The Overnight News Roundup

Nov 21, 2024

PiQ and Zack Eiseman provide you a consolidated roundup of the overnight news that matters most to markets.

Visit PiQ Suite

MACRO:

A knee-jerk risk-off reaction was seen at the London handover after Ukraine's Airforce announced Russia had launched intercontinental ballistic missiles from the Astrakhan region. Ukraine's military said it also shot down six cruise missiles launched by Russia.
Equity markets were choppy after Nvidia's revenue and margin guidance failed to impress amid some supply constraints for its new Blackwell chip. However, management assured there were no major issues with Blackwell, reaffirming the extremely high demand. NVDA -2.5% in after hours.
President-elect Donald Trump’s surprise selection of Howard Lutnick as Commerce Secretary is raising big questions about the influence of former trade chief and China hawk Robert Lighthizer and his disruptive trade agenda, and where he will fit under the new administration. (Politico)
Howard Lutnick's financial ties to China has raised questions about whether he could be unduly influenced by Beijing when making decisions about whether to impose fresh tariffs and export curbs on China as USTR and Commerce Secretary, lawmakers and ethics experts said. (RTRS)
Fed's Williams (voter) told Barron's he sees inflation cooling and interest rates falling further, without giving further details on his outlook for the upcoming meetings. (Barron's)
Trump will likely choose Johns Hopkins surgeon and writer Martin Makary to lead the FDA. (RTRS)
Yen saw a spike after BoJ Governor Ueda said the bank will "seriously" take into account foreign exchange-rate moves in compiling its economic and price forecasts. He kept the December meeting live by saying he expects significant data ahead of it, saying he sees uncertainty for the meeting. (RTRS)
Japanese PM Ishiba is set to unveil a $140 billion economic stimulus package that includes support for sustained wage gains and cash handouts for low-income households, as well as investment into the semiconductor and AI sector. (BBG)
China's advisers call for a steady 5% 2025 economic growth goal and stronger stimulus, albeit some call for a lower growth target; say stronger stimulus needed due to potential US tariffs. More special Treasury bonds could be issued, budget deficit could increase, and there could be stronger consumer policies but large scale cash handouts are unlikely. (RTRS)
China’s state-owned companies are seen actively exploring mergers and acquisitions as well as share buybacks for market value management. (CSJ)
China plans to extend car trade-in incentives into 2025 to stabilise market expectations. (Xinhua)
Major Chinese fund firms have restricted subscriptions into several products that invest in US stocks amid expectations of increased investor interest in the market following the post-US election rally. (FT)
Chinese Premier Li Qiang is expected to meet with top foreign executives on Monday ahead of a supply chain expo in Beijing, just as companies brace for Trump’s threat to hike tariffs. (BBG)
China’s abundance of coal is likely to forestall power outages and suppress prices, even as the country heads into what’s typically a peak season for consumption. (BBG)
ECB's Villeroy said the victory against inflation is in sight in Europe and that the balance of risks on growth and inflation is shifting to the downside. Said the degree of policy restriction should continue to be reduced, whilst maintaining full optionality for upcoming meetings. Said Trump tariff hikes won't shift Europe's inflation outlook. (RTRS)
Marine Le Pen has warned that her party will vote to bring down the government led by premier Michel Barnier if its demands to amend his belt-tightening draft budget are not met. (FT)
Passenger-car registrations in the EU edged higher in October, a month marked by solid gains in Germany and Spain that eclipsed declines in the French and Italian car markets. (WSJ)
Germany’s strict borrowing rules, long championed by conservative politicians and fiscally hawkish economists, could soon be in for an overhaul that a growing chorus of critics argues is long overdue. (BBG)
The number of insolvencies in Germany rose by 22.9% in October on the previous year, the country's statistics office Destatis said on Thursday. (RTRS)
UK government borrowing for October exceeds forecasts at £17.4bn. (FT)
New Zealand's Treasury said on Thursday it would likely cut its economic and fiscal forecasts because of a sustained productivity slowdown in the economy. (RTRS)
Norway’s economy accelerated last quarter to its fastest pace in almost two years, backing expectations that the nation’s central bank will begin easing borrowing costs in the first quarter. (BBG)
South Korea’s early trade figures showed exports returning to growth in November in a positive sign for the economy amid mounting concern over the outlook for global commerce with a new US administration. (BBG)
Mexico's lower house of Congress approved on Wednesday a measure to abolish most of the autonomous bodies that regulate some economic sectors and ensure government transparency, a reform that could worsen tension with the U.S. and hit credit ratings. (RTRS)
South Africa’s reserve bank is set to look past a sharp slowdown in inflation and only cut interests rates by a modest quarter percentage point, as new risks to its outlook emerge, according to Bloomberg survey. (BBG)
Peru's indebted state-run oil firm PetroPeru could consider offering a minority stake to private investors in the second half of 2025, when the company hopes to emerge from a crisis and post profits. (RTRS)
US exchange-traded funds investing directly in Bitcoin surpassed $100 billion in total assets as the original cryptocurrency extended a record-breaking rally. (BBG)
Bitcoin has surged to a new high just beneath 98k.

