International Business
What Is Core Inflation?
Which is generally defined as a chosen measure of inflation (e.g., the Consumer Price Index or CPI, the Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index or PCEPI, or the Gross Domestic Product Deflator) that excludes the more volatile categories of food and energy prices.
Inflation: Seven reasons the cost of living is going up around the world
1. Rising energy and petrol prices
2. Goods shortages
3. Shipping costs
4. Rising wages
5. Climate impact
6. Trade barriers
7. The end of pandemic support
U.S. Inflation rate fell to 6.5% in December
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said that on a monthly basis, the cost of living actually declined by 0.1 per cent from November to December. The biggest reason for that decline was a large drop in the price of gasoline. Pump prices fell by 9.4 per cent during the month, $3.27 US per gallon, on average, across the country.
Gas isn't the only thing getting cheaper, as prices for a variety of physical goods like cars, clothing and furniture are inching down from record highs earlier in the pandemic, when snarled supply chains led to empty shelves for just about everything.
Canada's inflation slows to 6.3% in December
Canada's annual inflation rate cooled to 6.3 per cent in December, its lowest level since February 2022.
Statistics Canada reported that the deceleration in the cost of living was mostly due to a 13 per cent decrease in the price of gasoline, which saw its biggest one-month plunge since April of 2020.
Grocery prices inched up another 0.3 per cent during the month of December, and have increased by 11 per cent year over year. That's a slight slowdown from the 11.4 per cent pace the previous month, but plenty of food items are still getting more expensive, particularly fresh vegetables, which have gone up in price by 13.6 per cent in the past year.
UK inflation eases slightly to 10.5% in December
Petrol and diesel costs eased last month but food prices continued to soar, reaching the highest since 1977. Food prices rose 16.8% in the year to December according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
Restaurants and hotel prices also jumped in December along with a record rise in air fares.
Canada Business
Royal Bank of Canada buying HSBC Canada for $13.5B
11/29/2022
HSBC has had operations in Canada since 1981 and currently has approximately 130 branches, 4,200 employees, serving roughly 780,000 customers in Canada.
Nuclear power company Westinghouse acquired by 2 Canadian companies
10/12/2022
Uranium miner Cameco Corp. and alternative energy firm Brookfield Renewable Partners announced they would acquire Cranberry-based
nuclear power plant equipment maker Westinghouse Electric in a deal with a price tag of $7.9 billion US.
Cameco, a Saskatchewan-based uranium mining company, will own a 49% interest in Westinghouse, while Brookfield Renewable, an Ontario-based renewable energy company and its institutional partners will own the rest.
What is the new mortgage stress test in Canada?
On May 20, the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) announced, effective June 1, the minimum qualifying rate for uninsured mortgages (i.e., residential mortgages with a down payment of 20 percent or more) will be the greater of the mortgage contract rate plus 2 percentage points or 5.25 per cent, whichever is higher.
Currently, the stress test is set at the mortgage rate plus 2 percentage points – or the Bank of Canada’s five-year rate, which currently sits at 4.79 per cent, whichever is higher.
Canada Home sales drop in April as mortgage rates shoot higher
05/17/2022
Statistics released by the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) show national home sales dropped by 12.6% on a month-over-month basis in April.
Actual (not seasonally adjusted) monthly activity came in 25.7% below the monthly record set in 2021.
The number of newly listed properties was down 2.2% month-over-month.
The MLS® Home Price Index (HPI) edged down 0.6% month-over-month but was still up 23.8% year-over-year.
The actual (not seasonally adjusted) national average sale price posted a 7.4% year-over-year gain in April.
USA Business
JP Morgan win approvals as China further opens up domestic markets
08/07/2021
JPMorgan Chase became the first foreign firm to win approval from the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) to take 100 per cent control of its securities joint venture on the mainland. It increased its stake in the business to 71 per cent in November.
Joint Ventures
BlackRock has setup joint venture business in China
On May 12, The China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission granted an asset management licence to BlackRock CCB Wealth Management.
The joint venture is 50.1 per cent owned by BlackRock, 40 per cent by a subsidiary of China Construction Bank and Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund Temasek owns 9.9 per cent.
