financializer news A weblog highlighting financial topics making news in the international media.

percent: The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.56 percent to 3,119.29 points, while the Shenzhen Component Index finished 0.82 percent lower at 10,131.23 points on Thursday, according to Global Times China. A total of 363.72 billion yuan 52.44 billion in shares changed hands on the Shanghai and Shenzhen exchanges on Thursday. The blue-chip CSI 300 Index fell 0.51 percent to 3,317.62 points. If past experience is anything to go by, Chinese investors will take a cautious approach as Lunar New Year nears, given the risk of liquidity stresses in the financial system. However, they also noted a challenging and complicated trade outlook for 2017. Government officials said China's economy has been generally stable since the start of the year, maintaining the momentum from the second half of 2016. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

percent: Higher volatility came amid growing expectations for economic policies under the Trump administration that is set to be launched on Jan. 20, according to Global Times China. As the US Federal Reserve indicated three rate hikes this year after raising its benchmark rate by a quarter point in December, the local currency fluctuated against the dollar. The day-over-day move in the won/dollar exchange rate averaged 9.1 won per dollar for the first 10 days of this month, higher than 5.3 won in October, 5.45 won in November and 4.0 won in December, according to the Bank of Korea BOK . The daily volatility rate of the local currency versus the greenback was 0.76 percent during the Jan. 1-10 period, higher than 0.47 percent tallied in October and November, and 0.34 percent in December. Higher interest rates in the United States may trigger an abrupt foreign capital outflow from the financial market in South Korea to pursue high-yielding assets. Premium on credit default swap CDS for four-year government bonds averaged 45 basis points in December, down from 49 basis points in November. For the whole year of 2016, 12.98 billion US dollars of foreign capital flowed into the local stock market, but 10.5 billion dollars of foreign funds flowed out of the domestic bond market. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

tax breaks: On Wednesday, the key market gauge rose 63.23 points, according to The Japan Times. The Topix index of all first-section issues closed down 14.99 points, or 0.97 percent, at 1,535.41, after gaining 8.09 points the previous day. The 225-issue Nikkei average fell 229.97 points, or 1.19 percent, to end at 19,134.70. Selling to lock in profits pushed down the Nikkei average as investor sentiment was dampened after Trump didn't elaborate on his economic steps, such as tax breaks and fiscal stimulus, at a news conference on Wednesday, his first since the Nov. 8 presidential race, brokers said. Market players accelerated selling to adjust their positions as Trump's news conference provided no surprise, brokers said. The yen's strengthening against the dollar, prompted by the closely watched event, also weighted down the Tokyo market, briefly pushing down the Nikkei average nearly 300 points. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

trading days: Read Here's why Trump's inauguration could mark a near-term top for stocks Also read Market Watch's stock-market column, snapshot Of course, the market is only about eight trading days into 2017 and things could pivot quickly, according to Market Watch. After all, stocks began 2016 with the worst start to a new year in history before regaining their footing and storming to new records. Gold futures GCG7, -0.21% are trading around 1,200 an ounce and are up around 4% so far in 2017, compared with a tepid gain of 0.7% for the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, -0.03% and a 1.4% advance by the S&P 500 index SPX, 0.18% Not even the standout Nasdaq Composite Index COMP, 0.48% which racked up its fifth straight record close on Wednesday for a year-to-date climb of about 3%, has managed to outstrip gold's returns. That said, for a little perspective, from the start of last year to Jan. 12, 2016, gold was only up about 2.4%, while the Dow and the S&P 500 were both off more than 5%, according to Fact Set data. See Here's how U.S. stocks perform after presidential inaugurations But what appears to be a stall-out for equities though not an outright reversal highlights investors' apparent reassessment of some of the factors that had accelerated a rally in equities after Trump won the U.S. presidential election on Nov. 8. It also is worth noting that, gold's less prominent sister metal, silver SIH7, 0.06% is doing even better in 2017, up about 5%. Silver was off 0.4% from the start of last year to Jan. 12. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

