Real-time News

A Reuters poll showed that most economists surveyed said the Bank of Thailand would cut its key policy rate to 1.00% in the first quarter of 2026.

Australian Prime Minister Albanese: Stricter gun control laws will include restrictions on the number of guns an individual can own or license to use.

December 15th - According to the latest supply chain news, due to surging demand for Google's Tensor Processing Unit (TPU), Google has expanded its orders for MediaTek's customized next-generation TPU v7e, with order volume increasing several times compared to the original plan. The report states that the first TPU v7e customized by MediaTek for Google will enter risk production by the end of next quarter, and MediaTek has also secured orders for Google's next-generation TPU v8e. MediaTek's large order has received support from TSMC's advanced packaging capacity, and TSMC's CoWoS capacity provided to MediaTek for its Google project will increase more than sevenfold in 2027. MediaTek declined to comment on the news; TSMC stated that it does not comment on details of individual customer business.

On December 15th, Naomi Fink, Chief Global Strategist at Amova Asset Management, stated that the Bank of Japan's Tankan survey indicates the Japanese economy is in the early to mid-stages of structural reflation, rather than overheating. All Japanese companies expect inflation rates to exceed the Bank of Japan's 2% target over the next one, three, and five years. This would support a rate hike by the Bank of Japan this month, bringing expectations back to the target level. The Bank of Japan is likely to support gradual normalization, although it has become more cautious as it approaches a "neutral" policy stance, with the nominal overnight interest rate in Japan generally estimated to be between 1% and 2.5%.

The yield on 30-year Japanese government bonds rose 2 basis points to 3.37%.

The Hong Kong Stock Exchange has officially launched the “HKEX Technology 100 Index”, and Yuejiang (02432.HK) has been selected.

The Malaysian ringgit rose 0.2% to 4.0850 against the US dollar, hovering near its highest level since early 2021.

Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara: The Bank of Japan's Tankan survey results are consistent with the government's assessment that the economy is gradually recovering.

Hong Kong stocks in the new consumption sector rallied, with Shanghai Auntie (02589.HK) rising over 10%, Bruker (00325.HK) rising over 3%, and Mao Geping (01318.HK) and Nayuki (02150.HK) following suit.

On December 15th, Huawei officially announced that it will hold a launch event for the nova15 series and all-scenario new products on December 22nd. At that time, Huawei nova15 series, tablets, wearables, and HarmonyOS smart home products will be unveiled on the same stage.

December 15th - Economists say that improved business confidence in Japan and upward revisions to capital expenditure plans in the Tankan survey could strengthen the Bank of Japan's case for a rate hike at this week's meeting. Takeshi Minami, an economist at Norinchukin Research Institute, stated, "Despite negative growth in the July-September quarter, the Tankan survey shows an improving supply-demand gap, which is expected to continue pushing up underlying inflation." However, he added that given the expected easing of inflation expectations in the next fiscal year, the pace of monetary policy tightening after the next rate hike is likely to be slow.

December 15th - Natural gas production is showing steady growth. In November, industrial natural gas production by enterprises above designated size reached 21.9 billion cubic meters, a year-on-year increase of 5.7%; the average daily output was 730 million cubic meters. From January to November, industrial natural gas production by enterprises above designated size reached 238.9 billion cubic meters, a year-on-year increase of 6.3%.

Reserve Bank of New Zealand Governor Brehman: Financial market conditions have tightened since the November decision, to a degree exceeding what we implied in our forecast of the central level of the official cash rate.

Reserve Bank of New Zealand Governor Brehman: If the economy develops as expected, the official cash rate is likely to remain at its current level of 2.25% for some time.

Reserve Bank of New Zealand Governor Brehman reiterated the forward path of the official cash rate announced in the November monetary policy statement, indicating that the likelihood of another rate cut in the near future is low.

Reserve Bank of New Zealand Governor Brehman: We continue to see signs that economic growth is recovering.

Reserve Bank of New Zealand Governor Brehman: The evolution of the economic outlook is generally in line with the expectations of the Monetary Policy Committee.

December 15th - In November, the total value of goods imports and exports reached 3,898.7 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 4.1%, 4.0 percentage points higher than the previous month. Exports totaled 2,345.6 billion yuan, up 5.7%; imports totaled 1,553.1 billion yuan, up 1.7%. From January to November, the total value of goods imports and exports reached 41,207.6 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 3.6%. Exports totaled 24,457.9 billion yuan, up 6.2%; imports totaled 16,749.8 billion yuan, up 0.2%. From January to November, general trade imports and exports increased by 2.1% year-on-year, accounting for 63.2% of the total import and export value. Imports and exports with countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative increased by 6.0%. Private enterprises' imports and exports increased by 7.1%, accounting for 57.1% of the total import and export value, 1.8 percentage points higher than the same period last year. Exports of machinery and electronic products increased by 8.8%, accounting for 60.9% of the total exports.

Philippine Central Bank Governor: I am pleased to see the reserve requirement ratio fall to 2% in the next year or so.