Markets & Industries
China to place $3.6B yuan bonds in Hong Kong in Q4 - 10/12/2023
China is anticipated to sell a record number of yuan government bonds in Hong Kong this year in an effort to support the declining value of the national currency. In the fourth quarter, China's finance ministry plans to flog bonds valued at 26 billion yuan ($3.6 billion). Xinhua, citing information from the Ministry of Finance, writes that the first batch of bonds, valued at 16 billion yuan, will...
Number of corporate bankruptcies in USA nears 2020 levels - 10/12/2023
Number of corporate bankruptcies in the United States is still rising and may surpass the COVID 2020 level by the end of 2023, writes MarketWatch. A survey by S&P Global Market Intelligence showed that the overall number of bankruptcy filings by U.S. corporations at the end of the third quarter was 182, up from 62 in September. In contrast, the second quarter saw 157 bankruptcies. According...
Ireland to contribute over €6 billion annually to two sovereign funds - 10/11/2023
Ireland intends to finance two sovereign funds, one of which is intended to sustain the economy in the case of a potential crisis, with over €6 billion in budget receipts per year. Ireland's budget surplus of 2.9% of GDP was achieved last year as a result of rising business tax receipts from European operations of numerous significant American corporations, such as Apple Inc., Microsoft Corp.,...
IMF raises forecast for global inflation in 2024 - 10/11/2023
The IMF advised central banks to continue enforcing strict monetary policy and increased its estimate of global inflation to 5.8% for 2024. The fund's researchers reduced their forecast for global GDP growth to 2.9% for the upcoming year after realizing that the world economy is "not gaining momentum". The International Monetary Fund (IMF) raised its estimate of global inflation for 2024 and...
Defense stocks in Europe and the U.S. jump up amid Israel-Gaza conflict - 10/10/2023
According to the Financial Times, the conflict between Israel and Hamas, which could spark a new round of hostilities in the Middle East, prompted a strong increase in shares of defense industry businesses in Europe and the United States. Securities of the Swedish aircraft company Saab, which increased by 8.6%, were the leaders in growth in Europe. Papers of German Rheinmetall, which makes tanks,...
OPEC raises estimate of global energy demand by 2045 - 10/10/2023
According to the OPEC's annual review, the global energy consumption would rise to 359.2 million barrels of oil equivalent per day by 2045. The organization's analysts forecasted this number would reach 351 million bpd a year earlier. As a result, the estimated oil demand rose by 6 million bpd to 106.6 million bpd from the projected from the previous year's expectation of 100.6 million bpd. The...
Global chip sales down 6.8 per cent year-on-year in August - 10/09/2023
The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) said that global semiconductor sales in August fell 6.8% to $44 billion from $47.2 billion in the corresponding month previous year. Shipments were up 1.9% in comparison to July. "Global semiconductor sales in August grew for the sixth consecutive month on a month-over-month basis, demonstrating a slow but steady increase in market demand," John...
Goldman expects US corporate ESG bond issuance to halve in 2023 - 10/09/2023
According to Goldman Sachs Group Inc. experts, the total amount of ESG-bonds issued by US firms will be half as low in 2023 as it was in the past. The analysis conducted by a group of Goldman analysts states that the situation in the U.S. differs from developments in Europe, where the issue of corporate securities linked to the execution of environmental, social policy, and corporate governance...
Rystad: Existing gas fields will not meet growing demand - 10/06/2023
According to a Rystad Energy analysis, the world's currently producing gas fields won't be able to keep up with rising demand. This will necessitate a quick ramp-up of unconventional gas supplies like shale gas. The current rapid growth of unconventional gas production is a result of technology advancements and shorter project start-up and commissioning times. The proportion of...
US mortgage rates exceed 7.5% for the first time in 23 years - 10/05/2023
The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) declared that average 30-year mortgage rates in the United States reached their highest level since November 2000 during the week ending September 29, after increasing by 12 basis points from the week before. Last week, the average interest rate for 30-year home equity loans with maximum loan amounts of $726,200 was 7.53%. The rate has been growing four...
