Julian Emmanuel, an analyst with Evercore ISI, believes that the U.S. stock market, which started declining after hitting record highs in March, is entering a slump that would extend through the remainder of 2024, Bloomberg reports. The analyst maintained his forecast that the S&P 500 index will drop to 4,750 points by year's end, which would be more than 5% less than its closing value of...

The largest sovereign wealth fund in the world, the Norwegian Sovereign Pension Fund (also known as the Oil Fund), reported an investment return of 6.3%, or NOK 1.21 trillion ($110 billion), in the first quarter of 2024 amidst soaring stock markets and a sinking national currency. As of the end of March, the fund reported that its assets under management amounted to NOK 17.72 trillion. 72.1% of...

The People's Bank of China pumped 100 billion yuan ($13.82 billion) into the financial system as part of its medium-term lending program (MLF) on April 15. The PBC said in a statement that the interest rate on one-year loans made available under the MLF stayed at 2.5%. It was last modified by the bank in August 2023, when it was lowered by 15 basis points (bps). This month, loans totaling 170...

China's long-term foreign currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) of "A+" has been confirmed by international rating agency Fitch. However, the agency revised the forecast from stable to unfavorable. China's Ministry of Finance disapproved the conclusion. In a news release, the agency stated that the reason for the modification in the assessment was the increasing risks to China's public finances...

In the fourth quarter of 2023, the percentage of credit cards in the United States whose owners were 30 days or more behind on required payments reached over 3.5%, the highest level since 2012. The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia reported that the rate increased by roughly 30 basis points (bps) from the prior quarter. "The difficulties faced by credit cardholders are also reflected in the...

The International Tin Association (ITA) has released preliminary figures showing that global refined tin production fell by 2.1% to 370.1 thousand tons in 2023. Peru's Minsur held the second-place spot in the world's output rankings, behind China's Yunnan Tin Co. (YTC) which keeps holding the first place. In the meantime, PT Timah of Indonesia keeps falling in the world rankings. Last year, the...

Annualized consumer prices increased by 2.4% in March in the eurozone, reported the European Statistical Agency (Eurostat). This is less than both the actual numbers for February (2.6%) and forecasts of analysts polled by Bloomberg (2.5%). In March, the cost of food, beverages, and tobacco products went up 2.7%, while the cost of electricity went down 1.8%. Simultaneously, service prices continue...

Many businesses are reportedly in a "hurry" to obtain money from the bond market prior to the US presidential election in November, writes the Financial Times. According to LSEG, $806 billion worth of dollar bonds have been issued since the year's commencement.  This is the highest since 1990 and is 40% greater than it was during the same time last year. According to bankers and investors...

According to the Bank of Japan, the Tankan index, which measures the level of confidence that big process sector businesses have in Japan's economy, dropped from 13 points in October-December of last year to 11 points in the first quarter. The indicator has declined for the first time in a year. Trading Economics reports that analysts expected a larger decline to 10 points on average. The...