BlackRock -the world's biggest asset management to increase its present in China
BlackRock has obtained approval from Chinese regulator to set up wholly owned Mutual Fund business
06/11/2021
BlackRock announced that it has obtained approval from the Chinese regulator to start a wholly owned onshore mutual fund business in China, making it the first of its kind in the country.
The latest approval is just one month after the consent that BlackRock gained to start an asset management joint venture.
Home prices in the U.S. climb to record $416,000 in June as Sales Continued to Slide
U.S. homes sales slowed for the fifth consecutive month in June as higher mortgage rates and rising prices kept many home hunters on the sidelines.
Sales of previously owned homes fell 5.4% in June from the prior month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.12 million, the weakest rate since June 2020. June sales fell 14.2% from a year earlier.
Even as home sales slowed, home prices kept climbing in June. The national median home price jumped 13.4% in June from a year earlier to $416,000. That's an all-time high according to data going back to 1999.
Europe Business
Standard Chartered to hire, promote 3,000 as it targets business clients, rising incomes in Asia
06/19/2021 Standard Chartered is seeking to double the size of its business serving affluent clients in Asia, aiming to hire or promote 3,000 relationship managers and wealth specialists over the next five years to cater to the region’s rising incomes.
Unlike some competitors who are only aiming for the region’s wealthiest, the London-based bank is seeking to service clients across their life cycles, from affluent to ultra-high net worth customers, as part of wealth push in Asia - customers with US$100,000 to US$125,000 to invest.
EU plans digital ID wallet for bloc's post-pandemic life
06/03/2021 The European Union has unveiled plans for a digital ID wallet that residents could use to access services across the 27-nation bloc.
The bloc's 450 million residents would be able to use the wallet to access public or private services both online and offline while maintaining control of their personal data. Officials envision the wallet allowing a customer renting a car at an airport. Other potential uses include opening bank accounts, signing apartment leases and enrolling in universities outside an individual's home country.
A 750 billion-euro ($915 billion) stimulus fund includes benchmarks for member countries to spend one-fifth of the money on digital projects such as digitizing public administration.
The commission plans to discuss the wallet with the EU's 27 member countries and aims to get them to agree on technical details by the fall so pilot projects can begin.
Deutsche Bank moving jobs out of London
05/27/2021 Germany's largest lender, Deutsche Bank, is moving 100 of its 400 London-based corporate bankers' jobs from the City of London to Berlin, Dublin, Frankfurt, and cities in Asia, in a post-Brexit shake-up that will shrink its United Kingdom footprint.
The future of the City of London, which is Europe's major financial and banking hub, has been uncertain ever since the UK left the EU.
HSBC is planning to hire more than 1,000 frontline roles in its wealth management business in Asia by the end of this year
HSBC focus on rising affluence in the region with the most billionaires on earth. London-based lender is set to invest US$3.5 billion in its wealth management operations in Asia over the next five years.
HSBC will exit its mass-market retail business in the United States and focus on serving wealthy clients and international companies . HSBC to sell most US branches to Citizens Bank and Cathay Bank.
Asia Business
Generation Z has become a fast-growing consuming power of China's car rental market
03/18/2022
Generation Z, which refers to people born in the mid-1990s and the early 2010s, has become a fast-growing consuming power of China's car rental market. The rising young generation prefers leasing a car rather than buying as an ideal way of transportation.
According to Wukong （悟空）Car Rental company, more than 51 percent of its car rental users are from people born after 1995. Generation Z has also become the industry's fastest-growing consumer group.
They tend to drive to spots that are more niche and less-travelled. Renting a car to travel has also become a popular trend.
With the development of technology, the CaaS, or car as a service, business model will replace most of the existing travel models to realize real shared transportation.
Digital RMB application continues to expand in China
2022/07/20
China has expanded its pilot areas for digital RMB or e-CNY from 10+1 to 23 in 15 provinces so far this year. Digital RMB has facilitated the country's development of digital economy.
As of May 31, these pilot areas had made a total of around 264 million digital yuan transactions with a value of about 83 billion yuan ($12.31 billion). Business entities that open e-CNY service have reached 4.57 million in the country.
e-CNY has been available for people both online and offline such as purchasing electricity, shopping and services including medical care, education, traveling, taxpaying and loan borrowing.
