Introduction
Sluggish growth and high inflation were recurring themes in many major and emerging economies last month, as central banks across the globe sought to manage the impact of global economic headwinds. But interestingly, many emerging markets bucked this trend.
As always, let’s take a closer look at the details.
UK
The UK economy saw surprise growth of 0.2% in April 2023, despite many analysts predicting a decline. However, other positive economic news has been hard to find in recent weeks, with the Bank of England raising interest rates by half a percentage point to 5% – the highest level in 15 years.
Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt argued that the UK has “no alternative” but to hike interest rates in order to tackle inflation, which remained stuck at 8.7% in May – the same as in April. This has caused huge concerns about the impact of rising mortgage rates, which led to the bank bosses meeting with Mr Hunt, and agreeing to offer more flexibility to mortgage holders who are struggling to keep up with their payments. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, meanwhile, called on homeowners and borrowers to “hold their nerve” over rising interest rates.
The wider economic situation led to annual house prices falling for the first time in 11 years, according to UK’s largest mortgage lender Halifax. Figures showed typical house prices in May were £3,000 down on the previous year. However, retail sales did hold up, with the Office for National Statistics reporting that sales volumes rose by 0.3% in May, partly because of better weather in the second half of the month.
Energy prices have also been a huge contributor to the ongoing cost of living crisis, but the government has confirmed that if prices fall to normal levels for a sustained period, its windfall tax on oil and gas firms – which has helped to fund a support scheme for struggling households and businesses – will be scrapped.
On the international stage, Rishi Sunak and US President Joe Biden unveiled the Atlantic Declaration. While this is some way short of the full trade deal that the British government has hoped for following Brexit, it does still represent a strengthening of economic ties between the UK and the US.
The UK has also signed a new pact with the European Union, which will see the two parties meet twice a year to discuss financial regulation and standards. Mr Hunt believes this forum will be mutually beneficial, as the UK and EU financial markets are “deeply interconnected”.
It was a difficult month for the London Stock Exchange, with natural soda ash producer We Soda scrapping plans to sell shares on the index, and cinema chain Cineworld confirming it is to file for administration and suspend trading on the London Stock Exchange as part of a major bankruptcy restructuring plan. This comes shortly after microchip designer Arm Holdings opted to list its shares in the US rather than London.
There was brighter news in the mobile phone sector, with Vodafone and Three agreeing a deal to merge their operations and create the country’s biggest mobile phone operator.
The pound ended June up 0.82% against the dollar, and on the financial markets, the FTSE-100 Index ended the month at 7,544 points, up 1.32% on May.
Ukraine
Global leaders and bodies such as the World Bank attended the Ukraine Recovery Conference in June to discuss what can be done to rebuild the war-torn nation.
World Bank Managing Director of Operations Anna Bjerde pointed out that Ukraine will need the help of the international community for many years. However, she told the BBC that the country also has great potential to turn “a lot of its assets into economic opportunity and recovery”.
Among the topics under debate was the idea of fast-tracking Ukraine’s entry into Nato, which the British government said it supports.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky addressed the conference by video link, and told attendees that Ukraine could be “the largest source of economic, industrial and technological growth in Europe for decades and decades”.
The meeting came amid a military counter-offensive to recapture Russian-occupied areas of the country, which President Zelensky has admitted has led to slower progress than he hoped for.
Europe
The European Central Bank (ECB) increased its benchmark rate of interest by 0.25 percentage points to 3.5% – its highest level in more than 20 years. The cost of borrowing is being hiked as part of an effort to tackle inflation, which fell from 6.1% in May to 5.5% in the year to June – a welcome fall but still a stubbornly high figure.
Rising prices led to the eurozone falling into recession over the winter, official figures have revealed, with the 20-nation bloc’s economy shrinking by 0.1% between January and March. This followed a contraction in the final three months of 2022. Falling household spending contributed to the drop in economic output, as this fell by 0.3% in the first quarter of 2023, following a 1% slump in the previous three months.
