Thematic (Sector/Industry)

The focus was on the currency this week ahead of the next BOJ meeting and waning inflationary pressures in the US.
Japanese stocks were basically flat. Retailers were up first announcing results – those with significant operations in China are doing very well.
Advantest continues to defy gravity. The stock is up 200% over the past twelve months. Think about that….a Japanese stock up 200%!

China Property Developers In Distress – Weekly News & Announcements Tracker | 7-13 July 2023

By Robert Ciemniak

A weekly curated selection of Chinese news articles and company announcements focused on developers in distress
We look for their deals, updates, specific project progress news (‘local signals’), as well as relevant local research commentaries about the market
We do not verify the underlying data or provide any opinion, we only select and summarize the information; see direct links to sources

China TMT Update-Premier’s Symposium;a Summary of Meituan Vs Douyin;feedbacks of Amazon Prime Day

Premier Li Qiang chaired a symposium with internet platform enterprises
A summary of recent Meituan local news – counterattack against Douyin is showing initial effectiveness, but Wechat,Kuaishou and Xiaohongshu(Red) are coming
Chinese merchants’ feedbacks of this year’s Amazon Prime Day, a summary

Chinese Automakers Ride Overseas Demand as Global Expansion Pays Off

By Caixin Global

Chinese auto exports again shot up in the first six months of this year, largely fueled by rising demand for new-energy vehicles (NEVs) and surging deliveries to a sanction-hit Russia, as local carmakers sought to invigorate sales with a push overseas.
First-half shipments leapt 75.7% from the same period last year to 2.14 million vehicles, according to a report Tuesday by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM).
Overseas shipments of NEVs — a category that consists mainly of pure electric and hybrid models — more than doubled to 534,000 vehicles, accounting for nearly a quarter of the total exports, the CAAM report showed.

Large Cap GEM Bank Screener – Our Top Picks

By Victor Galliano

Among the large-cap EM Asia banks, we recommend CCB in China, HDFC Bank in India, Bank Mandiri in Indonesia and Hana Financial in South Korea
In LatAm, we turn positive on Banco do Brasil, for its big value attributes and lesser political risk; we turn cautious on Bradesco and stay cautious on Banorte in Mexico
Two large-cap names to watch are Credicorp in Peru and Standard Bank of South Africa; both have challenging macro-economic backdrops but sound “bottom up” credentials

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Jul 14

Daily Brief Thematic (Sector/Industry): Ohayo Japan| Lower Rates and more

By Smartkarma Daily Briefs | Daily Briefs, Thematic (Sector/Industry)

In today’s briefing:

Ohayo Japan| Lower Rates, Higher Stocks; Crypto Optimism; NUGGET: Hydrogen Future – KHI(7012)Revisit
Nanya Q2’23 Results. Doldrums Ahoy!
China TMT Update-PDD/BABA/BEKE/LUCKIN- PDD Testing “RMB 9.9” Channel;BEKE Launching “Bei Hao Jia”
Mat Chem Notes Week Ending July 9, 2023

Ohayo Japan| Lower Rates, Higher Stocks; Crypto Optimism; NUGGET: Hydrogen Future – KHI(7012)Revisit

OVERSEAS. Disinflation Trade on as US PPI provides more tailwinds; Rates, USD Fall; Equites rally, More China Stimulus Coming ? Ripple resolution spurs Crypto bid; AI Wars: Meta Updates BARD
JAPAN. Nikkei Futures +1% vs Cash; USDJPY 138; Set for Beta bid in Stocks; Blow out Fast Retailing numbers; Barclays see Sept BOJ tweek; Bullish Bank Initiations from UBS
NUGGET. Hydrogen is a key part of JP Govt carbon zero strategy. We see KHI(7012) as a Hydrogen winner and see the recent pullback as a good entry opportunity

Nanya Q2’23 Results. Doldrums Ahoy!

By William Keating

Q2’23 revenues of NT$ 7,027 million, up 9.4% sequentially but down 61% YoY. Net losses declined QoQ, mainly due to favourable Fx and Income tax charges
Similar to Micron, while bit shipments increased QoQ, ASPs declined. This is not a road to recovery out of the memory segment downturn
While customer inventories have largely normalised, supplier inventories remain elevated. Until this corrects or demand surges, Nanya and peers will remain in the doldrums.

