DIFX Buzz: Here’s a weekly market recap for you to start your Monday with the top news of the week.
What Happened in Markets
❖ Tech stocks in Europe slide as investors gear up for the central bank policy meetings later this week. The Fed is set to raise rates by 25 basis points on Wednesday with the European Central Bank (ECB) and Bank of England BoE) set to raise rates by 50 basis points each on Thursday.
❖ Asian stocks are trading sideways ahead of the policy meetings in Europe and the US. Jobs data is also set to come out this week which would indicate how much further the US has to go.
❖ Yields on five-year Japanese Government Bonds have fallen on Monday. This comes a week after Japan announced loans against collateral which was aimed at influencing investors to purchase 5-year bonds.
❖ Germany’s economy shrank in Q4 as GDP data came out -0.2% quarter-on-quarter. This adds to concerns that Germany is about to enter a recession which many analysts have predicted.
❖ The Dollar is consolidating in anticipation of the incoming rate hikes. The Fed is expected to raise rates by 25 basis points which is a downshift from previous hikes of 50 and 75 basis point hits.
❖ Wage and jobs data will be released on Friday which will be a strong indication of how much further the Fed needs to go in terms of the terminal rate.
❖ The market has already priced in the rate hikes but investors are now waiting to hear what the heads of the different central banks have to say.
❖ China’s yuan has gained against the Dollar as investors see signs of a recovery. The reopening of borders has boosted sentiment and it seems covid cases are under control.
❖ The Adani Group has released a 413-page report in rebuttal to claims made against them last week which resulted in $48bn in losses in the conglomerate. Hindenburg replied by stating that the report confirms their findings and ignores the key questions.
❖ Boeing expects to hire 10,000 employees in 2023 as it recovers from the pandemic and begins to ramp up production.
❖ Nissan and Renault have agreed to revamp their alliance and will now be equal partners as Nissan prepares to invest in Renault’s electric vehicle business.
❖ Apple’s supplier Jabil Inc. based out of India has begun creating components for AirPods. India currently accounts for 5-7% of Apple’s production and the Tech giant plans to ramp this up to 25%.
❖ Oil has fallen in anticipation of incoming rate hikes this week. BoE, ECB, and the Fed are all expected to raise interest rates.
❖ Gold is awaiting the FOMC meeting on Wednesday for some signal as to how the Fed will proceed following the 25 basis point rate hike.
❖ China’s lithium production grew in 2022 in connection with strong demand from the sector. China’s lithium carbonate production was up 32.5% year-on-year.
❖ Shell is set to merge their oil and gas production with liquefied natural gas divisions as the new CEO, Wael Sawan, makes his mark on the company.
❖ Sam Bankman-Fried is objecting to tight bail conditions. This comes after prosecutors requested that Bankman-Fried would not be permitted to talk to employees of FTX or Alameda Research without a lawyer present.
❖ New York introduced a bill that is set to allow state agencies to accept crypto as a form of payment.
❖ Genesis filed for bankruptcy last week but the market did not budge. Instead, it continued to make considerable gains signaling the industry has bottomed.
❖ Uniswap V3 is close to deploying on the BNB chain and all that’s left is a governance proposal that is expected to pass. This is a massive step forward in DeFi.
