Davos Days. Bils Meet Mils, To Plot And Scheme.

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People of the same trade seldom meet together, even for merriment and diversion, but the conversation ends in a conspiracy against the public, or in some contrivance to raise prices…. But though the law cannot hinder people of the same trade from sometimes assembling together, it ought to do nothing to facilitate such assemblies, much less to render them necessary.

Adam Smith. The Wealth Of Nations, 1776.

Yes, it’s that time of year again. Davos Days.  A super junket where many of the world’s billionaires jet in to Switzerland to meet up with a scattering of mere millionaires and a handful of global politicians to plot and scheme  how to get even richer in 2024.

In the stock casinos, it’s still bubble on, except today in the USA which is closed for a holiday.

 

China stocks erase losses as central bank holds rates; Taiwan stocks rise after elections

UPDATED MON, JAN 15 2024 12:50 AM EST

Mainland China stocks erased losses from earlier in the session Monday, after the country’s central bank left its medium-term policy loans rate unchanged, while Taiwan stocks rose after voters handed the ruling Democratic Progressive Party a third-straight presidential term.

Mainland China’s CSI 300 index was 0.17% higher after falling about 0.5% at open, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was down 0.15%.

The People’s Bank of China surprised markets and held the rate on some 995 billion yuan ($138.84 billion) worth of one-year medium-term lending facility (MLF) loans, keeping it unchanged at 2.50%

The Taiwan Weighted index rose 0.52% after the ruling Democratic Progressive Party’s Lai Ching-te won the presidential election on Saturday, with more than 40% of the popular vote.

Investors will be closely watching China’s fourth-quarter gross domestic numbers due on Wednesday, while Japan will release inflation figures for December on Friday.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 rose marginally.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 continued its record-breaking run, with the index up 1.13%, while the Topix also touched new highs, gaining 1.25%.

South Korea’s Kospi was trading flat, while the small-cap Kosdaq fell 1.09%.

U.S. stock and bond markets will be closed on Monday for Martin Luther King Day.

On Friday in the U.S., all three major indexes ended mixed as the fourth-quarter earnings season got under way, with four Big Banks posting downbeat results.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.31%, but the S&P 500 ended the day 0.08% higher and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite closed just above the flatline, gaining 0.02%.

Asia markets: Taiwan election, People's Bank of China holds MLF steady, Japan inflation (cnbc.com)

European markets set to start new trading week in positive territory; investors prepare for Davos

UPDATED MON, JAN 15 2024 12:39 AM EST

European markets are expected to open higher Monday as investors in the region gear up for the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

Titled “Rebuilding Trust,” this year’s forum runs from Jan. 14-19. Global business and political leaders will meet in the Swiss ski resort to discuss economic and geopolitical matters. This year, global trade, inflation, supply chains, technological change and wars in the Middle East and Ukraine are expected to top the agenda.

Perhaps the most heavyweight political figures set to be in attendance are China’s second-in-command Li Qiang and French President Emmanuel Macron, who will both give special addresses.

European markets live updates: stocks, news, data, Davos (cnbc.com)

Dow closes more than 100 points lower Friday, ekes out a weekly gain: Live updates

UPDATED FRI, JAN 12 2024 4:18 PM EST

The Dow Jones industrial Average slipped Friday as traders parsed through the first batch of fourth-quarter earnings and digested the second in a pair of closely watched inflation reports this week.

The 30-stock Dow lost 118.04 points, or 0.31%, to close at 37,592.98. The S&P 500 ended the day 0.08% higher at 4,783.83, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite closed just above flat, gaining 0.02% to settle at 14,972.76.

UnitedHealth dragged the Dow lower, with the stock losing nearly 3.4% despite the company announcing higher-than-expected earnings and revenue for the fourth quarter. Delta Air Lines also fell nearly 9% even after exceeding quarterly earnings expectations.

A slew of big banks also reported earnings Friday. Bank of America lost about 1.1% after posting declining fourth-quarter profit, while Wells Fargo shares shed 3.3% despite posting a higher profit for the quarterly period. Shares of JPMorgan Chase lost 0.7% even after the bank said its earnings slipped by 15% from a year earlier.

Citigroup, meanwhile, added just above 1% after announcing the company is cutting 10% of its workforce. Earlier Friday, the bank posted a $1.8 billion quarterly loss after incurring several large charges.

“It’s a little bit of reversal of some of the strong trends and rallies from Q4, but I think markets are in wait-and-see mode for inflation, but also what’s going to happen with earnings season … the drivers of 2024, like any year, will be earnings growth and valuation expansion,” Edward Jones senior investment strategist Mona Mahajan said, adding that this year may see a broadening of market participation.

