MONEY MASTER

In the most recent update from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the core consumer price index (CPI) of the United States demonstrated a minimal increase of 0.1% from May to June 2024, marking the smallest advance since August 2021. This significant slowdown, particularly in housing costs, has reinforced expectations that the Federal Reserve might lower interest rates in the near future. Key Takeaways: Subdued Core Inflation:  The core CPI, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, rose by only 0.1% month-over-month, while the year-over-year figure increased by 3.3%, reflecting the slowest pace in over three years. Overall CPI Decline:  The broader CPI metric declined by 0.1% from the previous month, indicating the first reduction since the pandemic began, largely driven by lower gasoline prices. Impact on Federal Policies:  These developments have buoyed market sentiments, with investors increasingly anticipating a rate cut by the Federal Reserve, possibly as soon as...

Markets extrapolate debate to November election outcome: CBA   Asian stock sentiment upbeat amid lack of anti-China rhetoric The dollar edged higher in Asian trading as markets assessed former president Donald Trump as the victor in the first U.S. presidential debate. Bloomberg’s gauge of the U.S. currency climbed as much as 0.2% on Friday before paring gains, with the index on track for a sixth straight weekly increase. President Joe Biden stumbled through early exchanges in the debate, a performance that may intensify concerns about his ability to defeat Trump in the November election. Key Takeaways: Trump's Economic Pledges : Trump reiterated a pledge to impose 10% duties on imports should he win in November. This move could put upward pressure on inflation, potentially delaying interest-rate cuts and supporting the U.S. dollar. Market Reaction : "Markets likely extrapolated today’s debate outcome to the actual election outcome in November,” said Carol Kong, a strategist at...

  President Joe Biden and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will announce a series of defense and commercial deals designed to improve military and economic ties between their nations during Thursday’s state visit at the White House, according to senior US officials. General Electric Co. has unveiled plans to jointly manufacture F414 engines with state-owned Indian firm Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. for the Tejas light-combat aircraft as part of an effort to enhance defense and technology sharing, given China's increasing assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific. Biden and Modi will discuss a deal for MQ-9B SeaGuardian drones made by General Atomics and a new defense pact that will enable American Navy ships to undertake major repairs at Indian shipyards. Additionally, the two leaders plan to debut a series of semiconductor deals designed to take advantage of Indian subsidies intended to bring advanced technology manufacturing to the South Asian nation. Micron Technology Inc. will announce...

When I woke up today, I was caught astounded by an article on Bloomberg, relating to the China's bond market that is seeing higher default rates. Is this the new reality? If it is, I think there's every reasons to be cautious since China is the world's third largest bond market by value.  According to Bloomberg's article on  https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-09-10/china-s-latest-bond-default-is-a-cautionary-tale-for-investors Wuyang Construction Group Co., a builder in the eastern province of Zhejiang, defaulted on two put-able notes totaling 1.36 billion yuan ($209 million) last month. Bondholders are now up in arms, claiming in an Aug. 23 filing posted on the Shanghai Stock Exchange’s website that the company didn’t disclose a raft of transgressions in sale documents for the bonds, which were sold in 2015. Three phone calls to Wuyang Constructions’ headquarters in Hangzhou went unanswered, and the company didn’t respond to a fax from Bloomber...

The vote for the most powerful man in this planet, (or woman in this case) is entering into its final act, and the market is shaken by the growing uncertainties surrounding it. Come Nov 8, it’s either Democratic nominee, Hillary Clinton or Republican nominee, Donald Trump that will become the new president-elect of the United States of America (US). While average polls compiled by RealClearPolitics website shows Clinton led by 7.1 percentage points in mid-October, the gap has narrowed down to just 1.7 percentage points following the FBI’s eleventh-hour resuscitation of her email controversy (as of Nov 6). Real Clear Politics average on US election polls (Source: Real Clear Politics) DOES IT MATTER? THE EQUITY INDEX SAYS SO Well, here is a quick look at the world equity index in the past one week, and it's shocking. In the Americas region In the Asia Pacific region In Europe, Middle East & Africa region Source: Bloomberg website It is sh...

Economy US: Consumer comfort declines to match low for this year.  Consumer confidence in the US fell last week to match the lowest level this year as Americans grew more pessimistic about the economy and the buying climate. The Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index slipped to 43.6 in the period ended March 20 from 44.3 the prior week. The measures tracking current views of the economy and the buying climate both dropped to the lowest level since mid-Dec, while perceptions of personal finances rose to a five-month high. (Bloomberg) US: Atlanta Fed downgrades 1Q GDP view to 1.4%.  The US economy is on track to grow 1.4% in the 1Q following disappointing data on durables goods orders and home resales, the Atlanta Federal Reserve's GDPNow forecast model showed. That pace was weaker than the regional Fed's prior estimate of 1.9% on March 19, the Atlanta Fed said. (Reuters) US: Jobless claims climbed less than forecast last week . Filings for US unemployment benefits last w...