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☆ China's factory activity swings to surprise growth in May - Caixin PMI
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The Caixin/S&P Global manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) rose to 50.9 in May from 49.5 in April, above the 50-point index mark that separates growth from contraction. The reading surpassed expectations of 49.5 in a Reuters poll, a stark contrast to a deeper contraction activity seen in the official PMI released on Wednesday. The manufacturing subindexes showed factory output rose at the fastest clip in 11 months while new orders including new exports expanded in May. However, business confidence for the coming 12 months fell to a seven-month low amid concerns over global economic prospects. "Current economic growth lacks internal drive and market entities lack sufficient confidence, highlighting the importance of expanding and restoring demand, " said Wang Zhe, Senior Economist at Caixin Insight Group.

Persons: Zhou Hao, Hang, Wang Zhe, 25bps, Liangping Gao, Joe Cash, Ryan Woo, Sam Holmes, Simon Cameron, Moore Organizations: P Global, PMI, Guotai, CSI, Caixin Insight, ANZ, Thomson Locations: BEIJING, China

The easiest trade of the year is fizzling, and the lost momentum is keeping investors' money out. "I will not put any more money into stocks until all my losses are recovered," he said. Interviews with a dozen more small investors showed the sentiment to be reasonably widespread. Brokerage account creation, while volatile, likewise dropped off in April after promising momentum in February and March, China Securities Depository and Clearing data showed. "It is as if stocks are losing faith in the China recovery story," said Grow Investment Group chief economist Hong Hao.

The easiest trade of the year is fizzling, and the lost momentum is keeping investors' money out. Interviews with a dozen more small investors showed the sentiment to be reasonably widespread. Brokerage account creation, while volatile, likewise dropped off in April after promising momentum in February and March, China Securities Depository and Clearing data showed. "It is as if stocks are losing faith in the China recovery story," said Grow Investment Group chief economist Hong Hao. China's April industrial output and retail sales growth undershot forecasts as the recovery turned wobbly.

Persons: Eric Yu, Yi Huiman, Hong Hao, Wang Zaizheng, Chi Lo, Hayden Briscoe, Meng, Jason Xue, Winni Zhou, Tom Westbrook, Shri Navaratnam Organizations: China Securities Regulatory, JPMorgan, China Securities Depository, Mutual, Grow Investment Group, Management, UBS Asset Management, Thomson Locations: SHANGHAI, SINGAPORE, China's, Shanghai, China, United States, Hong Kong, Asia, Pacific, Singapore

☆ China's internet giants bet big on A.I. as Beijing looks to rival U.S. on tech 'paradigm shift'
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-23 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

"This kind of computing power needs to be provided as a kind of public service or infrastructure. China, specifically, "has some of the most advanced AI tech in the world," he added. "We believe this is a Game of Thrones also playing out in the China Tech market as the gloves are on for this battle," Ives said. Many innovative vendors are going after this market and China tech is now in the midst of a secular shift around AI." The comments from some of China's top tech companies last week hint at how Beijing is seeking to ramp up its rivalry with the U.S. on AI.

Persons: BABA BABA, Robin Li, Baidu, Ernie Bot, OpenAI's ChatGPT, Tencent, Martin Lau, Lau, Alibaba, Daniel Zhang, Dan Ives, Ives, Hao Hong, CNBC's, —, Tencent's Lau, Baidu's Li, Didi, Meituan Organizations: HK, Microsoft, Google, Wedbush Securities, CNBC, China Tech, Big Tech, Baidu, U.S, Nvidia, chipmaker Micron, Grow Investment Locations: China, Beijing, U.S, Alibaba

☆ Hard to see how China can win A.I. competition if chip bans keep happening: Grow Investment's Hong
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | 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 EmailHard to see how China can win A.I. competition if chip bans keep happening: Grow Investment's HongHao Hong, Grow Investment Group chief economist, joins 'Squawk on the Street' to discuss the state of affairs between the U.S. and China, how far future bans of Chinese and U.S. technology could go and the hope for reviving a recovery from China.