World's largest duty-free store to open in Hainan China
2022/10/26
Haikou International Duty Free City Shopping Complex — the world's largest stand-alone duty-free store — is open
Located on the west coast of Haikou next to Xinhai port, a key transportation hub, it covers an area of 280,000 square meters. The shopping complex features more than 800 notable brands, including five exclusives, five global firsts and more than 50 stores with the world's latest concept designs. The sprawling complex also brings local cultural forces to the fore. Art, culture, nature and fantasy can all be seen in its design.
China's US debt holdings dipped below $1 trillion for the first time in 12 years
2022/07/19
U.S Treasury Department data released, China's US debt holdings dipped below $1 trillion for the first time since 2010.
The decline means China is no longer the biggest holder of US debt.
Japan, which trimmed its holdings to $1.212 trillion from $1.218 trillion, is now the top holder.
Total foreign holdings of US debt fell to $7.42 trillion in May from $7.45 trillion in April.
A car parking bay in Hong Kong cost more than a flat in London’s upscale area
Hong Kong has long maintained its reputation as one of the world’s most expensive cities to own a home. Now, add car parking bays to the list.
Hong Kong’s sky-high home prices, which are approaching a historic high, are pushing investors to look for other real estate investment alternatives, especially after the government removed the double stamp duty on non-residential property last November.
With housing prices reaching unaffordable levels, investors are targeting car parking bays because of the low entry barrier and limited supply. In May, a spot sold for a world record HK$11.9 million (US$1.53 million) at the exclusive Mount Nicholson development on The Peak. A 735 sq ft flat in Sloane Court East, in London’s upscale area of Knightsbridge, costs slightly less.
German air taxi firm Volocopter is building a joint venture with Geely for the launch of flying electric taxis into China
Zhejiang Holding Group became an investor of Volocopter with US$94 million in 2019. Geely is planning to make urban air mobility part of people's life in China.
Geely Technology said it will first introduce the two-seater model for production and operation. It can fly at 100 kilometers per hour at up to 2,000 meters for 27 minutes, with a load of 160 kg.
Mini EVs become a very big hit at the 2021 Shanghai Auto Show as China’s young drivers look for an affordable car
A very small electric car built by General Motor’s mainland Chinese venture has become a very big hit at the Show.
The Hongguang Mini EV Cabrio, a two-seater convertible, generated a buzz of excitement and is seen as a potential game changer in the world’s largest automotive market.
Low-priced battery-powered cars with fancy designs have struck a chord with young people in China.
Chinese netizens spend 28.5 hours online per week
2021, China had 1.03 billion netizens, with an internet penetration rate of 73 percent, while the proportion of mobile internet users reached 99.7 percent. People spent an average of 28.5 hours on the internet every week.
57.6 percent of the rural population had access to the internet, while 43.2 percent of people age 60 and older used the internet.
Covering daily activities such as travel, dining and accommodations. The number of people using the internet to order food deliveries, hail rides and book travel services has risen in recent years.
Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies explained for beginners
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Small Business
China currently has 5.27 million toy-related companies
02/14/2022
China currently has 5.27 million toy-related companies, among them, 83 percent were established within five years, and over 55 percent are individually-owned businesses.
China's Guangdong province has the largest number of toy-related enterprises, exceeding 590,000, followed by Zhejiang and Shaanxi.
China's second hand markets become popular
10/13/2022
China's second hand market has been thriving in recent years with the sales of used goods exceeding 1 trillion yuan in 2020.
A report released by consulting company Frost & Sullivan and the Institute of Energy, Environment and Economy at Tsinghua University expected sales to reach nearly 3 trillion yuan in 2025.
China's younger consumers haven't inherited their parents' disdain for second hand goods. They are not only "buyers" but also "sellers" of second hand goods at online platforms or shops.
China’s mobile internet users aged between 25 to 35 are the main group behind the surge in online second hand transactions, particularly those in first-tier cities such as Beijing and Shanghai.
Besides durable consumables, some second hand niche products are also gaining increasing popularity in China.