There was some positive news, however, with the ECB reporting that the international role of the euro was resilient in 2022, with its share across multiple indicators of international currency use averaging close to 20%. This means the euro is still the second most widely used currency, despite high inflation and geopolitical problems such as the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The invasion has led to another problem for the EU, as member states are set to be asked to make bigger budget contributions following recent crises. Johannes Hahn, Commissioner for Budget and Administration, argued that the EU budget has been “instrumental” to its recovery from the pandemic and continued support for Ukraine. However, he said “the multiple challenges over the past years have exhausted its flexibilities and capacity to react to future crises”.
Europe’s largest economy, Germany, has been in particular difficulty over the last few months, but the German Bundesbank believes its recession will end in the April to June quarter, thanks to factors such as improving supply chains and falling energy prices. The Bundesbank has predicted that GDP will fall by 0.3% across the whole of 2023, but grow by 1.2% in 2024 and 1.3% in 2025.
Ireland also provided some positive economic news for the EU, as its economic output went up by 2.7% in the first quarter of 2023, compared with the final quarter of 2022.
On the financial markets, Germany’s DAX index rose by 3.14% in June to end the month at 16,156 points. Meanwhile, the French CAC 40 index went up by 4.39% to end at 7,410 points.
US
All eyes were on the US Congress after a deal to lift the country’s borrowing limit was agreed. The US had risked defaulting on its £25trn debt had the measure not been approved by the Senate and the House of Representatives.
Interest rates remained another key focus of attention, as the US Federal Reserve opted against increasing the cost of borrowing for the first time in over a year. The benchmark rate remained at 5%-5.25%, as the Fed wants time to assess the effects that previous rate hikes have had in recent months.
However, interest rates do not look set to remain at this level for much longer, as many analysts are forecasting further increases in the coming months. Inflation, meanwhile, fell from 4.9% in the year to April to 4% in the year to May, according to official figures, which means the rate of inflation has now fallen for 11 months in a row.
Curiously, high inflation and interest rates failed to dent job creation in the UK, with employers adding 330,000 jobs in May. This has led to some analysts becoming increasingly confident that the economy could avoid slipping into recession this year, although figures also showed that the unemployment rate rose from 3.4% to 3.7% month-on-month.
According to a poll by The Associated Press and NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, just 34% of US adults currently approve of President Biden’s handling of the economy. Against this backdrop, the President has been talking up his economic approach, which has been termed “Bidenomics”, which involves growing the economy “from the middle out and bottom up, not the top down”.
Business activity in the UK expanded in early June, according to the latest S&P Global Composite Purchasing Managers Index. However, the index fell 1.3 points to 53, which indicates growth is at its slowest level in three months, partly because of a decline in manufacturing activity. Chief Business Economist Chris Williamson said: “Growth remains dependent on service sector spending. The question remains as to how resilient service sector growth can be in the face of the manufacturing decline and the lagged effect of prior rate hikes.”
Nevertheless, small businesses in particular appear to be quite confident about the future. According to the latest MetLife and US Chamber Small Business Index, a record 71% of small business owners expect to see an increase in revenue over the next year, while the share of respondents expecting to hire more staff in the coming 12 months has gone up from 37% in Q1 to 47% in Q2.
On the financial markets, the Dow Jones rose by 4.52% to end the month at 34,376, while the more broadly-based S&P 500 index went up by 6.22% to end at 4,439.
Far East
China’s National Bureau of Statistics has revealed that the country’s industrial output went up by 3.5% in May year-on-year. This was slightly down on the 5.6% increase seen in April, indicating that demand for Chinese manufactured goods is easing both domestically and worldwide. Retail sales, meanwhile, also dropped off slightly, falling from 18.4% growth in April to just 12.7% in May.
Commenting on the figures, analysts at Nomura said the post-Covid recovery “appears to have run its course” and that “an economic double dip is nearly confirmed”. Nevertheless, Chinese premier Li Qiang remains bullish, insisting that the country remains on course to achieve its economic growth targets of 5% this year.
Ongoing diplomatic tensions with the US continued to cast a shadow throughout June, although a visit by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to Beijing saw both sides seek to improve their relationship.
President Xi Jinping said progress had been made and Mr Blinken stated that while there are major differences between the two nations, both sides are open to additional talks.
Shortly after Mr Blinken’s visit, President Biden criticised President Xi, referring to him as a “dictator”, who was embarrassed after the US shot down an alleged Chinese spy balloon.