Investors got some encouraging news on inflation Friday with wholesale prices unexpectedly declining by 0.1% in December. The data follows the more widely followed consumer prices data Thursday, which came in modestly hotter than economists had forecasted, with prices up 0.3% on the month and 3.4% from a year ago.

“PPI affirms that December’s pickup in the CPI was likely a one-off,” said Bill Adams, chief economist for Comerica Bank. “The path continues to clear for the Fed to begin cutting interest rates in 2024 and to slow the pace at which they shrink their balance sheet.”

On the week, the major averages notched gains. The Dow added 0.34%, while the S&P 500 advanced 1.84%. The Nasdaq is the outperformer, rising 3.09% through Friday’s close.

Stock market today: Live updates (cnbc.com)

In other Davos news. Yes, the Lords of the Universe are meeting yet again to rig the world in their favour, one more time.

 

As Davos crowd gathers, governments urged to rein in 'billionaire class'

Mon, January 15, 2024 at 12:08 AM GMT

 

(Reuters) - The combined fortunes of the world's five richest men have more than doubled to $869 billion since 2020 while five billion people have been made poorer, anti-poverty group Oxfam said.

An Oxfam report, which comes as business elites gather this week for the annual World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting in Davos, found that a billionaire is now either running, or is the main shareholder of, 7 out of 10 of the world's biggest companies.

Oxfam called on Monday for governments to rein in corporate power by breaking up monopolies; instituting taxes on excess profit and wealth; and promoting alternatives to shareholder control such as forms of employee ownership.

It estimated that 148 top corporations made $1.8 trillion in profits, 52 percent up on 3-year average, allowing hefty pay-outs to shareholders even as millions of workers faced a cost of living crisis as inflation led to wage cuts in real terms.

"This inequality is no accident; the billionaire class is ensuring corporations deliver more wealth to them at the expense of everyone else," said Oxfam International interim Executive Director Amitabh Behar.

The Davos events were launched to champion "stakeholder capitalism", which the WEF says defines a corporation as being not just about maximising profits but fulfilling "human and societal aspirations as part of the broader social system".

Oxfam said its report, based on data sources ranging from the International Labour Organization and World Bank to the Forbes annual rich list, showed such aspirations were far from being fulfilled.

"What we know for sure is that today's extreme system of shareholder capitalism, which puts ever-increasing returns to rich shareholders above all other objectives, is driving inequality," said Max Lawson, its Head of Inequality Policy.

The inflation-adjusted surge in wealth of the top five billionaires was driven by strong gains in the assets of Tesla CEO Elon Musk, LVMH chief Bernard Arnault, Amazon's Jeff Bezos, Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison and investor Warren Buffett.

Meanwhile nearly 800 million workers saw their wages over the past two years fail to keep up with inflation, resulting on average in the equivalent of 25 days of lost annual income per worker, according to Oxfam's analysis.

Of the world's 1,600 largest corporations, just 0.4% of them have publicly committed to paying workers a living wage and to supporting a living wage in their value chains, the study found.

As Davos crowd gathers, governments urged to rein in 'billionaire class' (yahoo.com)

 

Top diplomats meet in Davos on Ukraine 'peace formula'

Sun, January 14, 2024 at 11:56 AM GMT

DAVOS, Switzerland, Jan 14 (Reuters) - Ukraine pushed ahead with its peace formula to end nearly two years of war with Russia with a meeting of national security advisers from around the world in Davos on Sunday.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who is scheduled to address the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos later in the week, was not in the opening morning session, which included 81 participants from countries and international organisations.

Zelenskiy was represented by his chief of staff Andriy Yermak at Sunday's talks, which were also attended by the U.S. special representative for Ukraine's Economic Recovery Penny Pritzker, as well as James O'Brien, the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs.

As concerns grow about ongoing U.S. support for the war in Ukraine during an election year, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and Secretary of State Antony Blinken are both expected to address the WEF, which officially starts on Monday evening.

Switzerland, which hosted the NSA representatives, said the Ukraine peace talks aimed to finalise principles "for a lasting and just peace in Ukraine" at the level of national security advisers. The principles, it said in a statement last week, should form the basis for the next stages of the peace process.

The role of the Global South in Ukraine's peace formula talks has come into focus in Davos. Many of the non-aligned countries from Africa, Latin America, the Middle East and Asia that have largely stayed on the sidelines over Ukraine will be represented in the Swiss mountain resort this week.

