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☆ Brent oil prices slip under $72 per barrel amid banking turmoil
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( Ruxandra Iordache | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Brent oil prices logged losses Monday, dropping below $72 per barrel in intraday trade amid turmoil in the banking sector. The Brent contract with May delivery was trading at $71.64 per barrel at 11:00 London time, down by $1.33 per barrel from the Friday close. The front-month April WTI Nymex was at $65.52 per barrel, lower by $1.22 per barrel from the previous settlement. It added that the options market is now intensifying the decline in oil prices through delta-hedging plays. Questions linger over the potential demand boost from a reopening China — the world's largest importer of crude oil, whose buying was reined in for much of last year by Covid-19 restrictions.

PANW YTD mountain Palo Alto Networks (PANW) YTD performance We're adding to our Palo Alto Networks position. One of the big data points that came out of the company's recent blowout earnings report was how Palo Alto has now achieved GAAP profitability over its past four quarters. PXD YTD mountain Pioneer Natural Resources (PXD) YTD performance We're also buying an oil stock, Pioneer Natural Resources , into Monday's energy rout and upgrading our rating back to a 1 . As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust's portfolio.

☆ Dutch trade minister: China protest over export rules is 'understandable'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Philip Blenkinsop | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

STOCKHOLM/AMSTERDAM, March 9 (Reuters) - The Netherlands' Trade Minister said a Chinese protest over the Dutch decision to impose restrictions on computer chip technology exports was "understandable", but on Thursday said she expected diplomatic relations would remain good. Liesje Schreinemacher was speaking in Stockholm after the Netherlands said on Wednesday it would follow the U.S. in imposing stricter export rules. Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said the Dutch rules would "limit normal economic and trade exchanges between Chinese and Dutch companies". Asked whether Dutch restrictions, which are expected to be in place by this summer, will actually be more lax than comparable U.S. restrictions imposed on its own companies last year, she avoided the comparison. Reporting by Philip Blenkinsop; Writing by Toby Sterling; Editing by Alex Richardson and Josie KaoOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ ASML, China customers haunted by uncertainty on new Dutch chip export rules
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Tosterling Philip Blenkinsop | Philip Blenkinsop | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The "installed base" segment contributed about 25% of ASML's worldwide revenue in 2022. ING analyst Marc Hesselink calculated that the new Dutch rules could possibly affect products that account for 10% of ASML's worldwide sales. The Chinese may have a competitive advantage there, and ASML's sales in China could even grow modestly. Regardless, ASML will thrive outside China in the long run as chipmakers worldwide expand capacity, he said. "The demand for ASML machines is not going to be impacted, it's simply going to shift to a different region," he said.

☆ How China's shifting growth picture could hit global markets
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( Elliot Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

A shopping mall in Qingzhou, Shandong province, broadcasts the opening ceremony of China's National People's Congress on Sunday, March 5, 2023. Future Publishing | Future Publishing | Getty ImagesChina's economy will be forced to recalibrate because of a "fractured" global order, and the new drivers of growth will "disappoint" global markets, according to David Roche, president of Independent Strategy. President Xi Jinping and other officials took aim at the West for constraining China's growth prospects, as relations between Beijing and Washington continue to deteriorate. Veteran investment strategist Roche told CNBC's "Squawk Box Europe" on Tuesday that "things have changed" permanently with regards to China's role in the global economy, as Beijing will be forced to look inward to achieve its growth ambitions. watch nowRoche also noted that the "hegemony of the U.S. is now fractured" in the global economic order, with Russia and China detaching from Western democracies.

☆ NPC 2023: Xi Jinping hits out at US as he urges China's private firms to 'fight' alongside Communist Party
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( Laura He | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

“The private sector is an important force for our party to govern in the long term,” Xi said. Business confidence has plummeted following an unprecedented regulatory crackdown on the private sector and increasing uncertainties about China’s future path. Major contributorThe private sector, despite being dwarfed in size by the state sector, contributes more than 60% to China’s GDP and over 80% of employment, according to official statistics. It’s also necessary to protect the property rights of private companies and entrepreneurs and treat state firms and private companies equally, so as to “boost market expectations and confidence,” he said. “[We should] let private companies play an important role in stabilizing employment and increasing [government] income,” he said.

