday, over market jitters that the government could hit its debt ceiling sooner-than-expected. Spreads on U.S. five-year credit default swaps widened to 51 basis points, data from S&P Global Market Intelligence showed. This is more than double the level they stood at the start of the year. Reporting by Alden Bentley, Editing by Franklin PaulOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

REUTERS/Pierre AlbouyMILAN/LONDON, April 21 (Reuters) - Short-sellers who bet against European banks are set to lose a substantial amount of money in April after the sector bounced back from the shock downfall of Credit Suisse (CSGN.S) in anticipation of strong quarterly earnings. The STOXX European banks share index (.SX7P) has risen as much as 18% from late March's lows. But a Bank of America survey showed fund managers cut bank exposure in April to the lowest since May 2020, as they piled into more recession-proof defensive sectors. Ortex estimates short interest on European banks is close to 1% of the free share float, an 11-month high. One area of concern is exposure to commercial real estate and investors will be alert to any sign of emerging stress as European lenders report earnings next week.

Collisions are more likely in such cases, raising the odds of a devastating oil spill. It’s also harder to tell whether the vessels with murky ownership comply with the strict rules governing oil transfers at sea, according to Kenney. Group of Seven nations have imposed a cap on the price of Russian oil and oil products, and a smaller pool of buyers can also negotiate greater discounts. China’s imports of Russian oil in the first quarter of the year rose 38% compared with a year prior, according to Kpler data. As trade of Russian oil has become more complex, many Western shippers have pulled back.

The survey's flash services sector PMI rose to 53.7, the highest reading in a year, from 52.6 in March. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the services PMI falling to 51.5. Flash PMIIn the euro zone, the bloc's dominant services industry saw already-buoyant demand rise too, more than offsetting a deepening downturn in manufacturing. However, the manufacturing PMI fell to 45.5 from 47.3, its lowest since the coronavirus pandemic was cementing its grip on the world three years ago. "The PMI sheds a positive light on the economic performance in the euro zone, as a pickup in service sector activity is boosting growth," said Bert Colijn, senior euro zone economist at ING, noting manufacturing weakness remained a concern.

A showdown over U.S. government efforts to raise the $31.4 trillion debt ceiling for the world's largest economy have sent jitters through global financial markets. JPMorgan said in a note published late Wednesday it expected the debt ceiling to become an issue as early as May, and that the debate over both the ceiling and the federal funding bill would run "dangerously close" to final deadlines. Yields on U.S. T-bills, the most sensitive to the debt ceiling debate, were again pushing higher as the deadline draws nearer. The debt ceiling is the maximum amount the U.S. government can borrow to meet its financial obligations. It can only pay Treasury bills (T-bills) through tax revenue.

☆ Markets are starting to get worried about US debt default
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Elisabeth Buchwald | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

But that’s starting to change, in what is shaping up to be a nail-biting game of debt ceiling squabbling as the shot clock is winding down. When the debt ceiling was breached in January, five-year CDS spreads hovered around 35 basis points. How does this compare to the 2011 debt ceiling debacle? In 2011 a debt ceiling standoff led to credit-rating agency Standard and Poor’s downgrade of US debt from the highest possible status, AAA, to AA+. After that occurred, the cost of insuring against US debt for a year jumped to 63 basis points.

REUTERS/Brendan McDermidNEW YORK, April 20 (Reuters) - A debt ceiling fight is looming in the U.S. yet again, giving investors another worry for markets this year. Here is a Q&A about the implications for markets:WHAT IS THE DEBT CEILING? The debt ceiling is the maximum amount the U.S. government can borrow to meet its financial obligations. Outstanding government debt, nominal gross domestic product and federal limit to borrowWHEN WILL THE U.S. HIT THE DEBT CEILING? Some Treasury bills (T-bills) are featuring a premium in their yields that may be tied to an elevated default risk, according to some analysts.

☆ Apple is serious about India, says market intelligence firm
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailApple is serious about India, says market intelligence firmNavkendar Singh of the International Data Corporation says Apple is "willing to bring the experience" its known for.

☆ Factbox: Red-hot copper riding a new wave of consolidation
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] The logo for Canadian mining company Teck Resources Limited is displayed above their booth at the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) annual conference in Toronto, Ontario, Canada March 7, 2023. REUTERS/Chris Helgren/File PhotoApril 19 (Reuters) - Glencore Plc (GLEN.L) has offered $22.5 billion for Canadian copper miner Teck Resources Ltd (TECKb.TO), the latest in a wave of deals in the global copper industry amid surging demand and tight supply for the red metal anchoring the green energy transition. "The green energy transition has been a growth driver for many aspects of the metals and mining industry, with demand for key metals such as copper, nickel, lithium and cobalt expected to remain on an upward trajectory and supply to trend downward," S&P Global Commodity Insights analyst Aude Marjolin said in a report. Following are some of the largest copper mining deals since 2022, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence. Reporting by Arunima Kumar in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj KalluvilaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ The American consumer has bad news for the economy
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( Nicole Goodkind | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

That’s why Wall Street is already fretting over Friday’s retail sales report, which is expected to show that the mighty American consumer is pulling back. Economists forecast that retail sales fell 0.4% in March from the month before. But Goldman Sachs and Bank of America analysts say core sales — that’s without autos, gasoline, and building materials — slowed by about 1%. A taxing problem: Still, the health of the American consumer is still relatively strong, the BofA analysts said. A one-bedroom apartment had a median rent of $4,150, up 9.6% from last year, while a two-bedroom apartment had a median rent of $5,680, up 18.3% from a year ago.

A Labor Department report showed producer prices unexpectedly fell in March as the cost of gasoline declined, and there were signs that underlying producer inflation was subsiding. The benchmark S&P 500 (.SPX) has traded in a tight range this month, having recovered from a selloff in March fueled by the recent banking crisis, as investors assessed the path for U.S. interest rates. Wall Street closed lower on Wednesday after data showed consumer prices rose at a slower-than-expected pace in March, however, core prices remained sticky and supported the case for another 25-basis point rate hike by the Fed in May. Communication services (.SPLRCL), consumer discretionary (.SPLRCD) and technology shares (.SPLRCT) led the gains among major S&P 500 (.SPX) sector indexes, while economy-sensitive stocks such as industrials (.SPLRCI) were among the worst hit. Financial companies that are part of the S&P 500 are expected to report a profit growth of 4.3% in the first quarter.

☆ Analysis: Twitter's advertising business seen facing slow recovery
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Sheila Dang | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Musk, who also runs electric carmaker Tesla Inc (TSLA.O), earlier this week told the BBC that most of Twitter's advertisers are returning to the platform and the business was "roughly breaking even." Research firm Insider Intelligence this week slashed its forecast for Twitter's global ad revenue this year by 37% to $2.98 billion. That would represent a 28% decline from Twitter's 2022 ad revenue of $4.14 billion. 33 among Twitter's top advertisers before Musk's acquisition, according to Sensor Tower. Twitter's ad business is "eroding" and its subscription product Twitter Blue is seeing only moderate success, Similarweb said in a blog post.

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