Thankfully, there appears to be little appetite for any escalation, as China’s Defence Minister General Li Shangfu said war with the US would be an “unbearable disaster” for the world. He added that the Earth is big enough for both nations and that they should try to find common ground.
Against this backdrop, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates met President Xi in Beijing. However, iPhone maker Foxconn has said it is planning for the worst-case scenario in case relations between Washington and Beijing deteriorate further by moving some of its supply chains away from China.
Speaking to the BBC, Foxconn Chairman Young Liu said: “We hope peace and stability will be something the leaders of these two countries will keep in mind, but as a business, as a CEO, I have to think about what if the worst case happens?”
In Japan, gross domestic product went up by 2.7% in the first three months of the year, exceeding forecasts from economists polled by Reuters of 1.9%. This was fuelled partly by a 1.4% increase in capital spending, although exports and imports both fell by 4.2% and 2.3% respectively.
The Bank of Japan remains cautiously optimistic about the economic outlook, saying it expects to see a moderate recovery this year. However, it noted that the global economy and markets pose a risk to Japan’s future growth.
South Korea, meanwhile, saw minimal growth of just 0.3% in the first quarter of the year. However, this was enough to prevent the country slipping into recession, following a 0.4% contraction in the final three months of 2022.
The Bank of Korea has revised down its 2023 growth forecast of 1.4% slightly, partly due to sluggish conditions in its semiconductor industry, which Bank Governor Rhee Chang Yong said is “pivotal to our exports”. He also noted that exports to China are not “picking up as fast as we wish”, although he was hopeful the overall economic growth rate would pick up in the second half of the year.
On the financial markets, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose by 3.74% to end June at 18,916. Meanwhile, Japan’s Nikkei index rose by 7.45% to 33,189. China’s Shanghai Composite index fell by 0.08% to 3,202 and the Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 0.50% to 2,564.
Emerging Markets
Foreign ministers from Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa met in Cape Town to call for the global order to be rebalanced away from western countries. Speaking at the meeting, Brazil’s Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira described the Brics nations as an “indispensable mechanism for building a multipolar world order that reflects the devices and needs of developing countries”.
Brazil has seen impressive economic growth in recent months, with the Central Bank’s economic activity index showing growth reached 0.56% in April. This was the biggest monthly increase since December 2013 and well above many analysts’ expectations.
Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is confident about the country’s economic outlook, saying he expects to see growth of at least 2% this year. Speaking after S&P revised its outlook for Brazil from “stable” to “positive”, he said the nation is regaining its international credibility under his leadership.
Meanwhile, S&P is expecting India to be the fastest-growing economy in the Asia Pacific region during 2024, with growth likely to be about 6%. Louis Kuijs, Asia-Pacific Chief Economist at S&P Global Ratings, said: “The medium-term growth outlook remains relatively solid. The Asian emerging market economies remain among the fastest growing ones in our global growth outlook through 2026.”
Fitch Ratings is also confident about India’s outlook, raising its growth forecast for the current fiscal year from 6% to 6.3%. In a statement, it described India as one of the fastest-growing economies in the world, as it is benefiting from “high bank credit growth and infrastructure spending, with more to come from the latter”.
The Indian government has sought to build on this strong performance by consolidating its global relationships. June saw Prime Minister Narendra Modi go on a state visit to the US, where he met with President Biden and enjoyed a lavish reception at the White House.
India’s tech sector, meanwhile, received a boost when Foxconn announced it would start manufacturing iPhones in the state of Karnataka by April 2024, in a move that will create around 50,000 jobs.
In Russia, President Vladimir Putin’s grip on power was questioned after Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of mercenary group Wagner, staged an apparent mutiny. Following a day in which Wagner fighters moved towards Moscow, the insurrection was eventually called off. Commenting on the rebellion, Antony Blinken said it represented a “direct challenge” to Mr Putin that shows “real cracks” in his authority.
As Russia continues with its assault on Ukraine and continues to suffer global sanctions, the economy looks set to suffer, with Bloomberg Economics predicting growth of just 0.8% this year. By contrast, Russia’s central bank is forecasting growth of 2% in 2023.
