Asia – China cuts Aussie Investments

Chinese indices are in the green this morning led by the Hang Seng’s 1.6% rise, after HK Exec Lam said China should develop the island’s offshore trading capabilities.

New Zealand and the Nikkei lost 2.64% and 0.4%, respectively. Business confidence in Australia climbed spectacularly from -45 in April to -20 in May.

Meanwhile, the Australian newspaper revealed that local Chinese investments had fallen by 60% since the start of the unofficial Aussie-Sino trade war.

A ManpowerGroup report quoted by Bloomberg reports that Chinese employment data is expected to show a deterioration in Q3 due to the COVID-induced disruption to global business.

Europe – German Trade Costs Euro

Japan’s Trade and Industry Minister Hiroshi Kajiyama told reporters early this morning that he would be scrapping tariffs on British cars within the framework of a developing free trade agreement between the nations.

Major European indices ended in the red last night led by Holland’s AEX with a 1.15% contraction.

In the UK, the British Retailers Consortium reported a 7.9% increase in retail sales.

Yesterday, ECB gov. Lagarde told a parliamentary committee that the bank’s emergency measures would probably last until the middle of next year.

Still, the Euro is in tailspin after Germany this morning announced a quartering of its seasonally adjusted trade surplus in April to €3.2 bn from €12.8 B in March.

Americas – US in Recession

US indices continue climbing, the DOW by 1.7%. This despite the National Bureau of Economic Research’s announcement that the US had entered a recession in February.

Housing starts in Canada exceeded expectations with a 193.5K expansion.

Commodities – Gold Awaits FED

Gold is currently trending just above the 1000 mark after peaking yesterday at 1710 ahead of Thursday’s FOMC meeting.

Oil added a ½% during the Asian session as New York opens up its lockdown.

The optimism was offset by Saudi Energy Minister Al-Saud’s announcement that his country intends to boost production.

Bloomberg reports that the CEOs of major shale production companies currently in bankruptcy proceedings are receiving multi-million-dollar bonuses.

Corporate – Tesla Doubles China Sales

Famed analytics firm Dun & Bradstreet expects to file for a $1bn IPO this week after a private registration with the SEC this past January.

Tesla soared 7.26% yesterday after announcing that sales in China had jumped by 2005% in May. However, Seeking Alpha analysts believe that the company may miss delivery targets by up to 20% this year.

Alibaba is up 0.66% after announcing it would expand its cloud services workforce by 5,000 employees.

Cathay Pacific shares added 3 cents (HK) after Hong Kong officials told Reuters that the government would provide a £3 bn rescue package to the airliner.

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