China TMT Update-PDD/BABA/BEKE/LUCKIN- PDD Testing “RMB 9.9” Channel;BEKE Launching “Bei Hao Jia”

PDD/BABA: PDD testing large “RMB 9.9” channel entrance on the PDD app homepage (+/-)
BEKE: Beike announced to expand business toward industry upstream, establishing “Bei Hao Jia” business line(+)
Luckin Coffee & Nayuki: Media survey suggest that coffee price war is hurting milk tea’s business

Mat Chem Notes Week Ending July 9, 2023

WTR-CMI last week. In a flat to down market last week, with S&P 500 holding steady with 0.1% price change and Russell 2000 losing 0.9% of its value, our proprietary WTR-CMI index of 30 chemicals and material technology companies appreciated 0.5% for the week, led by 8.5% appreciation in ALB, which seemed to pull along other lithium names, including PLL, LAC and LTHM, which all posted 2-4% returns.
EAF was the index’s laggard, losing 9.4% of its value, possibly due to continued softness in the iron ore and steel production sectors.
EU relooks at GMO crops. Long a bulwark against expansion of GMO crops, the EU is taking another look at the 2001 rules which were a major obstacle to market penetration by genetically modified seeds that provide better yields, higher nutritional value, and require less water and less pesticides to produce.

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Jul 13

Daily Brief Thematic (Sector/Industry): Ohayo Japan| Fed Job Done-Inflation Over and more

By Smartkarma Daily Briefs | Daily Briefs, Thematic (Sector/Industry)

In today’s briefing:

Ohayo Japan| Fed Job Done-Inflation Over, Stocks Rally; NUGGET: BayCurrent – To Leap from DX to AI ?
Southeast Asia Plantations: Malaysia Palm Oil Inventories Surprised to the Downside
China Extends Policy to Take Pressure off Ailing Property Market
[Blue Lotus Innovative Drugs Sector Update]: Biotech-Biopharma Ecosystem Is Coming of Age in China
Maverick Valuations #2 – USA: Dow Jones, Nasdaq 100 & The Mighty S&P 500

Ohayo Japan| Fed Job Done-Inflation Over, Stocks Rally; NUGGET: BayCurrent – To Leap from DX to AI ?

OVERSEAS. Fed job done; Inflation over- Stocks, Bonds Rally, USD falls; China new June new Credit growth accelerates- spurs Resources; Musk launches xAI ; Big Broker Upgrade to Euro Semi
JAPAN. NKY Futures +0.3% vs Cash; USDJPY 138.5; US CPI print drives yen strength – headwind to stocks; PayPay to list in US ? GS Ups Sony to Conviction BUY
NUGGET. DX Consultant BayCurrent to report on Friday – Generative AI boom the next driver ?

Southeast Asia Plantations: Malaysia Palm Oil Inventories Surprised to the Downside

By Niklas Olausson

Malaysian palm oil inventories for June came in below market expectations, with output surprisingly weak given the increase in foreign workers in the first half of 2023.
Reasons for this is not yet clear, but it is likely structural factors are putting pressure on output, which could exacerbate the anticipated El Niño effect on yields.
Reiterate positive view on Plantation sector equities and the price outlook for crude palm oil (CPO). Forecasts maintained.

China Extends Policy to Take Pressure off Ailing Property Market

By Caixin Global

China has extended a policy released last year to allow developers to postpone or swap their loans in an effort to shore up the country’s ailing real estate sector.
The policy was first released in November 2022 and includes 16 measures that aim to encourage financial institutions to set “reasonable” down payment ratios and interest rates to support demand for mortgages and allow a postponement of loan repayments to help builders complete construction projects.
Two of the 16 measures were originally valid for six months and expired in May. Property development loans from banks and trust firms could be extended up to a year if they were due within six months starting from November 11, 2022.

[Blue Lotus Innovative Drugs Sector Update]: Biotech-Biopharma Ecosystem Is Coming of Age in China

Novartis’s forfeit of option to license BeiGene’s (BGNE) Ociperlimab (TIGIT) likely suggested pessimism towards its year-end read-out.
The priority of Tislelizumab in Novartis’s pipeline may also be sidelined; With Chinese innovative drug sales subdued under NDRL, the global biotech model is gaining superiority over local biopharma model.
BGNE’s pipeline faces an aging problem, which must be mitigated by smart licensing. We downgrade BGNE to SELL and ZLAB to BUY.

Maverick Valuations #2 – USA: Dow Jones, Nasdaq 100 & The Mighty S&P 500

By Maverick Equity Research

To start, the 2023 and 10 years Total Returns & CAGR of the big 3 indices: sentiment is very positive, risk appetite is on and we have a new bull market.
Let’s start with the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA).
Created in 1896, is one of the oldest & most widely recognized stock market indices in the world & and is made up of 30 blue-chip stocks that are considered leaders in their respective industries.

