Real-time News

February 3rd - Danske Bank's Stefan Mellin stated in a report that the short-term risk balance has shifted in favor of a stronger dollar following Trump's nomination of Warsh as Federal Reserve Chair. The nomination appears to have eased market concerns about a potential threat to the Fed's independence and prompted a partial reversal of the political risk premium previously priced into the dollar. He pointed out that the dollar sell-off in late January was primarily driven by political risks stemming from the unpredictability of US policy. Therefore, the easing of short-term political uncertainty could "restore the dollar's correlation with fundamentals and create a tactical window for a dollar rebound."

A Republican caucus in the U.S. House of Representatives accused Big Tech companies of conducting censorship in order to comply with European Union requirements.

U.S. Trade Representative Greer: The Supreme Court tariff case is not an “obvious” outcome for the plaintiffs; the stakes in the tariff case are extremely high.

U.S. Redbook retail sales annualized at 6.7% for the week ending January 30, compared with 7.1% previously.

February 3 – The UK's data protection regulator is investigating Elon Musk's xAI, intensifying its scrutiny of the AI chatbot Grok, which was allegedly used to generate and distribute sexually suggestive images. The UK Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) stated on Tuesday that the formal investigation will focus on whether personal data was improperly processed during the generation of these images. Last month, Grok sparked strong public and political backlash after users on xAI induced the chatbot to generate sexually suggestive images of real people without their consent. Earlier on Tuesday, French law enforcement raided xAI's Paris offices. The ICO stated it has the authority to fine xAI up to £17.5 million (approximately $24 million) or 4% of the company's global annual revenue, whichever is higher.

U.S. Trade Representative Greer: We have been closely monitoring India's gradual reduction in its purchases of Russian oil.

U.S. Trade Representative Greer: An agreement has been reached with India on a trade standards recognition procedure.

U.S. Trade Representative Greer: India is still implementing some protectionist measures for agricultural products.

U.S. Trade Representative Greer: India has agreed to lower tariffs on U.S. exports.

February 3rd - Goldman Sachs' James Moberly and Sven Jari Stehn stated in a report that the Bank of England is expected to cut interest rates in March, June, and September, bringing the benchmark rate down to 3.0%. The Bank of England is expected to keep rates unchanged at its interest rate decision on Thursday. "We still believe that weak labor market data will prompt the Monetary Policy Committee to implement rate cuts in March, June, and September," they stated. LSEG data shows that the UK money market has fully priced in a 25 basis point rate cut in July, while pricing in a low probability of another rate cut later this year.

February 3 – On February 3, Li Lecheng, Secretary of the Party Leadership Group and Minister of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, chaired a meeting of the Party Leadership Group. The meeting emphasized the need to strengthen overall planning and forward-looking layout. It called for improving the technology forecasting and investigation mechanism, strengthening the exploration of diverse technology routes, and making tiered arrangements for future industries based on technology maturity and market application levels. The meeting also stressed the need to orderly promote the construction of pilot zones for future industries and guide various regions to develop in a differentiated manner according to local conditions. Furthermore, the meeting emphasized strengthening the technological supply for future industries. It called for leveraging the advantages of the new national system, deeply implementing national major science and technology projects and national key R&D programs, systematically planning original and leading technology breakthroughs, and promoting breakthroughs in fields such as 6G, quantum technology, biomanufacturing, hydrogen energy, brain-computer interfaces, and embodied intelligence. Finally, the meeting called for carrying out large-scale application demonstrations of new technologies, new products, and new scenarios in manufacturing, accelerating the maturation of cutting-edge technologies through large-scale open application of these scenarios.

Disney (DIS.N) has appointed Josh Damaro as CEO, succeeding Bob Iger.

According to Interfax news agency: Russian President Vladimir Putin and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman discussed OPEC+ matters.

February 3 - Kharkiv Mayor Terekhov announced on February 3 that the city has activated its emergency response mechanism. Kharkiv and the Kharkiv region were reportedly subjected to a large-scale attack by Russian forces that day. The Kharkiv No. 5 thermal power plant and several substations were severely damaged, and heating was cut off to 929 facilities, including 853 residential buildings, leaving nearly 105,000 residents without heating.

A JPMorgan Chase survey of US Treasury clients showed that the net long position ratio hit its lowest level since October last year.

Ukrainian President Zelensky: Russia ignored our efforts and attacked Ukrainian energy facilities overnight.

Ukrainian President Zelensky: The United States proposed in the last meeting that it might stop attacks on "other critical" infrastructure.