☆ China's Xi has mixed feelings about CATL's battery market dominance
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] Chinese President Xi Jinping attends the opening session of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China March 4, 2023. "Emerging industries must do a good job in planning, figuring out how big the market is and where the risks are," Xi was quoted as saying. At the same time, it has come under growing pressure from Washington, which has restricted Chinese companies' access to advanced AI chips and other semiconductors, citing national security. The Ford-CATL partnership will be win-win for both parties without threatening China's leadership in the EV industry, Dong wrote. Reporting by Zhang Yan and Brenda Goh Editing by Edwina Gibbs and David GoodmanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ No current plan for the UAE to leave OPEC oil alliance, sources say
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( Ruxandra Iordache | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The OPEC logo pictured ahead of an informal meeting between members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in Algiers, Algeria. The United Arab Emirates does not intend to leave the influential OPEC oil alliance at this time, two senior officials with knowledge of the matter told CNBC, after a recent report signaled internal talks over such a departure. The UAE oil ministry and Adnoc, the state-owned oil company of the United Arab Emirates, did not immediately respond to CNBC requests for comment. On March 3, the Wall Street Journal reported that rising political disagreements between OPEC+ chair Saudi Arabia and the UAE have once more sparked questions over the latter's future in the producers' coalition. The front-month Nymex WTI contract was at $78.72 per barrel, lower by 96 cents per barrel from the previous settlement price.

HONG KONG, March 3 (Reuters) - Bank of America (BAC.N) and Citigroup (C.N) have cut some investment banking jobs in Asia, people familiar with the matter told Reuters, joining global peers in paring headcount as China dealmaking slows. Citi on Thursday trimmed four jobs from its China investment banking team, said one of the two people and a separate person. BofA and Citi both declined to comment on layoffs involving investment bankers in Asia. JPMorgan (JPM.N) has also cut around 20 investment banking jobs, mostly mid-level bankers focused on China deals, according to two separate sources. Nomura Holdings Inc (8604.T) has cut 18 Asian banking jobs, most of them China-focused investment banking roles, sources have said.

☆ 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.

[1/7] Farmer Wang Zhanling sits next to his wife in their house in Quansheng village, Heilongjiang Province, China, February 8, 2023. The state-run Chinese Academy of Sciences sees the pension system running out of money by 2035. "If the pension system does not change, this is unsustainable," said Xiujian Peng, senior research fellow in the Centre of Policy Studies at Victoria University in Australia. The province has the lowest birth rate in China, with just over 100,000 births in 2021 and 460,000 deaths. Many experts, including Macquarie's chief China economist Larry Hu, suggest implementing a unified national pension system, backstopped by the more resourceful central government rather than cash-strapped local administrations.

☆ From McDonald’s to Ralph Lauren, U.S. Companies Are Planning China Expansions
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-26 | by ( Dan Strumpf | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

McDonald’s plans to open 3,000 new stores in China by 2025. HONG KONG—Large American companies from fast food to high-end fashion are increasing their bets on China’s consumers in anticipation of a postpandemic rebound for the world’s second-biggest economy. McDonald ’s Corp. and Starbucks Corp. are opening hundreds of new restaurants.

Beijing last week approved planting of genetically modified (GM) corn for this year, though GM acres will likely account for less than 1% of the total corn area. CHINESE ACREAGE TRENDSChina harvests the second largest combined grain and oilseed area in the world after India, some 33% more than in No. On average, China’s area has remained steady over the last decade but is now about 11% higher versus 40 years ago. Additional price gains in the following years encouraged further corn area growth. Since 2007, China’s corn area has increased nearly 60% compared with 5% and 4% gains for rice and wheat, respectively.