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Jul 12

Daily Brief Thematic (Sector/Industry): Ohayo Japan|Equities Bid Ahead of CPI Print; NUGGET:China Semi Derisking – The Winner Is…Yes and more

By Smartkarma Daily Briefs | Daily Briefs, Thematic (Sector/Industry)

In today’s briefing:

Ohayo Japan|Equities Bid Ahead of CPI Print; NUGGET:China Semi Derisking – The Winner Is…Yes, Japan!
China Beer Sector: One of The Few Consumer Sectors That Are Still Trading Up After The Pandemic
Global Exchanges – Pace of Revenue Diversification Differs Between DM and EM Exchanges
China TMT Update-BZ/XPEV/BABA/PDD/1024.HK:Taobao’s Short Videos/SME Development Index/XPEV in Israel
The Nasdaq’s Special Rebalance Is Not So Special

Ohayo Japan|Equities Bid Ahead of CPI Print; NUGGET:China Semi Derisking – The Winner Is…Yes, Japan!

OVERSEAS. SPX +0.7% with all sectors in the green ahead of expected soft CPI print on Wed; Oil strong with weaker USD; MSFT wins as Activision purchase progresses
JAPAN. NKY Futures +0.4% vs Cash; USDJPY 140.3; Markets start coalesing around BOJ policy shift; TSE kicks out 48 companies from Prime listing; Big Earnings Beat from Lawson(2651)
NUGGET. Building a global semi-supply chain is a central tenet of Japan’s industrial policy. We think focusing on short term cyclical semi-weakness risks missing out on the home runs

China Beer Sector: One of The Few Consumer Sectors That Are Still Trading Up After The Pandemic

By Steve Zhou, CFA

China’s beer sector is still trading up, despite the deflation concerns of the overall China consumer sector.
Visible ASP growth and margin improvement over the next few years make the sector an attractive investment opportunity.
Prefer China Resources Beer Holdings (291 HK) as it offers the best risk-reward within the sector.

Global Exchanges – Pace of Revenue Diversification Differs Between DM and EM Exchanges

By Victor Galliano

Exchanges, especially in developed markets, continue to seek revenue streams outside of the traditional trading and transaction-based fees which has led to a mini-boom in exchange-driven M&A targeting diversification
We use data and IT revenues as a proxy for “stickier” potentially recurring revenues in four DM and three EM exchanges, concluding that DM exchanges are under more diversification pressure
We identify three buy opportunities in exchanges; we like Hong Kong Exchange, Deutsche Borse and we add Nasdaq, whilst we are negative on Coinbase which remains the exchange to avoid

China TMT Update-BZ/XPEV/BABA/PDD/1024.HK:Taobao’s Short Videos/SME Development Index/XPEV in Israel

Boss Zhipin: SME Development Index rebound slightly in June, and labor subindex also marginally improved, but still far below the prosperity range
XPEV: Xpeng establishes partnership with Freesbe for Israel market (+)
BABA/PDD/1024.HK: Taobao launched a dedicated entrance to short videos (+/-/-)

The Nasdaq’s Special Rebalance Is Not So Special

By Investment Talk

You might have heard the news that Nasdaq Inc announced1 a “special rebalance” for the Nasdaq 100; an index which tracks the largest technology stocks across a range of America’s sectors.
This reshuffle seeks to “address overconcentration in the index by redistributing the weights”; specifically the weightings of the Big 7 (Google, Microsoft, Apple, Nvidia, Amazon, Tesla, and Meta) who, together, account for ~54% of the index.
The rebalance will be based on the shares outstanding as of July 3rd, and changes are expected to be announced on July 14th; taking effect by July 24th2.

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Jul 11

Daily Brief Thematic (Sector/Industry): New Developments in Postage Fraud Case and US Congress Could Create Big Obstacles for Temu and more

By Smartkarma Daily Briefs | Daily Briefs, Thematic (Sector/Industry)

In today’s briefing:

New Developments in Postage Fraud Case and US Congress Could Create Big Obstacles for Temu, SHEIN
Ohayo Japan| Fed Rate Hike End in Sight; NUGGET: More Women on Boards = Higher Valuations?
[Blue Lotus Macro]: A Job-Creating Stimulus that Also Saves the Real Estate
Industry Report – Cannabis
Weekly Sustainable Investing Surveyor Week Ended July 7, 2023

New Developments in Postage Fraud Case and US Congress Could Create Big Obstacles for Temu, SHEIN

By Daniel Hellberg

Update on the US postage fraud case we reported on earlier: it’s far more expansive than previously reported, and last week the judge ordered that the trial begin in August
A new report from the US Congress attacks Temu, SHEIN on two fronts: Xinjiang-made goods and de minimus imports; tighter enforcement or new legislation could soon follow
It’s unclear how the postage fraud case and growing Congressional concerns will play out; worst-case, both could dramatically undermine the direct-to-US consumer business model

Ohayo Japan| Fed Rate Hike End in Sight; NUGGET: More Women on Boards = Higher Valuations?

