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☆ China's economy grew 4.5% in the first quarter, the fastest pace in a year
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( Jihye Lee | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The economy grew 3% in 2022, less than Beijing's official target of around 5.5% set in March last year. For 2023, the government last month set a modest growth target of "around 5%." On pace to exceed targetGoldman Sachs said China's first-quarter growth of 4.5% supports the firm's full-year outlook for the economy to grow 6%. "Today's data are in line with our full-year bullish view for China growth," Goldman Sachs' chief China economist Hui Shan told CNBC. We keep the full-year GDP forecast at 5% as external demand should be a concern for the year," Pang wrote.

The Brooklyn writer and brand consultant, 33, has lately been trying to cut down on her screen time, so she bought an analog watch—specifically a 1979 Rolex Lady-Datejust. “That I have one less reason to pull [my phone] out of my pocket is a relief,” she said. Ms. Baxter is among the many women who, as a form of self-care, are shunning techy time-tellers and opting for analog watches (old-school tickers that actually tick). It’s a move Deepika Chopra, a Los Angeles holistic psychologist, recommends to clients experiencing smartphone or social-media overload. Janet Ozzard, 58, felt a sense of freedom after ditching her digital tracker for Shinola’s mechanical Birdy watch earlier this year.

☆ The fallout from empty offices is coming. Here's where investors could see the pain
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( Christina Cheddar Berk | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +12 min

As concerns about regional banks roiled markets, investors weighed another threat: commercial real estate. Also, layered on top of the property value pressure, are the tightening credit conditions brought on by the recent turmoil in the banking sector. There is no doubt this scenario is a toxic mix for the capital-intensive real estate industry. At the moment, many experts say the real estate market isn't causing trouble for banks, but fears about the financial system are likely worsening conditions in real estate because liquidity is being reduced. The biggest concern is seeing how many other companies join Brookfield , Blackstone and Pimco in handing back the keys on office properties, Clancy said.

☆ Twitter to let users offer content subscriptions in monetization push
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

April 13 (Reuters) - Twitter-owner Elon Musk said on Thursday users of the social media platform will be able to offer their followers subscriptions to content, including long-form text and hours-long video. loadingUsers offering the subscription, a feature they can access through the "Monetization" tab in settings, will get all the money subscribers pay apart from the charges platforms such as Android and iOS levy. "That's 70% for subscriptions on iOS & Android (they charge 30%) and ~92% on web (could be better, depending on payment processor)," Musk said in a tweet, adding Twitter will also help promote the creators' work and maximize earnings. Musk has been bringing in changes to boost revenue at Twitter after the social media platform saw advertising income drop last year in the run up to his on-again-off-again acquisition that closed in October. The social media firm was now "roughly breaking even", Musk said in a Twitter Spaces interview on Wednesday.

☆ The housing market's fluctuations of the last year have left the best forecasters torn on what home prices will do in 2023
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

That said, today's newsletter focuses on the housing market — and why economists can't seem to agree on what it's going to do next. Some of the top real-estate forecasters in the world expect home prices to drop in 2023. Zillow forecasts home prices to climb 0.5% this year, and CoreLogic predicts a year-over-year increase of 3.7% by February 2024. Last month's financial turmoil that Silicon Valley Bank kicked off has led many analysts to anticipate a cut or pause in rate hikes, which could lead to fluctuations in housing demand and affordability. Prices in New York rose nearly 2% Wednesday as fears of a global supply shock intensified.

☆ Ticks Are Bringing Disease to a Backyard Near You
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( Brianna Abbott | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com. https://www.wsj.com/articles/tick-season-diseases-lyme-backyards-39599226

☆ Living standards are still falling in Japan. That’s a recipe for more stagnation
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( Michelle Toh | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Adjusted for inflation, wages slipped 2.6% in February, compared to the same month a year earlier, according to government data released last week. That means it’ll be tough for Ueda to hike interest rates, especially as living standards aren’t rising either. The issue of stagnant wages could improve this year, as companies heed the call to raise salaries in response to inflation. Workers in Japan have been grappling with stagnant wages, leading to a government push for businesses to hike pay. But in Japan, it’s high enough to feel uncomfortable, given stagnant wage growth, according to Angrick.

☆ Inflation hits the mailbox: Postage stamp prices are rising, again
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( Nathaniel Meyersohn | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

The US Postal Service said Monday that it filed a notice with its regulators to increase prices on first-class mail stamps to 66 cents from 63 cents. The Postal Service said the hike was necessary to offset a rise in operating expenses. Surging prices have dented business across the global economy over the past two years, pushing up workers’ wages and increasing the costs of doing business. “These price adjustments are needed to provide the Postal Service with much needed revenue,” the agency said in a statement. Domestic postcards will also increase from 48 cents to 51 cents, and international postcards from $1.45 to $1.50.