Visit PiQ Suite

GEOPOLITICAL:

Russian Foreign Ministry said the US missile base in Poland has led to an increase of the overall level of nuclear danger, adding that it has long been a priority target that can be hit with new Russian weapons. (RTRS)
Russian Foreign Ministry said Russia is open to talks on Ukraine, saying it's ready to look at any realistic initiative. Said any initiative would have to take account of Russian interests and the situation on the ground. (RTRS)
The Biden administration told Congress it plans to cancel $4.65 billion in debt owed by Ukraine, the latest in a series of moves meant to bolster support for Kyiv before President-elect Donald Trump takes office. (BBG)
Israel's Channel 14 quoting an Israeli political official reports "It is likely that no agreement with Lebanon will be announced during Hochstein's visit to Israel" but there is optimism that an agreement to end the war could be reached within a week. (Newsquawk)
The U.S. Senate voted overwhelmingly to block three resolutions that would have halted the transfer of some U.S. weapons to Israel, introduced by progressives concerned about the human rights catastrophe faced by Palestinians in Gaza. (RTRS)
Canada wants Mexico to stay in the USMCA despite concerns about China possibly using it as a back door to flood the North American market. (RTRS)

EQUITIES:

Alphabet's Google must sell its Chrome browser, share data and search results with rivals and take other measures - including possibly selling Android - to end its monopoly on online search, the DoJ argued to a judge on Wednesday. (RTRS)
Starbucks Is Said To Consider Selling Stake In Chinese Business. (BBG)
Snowflake raised its annual product revenue forecast and said it has teamed up with AI firm Anthropic to build up its cloud services, sending its shares surging in extended trading. (RTRS)
Palo Alto Networks’ first-quarter results topped Wall Street views, but shares dropped after the cybersecurity company’s full-year guidance failed to wow investors. (WSJ)
Bank of America is drawing up plans to structure risk transfer deals for smaller lenders, a move that could turbocharge the nascent market at a time of heightened scrutiny. (FT)
Elon Musk's Neuralink said it has received approval to launch its first clinical trial in Canada for a device designed to give paralysed individuals the ability to use digital devices simply by thinking. (RTRS)
U.S. nuclear regulators said they would issue construction permits for a test small modular reactor facility in Tennessee, advancing the development of the country's new nuclear industry. (RTRS)
Australia's government introduced a bill in parliament that aims to ban social media for children under 16 and proposed fines of up to A$49.5 million ($32 million) for social media platforms for systemic breaches. (RTRS)
Bain-backed Kioxia will have a market value of about 750 billion yen ($4.84 billion) based on the indicative price for its IPO, with the chipmaker to receive listing approval from the Tokyo bourse on Friday. (RTRS)
Novartis raised its midterm sales guidance on revenue growth of its key treatments and expected drug launches. (WSJ)
Zurich Insurance said it is targeting increased earnings growth as part of its new three-year plan to 2027, after benefiting from a better-than-anticipated market environment. (WSJ)
The UK’s FCA is considering giving lenders more time to respond to customers complaints regarding fixed commissions on their auto loans as it weighs expanding a monthslong probe into the matter. (BBG)
UK merger regulator to explore deal remedies after anti-growth criticism. (FT)
UK ministers resist car industry pressure to ease fines on EV sales targets. (FT)
China's Huawei plans to start mass-producing its most advanced AI chip in the first quarter of 2025, even as it struggles to make enough chips due to U.S. restrictions. The chip's yield is a very low 20%. (RTRS)
Chinese satellite company to challenge Elon Musk’s Starlink in Brazil. (FT)
Saudi Arabian Oil Co. plans to take on more debt and will focus on “value and growth” for its dividend, the company’s finance chief said. (BBG)