EUR/USD
1.13951
-0.177%
Gold
4082.98
-0.617%
Oil
74.291
3.944%
USD/JPY
161.985
0.158%
GBP/USD
1.33817
-0.120%
GBP/JPY
216.768
0.038%
Real-time News
July 13 – The U.S. Department of Justice is investigating allegations that United Auto Workers (UAW) President Shawn Fain abused his power and attempted to financially benefit his fiancée. Sources familiar with the matter said a lawyer hired to oversee the UAW mentioned the investigation last month in emails to Fain and the unions vice president, Rich Boyer, who will be Fains opponent in the upcoming election. In his latest report on the unions activities, released on June 25, the overseer stated that he determined Fain "acted improperly to financially benefit his fiancée." Fains fiancée works at a training center jointly operated by the UAW and automaker Sterlantis (STLA.N).July 13 – The latest epidemic report released by the Ministry of Health of the Democratic Republic of Congo on July 12 shows that the area affected by the current Ebola outbreak has increased to five provinces, with a total of 1,873 confirmed cases and 672 deaths. Chowpo and Haut-Uele provinces are listed as affected provinces for the first time. The report states that cases in both provinces are linked to the Nyania region of Ituri province. Previously, the Ebola outbreak affected Ituri, North Kivu, and South Kivu provinces. According to the report, 763 patients are currently in isolation or hospitalized, and 306 cases have recovered. The report also shows that South Kivu province has not reported any new confirmed cases since May 26, and as of July 7, it has reported no new confirmed cases for 42 consecutive days, twice the longest incubation period of the Ebola virus.On Monday, July 13, the Hang Seng Index opened down 17.47 points, or 0.07%, at 24,157.65; the Hang Seng Tech Index opened down 1.98 points, or 0.04%, at 4,719.68; the H-share Index opened up 3.07 points, or 0.04%, at 8,042.26; and the Red Chip Index opened up 14.61 points, or 0.38%, at 3,865.65.On July 13th, Barclays stated that although oil prices have fallen significantly from their peak during the Iran conflict, its inflation forecasts have deteriorated. In a report to clients, the bank stated that the Federal Reserves policy path of keeping interest rates unchanged this year, rather than raising them, has narrowed considerably in recent months. However, the bank added that this remains its base case scenario. The oil price shocks have come and gone, but inflation has not, due to the current overall strength of the US economy; therefore, the decline in oil prices cannot relieve the Federal Reserve of its inflation concerns.On July 13th, Chen Weicong, Investment Strategist at Bank of East Asia Wealth Management, pointed out that factors such as increased AI investment by technology companies and rising energy and memory production costs have led to a weaker-than-expected recovery in the earnings of heavyweight tech and consumer stocks. Therefore, he lowered his earnings forecast for the Hang Seng Index this year and reduced his target for the Hang Seng Index from 29,000 points to 27,100 points. He reiterated that the current forward P/E ratio for Hong Kong stocks is only 10 times, slightly lower than the average of about 10.5 times over the past 10 years, indicating gradually emerging valuation attractiveness. He believes the recent market downturn presents a buying opportunity and expects a phased rebound in the market in the second half of the year, but this rebound is unlikely to last long. If the July Politburo meeting releases more pro-growth policies, it could become a potential catalyst for the rebound.