☆ Chinese military gear may not be enough to bail out Russia's poorly led troops, former top US general in Europe says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Christopher Woody | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

The US is again warning China not provide military support to Russia for its war in Ukraine. Russia's military has structural problems that foreign gear can't fix, a retired US general says. While lower-level Russian units have been able to adapt, "I think the big problem in the Russian military is that the culture is not very conducive to" learning, added Lee, an expert on Russia's military. Russian military leadership failings and inability to perform under fire will limit the utility of whatever hardware Beijing may provide, Breedlove said. While US officials have not specified what military support China may provide, there are signs Russia is using artillery ammunition more sparingly.

☆ Developing countries' debt troubles in focus at G20 talks, says Germany's Lindner
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

China is by far the largest creditor for many highly indebted countries in Africa and Asia, and has been repeatedly pressed to make concessions. G20 finance ministers and central bank chiefs will meet from Feb. 22 to Feb. 25 to discuss growing debt troubles among developing countries triggered by the pandemic and the war in Ukraine. Highly indebted developing countries must retain access to international financial markets so that they can continue to import energy and food, Lindner said. India has drafted a proposal for G20 countries to help debtor nations by asking big lenders including China to take a large haircut on loans. Just days before the first anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Lindner praised the unity among Western nations in supporting Ukraine, both financially and militarily.

U.S. officials are warning China against supplying Russia with arms and ammunition, as Moscow struggles to gain ground in Ukraine despite deploying almost the entirety of its ground forces in its smaller neighbor. Concerns that China was considering providing lethal assistance to Russia first surfaced in meetings between officials late last year and early this year, officials said. U.S. officials put their Chinese counterparts on notice in videoconferences and at in-person meetings that China is “nearing a red line” in assisting Russia’s war, the officials said.

☆ House Votes 419-0 to Pass Resolution Condemning China for Spy Balloon
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Eric Bazail-Eimil | Lindsay Wise | ) 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/house-votes-419-0-to-pass-resolution-condemning-china-for-spy-balloon-11675960364

☆ U.S., UK and Australia carry out China-focused air drills
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Sandra Stojanovic | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/5] A F-35B aircraft from the U.S. Air Force refuels during the annual Red Flag military exercise between the United States, Britain and Australia, in Nevada, U.S., February 8, 2023. REUTERS/Carlos BarriaNELLIS AIR FORCE BASE, Nevada, Feb 8 (Reuters) - The United States, Britain and Australia carried out joint air drills on Wednesday over the Nevada desert and beyond as part of an effort to simulate high-end combat operations against Chinese fighter aircraft and air defenses. U.S. Air Force Colonel Jared J. Hutchinson, commander of the 414th Combat Training Squadron that runs Red Flag, said the annual drills were not tied to any recent events. Air Commodore John Lyle, commander of the RAF's Air Mobility Force, told Reuters the mission during the Red Flag drills would simulate bringing the air forces into "an area where there has been an invasion by a hostile country." Australia contributed EA-18G Growler aircraft, according to data provided by Red Flag organizers.

☆ DeSantis' plans for Florida this year include tax cuts for gas stoves and more elections police. The proposals are widely viewed as targeting GOP voters nationally.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Kimberly Leonard | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +14 min

Banning vaccine and mask mandatesDeSantis wants the Florida legislature to permanently ban COVID vaccine and mask mandates. It's not clear how much of a difference a new, permanent Florida law would make. DeSantis will ask the Florida legislature to permanently lift the state's 6% sales tax on baby necessities including on cribs, strollers, clothing, shoes, wipes, and diapers. But some analysts, such as Howard Gleckman at the Tax Policy Center, have warned that tax breaks could actually worsen inflation because people will spend and consume more at a time when supplies are limited. Currently, state law requires a vote be unanimous.

