Archives of “April 2019” month

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Iranian lawmakers back Revolutionary Guard after US terrorism designation

  
  Analysis

Iran’s legislators showed solidarity with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps on Tuesday after the US designated it as a terrorist organisation by wearing the guards’ uniforms and chanting “death to America” on the parliament’s floor.

The members of parliament are expected to pass an urgent plan to brand the US Central Command a terrorist organisation and the US administration a state sponsor of terrorism. The plan would call on pro-Iran military groups in the region — which will supposedly include its main proxy force, Lebanon’s Hizbollah — to hand over American troops, if arrested, to the Islamic republic to be put on trial in Iran.

Ali Larijani, Iran’s parliament speaker who was in dark green uniform of the guards, said on Tuesday that the parliament would “condemn” the US move which showed “the depth of the ignorance” of “American regime”. He accused Washington of “international terrorism” both in military and economic sectors, a clear reference to the sanctions against Iran.

“You should know that the guards are in the hearts of Iranian nation and bring security to the country,” Mr Larijani said. “We are all proud of being guards’ members.”

Iran’s president Hassan Rouhani also defended the guards as a force which fought against terrorism in the region and defeated groups like Isis. “They [US] cannot rob us of our military might,” he said in a public speech on Tuesday. “The US itself is on top of global terrorism.”

Some hardline and pro-reform Iranian media have already started calling US military-men terrorists. Fars news agency, close to the guards, said four “American army terrorists” were killed in a bombing in Afghanistan on Tuesday.

EU says WTO unlikely to allow US tariffs on $11 billion of imports

  
Analysis, Economy

The EU says it would act tit-for-tat against the US on aircraft tariffs

  • EU says it is preparing its own retaliation over Boeing aid
In case you missed it earlier, the US is proposing tariffs on the EU as they claim that the bloc’s subsidies to Airbus have repeatedly caused “adverse effects” to the US i.e. Boeing. If China’s case is any lesson, WTO rules need not apply for the war on tariffs. It’ll come down to whether or not the EU will be willing to go toe to toe on the retaliatory actions taken.

Nikkei 225 closes higher by 0.19% at 21,802.59

  
Analysis, Global Indices

Tokyo’s main index closes a little higher in mixed session for Asian stocks

Nikkei 09-04
It’s hard to really read anything into risk sentiment as we begin the week. The Nikkei closes a tad higher today but Chinese stocks are performing weaker with the Shanghai Composite down by 0.2%. Traders continue to wait on US-China trade talks as well as any fresh signals on global growth developments, and that is leaving for some indecision ahead of European trading.
US equity futures are down by 0.1% while Treasury yields are more or less flat, so expect the sluggish sentiment to be mirrored by European equities as well.

China looks into eliminating Bitcoin mining

  
Analysis, BITCOIN

China’s state planner decides to add cryptocurrency mining to list of activities that should be phased out

China Bitcoin

The NRDC added cryptocurrency mining to a draft list of industrial activities it is seeking to restrict or eliminate as they did not adhere to relevant laws and regulations, were unsafe, wasted resources, or polluted the environment.

But before any decision is made on this, the NRDC will be seeking public opinions on the matter and the public has until 7 May to comment on the draft.
It’s not a major surprise as China has been rather strict when it comes to anything involving cryptocurrencies but looking to outright ban the mining process altogether will certainly be a step up from the existing ruling. This will at least force Chinese crypto-mining firms to move their operations base elsewhere and reveals the attitude that Chinese authorities have towards the cryptocurrency industry (a precursor for the future as well).

China – sales of new homes in bellwether megacity +64% in March

  
Analysis, Economy

The South China Morning Post says Chongqing is “the barometer of China’s national market”.

  •  China’s largest market in terms of area of residential apartments sold. It is also indicative of the overall China market, with the country’s other coastal cities generally moving ahead of the national cycle
Sales of new homes in the city +64.3 per cent in March

Where to for the yuan? Analysts offer up diverging views

  
Analysis, Forex

Conflicting views on the Chinese currency

Morgan Stanley like yuan, citing (in brief)
  • we believe the downside of owning CNH is very limited now as the authority is likely to keep a stable or stronger currency. 
  • Meanwhile, there are a few data points from China (credit growth, CPI and trade balance) this week and our economist is more bullish on most of the data vs the Street. e recommend selling USD/CNH, along with our more structural bullish view on CNH vs SGD, as we expect CNH to strengthen in trade-weighted basket terms. The risk to the trade is downside surprise in Chinese data.
Citi says they expect the appreciation bias for yuan to strengthen near-term, citing
  • improving chance of a trade deal
  • little PBOC intervention
  • better-than-expected data
  • an easing in capital outflow pressures
Commerz:
  • say traders will be cautious as the US and China have not yet reached a deal
  • see yuan falling moderately
  • longer term depends on the deal details
—
Daily CNH chart:
Conflicting views on the Chinese currency

S&P gains for the 8th day in a row

  
Analysis, US Market

Nasdaq also higher. Dow ends lower by Boeing (down -4.4% on the day).

The S&P closed with modest gains but it was good enough for the 8th straight gain.
The Nasdaq also moved higher but the Dow was down on the day on the back of Boeing shares which tumbled 4.4%.
The final numbers showed:
  • S&P up 3.03 points or 0.10% at 2895.77. The high reached 2895.95. The low extended to 2880.78
  • Nasdaq closed up 15.191 points or 0.19% at 7953.88. The high reached 7955.90. The low reached 7891.85
  • Dow closed down -83.97 points or -0.32% at 26341.03. The high reached 26344.90. The low extended to 26246.03. Without the impact of Boeing, the Dow would have been higher.
Some of the winners today:
  • Wynn Resorts, +2.77%
  • Schlumberger,  +2.67%
  • Apple, +1.57%
  • Schlumberger,  +2.767%
  • Procter & Gamble, +1.28%
  • Lockheed Martin, +1.04%
  • chipotle, was 0.89%
  • General Mills, +0.86%
  • Citigroup, +0.81%
  • Home Depot, +0.76%
  • Amazon, +0.68%
  • Alibaba,  +0.60%

Some losers include:

  • General Electric, -5.19%
  • Boeing, -4.42%
  • Papa Johns,  -4.02%
  • Southwest air, -2.44%
  • AMD, -1.55%
  • Netflix,  -1.12%
  • Micron,  -0.97%
  • Nike, -0.78%
  • Under Armour, -0.71%
  • Tesla, -0.64%
  • Facebook, -0.45%
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