CNN —South Korean soccer star Son Jun-ho has been arrested in China for allegedly accepting bribes as Beijing clamps down on alleged corruption in the upper ranks of Chinese football. A South Korean Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Tuesday the ministry was aware of Son’s situation and that local Korean diplomatic missions were providing consular assistance. Wang said China would provide South Korean officials with the “necessary facilitation” to perform their consular duties. The Korea Football Association (KFA) said it had written to the Chinese Football Association and the Asian Football Confederation regarding the player on Tuesday but had not yet heard back. Vice President Kim Jeong-bae was checking on Son’s condition with the South Korean Foreign and Sports Ministries, a KFA official told CNN.

☆ China's economic recovery has lost speed: Guotai Junan International
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | 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 EmailChina's post-Covid economic recovery has been losing speed since April, economist saysHao Zhou of Guotai Junan International says there will probably be "relatively good numbers" for now, but there's concern about China's economic momentum.

☆ Chinese Consumer Inflation Slows to Lowest Level in Two Years
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-11 | by ( Stella Yifan Xie | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Consumer prices in the world’s second-largest economy rose 0.1% in April from a year earlier, according to official data. Photo: wu hao/ShutterstockHONG KONG—Consumer prices in China rose at their slowest pace in more than two years, reflecting uncertainties in the economy that threaten to limit a consumption-led recovery from three years of strict Covid-19 measures. Consumer prices in the world’s second-largest economy rose 0.1% in April from a year earlier, easing further from March’s 0.7% year-over-year increase, according to data released Thursday by China’s National Bureau of Statistics.

U.S. sanctions are spurring Chinese tech companies to accelerate research to develop cutting-edge artificial intelligence without relying on the latest American chips. A Wall Street Journal review of research papers and interviews with employees found that Chinese companies are studying techniques that could allow them to achieve state-of-the-art AI performance with fewer or less powerful semiconductors. They are also researching how to combine different types of chips to avoid relying on any one type of hardware.

☆ World’s Top AI Researchers Debate the Technology’s Next Steps
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-07 | by ( Karen Hao | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

New AI voice and video tools can look and sound like you. WSJ’s Joanna Stern replaced herself with her AI twin for the day to find out. Photo illustration: Elena ScottiKIGALI, Rwanda—Amid growing talk of the promise and peril of artificial intelligence, more than 2,000 researchers and engineers from around the world gathered in Rwanda this week to debate contrasting visions for the technology’s future. One vision is to build ever-more-powerful systems such as ChatGPT that aim to exceed human intelligence to boost worker productivity and economic growth. The other is to create more-targeted, small-scale AI solutions to local and global challenges, including tackling climate change, improving healthcare and preserving biodiversity.

☆ Harden says 76ers taking confidence on the road after leveling series
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY SportsMay 7 (Reuters) - The Philadelphia 76ers hit the road to Boston with "huge confidence" this week after winning Game 4 116-115 against the Celtics on Sunday to level their conference semi-final series courtesy of another clutch three-pointer from James Harden. The game was a much-needed injection of confidence, Harden said in a televised interview after the game, after a pair of demoralizing losses with Embiid battling through a sprained right knee. "Huge confidence, huge confidence. "He just gave me good luck - he brought me good vibes, good energy," said Harden, adding he would invite Hao "every game - here on out." The Sixers face the Celtics in Boston for Game 5 on Tuesday.

☆ China's skidding factory sector taps brakes on economic recovery
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Ellen Zhang | Ryan Woo | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

BEIJING (Reuters) -China’s factory activity unexpectedly contracted in April as orders fell and poor domestic demand dragged on the sprawling manufacturing sector, a private survey showed on Thursday, imperilling the broader economic outlook for the second quarter. China Daily via REUTERSThe Caixin/S&P Global manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) fell to 49.5 in April from 50.0 in March. The latest PMIs may lower expectations for the economy in the second quarter, said Zhou Hao, economist at Guotai Junan International. “But to what extent the economic recovery momentum will weaken, the market is not sure,” Zhou said. “The manufacturing sector will be under pressure in the second quarter, and won’t get any relief at least until June.”

