ICBC issues 10Bln in green bonds for carbon neutrality
BEIJING – The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), the country’s biggest commercial lender, has issued 10 billion yuan (about 1.5 billion U.S. dollars) of green bonds to support the country’s pursuit of carbon neutrality. The bonds will raise funds for projects that can effectively reduce carbon emissions, such as wind power, the bank…
CommSec morning report Monday
The US Federal Reserve issued its twice-yearly monetary policy report to Congress, saying that “The Committee’s commitment to restoring price stability – which is necessary for sustaining a strong labor market – is unconditional.” In US economic data, industrial production rose by 0.2% in May (survey: +0.4%) to be up 5.8% on the year. The…
Evening report Monday
The Aussie sharemarket fell for the seventh straight day – its longest losing streak since March 2020 – after the ASX 200 retreated by another 0.6 per cent or 41 pts, to 6433.4. Resource stocks weighed most, on concerns that an economic slowdown would reduce commodities demand. The Materials sector had its worst day in…
Getting home with a soft landing
Faced with the current spate of delays and cancellations, most of us would accept any kind of landing – hard, soft, skidding to a halt – just get us home, please. For the Federal Reserve (Fed) and other central banks, however, easing the inflationary economy onto the runway safely and comfortably is all that matters….
Fed delivery sees hard landing risk rising
The Federal Reserve (Fed) delivered on hints that it would raise rates by 75bp, reiterating a commitment to bring down inflation. We see increased risks of a hard landing and remain cautious on equities and credit. What Happened? At today’s Federal Open Market Committee meeting, the Fed hiked Fed fund rates by another 75bp, thus…
Inflation vs growth: what matters more to investors?
High inflation is on everyone’s mind, but perhaps growth should be more concerning when taking investment decisions. It is true that to understand the present and face the future, we need to first understand the past. We have talked at length about the current inflation risks and, ultimately, stagflation scenarios and what this all means…
Evening report Friday
The Aussie sharemarket had its worst week since March 2020, with the ASX 200 extending its losing streak to a sixth straight day after declining by another 1.8 per cent or 116.3 pts, to 6474.8. Around 40 per cent of companies on the ASX 200 today traded at 52-week lows. The Consumer Staples sector was…
Economic Watch – NEV sector enters fast lane
Riding the waves of green transition, China’s new energy vehicle (NEV) sector has turbocharged growth and entered the fast lane. It is now geared up to play a bigger role in upgrading the global auto industry. Lastest data showed that China’s sales of NEVs topped 11.08 million units as of the end of May. Back…
China’s foreign trade grows 12.9%
CHONGQING – Southwest China’s Chongqing Municipality saw its foreign trade exceed 343.8 billion yuan (about 51.4 billion U.S. dollars) in the first five months of 2022, an increase of 12.9 percent year on year, the city’s customs authorities said Friday. Of the total, exports rose 19.5 percent year on year to nearly 226.2 billion yuan,…
Biggest US interest rate hike in 28 years
US Federal Reserve policy meeting The US Federal Reserve (‘the Fed’) hiked its target range for the federal funds rate by 75 basis points to a target range of 1.50-1.75 per cent, the biggest increase since 1994, to combat 40½-year high inflation. Fed Chair Jerome Powell said, “Clearly today’s 75 basis point increase is an…