wisdom responsibility: The upcoming World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2017 has drawn extensive attention for putting the focus on responsive and responsible for effective global economic governance, according to Global Times China. President Xi Jinping will attend the meeting and deliver a speech, offering Chinese remedies for the world's economic ailments. Image REUTERS/Stringer To open up or to close To advance or go back The global economy is currently at the crossroads and it is in desperate need of sufficient courage, wisdom and responsibility from around the world to chart a clear direction and path for sustainable economic growth. It will be the first time the top Chinese leader has attended the event. The innovative, coordinated, green, open and shared development concepts put forward by President Xi not only offer solutions for China's current outstanding economic problems, they also point out a clear direction for its long-term development. The Chinese economy is undergoing unprecedented and profound changes. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

dollar trump: But it later regained some of its losses, exchanging hands at 22.10 pesos per dollar, according to The Japan Times. Trump pledged to forge ahead with plans for a wall on the southern U.S. border with Mexico soon after taking office by having the Congress pay for it first and forcing Mexico to reimburse it later. The Mexican currency shed 0.9 percent, trading at 22.20 pesos per dollar after hitting a historic low 22 pesos per greenback on Tuesday, according to private bank Citibanamex. Mexico in some form and there are many different forms will reimburse us and they will reimburse us for the cost of the wall, said Trump, in his first news conference since winning the Nov. 8 presidential election. Whether it's a tax or whether it's a payment. That will happen. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

drug: And shares of U.S. pharmaceutical companies promptly fell, dropping by an average range of about 3% to 5%. We've got to get our drug industry back, he said, according to Market Watch. Our drug industry has been disastrous. It was health care. They're leaving left and right. And the other thing we have to do is create new bidding procedures for the drug industry because they're getting away with murder. They supply our drugs, but they don't make them here, to a large extent. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

morning session: Uncertainty ahead of Trump's press conference also dampened demand for the dollar, according to Global Times China. The dollar recovered later in the day and the dollar index, which tracks the greenback against six major peers, was up 0.08 percent at 102.010 in late trading. The dollar fell in the morning session as investors fretted that Trump's possible aggressive remarks could shake the market. In late New York trading, the euro fell to 1.0559 dollars from 1.0570 dollars, and the British pound dipped to 1.2160 dollars from 1.2164 dollars. The dollar bought 115.75 Japanese yen, lower than 116.13 yen in the previous session. The Australian dollar stayed flat at 0.7364 dollars. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

news conference: Stocks traded modestly higher, with the S&P 500 SPX, -0.21% up 0.1% ahead of the news conference, according to Market Watch. Equities rose to a string of new records following Trump's Nov. 8 election victory, but the rally has subsequently cooled. Check out A live blog of Trump's news conference Wall Street is so far shrugging off the latest chapter of the Russia saga. See Here's why Trump's inauguration could mark a near-term top for stocks Stock-market investors will be pining for information on a range of topics, particularly given the lack of detail surrounding the incoming administration's ambitious but vague economic plans. Eastern in his first full-scale news conference since July. Trump is slated to talk to the press at 11 a.m. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

openfolio users: How much did those eschewing the indexing approach miss out on A lot, actually, according to Market Watch. Returns among Openfolio users averaged a relatively scant 5.2%. Still, a win's a win, and a solid 77% of investors managed to turn a profit last year, compared with just a third in 2015. The average investor no shocker here couldn't keep pace, according to Openfolio, an app where more than 80,000 users share information about their portfolio. Interestingly, the buy what you know theme played out again in 2016, much like it did last year. The Dow industrials DJIA, -0.32% on the other hand, hammered out a 13.4% advance to help the Midwest and its manufacturing bias to an 8.9% push. Just as the tech-heavy Nasdaq COMP, -0.29% underperformed both the Dow and the S&P SPX, -0.21% over the past 12 months, investors in the West trailed their peers in other parts of the country with a 5.9% tally. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

openness reciprocity: According to the latest report by Rhodium Group and the Berlin-based Mercator Institute for China, Chinese companies invested more than 35 billion euros 36.83 billion in the EU in 2016, up 77 percent from 2015, according to Global Times China. In contrast, EU direct investment transactions in China fell for the fourth consecutive year to 8 billion euros last year, less than a third of the value of Chinese investment in the EU. The growing imbalance is a concern for many EU economies and has given rise to campaigns against Chinese investors. Chinese policymakers need to heed the calls of the foreign business community for greater openness and reciprocity, particularly at a time of rising protectionism and weak global economic recovery. Such rhetoric has even been turned into action. If this trend continues it will negatively impact Chinese overseas investment and China's economy. Germany withdrew approval for the Chinese takeover of German semiconductor equipment maker Aixtron last year. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