This comes as Russia aims to raise about 300bn rubles by imposing a one-off windfall tax on big companies. It is hoped the move will boost its coffers after posting a first-quarter deficit of nearly 2.4trn rubles.
On the financial markets, India’s BSE Sensex index rose by 3.47% to end at 64,718 points. Russia’s MOEX index rose by 2.63% to close at 2,789 points, while Brazil’s Bovespa index ended the month at 119,110 points.
And Finally…
Many of us might have wondered how people would react if we died suddenly, but one Belgian TikToker took it a step further by faking his own death. His wife and children, who were in on the prank, announced news of his “death” on social media, and even went as far as holding a fake funeral to see who would turn up and hear what they really thought of him.
Staying on the funeral theme, funeral firm Go As You Please is offering people the chance to pick their own custom-made coffins before they die. Among the suggested themes for the caskets are a Greggs sausage roll, a pint of Tennent’s Lager and Doctor Who’s Tardis. Each to their own…
To end on a lighter note, spare a thought for Iain Grant, 49, who ordered a curry online after arriving in Falmouth, Cornwall for a holiday. So far, so good, but upon arriving at the restaurant, it was clearly closed. Although he admitted to seeing the funny side, he was clearly incensed enough to contact the newspapers to share the details of his ordeal.
November market commentary
Thursday, November 9th, 2023Introduction
All eyes have been on the Middle East following Hamas’ terror attack on Israel on October 7th, which led to the deaths of more than 1,400 people.
The resulting conflict has led to a humanitarian crisis in Gaza, fears of a possible escalation across the wider region, and a surge in oil prices.
We will be keeping a close eye on the unfolding situation in the Middle East and if it has an effect on the wider global economy.
As always, let’s take a closer look at what’s been happening in key markets across the world over the last month.
UK
Economic growth in the UK remains sluggish, as official figures showed that GDP went up by just 0.2% in August 2023. According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), this was driven largely by strong growth in services, but offset by falls in sectors such as manufacturing and construction. Data also showed that the fall in GDP in July was bigger than originally thought, with the figure being revised from 0.5% to 0.6%.
Meanwhile, ONS figures indicated that efforts to drive down inflation are still yielding limited results. The rate of inflation remained unchanged from the previous month in September at 6.7%, which is well above the Bank of England’s target of 2%. The ONS attributed the high rate partly to petrol and diesel costs, but noted that food and non-alcoholic drink prices have fallen.
This was backed up by the British Retail Consortium, which reported a 0.1% fall in food prices in September – the first monthly drop for more than two years. However, food prices are still 9.9% up on where they were a year earlier.
Ken Murphy, Chief Executive of supermarket chain Tesco, believes the pace of rising food prices will continue to slow this year. Speaking to BBC News, he insisted that Tesco is trying to “lower prices wherever we can”, and acknowledged “how challenging it is for many households across the country”.
There was another indication that cost of living pressures may finally be easing, as ONS data showed wages rose by 7.8% between June and August year-on-year. This means that average pay growth rose above inflation for the first time in nearly two years.
With a general election looming, you might expect the government to start talking about or dangling tax cuts in front of a hard-pressed electorate. But while recent figures may suggest we may be starting to turn a corner, the Institute of Fiscal Studies (IFS) believes there is no compelling case for net tax cuts “any time soon”.
“The UK economy remains stuck between weak growth on the one hand and the risk of persistently high inflation on the other,” the IFS said. “An ill-timed fiscal loosening – such as an unfunded package of pre-election tax cuts – might give a short-term economic sugar rush, but could prove unsustainable and ultimately mean a protracted recession as interest rates rise even further to bring inflation back under control.”
The IFS added that the “Chancellor is in a terrible bind, as will be whoever is Chancellor after the general election”.
There was more positive news from credit rating agency Moody’s, which has dropped its negative outlook on the UK, partly in response to Chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s decision to scrap most of the measures announced in last year’s Mini-Budget.
Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund has been forced to defend itself against criticism from the Treasury that its UK economic assessment is too pessimistic. Chief Economist Pierre Olivier Gourinchas told the BBC that its growth forecasts exceed the Bank of England’s estimates, and that it is trying to be “honest interpreters of the data here”.