OVERSEAS. SPX rises as investors see end of Fed rate hike cycle; Investors continue to doubt the US bull market; China steps in again to support Real Estate market
JAPAN. NKY Futs +0.4% vs Cash; USJPY 141.3; “New” NISA eligible funds expand; JP investors buy record foreign bonds in H1; ON THE STREET:Mit Motors to BUY; Toyota to Neutral
NUGGET. Push for more women on boards continue in Japan – still lagging, but trend is up. Will it play out in valuations? Global Evidence Supportive.

[Blue Lotus Macro]: A Job-Creating Stimulus that Also Saves the Real Estate

Forty to sixty percent of the world’s carbon emission takes place in buildings. Energy efficiency job is the single largest component that balances the job loss
In traditional energy and job gain in renewable energy. China is materially behind the US in energy efficiency; We believe inclusion of energy efficiency in the upcoming stimulus package
Will be a sound choice to boost employment and GDP, and our listed companies in the new energy sector shall benefit from the trend.

Industry Report – Cannabis

After a strong 1H23, global equities were down this week. The MSCI World Index fell 1.42%, while the S&P 500 dropped 1.06%.
The decline was driven by strongerthan-expected labor market data and concerns that this may make the Fed less accommodating.
The Russell 2000 finished the week down 1.32%, while the NASDAQ declined 0.92%.

Weekly Sustainable Investing Surveyor Week Ended July 7, 2023

WTR Sustainable Index: During the week ended July 7, 2023, the WTR Sustainable Index outperformed the broader market, rising 3.3% W/W versus the S&P 500 Index (down 1.2%), the Russell 2000 Index (down 1.3%), and the Nasdaq Composite Index (down 0.9%).

Advanced Transportation Solutions (75.2% of the index) contributed to the index’s outperformance, rising 4.7%, while Energy Technology (6.5% of the index) was up 0.4% and Industrial Climate and Ag Technology was down 0.8%.
Valuation: Based on forward 12-month consensus estimates, the current P/E ratio of the WTR Sustainable index is 25.3x versus 20.5x for the S&P 500.

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Jul 10

Daily Brief Thematic (Sector/Industry): Semiconductor Events Deserving Your Attention @ 9/7/23 and more

By Smartkarma Daily Briefs | Daily Briefs, Thematic (Sector/Industry)

In today’s briefing:

Semiconductor Events Deserving Your Attention @ 9/7/23
Ohayo Japan | Weak Payrolls=Lower Rates; Weaker USD; NUGGET:Heat Pumps-The Future of Cooling/Heating
Japan Screen | Nikkei Dividend Stocks
China TMT Update Jul.10-Baba/LKNCY/BEKE-Ant Group Fine/COTTI Downgrade Promotion/Home Decoration Biz
Weekly Stock Bullfinder – Week of 7/10
Crypto Frontier

Semiconductor Events Deserving Your Attention @ 9/7/23

By William Keating

Global semiconductor sales amounted to $40.7 billion in May’23. This represented an increase of 1.7% MoM and a 21.1% decline on a year-ago basis
Samsung pre-announces Q2’23 sales and operating profit slightly down sequentially
HMB3 standard launched. SK Hynix wins a critical HMB3 design win at NVIDIA

Ohayo Japan | Weak Payrolls=Lower Rates; Weaker USD; NUGGET:Heat Pumps-The Future of Cooling/Heating

OVERSEAS. SPX -0.3% and down WoW; Weak Payrolls numbers lead to fall in US 2Yr to 4.95%, USD weakness; This week – packed schedule with CPI; Watch Bank earnings
JAPAN. NKY Futs flat vs Cash; USDJPY 142.2, on weaker US payrolls; JP companies struggle to lift ROE due to expanding Equity Base (=more buybacks?); Kishida to reshuffle cabinet
NUGGET. Heat Pumps – A Big Deal for Daikin(6367)/Melco(6503). A large addressable, and growing market, and great for the environment. Yes, you should get excited!