The Federal Reserve has gone too far with its interest rates hikes — creating a difficult upcoming three-to-six months for stocks, Wharton School professor Jeremy Siegel said Wednesday. Siegel said he was bullish on stocks in January. And that's the official forecast of the Fed," Siegel said. It could be more severe than that, which could lead to more decline in earnings," he added. To be sure, Siegel is still bullish on equities for the long term and thinks the markets will tick up in 2024 and 2025.

☆ Stock futures tick lower as investors weigh recession risk: Live updates
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( Brian Evans | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Signage outside the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, US on Thursday, March 23, 2023. Wall Street futures were little changed on Wednesday evening, as investors weighed recession risk following the latest meeting minutes from the Federal Reserve. Futures linked to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were 60 points lower, or 0.2%, while Nasdaq 100 futures inched down 0.1%. The CPI advanced 0.1% month over month in March, and 5% from the prior year. Traders' sentiment turned in the afternoon following the release of minutes from the March Federal Open Market Committee meeting.

☆ Elon Musk says Twitter is roughly breaking even. That looks like vindication for his haphazard management but he'll need a sharper plan to get to profitability.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( Hasan Chowdhury | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Elon Musk's reign of chaos at Twitter may have saved it from collapse, but there's a long way to go. This was better than the $1.1 billion Twitter lost in 2020, but still indicative of the firm's struggle for consistent profitability. Another, possibly terminal, issue: Musk seems not to have quite figured out what he wants Twitter to be. But if he wants Twitter to make money consistently, Musk needs users coming back for the long run. Chaos won't do that.

☆ NY Fed report sees several more years of balance sheet contraction
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( Michael S. Derby | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The Fed is now allowing just shy of $100 billion per month in bonds it owns to expire and not be replaced. The New York Fed report also offered projections of the net negative income situation the institution faces as part of its efforts to raise rates. While the Fed was still able to hand back excess profits to the Treasury in 2022, its income turned negative late last year. "The projections for negative net income suggest that remittances to the U.S. Treasury will be suspended for some time, and that the deferred asset recorded on the Federal Reserve’s balance sheet reflecting the accumulated net loss will continue to grow," the report said. But central bankers and analysts have cautioned that the resulting expansion of the balance sheet due to this lending is not stimulative to the economy.

Total non-OPEC liquid fuels production is expected to grow by 1.9 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2023 and by 1 million bpd in 2024, the EIA said in its Short Term Energy Outlook. OPEC output will fall by 500,000 bpd in 2023, then rise by 1 million bpd in 2024, after the group's output agreement expires, EIA forecast. U.S. crude production set to rise 5.5% to 12.54 million bpd this year and another 1.7%, to 12.75 million bpd, in 2024. Liquid fuels consumption will rise by 1.4 million bpd in 2023 and by 1.8 million bpd in 2024, EIA said. U.S petroleum and other liquid fuels consumption would tick up 0.5% to 20.4 million bpd in 2023 and rise 1.6% to 20.7 million bpd in 2024, EIA added.

☆ More than 50,000 US retail stores are expected to close in the next 5 years as e-commerce and rising costs push smaller shops out of business
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( Dominick Reuter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The US has almost a million retail stores, and is on track to shed over 50,000 of them by 2028. Rising costs and more ecommerce are favoring large retailers and pushing smaller ones out of business. UBS analysts say closures could tick even higher if sales growth slows below long-term trends. According to UBS, e-commerce sales are projected to rise to 26% of total retail sales by 2028, up from the current estimated level of 20%. Conversely, stronger sales growth would keep more stores open, the analysts said.

☆ Inside the 5-hour psychological interview that can make or break your career at Citadel, Blackstone, and other finance titans
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( Emmalyse Brownstein | Alex Morrell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +16 min

ghSmartThe company's unusual but rigorous approach to screening job candidates has won it the trust of some of the finance industry's most competitive and coveted workplaces, as well as other blue-chip corporations. "That became the kernel for ghSmart," Smart recounted in a podcast interview. That means the ghSmart interview isn't something you can necessarily prepare for in the same way you might, for example, read up on certain stocks or industry trends. The company's team of psychologists spends hours drilling into each candidate's job and life experiences. Unlike some executive-search firms, ghSmart disconnects its fee from whether it fills the role.

☆ Stock Futures Tick Lower as Investors Await Jobs Report, Fed Minutes
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-07 | by ( Caitlin Mccabe | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Persons: Dow Jones Organizations: dow

☆ Treasury yields tick up ahead of U.S. jobs report, with many markets closed for holiday
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-07 | by ( Natasha Turak | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note was higher by 1.5 basis points at 3.305%, while the 2-year rate was 1.8 basis points higher at 3.839%. U.S. Treasury yields ticked upward Friday ahead of the release of U.S. non-farm payrolls, while many markets were closed for the Easter holiday. Investors will be assessing labor market data to monitor potential reactions from the Fed and the possibility of a recession. The U.S. jobs report and unemployment rate are set for release Friday, but, with many markets closed or on a half day, reactions may be muted. The Labor Department reported Thursday that jobless claims for the week ending on April 1 came in at 228,000, suggesting pressure is building on the labor market.