Nigeria's national security adviser Nuhu Ribadu could be seen attending the NSA meeting. Yermak said that there were participants from 18 Asian countries, 12 African countries and 6 South American countries.

"Countries from the Global South are increasingly involved in our work," Yermak said on his Telegram account.

Ukraine, with strong backing from its allies, has consistently said it will not give up until it has reclaimed every piece of territory that Russia has taken.

It is unclear, however, if countries in the Global South agree with that as a peace formula.

Top diplomats meet in Davos on Ukraine 'peace formula' (yahoo.com)

Finally, move over Japan and Germany, make way for China’s cars.

 

China Steps on the Gas to Become Top Auto Exporter in 2023

January 11, 2024

 

China's automotive industry is rapidly expanding its presence across the globe and disrupting the dominance of traditional legacy automakers. The country is expected to emerge as the world's leading auto exporter in 2023, dethroning Japan. China’s vehicle exports have hit records for full-year 2023, solidifying its status as a formidable force in the global automotive arena.

China's Swift Rise to the Top

In 2022, China ascended to become the second-largest automotive exporter, overtaking the longstanding #2 exporter, Germany. Within the initial six months of 2023, it not only maintained but exceeded its lead, claiming the title of the world's largest exporter of vehicles, unseating Japan.

In 2023, China’s overseas vehicle sales reached 5.26 million vehicles, per the China Passenger Car Association. This figure is like a million more than exports of made-in-Japan cars. Per Japan's latest official data, the country shipped just under four million vehicles abroad in the first 11 months of 2023. China’s record-breaking overseas auto sales positions it to surpass Japan as the world's largest auto exporter in 2023. So, what’s behind this surge in China’s exports?

The Impact of Geopolitics

The ongoing geopolitical tensions, particularly the Russia-Ukraine conflict, have played a pivotal role in China's rise as the top auto exporter. Russia's shift from Western suppliers to China for various goods, including automobiles and computer chips, has significantly boosted the latter’s trade with Russia, exceeding $200 billion. Chinese automakers find themselves as major beneficiaries, filling the void left by Western carmakers in the aftermath of the war.

They have capitalized on the departure of Western competitors in the wake of the Ukraine conflict, selling over five times the number of vehicles in Russia in 2023 compared to 2022. This unprecedented success in the Russian market reflects the agility and adaptability of Chinese automakers, who swiftly adjusted their focus to meet the demand for gas-powered vehicles in the region.

And what’s the result? Chinese car manufacturers now command 55% of the Russian market, a substantial increase from the 8% they held in 2021, as reported by GlobalData Automotive. Quoting Michael Dunne, an automotive consultant based in San Diego, “Never before have we seen automakers from a single country gobble up so much market share so quickly — the Chinese came into a windfall.”

The Resilience of Internal Combustion Engine Vehicles

Despite being recognized as a global leader in electric vehicles (EVs), the surge in demand that fueled China's dominance as the world’s top exporter came primarily from traditional gas-powered automobiles, mainly in Russia and Mexico. As some global markets experienced a decline in demand for gas-powered vehicles, Chinese automakers with factories in the country leveraged their production capabilities to meet the specific needs of these markets. Chinese consumers were fast shifting toward eco-friendly vehicles, prompting some carmakers to shift their focus to exports. The continued demand for fossil fuel cars in Russia provided a lifeline to carmakers with factories in China that had been grappling with the country's aggressive push toward EVs.

More

China Steps on the Gas to Become Top Auto Exporter in 2023 (yahoo.com)

Global Inflation/Stagflation/Recession Watch.

Given our Magic Money Tree central banksters and our spendthrift politicians, inflation now needs an entire section of its own.

US ‘already in recession’ as Biden's reckless spending leaves Americans in trillions of debt

January 13, 2024

A leading economist has suggested that the US is already in a recession after President Joe Biden racked up trillions of dollars in debt.

Speaking to GBN America, Dr David Brat said the "underlying economy is awful" as the Biden administration continues running up $2.5trillion in deficit per year.

The former Congressman said: "We are in a recession, right? If you strip out government spending, which is expansionary, we still have $8trillion on the federal reserve balance sheet, which was expansionary.

"The increase in the money supply kept interest rates low and kept the economy moving.

"OK, so now they're tightening M2, the money supply is going down, but who steps in to save the day and provide the stimulus now in order to support your favourite political class, namely the Democrat Party?

"Again, all views are my own, but now what are we doing? We're running $2.5trillion deficits per year.

"This is Congressional Budget Office, you can go look it up, they have us at $50trillion in debt.