October also saw confirmation that the UK’s biggest infrastructure project would be dramatically scaled back, with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announcing that the leg connecting the West Midlands and Manchester would not go ahead.
It has been a mixed few months for the banking sector, with Metro Bank recently being denied permission from the Bank of England to use its own internal models to assess its mortgage risks. However, a £925m deal was later struck that enables the business to raise extra funds from investors – an agreement that secures its financial position, but means it has to cut about £30m in costs every year from 2025. By contrast, Lloyds revealed a pre-tax profit of £1.9bn for the three months to September, up from £576m a year earlier.
October also saw the removal of the cap on bankers’ bonuses, a move first announced in last year’s controversial Mini-Budget, and one of the few measures announced by Kwasi Kwarteng to be retained by Jeremy Hunt. The government hopes that the move will help to make London a more attractive place to do business post-Brexit.
On the high street, fashion retailer Next has confirmed it is to buy clothing brand Fatface for £115m. This follows Next’s acquisition of Cath Kidston and Joules in recent months.
Meanwhile, a proposed merger of Vodafone and Three is still under close scrutiny, with bosses having to deny it would lead to price rises after concerns were raised by the Unite union. If the merger goes ahead, it would lead to the creation of the UK’s biggest mobile network and service around 27m customers.
The pound ended October unmoved against the dollar, and on the financial markets, the FTSE-100 Index ended the month at 7,321 points, up 3.76% on September.
Europe
The European Central Bank (ECB) left its interest rates unchanged for the first time in over a year, following ten consecutive rate hikes.
Policymakers had been rating hikes in order to tackle the rising cost of living, but thankfully, inflation across the eurozone has started to come down. The rate of inflation hit 4.3% in September, which is well down on the peak of 10.6% seen in October 2022.
The ECB believes that while inflation is likely to remain fairly high for some time yet, interest rates are now at a level where they could substantially contribute to it meeting its 2% target.
Christine Lagarde, President of the institution, added: “The economy is likely to remain weak for the remainder of this year. But as inflation falls further, household real incomes recover and the demand for euro area exports picks up, the economy should strengthen over the coming years.”
The eurozone economy contracted during the last quarter, according to new data from S&P Global, as rising borrowing costs and higher prices led to consumers limiting their spending. The report also showed that declining output in the services and manufacturing sectors also contributed to the downturn.
Speaking after the data was published, Franziska Palmas of Capital Economics said it still expects the eurozone economy to fall into recession in the second half of 2023.
Germany, in particular, is going through a tough period economically right now, with the European Commission predicting that the country will face a prolonged recession this year.
It is likely to be the only major economy in Europe to see its economy shrink during 2023, and according to the latest European Commission estimates, output will fall by 0.4% this year. The body has also downgraded its growth forecast for Germany in 2024 from 1.4% to 1.1%.
This comes after the International Monetary Fund predicted that Germany’s economy would contract by 0.3% in 2023.
It was a much more positive picture in Spain, where officials are hopeful it will outpace eurozone growth in the coming months. Pablo Hernández de Cos, Governor of the Bank of Spain, believes the country is performing relatively well because it relies less on sectors such as manufacturing than many other key European nations, and is less dependent on exports from China and Russia.
October also saw progress in the European Union’s efforts to bolster the banking system and make it more resilient. The European Banking Authority has published guidance for banking regulators in each member state, which includes a call for specific checks on the impact of higher interest rates on their business models, as well as their liquidity and funding risks.
The move is being taken in the wake of the recent collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and UBS’s forced takeover of Credit Suisse to ensure regulators in Europe learn lessons from what happened across the Atlantic.
Francesco Mauro of EBA said: “This is an exercise that has always looked at supervision, but the novelty is that, being more targeted, we can be more specific on what are the expectations that we are putting on supervisors. The spring events reminded us of the importance of proper management of liquidity risk.”
October also saw voters come out for the Polish general election. While the incumbent Law and Justice (PiS) party secured the biggest share of the vote, opposition parties secured enough votes to oust the government. Donald Tusk’s Civic Coalition, which attracted almost a third of the popular vote, looks to be in the strongest position to be able to form a coalition.
On the financial markets, Germany’s DAX index fell by 3.75% in October to end the month at 14,810 points. Meanwhile, the French CAC 40 index fell by 3.50% to end at 6,885 points.