Japan Screen | Nikkei Dividend Stocks

The Nikkei has recently launched two new equity indices for investors that are focused on dividends.
We highlight some similarities and differences with the well-known US S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats Index
We carry out a quick and simple screen of the Nikkei constituents to find the best dividend stocks to buy

China TMT Update Jul.10-Baba/LKNCY/BEKE-Ant Group Fine/COTTI Downgrade Promotion/Home Decoration Biz

BABA: Ant Group fine to be announced, but listing unlikely until 2024 (+)
LKNCY: COTTI Coffee downgrade its promotion campaign, and Coffee price war is gradually easing (+)
BEKE: Beike is exploiting new opportunity in home decoration business, and Beike Group Decoration delivered its first batch of projects in Tianjin

Weekly Stock Bullfinder – Week of 7/10

By Weekly Stock Bull Finder

Energy- Rotation to Laggards or Something More Brewing?
The worst S&P 500 sector so far in 2023 has been energy which is down almost 8% getting trounced by the technology and communication services sectors.
Inflation readings have benefited so far by energy “staying in the box” in 2023 versus the wild price spikes to $5/gallon gasoline and above which occurred last spring.

Crypto Frontier

By subSPAC

Bitcoin Depot, a North American Bitcoin ATM firm, took a significant leap last week, diving into public markets through an $885 million SPAC transaction.
This move marks the company as the first pure-play operator in the industry to pursue such an avenue, a distinct endeavor in a field dotted with complexity and uncertainty.
Within the past few years, we’ve seen several crypto SPAC deals, such as cryptocurrency miner Core Scientific and digital rewards and crypto platform Bakkt Holdings, successfully step into the public arena.

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Jul 09

Daily Brief Thematic (Sector/Industry): GEM Weekly (7 Jul 2023): China PMI and more

By Smartkarma Daily Briefs | Daily Briefs, Thematic (Sector/Industry)

In today’s briefing:

GEM Weekly (7 Jul 2023): China PMI, South Korea CPI: Ant, Alibaba, TSMC, HuaBao International

GEM Weekly (7 Jul 2023): China PMI, South Korea CPI: Ant, Alibaba, TSMC, HuaBao International

By Wium Malan, CFA

The Global Emerging Markets Weekly provides a summary of the key news and related developments impacting the largest countries and constituents of the Global Emerging Markets equity indices.
Macro data points: Chinese PMI data, South Korean inflation data.
Companies mentioned:Ant Financial Services Group (6688 HK), Alibaba Group Holding (9988 HK) , Taiwan Semiconductor (TSMC) (2330 TT), Huabao International Holdings (336 HK)

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Jul 08

Daily Brief Thematic (Sector/Industry): Japan Weekly | Kawasaki Kisen and more

By Smartkarma Daily Briefs | Daily Briefs, Thematic (Sector/Industry)

In today’s briefing:

Japan Weekly | Kawasaki Kisen, Z Holdings, Rakuten, Uniqlo, Yaskawa
A Quasi Bank Run at MG Community Credit Cooperative – What’s Next?
SPAC Talk – SPACs and the EV Blow-Up
Mat-Chem Notes For the Week Ended June 30, 2023

Japan Weekly | Kawasaki Kisen, Z Holdings, Rakuten, Uniqlo, Yaskawa

Japanese stocks headed lower this week, tracking weaker US stocks.
With a bout of profit-taking, we are also seeing some rotation out of high-valuation, strong momentum stocks into “cheap” laggards.
Marine transportation stocks the big winners this week. Investors love those high dividends and low PBs

A Quasi Bank Run at MG Community Credit Cooperative – What’s Next?

By Douglas Kim

One of the biggest stories in the Korean economy in the past two days have been the quasi bank run at MG Community Credit Cooperative (MGCCC) (새마을금고).
The negative news about this has contributed to KOSPI falling two consecutive days (down 2% from July 5th to 7th).
MGCCC’s delinquency rate jumped from 1.93% at the end of 2021 to 3.59% at the end of 2022 and 6.18% as of June 29th 2023.

SPAC Talk – SPACs and the EV Blow-Up

As IBC deal cancellations continue to accelerate…. June brought 12 deal termination announcements, which happens to be the largest number of deal cancellations to occur in any one month ever.
Among the deal casualties in June is SPAC TKB Critical Technologies 1’s (USCT) proposed merger with already de-SPACed once WEJO.
This particular deal cancellation was always in the cards after the UK-based vehicle data provider filed for bankruptcy at the end of May.