☆ Morning Bid: Markets exhale after OPEC+ shock; RBA hits pause
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( Kevin Buckland | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Crude oil continued to tick up, but not at Monday's pace, with Brent a little over $85. Money markets lay 2:1 odds for the Fed to hike by another quarter point over a pause at their next meeting in a month from now. By contrast, the European Central Bank is seen as almost certain to tighten by a quarter point at its meeting around the same time. The Reserve Bank of Australia, for its part, decided to press pause on its year-long rate hiking campaign - as most economists had predicted - amid signs that inflation may have peaked. China has been for the first time keeping at least one nuclear-armed ballistic missile submarine constantly at sea, according to a Pentagon report.

Separated by barricades from the Trump crowd, counter-protesters celebrated the former president's indictment with signs that said "Lock him up!," a reference to a chant often heard directed at Trump's opponent Hillary Clinton during his successful presidential campaign in 2016. "I would like to thank patriotic Trump supporters who are here today," Greene said through a megaphone in the thick crowd, eliciting a burst of cheers and chants of "U-S-A!" Trump, 76, is set to become the first current or former U.S. president to be charged with a crime. Though the specific charges have yet to be disclosed publicly, Trump has said he is innocent and intends to plead not guilty. Nearby, a handful of Trump supporters stood outnumbered and cheered as a red-hatted Trump impersonator drove past in a limousine, flanked by a pickup truck flying several pro-Trump and anti-Biden flags.

Oil prices jumped over 6% on Monday, with U.S. crude futures topping $80 per barrel. The U.S. pumped nearly 12.5 million bpd in January, according to the latest government data. U.S. cash crude prices strengthened on Monday, with Mars Sour gaining 50 cents to trade at a $1.40 discount to U.S. crude futures . U.S. seaborne crude exports last month hit 4.74 million bpd, the highest monthly total since at least January 2020, Vortexa data showed. "This development should bode well for already strong U.S. crude exports with increased medium- and heavy-sour Canadian crude exports from the U.S. in order to supply a global market which is already short on sour crude," said Rohit Rathod, senior oil market analyst at Vortexa.

☆ Indexes jump on inflation data; Nasdaq posts best qtr since 2020
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Caroline Valetkevitch | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The quarterly gains came despite a sharp sell-off in bank stocks following the collapse of two regional banks earlier this month and worries about a potential bigger financial crisis. The S&P 500 financial sector (.SPSY) was the quarter's worst-performing sector, posting a 6.1% drop, while the KBW regional bank index (.KRX) fell 18.6% for the period. For the quarter, the Nasdaq jumped 16.8% in its biggest quarterly percentage increase since the three months ended June 2020. The S&P 500 gained 7% and the Dow rose 0.4% in the quarter, based on the latest available data. The S&P 500 posted 19 new 52-week highs and no new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 81 new highs and 131 new lows.

☆ Nasdaq set for best qtr since 2020, latest inflation data a boost
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Caroline Valetkevitch | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The S&P 500 (.SPX) was on track to post a second straight quarter of gains, led by the technology sector's (.SPLRCT) 20% rise. The quarterly gains came despite a sharp sell-off in bank stocks following the collapse of two regional banks earlier this month. "The equity market seems to be delighted with the slight tick lower in inflation, as it should be. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) rose 266.83 points, or 0.81%, to 33,125.86, the S&P 500 (.SPX) gained 38.09 points, or 0.94%, at 4,088.92 and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) added 152.08 points, or 1.27%, at 12,165.56. The S&P 500 posted 15 new 52-week highs and no new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 69 new highs and 106 new lows.

☆ Instant View: US Feb PCE price index shows inflation keeps cooling
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index increased 0.3% last month after accelerating 0.6% in January. In the 12 months through February, the PCE price index advanced 5.0% after rising 5.3% in January. Excluding food and energy, the PCE price index climbed 0.3% after increasing 0.5% in January. The core PCE price index rose 4.6% year-on-year after gaining 4.7% in January. There is some structural inflation that's coming down as well so that's good news and that's going in the right direction."

☆ Gen Z wants to run your company. 'Shadow boards' give them a say without handing them the keys.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Juliana Kaplan | Rebecca Knight | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Oliver Wyman says its shadow board helped contribute to a 30% reduction in attrition in 2022. Andrew Pérez started at the management-consulting company Oliver Wyman three years ago. Oliver Wyman started its shadow board in 2021. Oliver Wyman's executive team tends to be older, while the shadow board skews younger and more diverse. She was eager to join the shadow board last year.

☆ Wall Street lines up against SEC chair Gary Gensler on one of his most controversial proposals
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Bob Pisani | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +15 min

However, Gensler has claimed that pension funds and other institutional investors are not able to interact with that retail order flow. Auctions: the industry lines up against it The auction proposal has generated a large volume of comment letters to the SEC. He has said investors today need a better understanding of how well their trading orders are being executed. Theoretically, the SEC could vote on any or all of the four proposals in a shorter time period. This is just the start This is just the start of many proposals in front of the SEC.

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