ASIA: India’s annual wholesale price index (WPI) fell for the first time in nearly three years in April, as prices softened across the board. WPI fell by 0.92% from the same month a year earlier, having risen 1.34% in March. The data compared with a Reuters poll that predicted a fall of 0.20%. In April, […]

ASIA:   The major Asian stock markets had a mixed day today: NIKKEI 225 increased 4.54 points or 0.02% to 29,126.72 Shanghai decreased 9.60 points or -0.29% to 3,309.55 Hang Seng decreased 18.41 points or -0.09% to 19,743.79 ASX 200 decreased 3.80 points or -0.05% to 7,251.90 Kospi decreased 5.51 points or -0.22% to 2,491.00 […]

After the FOMC decision, Jerome Powell stated during his Q&A that the Federal Reserve does not have a plan to consolidate banks. “I personally felt that having small, medium, and large were a great part of our banking system,” Powell stated, noting that they all serve different customers. Powell said it could have been a […]

ASIA:   High prices are starting to put pressure on small and midsize businesses in Japan, forcing a record number of them into bankruptcy as the country lags behind the West in passing along the increased costs to customers.  Fiscal 2022 saw 463 companies file for bankruptcy over rising prices or an inability to pass […]

ASIA:   Core consumer inflation in the Japanese capital beat expectations in April and an index cutting fuel costs rose at its fastest pace in four decades, underscoring the challenge the central bank’s new chief faces in keeping interest rates ultra-low. The core consumer price index (CPI), which excludes volatile fresh food but includes fuel […]

COMMENT #1: Hi Martin, corn also turned nicely on the ECM: JB COMMENT #2: Hello Marty, I just want to point out that the Japanese yen broke really hard on the 10th. Not sure if this will prove to be a precursor of what is to come. Thanks from Tokyo, your old home ground. AS […]

ASIA:   Australia’s Foreign Minister, Penny Wong, has urged exporters to diversify their markets and become less dependent on China as Australia cannot separate economic and strategic relationships with China. This comes after both countries reached a consensus to end their dispute over barley, with Australia suspending a case at the World Trade Organization and […]

ASIA: China’s manufacturing sector lost momentum in March due to weak export orders, slowing the country’s economic recovery from COVID-19 policies. The Caixin/S&P Global manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) fell to 50.0 in March from 51.6 in February, which was the first monthly activity expansion in seven months. However, China’s economy showed signs of recovery […]

ASIA:   Chinese Premier Li Qiang said on Thursday that he was committed to opening up and reforming the world’s second-largest economy, seeking to win over foreign investors even as trade and geopolitical tensions with the West loom large. Li, who spoke alongside the prime ministers of Malaysia, Singapore and Spain, earlier this week told a […]

ASIA:   The US and Japan have agreed to not impose export duties on critical minerals needed for electric vehicle batteries. The agreement is aimed at reinforcing supply chains and reducing dependence on China, which currently dominates the sector. The US law requires 40% of critical minerals in eligible EV batteries to be extracted from […]