☆ Space power China to build ground stations on Antarctica to support satellites
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

China's global network of ground stations to support a growing number of satellites and outer space ambitions has drawn concern from some nations that it could be used for espionage, a suggestion China rejects. In 2020, Sweden's state-owned space company, which had provided ground stations that helped fly Chinese spacecraft and transmit data, declined to renew contracts with China or accept new Chinese business due to "changes" in geopolitics. The project was part of broader initiatives aimed at building China's marine economy and turning China into a marine power, according to China Space News. A Chinese-built ground station in Argentina's Patagonia has stirred concerns about its purpose despite China's assurance that the station's goal is peaceful space observation and spacecraft missions. China in October launched the last of three modules of its space station, which became the second permanently inhabited outpost in low-earth orbit after the NASA-led International Space Station.

SYDNEY/SINGAPORE, Jan 26 (Reuters) - China's reopened borders and renewed focus on boosting the sagging economy have brightened the deals outlook, with bankers starting to field interest for mergers, acquisitions and fundraising involving the world's second-largest economy. Chinese companies' capital markets deals slipped 44% in the same period, according to Refinitiv data. That slump crimped the fees earned by Wall Street banks and forced some of them to cut jobs, mainly those linked to Chinese deals, in the past few months. Chinese private equity activity was worth $24.1 billion in 2022, down from $57.8 billion a year before, Pitchbook data showed. "Because of opening up, we expect an uptick in overseas disposal of private equity to Chinese buyers."

☆ Nigeria launches domestic card scheme in cashless bid
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ABUJA, Jan 26 (Reuters) - Nigeria's central bank on Thursday launched a domestic card scheme to rival foreign cards like Mastercard and Visa, hoping to enhance its drive to make Africa's biggest economy a cashless society and save the country foreign transaction fees. The announcement by Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor Godwin Emefiele follows the bank's decision last year to phase out old higher denomination bank notes. Emefiele told a virtual launch of the "AfriGo" card scheme that although penetration of card payments in Nigeria had grown over the years, many citizens remained excluded. AfriGo is owned by CBN and Nigerian banks and Emefiele said that Nigeria was joining China, Russia, India and Turkey in launching a domestic card scheme. International card service providers like Mastercard and Visa would not be stopped in Nigeria, he added.

☆ DeSantis' 'Freedom Blueprint' for Florida is taking shape, and it's widely viewed as paving the way for a 2024 presidential run
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-14 | by ( Kimberly Leonard | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

It's widely viewed as a blueprint for theHe has already made some of his intentions clear, on areas from Disney to anti-China policy. DeSantis will ask the Florida legislature to permanently lift the state's 6% sales tax on baby necessities including on cribs, strollers, clothing, shoes, wipes, and diapers. He also wants the state to nix the sales tax on medical equipment and on medicines for pets. Other tax cuts would be temporary, including lifting the sales tax for a year on children's books, athletic equipment, and toys, as well as a proposal to suspend the sales tax on pet food and on household items that cost $25 or less. Loosening gun restrictionsDeSantis wants lawmakers to pass legislation that would change Florida law so that gun owners could carry a gun in public without a concealed weapons permit.

☆ Dell is reportedly abandoning China-made chips — and rising superpower tensions are the reason
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( Ted Kemp | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailDell is reportedly abandoning China-made chips — and rising superpower tensions are the reasonIt's not just semiconductor chips from Chinese fabricators that Dell reportedly doesn't want in its machines, but even chips made on the mainland by non-Chinese companies. CNBC's Ted Kemp reports.

☆ From recovery to regulation: How China's tech giants could fare in 2023 after a bruising year
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( Arjun Kharpal | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +11 min

But investors are starting to feel slightly more optimistic toward Chinese tech giants in 2023. Jakub Porzycki | Nurphoto | Getty ImagesIt's been another rough year for China's tech stocks. Xin Sun King's College LondonHow the exit from zero-Covid is handled could ultimately determine the extent of the rebound for China tech. Since the start of 2021, the Hang Seng tech index in Hong Kong, which includes most of China's tech giants, has fallen more than 50%. Firstly, Chinese tech firms have been cutting costs and exiting non-core businesses in order to boost profitability.

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