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Asian stock markets slightly up in the superweek start

The Asian stock markets started this superweek with causious actions. The stock markets were slightly up and for example the Hang Seng index was up 0,3 % in Hong Kong, Shanghai Composite 0,1 % and Nikkei 0,35% in Tokyo. The yen was trading at 108,63 dollars and euro 1,1054 dollars.

This week will be a superweek due to several central banks rate decisions, UK´s Brexit vote and for example the trading start of the Saudi Aramco oil company.

According to the morning Financial Times, China has ordered all government offices and public institutions to remove foreign computers and software within three years. According to the news the aim of the directive is to switch to domestic technology vendors and increase the domestic home-made technologies in the markets.

In the trade policies this is seen as an action against the US Administration to ban the US companies to deal with Chinese telecom company Huawei.

The US and China are expected to reach a Phase 1 trade deal by the end of this year. On the other hand the US new tariffs in the China trade will come into force on Sunday, the 15th December, if no new deal is reached. The recent exports/imports data between the countries show that the trade has been slowing in China exports in November.

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Superweek in the financial markets next week

Next week will be a superweek for the financial markets globally. There will be more information about the UK Brexit elections, the trade deal tariffs with US China will come into force if no new deal is agreed and there are several central banks meetings regarding the interest rates.

The US Federal Reserve will start its FOMC meeting on Tuesday the 10th December and the rate decision is expected on Wednesday the 11th December in press conference. The last Friday data of US payrolls was better than expected and the estimate is that Fed will not make any changes in its last meeting this year. So Fed rates are expected to be unchanged. The press meeting will start at 2.0 pm local time.

On Wednesday the 11th December, the debut of the Saudi oil company Aramco´s trading will start on the Saudi Stock Exchange. The IPO price was 32 riyals and the company was valued at 1,7 trillion dollars making it the world largest IPO ever.

On Thursday the 12th December the UK will vote in the general elections regarding the Brexit. According to several polls the Tories are leading the race. According to Telegraph newspaper,  the PM Boris Johnson’s lead over Labour has stabilised at 10 points, although the Labour Jeremy Corbyn has slowly started to narrow the gap.

On Thursday there will be also the European Central Bank´s Governing Council meeting in Frankfurt. The expectations of rate cut are not high due to the lates economic data and the widely concerns related to subzero rates. The Russian Central Bank is having a rate meeting on Friday the 13th with the expectation of interest rate cut.

The Bank fo England and the Japan Central Bank are holding their interest rates meeting on the following week, on the Thursday 19th December. Well behind the UK elections and the US China trade situation.

On Sunday the 15th December the US will raise the tariffs in China trade if no new deal is reached before that. The countries have been discussing about the Phase 1 deal during the autumn time and it was widely expected that the deal would be done by the end of this year.  The US support to the democratic movement in Hong Kong has delayed the negotiations.

On the other hand the latest data from China shows that the China exports dropped 1,1% in November and the exports to US declined 23 %. This might indicate that the countries, on both sides, are willing to make the deal before the year end.

 

 

 

 

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Fed is expected to keep the rates unchanged in Dec

The US Federal Reserve, Fed is expected to keep the federal funds rate unchanged in its next meeting on the 11th Dec. According to Bloomberg, the market expects the fed funds target range to be the same ,1,5 % to 1,75 %.

The reason for this new estimate is the better than expected payroll information from November. According to the data, the payrolls jumped to 266000 while the market estimate was 180000 jobs. The jobless rate also dipped to 3,5 %.

For the next year, the rate cut is expected to be smaller than before and for example the fed funds futures for January 2021 is showing 1,32%. This would mean about 0,23 % decrease from the levels now.

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Christmas Calendar 6: Gift ideas

Christmas Calendar 6: Gift ideas: Hublot “Classic Fusion Orlinski”, Titanium

The Swiss watch company Hublot created this watch “Classic Fusion Orlinski” with the art designer Richard Orlinski. According to Hublot, Mr Orlinski loves all kind of arts and his interest is to explore different elements from sculpture, design to music and live performance. His works can be found in more than 90 galleries in France and abroad.

-We adopt a pioneering and exploratory approach. We thrive on challenges. The success of the Aerofusion Chronograph and the Tourbillon has opened up new avenues. These elegant Classic Fusions turn wearing a watch into an everyday art form, the CEO of Hublot Ricardo Guadalupe says.

 

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Saudi Aramco to be the world biggest IPO

The Saudi Aramco listing is the world biggest IPO. The company sold 1,5 % of its shares with the price of 32 riyals,  at the top range, mostly to domestic and Gulf region investors. The valuation of the company was 1,7 trillion dollars and the share offering was 4,6 times oversubscribed.

The trading of the shares will start next week in Riyadh in the Saudi Stock Exchange. There are also some estimates that Aramco will continue the selling of its shares rather sooner than later and many global investors are waiting that the new company will be included in the global indexes.

 

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Christmas Calendar 5: Gift ideas

Christmas Calendar 5: Gift ideas: Tudor “Black Bay Bronze”

Tudor´s Black Bay Bronze model measures 33.8 millimetres, the widest diameter of all the company´s calibres. The watch´s rotor is “satin-brushed with sand-blasted details, and its bridges and plate have alternating polished sand-blasted surfaces and laser decorations.”

It displays the hours, minutes and seconds functions and it has 70-hour power reserve.

-As a tribute to the brand’s naval heritage, Tudor has identified the historic uses of its watches and reinterpreted them in its latest models. For example, the French Navy had Tudor watches delivered without bracelets and then fitted them with their own straps. One of them, kept in the brand’s archives, is made of elastic recovered from French rescue parachutes. This ultra-functional relic, recognisable by its gold-coloured thread, is the reference behind the slate-grey woven jacquard strap available for the Black Bay Bronze, the company tells about the history.

 

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Moncler to become carbon neutral by 2021

The Italian fashion house Moncler (MONC) is aiming to become carbon neutral by 2021.  According to the company information, Moncler is using all its needed energy from renewables sources and its own production, logistic and headquarter sites are having an ISO14001 environmental management system in place.

– Moncler’s commitment also extends to the product and the search for low-impact solutions, ranging from fabrics and accessories made with recycled materials to those of alternative origin, the company says.

According to Moncler great energy is continuously put into sharing high social and environmental standards with its partners.

-Moncler has intensified audit, training and sharing activities to spread a culture of sustainability through an open and constructive dialogue aimed at continuous and mutual improvement, Moncler says.

Moncler also entered this year the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices World and Europe and is recognized as the Industry Leader in the ‘Textiles, Apparel & Luxury Goods’ sector.

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