Global Courant 2023-05-23 08:24:28
Consumer confidence in South Korea rises to its highest level in a year
Consumer confidence in South Korea rose to its highest level in a year in May. Data from the Bank of Korea showed a score of 98, compared to 95.1 a month ago.
Inflation is expected to moderate to 3.5%, down from 3.7% the previous month, the central bank said.
Reuters reported that a BOK official said: “It is too early to say that inflation expectations are stabilizing, with uncertainties still remaining about public price increases and other factors.”
— Lim Hui Jie
Japanese factory activity expands for first time since October 2022: au Jibun bank
Japan’s manufacturing sector recorded growth for the first time in seven months, according to preliminary estimates from the au Jibun Bank.
The manufacturing purchasing managers’ index stood at 50.8 in May, a reversal from the 49.5 recorded in April, “signifying the first improvement in business conditions since October 2022,” the report found. report. A PMI reading above 50 indicates expansion, while a reading below that level indicates contraction.
The bank noted renewed increases in both production and new orders, with both variables rising at their strongest pace in 13 months. Manufacturers indicated that supply chain issues showed signs of improvement.
The PMI for Japan’s services sector was 56.3 in May, higher than April’s 55.4 and growing at the strongest pace since the series began. The composite PMI rose from 52.9 in April to 54.9.
— Lim Hui Jie
Inflation in Hong Kong rose to 2.1% in April
Inflation in Hong Kong rose 2.1% in April from a year earlier, slightly above the 2% expected by economists polled by Reuters. Inflation in April was also higher than the 1.7% recorded in March.
A city council spokesman said prices of energy-related items continued to rise sharply year-on-year, as did the cost of clothing and footwear.
The price of electricity, gas and water increased by 17.8%, while the prices of clothing and footwear increased by 6.4%.
The price of takeaway and dining out also increased by 4.2%, while “price pressures on other key components remained largely contained,” the spokesman said.
Going forward, Hong Kong expects domestic price pressures to intensify alongside the economic recovery. Headline inflation is likely to pick up in the rest of 2023, but will remain “largely subdued”.
— Lim Hui Jie
McCarthy has high hopes for his meeting with Biden on the debt ceiling
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., says “decisions need to be made” during his debt ceiling meeting with President Joe Biden, scheduled for 5:30 p.m. ET.
“We need to have movement” on pieces of an eventual deal to raise the debt ceiling, McCarthy told reporters at the Capitol, adding “I know where I think people should be able to go.”
With just 10 days to the earliest date, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen says the US is at risk of default, Biden and McCarthy are under intense pressure to reach a compromise. If and when they do, it will take at least another week for their handshake deal to pass into law and pass through the House and Senate.
The House is currently scheduled to leave this weekend for Memorial Day recess, but McCarthy said he would postpone it if necessary to hold a vote to raise the debt ceiling. “We stay here and do our job,” he said.
— Christina Wilkie
CNBC Pro: Wealth Manager Reveals Short Position in These 4 Global Commercial Real Estate Stocks
Shares of several global commercial real estate companies will fall further, according to chief investment officer Patrick Armstrong.
Armstrong, who manages equity strategy at asset manager Plurimi, revealed he is shorting four global commercial real estate companies.
“It’s an expensive business, in my opinion, dealing with a pretty toxic environment,” he said of one of his shorts.
CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.
— Ganesha Rao
CNBC Pro: Fund manager shares tips on investing sustainably — and generating high returns
Philip Ripman manages the $1 billion Storebrand Global Solutions fund, with a focus on sustainability. But in addition to green energy stocks, he also invests in chipmakers, cybersecurity stocks, pharmaceuticals and more.
His strategy seems to be paying off in the long run: his fund tops Morningstar’s list of global mega-cap equity funds for 10-year annualized returns (15%).
Here are three tips for sustainable investing, including how to play up the renewable energy theme, according to Ripman.
CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.
— Weizhen Tan
Kashkari calls potential for June break ‘a close call’
Neel Kashkari, president of the Minneapolis Federal Reserve, noted Monday that a rate hike versus a June break is a “close call.” However, he added that even if the central bank decides not to raise again, it should not be taken as a sign for the future.
“Right now it’s a close call anyway… If we were to skip June, that doesn’t mean we’re done with our tightening cycle, it means to me we’re getting more information,” he said on CNBC’s “Squawk Box .”
He called the economy “robust” and noted that “we may have to move north of 6%” for the Fed Funds rate from the current target range of 5%-5.25% if inflation no longer shows signs of a decline.
— Jeff Cox
Bitcoin and Ether are on track for their worst month of 2023
Cryptocurrencies were flat at the start of the week, as movements in stocks and bond yields continued to push crypto prices up and pick up.
Bitcoin was 8.7% lower in May and on track for the worst month since November, according to Coin Metrics. Ether was almost 5% lower for the month, heading for its worst month since December.
“Crypto remains the best-performing asset this year against gold, stocks, bonds and DXY,” Bernstein analyst Gautam Chhugani said in a note Monday. “We continue to believe in our structural thesis on the ‘new crypto cycle’, but it’s never a straight path up… These dull markets we believe offer the best long-term risk rewards.”
— Tanaya Macheel, Gina Francolla
Micron shares fall as China restricts sales
Shares of Micron technology fell more than 3% amid news that China will restrict some sales of memory chipmakers’ products.
The country’s cyberspace administration banned “critical information infrastructure” operators from purchasing products from the company after Micron’s products failed its network security assessment.
The company poses a “major security risk” to China’s critical information infrastructure supply chain and compromises national security,” a statement said.
The news lifted Chinese chipmakers, including Hong Kong-listed Hua Hong Semiconductor and SMIC. Some chip makers, including Qualcomm, Lamb research, Broadcom And Applied materials each fell by nearly 1%.
— Samantha Subin
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