The Overnight News Roundup
PiQ and Zack Eiseman provide you with a consolidated roundup of the overnight news that matters most to markets.
MACRO:
Yuan and other non-Dollar currencies saw pressure, while commodities fell, after Reuters reported China's top leaders and policymakers are considering allowing the yuan to weaken in 2025 as they brace for higher trade tariffs, reflecting China's recognition that it needs bigger economic stimulus. (RTRS)
Trump tapped Andrew Ferguson to lead the FTC, replacing Lina Khan, who could potentially shift course cases against Amazon and Meta. (RTRS)
Bond traders are taking chips off the table, opting for a more neutral stance before Wednesday’s US consumer-price data, which will be decisive in setting expectations for whether the Federal Reserve cuts interest rates again this month. (BBG)
Wall Street banks are betting that the blockbuster rally in US stocks will cool next year as investors turn cautious on technology companies’ ability to profit from their big investments in artificial intelligence. (FT)
A familiar sense of scepticism has re-emerged in Chinese markets, with a fast-fading stock rally signalling low expectations for a key economic policy meeting to deliver the kind of forceful growth stimulus pledged by authorities. (BBG)
Maybank Securities analyst in Bloomberg says, “At this point investors probably would need some concrete details and these would probably not be forthcoming after the CEWC", adding that there are expectations that it may only come after Trump's inauguration. (BBG)
China’s corn imports are expected to total just 14 million tons in the current season, less than half of their peak during a buying spree a few years ago, offering fresh evidence of how China’s economic slowdown and property crisis has battered consumer confidence. (BBG)
Japan's wholesale inflation accelerated for three straight months as companies continued to pass on rising raw material and labour costs, keeping the central bank under pressure to raise interest rates again. (RTRS)
Japanese manufacturers' business sentiment soured further in December amid worries over U.S. protectionist policies and the Chinese economy, with pessimists outnumbering optimists for the first time in 10 months, the Reuters Tankan survey found. (RTRS)
South Korean police raided President Yoon Suk Yeol's office on Wednesday and one of his top lieutenants has tried to take his own life. (RTRS)
New Zealand manufacturing sales volumes fell 1.2 percent Q/Q in the third quarter, vs previously rising 0.6%, data from Statistics New Zealand showed on Wednesday. (RTRS)
Asian economies are set to keep growing steadily this year and the next, but momentum has moderated and policy changes under the incoming Trump administration pose a major risk for the region, the Asian Development Bank warned. (WSJ)
Qatar’s $500bn sovereign wealth fund is preparing to deploy its cash more aggressively ahead of a petrodollar windfall that could ultimately double its size. (FT)
GEOPOLITICAL:
The Biden administration is weighing new, harsher sanctions against Russia’s lucrative oil trade, seeking to tighten the squeeze on the Kremlin’s war machine just weeks before Donald Trump returns to the White House. (BBG)
China said on Wednesday it takes "necessary measures" to defend the country's sovereignty and will not tolerate "separatist" activities, as Taiwan reported another rise in Chinese warplanes around the island and called on Beijing to halt provocations. (RTRS)
EQUITIES:
General Motors says it will stop funding development of robotaxis at its majority-owned Cruise business "given the considerable time and resources that would be needed to scale the business, along with an increasingly competitive robotaxi market". (RTRS)
Nvidia could face a fine of up to US$1 billion under Beijing’s antitrust probe, which was widely seen as a retaliatory move against Washington’s escalated chip restrictions, according to experts. (SCMP)
S&P Global Ratings on Tuesday downgraded Intel Corp's credit rating to 'BBB' from 'BBB+', on slow business recovery and uncertainty following management changes. (RTRS)
Tesla sold 21,900 electric vehicles in China in the first week of December, the highest weekly sales in the fourth quarter of 2024, according to Tesla China on Wednesday. (RTRS)
Elon Musk’s SpaceX has been valued at $350bn in a new deal to purchase employees’ shares, making the rocket and satellite maker the world’s most valuable private start-up. (FT)
Nippon Life Insurance plans to acquire all the shares it does not own in Resolution Life Group Holdings for about $8.2 billion - an all-cash deal that gives Japan's biggest insurer a firmer footing in the U.S. market. (RTRS)
BP and Shell spent a combined $18bn over five years to become major players in electricity. Now the oil majors are scaling back their ambitions in power generation after poor progress and widespread scepticism. (FT)
Domino's Pizza is one of four bidders circling Wingstop's UK franchise, competing with private equity groups to buy the fried chicken shop chain. (FT)
Zara parent Inditex reported an increase in sales at the start of its final quarter, helped by its autumn and winter collections and against a backdrop of intense competition in the fashion industry. (WSJ)
TUI posted a net profit increase for the year to the end of September that rose on strong customer demand, and said it expected further improvement in the current fiscal year. (WSJ)
The Onion’s deal to buy Infowars has unravelled, leaving the fate of the conspiracy website up in the air. (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