The Overnight News Roundup
PiQ and Zack Eiseman provide you with a consolidated roundup of the overnight news that matters most to markets.
MACRO:
Chinese leaders agreed last week to raise the budget deficit to 4% of GDP next year (vs initial 2024 target of 3%), its highest on record and marking an additional CNY 1.3tln, while maintaining an economic growth target of around 5%, according to sources. (RTRS)
Chinese Premier Li Qiang has urged government officials to swiftly carry out key economic tasks for the coming year, after top leaders signaled stronger stimulus for 2025. (BBG)
China's capital markets witnessed a record outflow of $45.7 billion in November, according to official data tracking cross-border investments in stocks and bonds. (RTRS)
China's Foreign Minister said China hopes the incoming U.S. administration will make the "right choices" and work with Beijing to eliminate disruptions and overcome obstacles. (RTRS)
A Conference Board survey of mainly American and European CEOs showed confidence in China signaled pessimism for the first time since the pandemic even after the nation unleashed a raft of stimulus measures. (BBG)
The Chinese government’s efforts to limit agricultural imports this year is causing a soybean shortage in the south of the country by leading to longer-than-usual wait times at customs. (BBG)
WSJ's Timiraos "Recent Fed communication has suggested officials will deliver a much more cautious tone about further cuts in quarterly rate projections and comments from Fed Chair Jerome Powell at a news conference on Wednesday." (WSJ)
A New York judge ruled Monday that Donald Trump’s hush-money conviction this year remains valid, rejecting arguments from the president-elect that it should be dismissed on immunity grounds. (WSJ)
UK average weekly earnings, excluding bonuses, were 5.2% higher in the three months to the end of October than a year earlier, coming hot vs the analyst consensus for 5.0%, keeping the BoE on track for an unchanged rate decision on Thursday. (RTRS)
Top brass from companies including Rolls-Royce, Prudential, and Legal & General will advise Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s UK government as it devises a new industrial strategy to drive growth. (BBG)
Over 90% of market participants expect the Bank of Japan to keep interest rates steady at this week's policy meeting, a survey by money market brokerage Ueda Yagi Tanshi showed. 95% expect a hike three months from now. (RTRS)
Japan's industry ministry on Tuesday released a draft of a new basic energy plan, vowing to use as much renewable and nuclear energy as possible to promote decarbonization. (Jiji)
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump said on Monday he was picking George Glass to be ambassador to Japan. (RTRS)
Australia’s consumer confidence declined in December as persistent inflation and elevated interest rates at home coupled with upheaval abroad increased household uncertainty over the outlook for the economy. (BBG)
The New Zealand government, in its mid-year budget forecasts, said it expects the economy to exit years of recession in early 2025 supported by significant reductions in interest rates. (WSJ)
New Zealand’s government is facing deeper budget deficits and a delayed return to surplus as a prolonged economic downturn and poor productivity hit tax revenue. (BBG)
The recent political turmoil in South Korea looks set to be short-lived, according to Causeway Capital Management's Arjun Jayaraman, who said there are opportunities for investors in the country. (CNBC)
Taiwan’s biggest banks are stepping up efforts to lure deposits from both individuals and companies, responding to regulator demands for them to reduce a key ratio tracking their exposure to the island’s hot housing market. (BBG)
There’s been a resurgence of tankers that are part of the mainstream fleet loading Russian crude after oil slipped closer to price-cap compliant levels, according to BRS Shipbrokers. (BBG)
GEOPOLITICAL:
Senior U.S. officials say Turkey and its militia allies are building up forces along the border with Syria, raising alarm that Ankara is preparing for a large-scale incursion into territory held by American-backed Syrian Kurds. (WSJ)
Igor Kirillov, the head of the military's nuclear, chemical, and biological defence forces, has died in an explosion likely from a bomb on a scooter outside his Moscow house. He's the most senior Russian officer to be assassinated during Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The U.S. Commerce Department is moving to further crack down on China Telecom's U.S. unit over concerns it could exploit access to American data through their U.S. cloud and internet businesses by providing it to Beijing. (RTRS)
EQUITIES:
Tesla added on gains in after hours after Mizuho upgraded the stock to Outperform from Neutral, raising the price target to $515 from $230, citing loosening regulatory framework from autonomous driving, new Trump admin policies, amongst other factors. (Street Insider)
Tesla's Musk met with TSMC Chairman CC Wei in the US last week to discuss production capacity for Dojo AI chips for humanoid robots made on TSMC's 5nm process. Wei assured Musk that his fears over chip supply were unwarranted as long as Tesla can pay for them. (CTEE)
Elon Musk, charged with cracking down on waste across the US federal government, has recently singled out one particular target: the Pentagon’s costly fleet of Lockheed Martin F-35 fighter jets. (FT)
Indonesia plans to pitch business opportunities, including data centers, to Elon Musk, although he previously declined a proposal to build an electric-vehicle battery factory in the country. (WSJ)
Alphabet's Waymo announced entry into Japan, it's first new market outside of the US. (X)
EBay shares rose in after hours trade after it announced an additional $3bln share buyback. (RTRS)
Dow Inc. shares rose in after hours after the CEO reported the purchase of $470k worth of shares on the open market. (RTRS)
Meta to pay $32mln as it settles Facebook quiz app's privacy breach with Australian regulator. (RTRS)
Nvidia's thermal issues with AOS's 5x5 DrMOS chips for the GB300/B300 system could prompt a shift from Nvidia to use MPS's higher-cost 5x6 DrMOS instead to avoid delays, impacting AOS's near-term order outlook.
Micron, a subsidiary of Taiwan’s ASE, and other chip makers are vying over land and old factories in the Central Taiwan Science Park that could quickly be converted into advanced semiconductor packaging plants. (UDN)
UMC has won a big order from Qualcomm for advanced semiconductor packaging of HPC chips used in AI PCs, vehicles, and AI servers. (UDN)
Chevron's Australian unit said it would supply a total of 130 petajoules of gas to aluminium producer Alcoa over a 10-year period starting 2028. (RTRS)
Alibaba Group is set to book an over $1 billion loss on the sale of its department-store chain Intime, which marks the Chinese tech giant’s latest move away from offline retailing. (WSJ)
PDD's Temu topped Apple’s list of the most downloaded free apps on its U.S. iOS store for the second year running, highlighting the massive success that Chinese apps are enjoying in the world’s largest consumer market, with ByteDance's TikTok third. (CNBC)
A December rebound in European luxury-goods stocks is easing the pain for investors after a year characterized by concerns over weakening demand in the key market of China. (BBG)
Novo Nordisk, the maker of weight-loss and diabetes drugs, has supercharged the Danish economy — but other businesses complain that’s left them struggling to hire staff. (BBG)
The world’s top miners BHP Group and Rio Tinto Group will join BlueScope Steel Ltd. to build Australia’s largest electric iron-making furnace, a move they say may speed the decarbonization of steel production. (BBG)
The U.K. CMA cleared Carlsberg’s 3.3 billion-pound takeover of Britvic, clearing a key regulatory hurdle for the companies to close the deal. (WSJ)
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This Week’s Major Economic Data
That's all for today's digest. Happy trading, and keep it tight!
Team PiQ