US
October ended with better than expected economic figures, official data showing GDP rose by 4.9% between July and September, up from 2.1% in the previous quarter. This was the biggest increase in economic output since the final quarter of 2021, and was attributed partly to healthy levels of consumer spending.
This was welcome news, particularly as last month began with the US government narrowly avoiding a federal shutdown, after a short-term deal ensuring funding until November 17th was agreed.
However, the congressional budget deal did not include further military funding for Ukraine, which had been a key demand for the Democrats. Despite this setback, President Joe Biden has insisted the US will continue to support Ukraine, and said it cannot “under any circumstances allow US support to Ukraine to be interrupted”.
Meanwhile, economists are keeping a close eye on interest rates and wondering which way they will be heading over the coming months. In a poll by Reuters, 45% said they don’t expect to see any rate reduction until the second half of next year at the earliest.
Interest rate movements will also be of particular interest to anyone planning to take out a mortgage on a property in the coming months. According to Mortgage News Daily, the average interest rate on the typical 30-year fixed rate home loan rose to 8% for the first time in 23 years.
Consumers across the board were under financial pressure as a result of higher housing and petrol costs, which contributed to the inflation rate remaining static in September at 3.7%. Although inflation is significantly lower than it was this time last year, it is still well above the Fed’s target of 2%.
Nevertheless, the retail sector has continued to perform strongly, with figures showing that retail sales went up by 0.3% in September, when adjusted for inflation.
There was also positive news in the employment market, with figures from the Labour Department showing that employers added 336,000 jobs in September. This was almost double the amount that had been widely anticipated.
In the business sector, chip company Nvidia and iPhone maker Foxconn confirmed they are collaborating to create new data centres capable of powering various applications, including AI-powered electric vehicles and other AI-based services.
However, many sectors have been hit by ongoing industrial action. For example, more than 75,000 nurses, pharmacists and technicians at healthcare company Kaiser Permanente went on a three-day strike to call for improved wages and staffing levels. A tentative deal has since been struck, although the terms of the agreement have not been disclosed.
Industrial unrest also hit the car manufacturing sector, as the United Auto Workers union has been taking strike action against Ford, Stellantis and General Motors (GM) since September. GM believes the strikes could cost the company approximately £164m a week.
The ongoing actors’ strike in Hollywood also continued throughout October. Negotiations between actors’ union SAG-AFTRA and major Hollywood studios had been on hold for almost two weeks but have since resumed. Members of the union have been on strike since July over issues such as pay and the use of artificial intelligence.
In the tech industry, Microsoft is in dispute with the Internal Revenue Service over its allocation of profits across various countries and jurisdictions. The tax authority has asked for the tech giant to pay an additional £23.5bn in back taxes for the years 2004 to 2013. However, Microsoft is contesting the request, arguing that the issues raised by the body are “relevant to the past but not to our current practices”.
Meanwhile, Microsoft has announced that about 670 roles are set to go at professional networking site LinkedIn. This follows the loss of more than 700 jobs in May and accounts for approximately 3% of its current workforce.
On the financial markets, the Dow Jones fell by 1.36% to end the month at 33,052, while the more broadly-based S&P 500 index fell by 2.20% to end at 4,193.
Far East
Embattled Chinese real estate giant Evergrande saw its shares soar after it resumed trading in Hong Kong following a two-day suspension. The property company’s chairman Hui Ka Yan is currently under police surveillance “due to suspicion of illegal crimes”.
Evergrande also recently filed for bankruptcy protection in the US, after it defaulted on its debts two years ago. Real estate developer Country Garden has also defaulted on its US debts, Bloomberg reports, which could prove problematic for the wider Chinese economy, as the sector accounts for a significant share of its GDP.
According to the latest official figures, China’s economy grew by 4.9% between July and September, down from 6.3% in the previous quarter.
Ongoing tensions between the US and China have shown no signs of easing, following the US government’s decision to place restrictions on advanced chip exports. China’s foreign ministry argued the curbs, which affect major companies such as Nvidia, “violate the principles of the market economy and fair competition”.