Mat-Chem Notes For the Week Ended June 30, 2023

WTR-CMI last week. In an up-week for the market, our WTR-CMI index of 30 chemical and material technology companies appreciated 4.8%, surpassing both the S&P 500 and Russell 2000 returns of 2.3% and 3.7%, respectively.
FUL’s 13.2% appreciation led our index, as the company delivered strong margins in 2QFY23 (May- 23) and provided solid EBITDA guidance for the year.
The stock was also helped by FUL’s announcement of two bolt- on acquisitions, Adhezion Biomedical, a privately held medical adhesives company, and XCHEM International, a UAE specialty adhesives manufacturer with a strong position in MENA.

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Jul 07

Daily Brief Thematic (Sector/Industry): Indonesia Consumer – Positive Impressions from the Jakarta Fair and more

By Smartkarma Daily Briefs | Daily Briefs, Thematic (Sector/Industry)

In today’s briefing:

Indonesia Consumer – Positive Impressions from the Jakarta Fair
Ohayo Japan |Rates Rocket-Equities Take Heed; NUGGET: Profit Renaissance for Japan’s Defense Sector
China Property Developers In Distress – Weekly News & Announcements Tracker | 1-6 July 2023
Chinese VC Investor Launches AI Startup in ChatGPT Rush
Australia Banks – Construction Insolvencies +75%, A Look at NAB Risk Weights, PD
China TMT Update-XPEV/NIO/LI/TSLA/1211HK/ZLAB: 16 Automakers Pledge to Maintain Order;G6 Conversion

Indonesia Consumer – Positive Impressions from the Jakarta Fair

By Angus Mackintosh

This year’s Jakarta Fair was a spectacle with large crowds, who were spending as well as enjoying all the discounted food on offer and viewing new products on show.
The highlights from the show were a plethora of 2W and 4W EVs, a notable presence from dairy players, and many financing options being offered by multi-finance and fintech players.
In the consumer sector, we like Mitra Adiperkasa, Ace Hardware Indonesia, Matahari Department Store, Cisarua Mountain Dairy (Cimory), Ultrajaya Milk, PT Nippon Indosari Corpindo (ROTI), and Astra International, for auto exposure.

Ohayo Japan |Rates Rocket-Equities Take Heed; NUGGET: Profit Renaissance for Japan’s Defense Sector

OVERSEAS. Strong ADP numbers drive bond and equity sell off; SPX -0.8% as all sectors in the red as reality of further Fed hikes get real; EV Truce in China
JAPAN. NKY Futs -1.1% vs Cash; USDJPY 144.1; Expect further follow through of yesterday’s NKY sell off; Yen strength won’t help – as we head into weekend, correction finally here?
NUGGET. Profit Renaissance for Japan’s Defense Industry. From big (MHI, Melco, etc) to Small – expect numerous beneficiaries of the policy changes afoot.

China Property Developers In Distress – Weekly News & Announcements Tracker | 1-6 July 2023

By Robert Ciemniak

A weekly curated selection of Chinese news articles and company announcements focused on developers in distress
We look for their deals, updates, specific project progress news (‘local signals’), as well as relevant local research commentaries about the market
We do not verify the underlying data or provide any opinion, we only select and summarize the information; see direct links to sources

Chinese VC Investor Launches AI Startup in ChatGPT Rush

By Caixin Global

Computer-scientist-turned venture capitalist Kai-Fu Lee unveiled a new generative artificial intelligence (AI) company called 01.AI on Monday, the latest entrant in a race to develop large language models that can power products equivalent to OpenAI’s ChatGPT in China.
The new company was officially launched after three months of incubation by the AI pioneer’s Sinovation Ventures, according to a statement posted on the VC firm’s WeChat account Monday. The new website for the company has come online, according to the statement.
Beijing-based 01.AI aims to develop a platform and application ecosystem based on AI 2.0 era technologies, Lee said in the statement.

Australia Banks – Construction Insolvencies +75%, A Look at NAB Risk Weights, PD

By Daniel Tabbush

There is tremendous growth in Australian insolvencies, which is not simple a base effect
Construction insolvencies are up 75% YoY through mid June, the worst of any sector
NAB shows +17x exposures risk-weighted at 75%, PD +84% in qualifying revolving retail

China TMT Update-XPEV/NIO/LI/TSLA/1211HK/ZLAB: 16 Automakers Pledge to Maintain Order;G6 Conversion