power struggle: No doubt so that he himself could proclaim the ambitious goal had been met, according to Deutsche Welle. It didn't quite work out that way Three weeks after that announcement, a bomb went off. On September 2, 2015, after the boss had just won a grueling internal power struggle, his employer announced that it wanted to keep him in charge until 2018, two years longer than planned. The company boss, Martin Winterkorn, the CEO of Europe's largest carmaker Volkswagen, had to go. And since those days in September, 2015, nothing has been the same at VW. From then on, words like compensation, recalls, prosecution, criminal charges, arrests and above all billions in fines have set the tone of communications from Wolfsburg and economic reports on Volkswagen. Dieselgate took its course. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

rate hike: The current political turmoil in Turkey and the slowing economy has again shaken confidence, according to Deutsche Welle. Turkish businessmen told DW that if the Turkish lira continues to slide, it could jeopardize new investments and hamper growth. Following a sharp devaluation in the value of the lira then, that crisis lasted several years until the economy got back on its feet again with tight monetary measures. The economy slowed for the first time in seven years in the third quarter of last year. The lira extended losses and was trading at 3.8950 against the dollar on Wednesday morning, bringing total losses this year to almost 9 percent. Central bank intervention The expectations of a rate hike from the US Federal Reserve and Moody's report on Turkey's banking sector say security problems in the country are increasing macroeconomic pressures, pushing the lira to an all-time low of 3.77 against the greenback on January 9. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

unemployment rate: The country's GDP per capita increased, the unemployment rate dropped, and its stock market witnessed the longest bull run in history, according to Global Times China. However, the gap in income distribution is growing larger, its citizens are feeling little sense of accomplishment. Most of these accomplishments were filled with controversies, except for one thing - US economic performance was better than other major Western nations, which can be supported by statistics. Meanwhile, discussions are increasing among the middle class, who feel they are slipping into poverty. The things Obama views as his biggest political legacies, including Obamacare, will likely be abolished by Trump. The fact that people generally do not have a sense of well-being provided US President-elect Donald Trump with an opportunity to win the election. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

venues art: The one-billion-dollar museum, resembling a huge space ship, will sit in a seven-acre three-hectare landscape, and will be primarily funded by Lucas himself, according to Deutsche Welle. Other buildings in the park include the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County and the California Science Center, where the space shuttle Endeavour is located. It will house the Star Wars creator's massive collection of art and film memorabilia, as well as items from the Star Wars franchise. The space ship design will be surrounded by other major LA venues Art exists to inspire' The city of Los Angeles heralded the announcement as a chance to bring thousands of jobs to the area and draw tourists to view blockbuster storytelling art. Thanks to George Lucas and his wife Mellody Hobson, millions of Angelenos and visitors will enjoy an extraordinary collection anchored in storytelling - an art that carries so much meaning in the history and legacy of Los Angeles. Art exists to inspire, to move, to educate, and to excite, said LA mayor Eric Garcetti in a statement. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

airline: The airline reported on Monday its revenue grew 3.2 percent year-on-year to 115.75 billion yuan in 2016, while its fleet expanded to more than 700 aircraft, according to Global Times China. Cargo and passenger volumes rose 8.9 percent and 4.8 percent, respectively, according to civil aviation industry news portal carnoc. The shares rose by the daily limit on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, prompting a temporary halt during the afternoon before closing 7.38 percent higher at 7.71 yuan 1.11 per share. The airline said on Monday that it will pursue mixed-ownership reform to bring in outside capital and expand its business by increasing investment in new emerging sectors, carnoc reported. The airline will also accelerate efforts to integrate its businesses and market-oriented operations through mergers and restructurings, according to the report. At its annual conference, China Southern said it will focus on investment from Internet companies and arrange share swaps or form joint ventures with industry leaders in its mixed ownership reform. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

asian manufacturers: The market is a little bit nervous, said Shusuke Yamada, chief Japan forex strategist at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, according to Market Watch. The political uncertainty likely pushed the safe-haven yen higher, with profit-taking pressure in the U.S. dollar weighing on the greenback, he said. The Nikkei Stock Average NIK, -1.19% reversed gains in afternoon trade, and was last down 0.7%. Elsewhere, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 XJO, -0.08% was off 0.8%, while Korea's SEU, 0.58% declined 0.8%. Trump plans to hold a news conference on Wednesday, but already, market participants fear a wave of comments criticizing Asian manufacturers could jeopardize prospects in the region. The fear among investors in Japan is that Mr. The dollar-yen pair USDJPY, -1.36% was last down 0.5% at 115.47, after earlier hitting a low of 115.18. Trump could turn on the country in his desire to protect American manufacturing. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