Elsewhere in the tech industry, Apple Chief Executive made an unexpected visit to China, meeting with gamers in the city of Chengdu. Meanwhile, MG Motors, which is owned by China’s SAIC Motor Corp, believes it is in a “very strong position” to capitalise on growing demand for electric cars, after posting pre-tax profits of £54.2m in 2022.
While relations between China and the US remain frosty, the same cannot be said of China and Russia. Russian President Vladimir Putin recently attended a global summit in Beijing, hosted by Xi Jinping, where he was the guest of honour.
In Japan, business sentiment has continued to pick up, according to a survey by the country’s central bank.The headline big manufacturers’ confidence index rose to 9 in September from 5 in June, exceeding analysts’s expectations of 6. Meanwhile, the non-manufacturers index rose from 23 to 27, again beating forecasts. This bodes well for Japan’s economic output in the coming months, against the backdrop of sluggish growth worldwide.
Nevertheless, inflation remains a problem in Japan, as the central bank is expected to raise its core consumer inflation forecast for the year to March 2024 from 2.5% to 3%. How this affects interest rates remains to be seen, although a poll of economists by Reuters suggests that Bank of Japan will end its negative interest rate policy in 2024.
The export market looks set to be one ray of light for Japan’s economy, as exports from the country rose by 4.3% in September year-on-year. This upturn was driven by increased shipments of electronics, machinery and vehicles.
In South Korea, meanwhile, the central bank has opted to leave its policy rate on hold at 3.5%, partly in response to rising private sector debt and growing inflationary pressures.
The central bank believes inflation will average at 3.5% this year, down from 5.1% last year but still well above its 2% target. Furthermore, it is predicting that South Korea’s economy will grow by 1.4% in 2023, following an upturn of 2.6% in 2022.
On the financial markets, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell by 3.91% to end October at 17,112. Meanwhile, Japan’s Nikkei index slumped by 3.14% to 30,858. China’s Shanghai Composite index fell by 2.95% to 3,018 and the Korea Composite Stock Price Index went down by 7.59% to 2,277.
Emerging Markets
India’s status as one of the world’s leading emerging markets was reinforced recently by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which predicted that India and China will jointly account for about half of all global growth in 2023 and 2024.
The IMF expects to see growth of 6.3% in 2024, thanks to strong domestic demand and a steady inflow of investment. This is higher than the 5% growth it is predicting in China. For the Asia Pacific region a whole, the IMF is forecasting growth of 4.6% in 2023, up from 3.9% in 2022. This will then slow to 4.2% in 2024.
In sanction-hit Russia, the government confirmed it would force many exporters to convert their foreign revenues into roubles, in order to help prop up the struggling currency as its invasion of Ukraine continues. Russia’s financial regulator will monitor and enforce the capital controls on 43 companies in industries such as metal and energy.
Andrei Belousov, First Deputy Prime Minister of Russia, commented: “The main purpose of these measures is to create long-term conditions for increasing the transparency and predictability of the currency market, [and] to reduce the opportunity for currency speculation.”
Meanwhile, President Vladimir Putin has confirmed Russia will continue increasing the production of military equipment “not by some per cent, but by several times”. This suggests that the prospect of Russia standing down and ending the war in Ukraine is remote and the country is preparing to continue with its invasion for some time.
In Brazil, economic growth has remained robust, with a survey of investors by the Central Bank showing their median GDP growth projection has risen from 2.56% to 2.92%.
This strong performance was reflected in the labour market in particular, as employers added nearly 221,000 jobs in August. This was well above the expectations of many economists, who had expected an upturn of between 180,000 and 200,000.
On the financial markets, India’s BSE Sensex index fell by 2.97% to end at 63,874 points. Russia’s MOEX index rose by 2.16% to close at 3,200 points, while Brazil’s Bovespa index ended the month down 2.94% at 113,143 points.
And Finally…
When you hear the words “on the run”, we’re betting that a tortoise doesn’t spring immediately to mind. But a runaway tortoise that went missing in 2020 has amazingly been found.
The tortoise was seen happily crossing a major road in Florida and was taken to a local animal refuge, which launched an appeal to find the owner.
Thankfully, a person came forward and they revealed that it had been missing for more than three years. We hope to find out what measures they put in place to prevent the pet from, er, running off again.
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