BancaMarch : Official figures released on Friday were positive and job creation in April was high as the number of jobs increased by +253k, with the private sector accounting for 91% of job creation in the month and with the improvement in hiring extending to most sectors. On the less positive side, the figures for the previous two months were revised downwards by -149 thousand jobs. In addition to this…
BancaMarch | The International Monetary Fund today alluded to “uncertainty” around the direction of Japan’s monetary policy, saying a possible shift to ultra-low interest rates could have a significant impact on global financial markets. Krishna Srinivasan, head of the agency’s Asia-Pacific Department, also pointed to risks surrounding Asia’s economic outlook, such as weakening exports to advanced economies, slowing productivity in China and fragmentation of global trade.
Morgan Stanley | Crypto analyst Sheena Shah reviews the digital currency initiatives that central banks (CBDCs) are starting to put forward as an alternative to the use of cryptos. The use of cryptocurrencies for everyday payments is complex and expensive for the consumer and the ecosystem has not developed, except for in Switzerland. Companies such as Adyen have no plans to incorporate crypto payments into their offerings Their conclusions are…
Alicia García Herrero (Natixis) | Almost a decade has passed since President Xi Jinping announced the launch of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), originally titled ‘One Belt One Road’. The BRI has since expanded into one of China’s most important tools for the build-up of soft power and the implementation of its overseas activities (Dadabaev, 2018). Simultaneously, however, the initiative has attracted controversy in the international media, particularly after…
Banca March | The healthcare giant has launched the spin-off and IPO of its consumer division – with products such as Frenadol, Nicorette, Neutrogena and Listerine – which it will call Kenvue and which it has valued at up to $43 billion. With this placement, which will happen within a few weeks, J&J plans to sell more than 151 million Kenvue shares at a price of between $20 and $23…
Alicia García Herrero (Natixis) | Japan has developed an unusual social consensus to raise wages, to protect people’s livelihood from rising inflation. With this background, the spring wage negotiation among major firms is expected to result in a rise of +3.8%, the largest increase in 30 years. However, subdued productivity gains at a macro level are expected to limit a sustainable wage increase in Japan. Because large firms have improved…
Link Securities | The Conference Board reported yesterday that the consumer confidence index fell in April to 101.3 points from 104.0 points in March, falling below the 104.1 points expected by FactSet consensus analysts. In April the sub-index measuring consumers’ perceptions of the current situation rose to 151.1 points from 148.9 points in the previous month, while the sub-index measuring expectations, based on consumers’ short-term outlook for income, business and…
Alphavalue / Divancons | The Spanish company, in a consortium with the Sepcoiii company, has started commercial operation of Phase 2 of the Taweelah desalination plant, located in Abu Dhabi, following successful completion of the contractual tests. Specifically, it is the largest reverse osmosis desalination plant in the world (909,218 cubic metres/day) and the first to combine the production of drinking water with the generation of clean energy. The project…
Alphavalue / Divacons | Chile’s President Gabriel Boric announced the nationalisation of the lithium industry, especially important for electric car batteries. State-owned Codelco will determine investments and exploitation by private companies. Chile is the largest producer of lithium. While it is claimed that this will not affect current contracts, it is a stark reminder of the insecurities for mining companies, and not only in Chile.
The spread between UST 1M and 3M has widened to new all-time highs (c160bps). October 2008, shortly after the Lehman bankruptcy, was the last time the spread was this wide. On top of this, US 1Y CDS also reached new highs last week.