estate company: Prop Tiger co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Dhruv Agarwala will continue to lead the merged businesses, according to The Japan Times. The deal also ends a painful chapter for Soft Bank. REA Group Ltd., an Australian real estate company controlled by News Corp., is putting 50 million into the new joint entity, while a Soft Bank-owned affiliate is investing 5 million. The Japanese company had backed Housing with 100 million starting in 2014, only to find itself caught up in a public spat with the startup's CEO, who was later dismissed by the board. India is projected to be the third-largest real estate market in the world by 2030, the companies said in a statement. The combined entity will continue to be called Prop Tiger, and brings together real-estate brokerage services and home listings. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

market gauge: On Friday, the key market gauge shed 66.36 points, according to The Japan Times. The Tokyo market was closed Monday for a national holiday. The 225-issue Nikkei average fell 152.89 points, or 0.79 percent, to close at 19,301.44. The Topix index of all first-section issues finished down 11.01 points, or 0.71 percent, at 1,542.31, after falling 2.36 points on Friday. Investors continued to sell shares to adjust their positions after the market's rally following Donald Trump's victory in the Nov. 8 U.S. presidential election, brokers said. Selling took the upper hand as the yen rose against the dollar, the British pound and other currencies on a fall in crude oil prices and remarks made on Sunday by British Prime Minister Theresa May hinting at her country's definitive break from the European Union. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

meeting xi: An entourage of high-profile Chinese businessmen, including Alibaba Group Holding Chairman Jack Ma Yun, Dalian Wanda Group Chairman Wang Jianlin and Baidu President Zhang Yaqin, will accompany Xi to attend the meeting, according to Xinhua, according to Global Times China. Xi is expected to hold talks with some global leaders among more than 3,000 attendees, which might include UK Prime Minister Theresa May, the soon-to-be-former US Vice President Joe Biden and South African President Jacob Zuma, said Bloomberg, citing David Aikman, the WEF's chief China representative. As the first Chinese head of state to address the WEF, the annual gathering of top business leaders, international political leaders and selected intellectuals for the discussion of world's most pressing issues, Xi will deliver a speech at the WEF's opening session, Bloomberg reported Monday. US President-elect Donald Trump is scheduled to be inaugurated in Washington, DC on the final day of the meeting, said Bloomberg. In 2016, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang led a delegation to the Summer Davos Forum in North China's Tianjin Municipality. The Bloomberg said that Xi is likely to highlight China's signature projects during the meeting, such as the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and the One Belt, One Road initiative, to expand China's role in global economy. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

morgan co: JPM, 0.75% Bank of America Corp, according to Market Watch. BAC, 0.57% and Wells Fargo & Co. The first earnings will come from three banking giants, J.P. Morgan & Co. WFC, 0.33% . That marks a break with a long tradition. Don't miss Alcoa to release last earnings before it splits up The split was completed on Nov. 1, with a new Alcoa Corp. Aluminum giant Alcoa Inc. has unofficially started the earnings season for years but will no longer do so, now that it has split into two companies to separate its raw aluminum operations from its aerospace and automotive supply businesses. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

piyasa analistleri: Fitch'in not karar n 27 Ocak'ta a klamas bekleniyor, according to Deutsche Welle. Merkez Bankas Para Politikas Kurulu PPK ise Fitch de erlendirmesinden g n nce, 24 Ocak'ta toplanarak faiz karar verecek. Euro, d nk kapan fiyat olan 3,93 liray 7 kuru birden a arak, ilk kez 4 liraya ula t . Euro 4,004 liray g rd kten sonra 3,97 - 3,99 lira aral nda hareket etmeye ba lad . D n 3,74 lira ile tarihi rekor d zeyini test eden Dolar ise sabah saatlerinde 3.7767 lira ile yeni bir rekor k rd . Piyasa analistleri, uluslararas kredi derecelendirme irketi Fitch'in T rkiye'nin notunu k rma olas l na dikkat ekiyor. Euro, Dolar kar s nda de er kazan yor te yandan, Euro, Dolar kar s nda de er kazanmaya devam ediyor. 1 euro bir nceki g ne k yasla art la 1,0596 dolara kt . Pazartesi g n 1 euro 1,0516 dolar d zeyindeydi. Deutsche Welle T rk e DW/dha, BS/B (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

