EUR/USD 1.18739
0.030%
Gold 5032.54
2.252%
Oil 62.595
-0.242%
USD/JPY 152.752
0.012%
GBP/USD 1.36557
0.249%
GBP/JPY 208.597
0.270%
Browse More
  • English
  • 简体中文
  • 繁體中文
  • Tiếng Việt
  • ไทย
  • Indonesia
Subscribe
Real-time News
February 15th - According to reports on the 13th local time, US chocolate prices continue to rise due to factors such as supply shortages in major global cocoa-producing regions, with a year-on-year increase exceeding 14%. Data from the US market research company DataCollection shows that from January 1st to early February this year, US chocolate retail prices rose 14.4% year-on-year. Specifically, chocolate prices in cities like Denver and Los Angeles rose by approximately 17% year-on-year, while the Dallas-Fort Worth area saw a surge of 19%. The rise in US chocolate prices is mainly due to the global shortage of cocoa beans, the core ingredient. West Africa accounts for about 70% of global cocoa bean production, and extreme weather led to poor harvests, pushing cocoa futures prices to historical highs. Although international cocoa prices have recently fallen significantly, the US chocolate market is still digesting previously purchased high-priced raw material inventory, and the upward trend in chocolate prices may continue in the short term.February 15th - According to foreign media reports, the Vietnamese government approved SpaceXs Starlink satellite internet service launch in Vietnam on February 14th. The Vietnamese Ministry of Science and Technology has issued a license to Starlinks local subsidiary, allowing it to provide fixed and mobile satellite internet services. The company has also been granted permission to use radio frequencies and wireless equipment.February 15th – Hong Kong Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po delivered a Lunar New Year message: "In the past year, with the strong support of the nation and the joint efforts of the SAR government and citizens, we have overcome many challenges. Exports performed well, visitor numbers increased, local consumption stabilized, and the international financial center developed steadily, resulting in overall economic stability and progress. Looking ahead to the new year, the external environment is challenging, but it will also present many new opportunities. We will actively strive for economic development, consolidate and enhance traditional advantageous industries, while exploring new markets and developing emerging industries. We will vigorously attract businesses and gather talent, ensuring that the fruits of diversified development better benefit the citizens. This year marks the beginning of the 15th Five-Year Plan, and we will more actively integrate into and serve the overall development of the nation, leveraging our strengths to serve the countrys needs."SpaceX announced that a Falcon 9 rocket launched 24 Starlink satellites from California.On February 15th, the State Administration for Market Regulation (National Standardization Administration) recently approved and released the national standard "Evaluation Guidelines for Park City Construction" (GB/T47111—2026). This standard systematically stipulates the general principles, framework, construction content, process, and methods for evaluating park city construction. First, it clarifies the principles of park city construction evaluation, emphasizing a comprehensive, people-oriented, site-specific, and scientifically applicable approach, while focusing on process objectivity and the application of results. Second, it constructs a comprehensive construction evaluation framework, covering five aspects and ten evaluation items: natural ecology, spatial form, living environment, ecological empowerment, and urban governance. Third, it provides clear and specific evaluation content and methods, offering guidance on core aspects such as symbiotic patterns, parks and greenways, and urban-park integration, and standardizing the evaluation process and methods from preparation and evaluation to the summary stage. Fourth, it encourages localities to construct evaluation indicator systems that suit their local characteristics, based on their own resource endowments and development stages, and to build park cities according to local conditions. The release and implementation of this standard will help scientifically guide park city construction across the country, providing standard support for localities to conduct park city construction evaluations based on their own characteristics and local conditions.

Stock Markets Analysis – Is Recession Possible?

Skylar Shaw

Jun 30, 2022 14:50

微信截图_20220630143414.png


Data released yesterday showed that consumer confidence decreased more than anticipated in June, reaching a six-month low, adding fuel to those worries.

consumer assurance

According to the Conference Board, the decline was caused by rising inflation and worries about a potential recession. Consumers' expectations for wage growth, the job market, and business conditions have dropped to their lowest points in over a decade, giving them a rather bleak short-term picture for the economy as a whole.


Bulls, on the other hand, highlight specifics from the Consumer Confidence report that show US consumers do not intend to cut back on spending as much as some have feared, with future spending plans for automobiles and other expensive items like refrigerators and washing machines actually increasing... so they claim. Given that gas prices have increased by up to $5 a gallon in many areas and that grocery store food prices are much higher than they were in the past, it's difficult for me to see where people would find the bigger lump sums of money.


You have to think that the US consumer will eventually reach a credit card limit and lose the ability to refinance and leverage their properties. Remember that consumer spending makes up over 70% of our economy, so if it declines, the economy will as well.


How much will consumer spending slow down, I wonder? Perhaps not much right now, but if the Fed keeps raising interest rates and the price of food and energy continues to rise—which I believe it will—the US consumer will ultimately suffer greatly.

Q2 earnings

For S&P 500 businesses, experts on Wall Street presently forecast Q2 profit growth of +4.3 percent, down from approximately +6 percent at the end of March. As we approach Q2 earnings season, which "unofficially" begins on July 13 with reports from major Wall Street Banks, many on Wall Street believe that expectations will be lowered even more.


Investors today will be analyzing more remarks from Fed Chair Jerome Powell, who will take part in a panel discussion at a bank symposium sponsored by the European Central Bank.


Suggestion