☆ Chinese Warships and Planes Test Taiwan Defenses
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Karen Hao | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

In recent years, the Chinese military has engaged in increasingly bold maneuvers around Taiwan. Photo: Ng Han Guan/Associated PressHONG KONG—Dozens of Chinese military aircraft and navy vessels were detected around Taiwan early Friday, including one that flew around the island, the Ministry of National Defense said. The 38 warplanes and six ships represented the biggest deployment since China sent 91 aircraft and a dozen vessels to greet Taiwan President Tsai Ing -wen the day after her return from a visit to the U.S. this month. China’s Communist Party claims Taiwan, a self-ruling island, as part of its territory and had strongly protested Ms. Tsai’s visit.

☆ China has an inflation problem. It’s way too low
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( Laura He | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

That’s raising the specter of a tailspin of falling prices and wages from which the economy may struggle to recover. “Our core view is that China’s economy is deflationary,” wrote Raymond Yeung, chief economist for Greater China at ANZ Research, last week, soon after China released its first-quarter GDP growth figures. Instead of spending money, people are hoarding cash at a record rate. “Even with a conservative estimate, 500 billion yuan in consumption vouchers will drive one trillion yuan in overall consumption, ” Li said in a video posted on his Weibo social media account on Tuesday. In return, the government could receive at least 300 billion yuan through taxes generated by the increase in spending, he said“So it only takes 200 billion yuan in spending for the central government to drive one trillion yuan in consumption,” he said.

☆ DOJ charges 18 people — including doctors — in massive Covid health-care fraud takedowns
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Annika Kim Constantino | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Other cases involved the alleged manufacture and distribution of fake Covid vaccine record cards. But instead of administering the Covid vaccine, the defendants allegedly destroyed vials of the vaccines intended for patients, the DOJ said. Two people in Utah were also charged with allegedly manufacturing and selling about 120,000 fake Covid vaccine cards. The DOJ said the people charged with distributing fake vaccine cards "intentionally sought to obstruct" the federal government's efforts to roll out a nationwide Covid vaccine program. They also follow similar criminal charges related to Covid fraud schemes in April 2022 and May 2021.

☆ Celebratory Coins for Coronation of British King Charles III Unveiled
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

AI Hallucinations to Befriending Chatbots: Your Questions AnsweredThere is so much changing in artificial intelligence right now and generative AI is raising a lot of new questions. WSJ tech reporter Karen Hao joins host Zoe Thomas to answer listener questions on AI. This is the second episode of Tech News Briefing’s series “Artificially Minded”. New episodes drop every Monday in April. Illustration: Getty Images

☆ Watch: Protesters Storm Paris LVMH Offices on National Strike Day
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

☆ China's consumer, factory prices skid as demand falters
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( Reuters Staff | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

REUTERS/Tingshu WangIn contrast to surging prices globally, China’s retail and producer inflation has remained anaemic as the consumer and industrial sectors struggle to recover from their pandemic hit. Analysts now think consumer inflation could fall short of Beijing’s official targets this year. On a month-on-month basis, food prices fell 1.4%. GRAPHIC: China's inflation skids, hereFALLING SHORTThe government has set a target for average consumer prices in 2023 to be about 3%. “We think consumer price inflation will rebound in the coming months as the labour market tightens again and will peak at 2.3% in early 2024,” said Zichun Huang, China economist at Capital Economics.

☆ Watch: Louisville Police Release Bank Shooting Body-Camera Footage
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

☆ Russia Volcano Erupts, Spewing Ash and Triggering Aviation Warnings
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

☆ China's consumer inflation hits 18-month low amid uneven recovery
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

China's consumer inflation in March hit the slowest pace since September 2021, weighed by sluggish food prices, official data showed on Tuesday, suggesting demand weakness persists amid an uneven economic recovery. The consumer price index (CPI) for the month rose 0.7% year-on-year, compared with the 1.0% gain seen in February, said the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). Food price inflation slowed to 2.4% year-on-year from 2.6% in the previous month. On a month-on-month basis, food prices fell 1.4%. That pushed the CPI down 0.3% from a month earlier after a 0.5% fall in February, dashing expectations of no change.

☆ Watch: Jones Voted Back Into Tennessee’s House of Representatives
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

☆ Louisville Shooting Leaves at Least Five Dead, Police Say
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

☆ Louisville Shooting Leaves at Least Four Dead, Police Say
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

☆ People Buried, Trapped After Building Collapse in France
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-09 | by ( ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

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