policy proposals: Overall, it's too early to assess what the net impact will be of Trump's economic policies, the World Bank said, according to The Japan Times. Accordingly, it left its forecast for U.S. growth this year and next unchanged, at 2.2 percent and 2.1 percent, respectively. The Trump administration could squander the economic gains of fiscal stimulus if it imposes new trade barriers that provoke retaliation by other countries, the Washington-based development lender said Tuesday in the latest update to its global economic outlook. The outlook doesn't incorporate the expected effect of Trump's policy proposals, according to the report. Stalling trade, weak investment and heightened policy uncertainty have dampened global economic activity, pushing growth down to an estimated 2.3 percent last year the slowest rate since the financial crisis. The bank projects the world economy will grow 2.7 percent in 2017, down 0.1 percentage point from its forecast in June. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

press conference: The head of China's economic planning organ said the government's efforts to shed overcapacity have been successful and that the world's second-largest economy will not make a hard landing in 2017, according to Global Times China. Over the past two years, the domestic economy suffered a slowdown, causing concerns around the world that the world's biggest contributor to economic growth will lose momentum, but we still have the confidence and the conditions to maintain stable growth in a rational range, National Development and Reform Commission NDRC 's Chairman Xu Shaoshi told a press conference in Beijing on Tuesday. Photo IC China's economic growth in 2016 has achieved whole-year targets as economic indicators stabilized, preliminary statistics show. Xu estimated that China's GDP would expand by 6.7 percent in 2016, within the range of 6.5 percent to 7 percent set by the central government. The size of China's economy is expected to surpass 70 trillion yuan 10 trillion in 2016, increasing by about 5 trillion yuan over the previous year, equivalent to the total economy in 1994. Exact figures are to be released by the National Bureau of Statistics NBS later. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

reuters correspondent: How you did you discover that medical data is being traded without patients' knowledge Adam Tanner I wrote a book that came out in 2014 called What Stays in Vegas, which is about how companies gather information about you and use it to sell you things, according to Deutsche Welle. As I was exploring the dark side of this practice, I began to look at what happens with our medical data. In his new book Our Bodies, Our Data How Companies Make Billions Selling Our Medical Records, the former Reuters correspondent writes how middleman companies connecting pharmacies, doctors, hospitals and insurance companies are making huge profits by selling anonymized personal details about health consumers' medical conditions. And I was quite surprised to learn that there's this extensive trade that's almost completely hidden from the general public. Your name may be removed, but there's other intimate information about you that's collected over time, put into a dossier and that eventually becomes a commercial product. Your medical tests, hospital exit records, doctor notes, pharmacy records - all of this sensitive information is collected and sold by commercial companies. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

treasury note: Treasury yields have been mostly climbing since Trump won the U.S. presidential election on Nov. 8, a victory that has stirred hope that campaign promises touting fiscal stimulus, regulatory rollbacks and tax cuts, could be realized and rev up the domestic economy, according to Market Watch. That hope has pushed inflation expectations higher and ratcheted up forecasts for interest-rate increases by the Federal Reserve. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note TMUBMUSD10Y, -2.71% rose 0.2 basis point to 2.379%, while the yield on the 30-year bond TMUBMUSD30Y, -1.64% finished unchanged at 2.971%. Meanwhile, the two-year Treasury note yield TMUBMUSD02Y, -2.72% rose 0.4 basis point to 1.172%. Bond yields move in the opposite direction of prices. Higher inflation and anticipation of Fed hiking have underpinned selling in bonds, lifting yields from a low in July of 1.36% to a high last month of about 2.6%. A plot of projections for future rate hikes by Fed members released last month, implies three rate increases in 2017. Read Gross says this key bond level is a far bigger deal than Dow 20,000 Ian Lyngen, head of U.S. rates strategy at BMO Capital Markets, said any focus on fiscal stimulus would spur renewed reflation jitters,'' which would hurt the bond market. Check out Goldman's Hatzius Investors could get blindsided by a cluster of Fed hikes this year But the main spark for Treasurys moves has been the coming presidential administration. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.