In today’s briefing:
- What Does New 2023 Growth Targets Signal About Xi’s Priorities
- Equity Market Complacency? Why the VIX Index Is Trading Below 20
- Macro Watch: Is This Good or Bad Inflation?
- The Week That Was in ASEAN@Smartkarma – Matahari Dept Store, Astra Intl’s Award, and Arwana’s Shine
- US Large-Sized Farms Increase – Due to Input Cost Pressure // The Fall of The Petrodollar
What Does New 2023 Growth Targets Signal About Xi’s Priorities
- China’s top legislature, the National People’s Congress (NPC), opened its annual meeting yesterday.
- The main highlight was the presentation of the new work report by outgoing Premier, Li Keqiang, which sets the 2023 fiscal targets for the Chinese economy.
- Later this week, Xi Jinping is expected to further consolidate his power with several high-profile appointments including the new Premier, vice-premiers, and the new governor of the central bank.
Equity Market Complacency? Why the VIX Index Is Trading Below 20
- Despite the S&P 500 Index SPDR S&P 500 (SPY US) declining to the 200-day average, the VIX Index has fallen by a whopping 20% during the last nine trading days.
- Realized volatility has dropped below 15 and is the lowest in more than a year, driven by a rising economic surprise index and lower perceived earnings-related uncertainty.
- However, our Volatility Heat Map and the direct link between the MOVE Index and stock market valuation reveal current equity market calmness comes with at least a whiff of complacency.
Macro Watch: Is This Good or Bad Inflation?
- Is the current inflation pressure better than the inflation seen in 2022?
- China is wide-open for business despite schizophrenic assesments of the momentum in Western media
- We find continued reasons to remain upbeat on risk assets despite the fears of inflation resurging
The Week That Was in ASEAN@Smartkarma – Matahari Dept Store, Astra Intl’s Award, and Arwana’s Shine
- The Week That Was in ASEAN@Smartkarma is filled with an eclectic mix of differentiated, substantive, and actionable insights, macro and equity bottom-up, from across South East Asia.
- The past week saw insights on Matahari Department Store (LPPF IJ), Astra International (ASII IJ), Arwana Citramulia (ARNA IJ), GK Goh Holdings (GKG SP), and Sheng Siong (SSG SP).
- There was also an economic commentary on Anwar’s first budget in 25 years from Manu Bhaskaran plus a piece looking at the lowball bid to Golden Energy & Resources.
US Large-Sized Farms Increase – Due to Input Cost Pressure // The Fall of The Petrodollar
- US Large-Sized Farms Increase – Due to Input Cost Pressure According to the Farms and Land in Farms Report by the USDA, the largest farms in the US that had sales of $1 million or more, now operate almost 26% of the country’s farmland.
- The farms in this sales class have increased in size, while farms in every other sales class have either remained the same size or decreased.
- According to the Farms and Land in Farms Report by the USDA, the largest farms in the US that had sales of $1 million or more, now operate almost 26% of the country’s farmland.
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