"In 10 years, it'll be more than that, right? Because that was predicated on 1 and a half trillion deficits.

----"Pay attention to manufacturing making stuff, that economy for small business and the business people is awful."

A European bank has previously shared its concern over the US economy slipping into recession this year – which could lead to the Federal Reserve bringing in steep interest-rate cuts.

More

US ‘already in recession’ as Biden's reckless spending leaves Americans in trillions of debt (msn.com)

Inside world's largest shopping centre which has become a ghost town after being abandoned

January 13, 2024

Despite boasting a humongous seven million square feet of leasable space the New South China Mall in Dongguan, China has remained largely vacant.

Built in 2005, the massive complex was hailed as the world's largest shopping centre and expected a daily visitor count of 100,000

However, given that the vast majority of Dongguan's population is made up of migrant workers the impersonal shopping mall failed to draw close to the desired numbers.

According to Emporis, a global building data firm, the mall is practically empty. Despite an unsuccessful relaunch in 2007, with the addition of the term 'New,' the mall lacks convenient transport links or nearby airports, making public transport journeys lengthy even for those who live nearby.

The mall was the brainchild of Alex Hu Guirong, a Dongguan native and billionaire instant noodle seller.

According to the New York Times the mall cost around $1.3 billion to build. The layout is organised into seven zones, each representing a city, country, or region, such as Amsterdam, Venice, Paris, Rome, Egypt, California, and the Caribbean.

Designers spent two years scouting locations for these zones around the world, and large parking lots were built in anticipation of a large number of drivers, reports Daily Mail.

A few businesses, mainly fast-food restaurants catering to families visiting the amusement park and IMAX cinema adjacent to the mall, continue to operate.

However, the majority of the mall, including an intended hotel for destination shoppers, remains vacant.

The Mail Online reports sheets cover motionless escalators, dusty decorations from the past still hang, and the only signs of activity are occasional crisp packets being blown by the wind through empty corridors.

Instead of having shop assistants, the sparse workforce in the echoing halls consists of security guards, paid to sit on chairs and prevent vandalism.

Inside world's largest shopping centre which has become a ghost town after being abandoned (msn.com)

Covid-19 Corner

This section will continue until it becomes unneeded.

 

COVID-19 infections may rebound in China in January: China CDC

Published: Jan 14, 2024 09:18 PM

The number of patients received at fever clinics in medical institutions across the country has shown a fluctuating decline since the New Year's Day, but there is a possibility of a rebound in the COVID-19 infection epidemic in China in January, according to Chinese health authorities on Sunday.

Mi Feng, a spokesperson with the National Health Commission, said at a Sunday press briefing that since the beginning of 2024, the number of patients received at fever clinics in medical institutions across the country has shown a fluctuating downward trend. At present, respiratory diseases are still mainly influenza, and the infection of COVID-19 is at a relatively low level, with the overall medical services currently stable and orderly.

Recent data from the multi-channel monitoring system showed that the positive rate of COVID-19 virus testing in sentinel hospitals remained below one percent after the New Year's Day holiday, and the proportion of the JN.1 variant strain showed an upward trend, said Wang Dayan, director of the China National Influenza Center, National Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (China CDC).

Experts believe China will continue to experience various respiratory pathogens alternating or co-circulating this winter and in the coming spring, with influenza viruses still dominating in the short term. Due to continuous importation of the JN.1 variant strain, a gradual decrease in domestic influenza, and a decline in population immunity, the COVID-19 epidemic may rebound in January, with the JN.1 variant highly likely to develop into the dominant variant in China, according to Wang.

Wang noted that southern provinces in China entered the influenza season in early October, followed by northern provinces in late October. Initially, the predominant circulating strain was the H3N2 subtype influenza virus.

However, in the past three weeks, the proportion of influenza B virus in southern provinces has increased to 36.8 percent, and in the past five weeks, the proportion in northern provinces has risen to 57.7 percent. In some provinces, the proportion of influenza B virus has exceeded that of influenza A.

Wang said it is difficult to distinguish between seasonal influenza caused by influenza A and influenza B viruses in terms of clinical symptoms, and different types and subtypes of influenza viruses usually coexist during the same flu season, but in different proportions.

More

COVID-19 infections may rebound in China in January: China CDC - Global Times

 

Technology Update.

With events happening fast in the development of solar power and graphene, among other things, I’ve added this section. Updates as they get reported.

AI smashes idea that all fingerprints are unique – and it could solve cold cases

January 12, 2024

Every fingerprint is unique, right? Well, computer says no. Engineers at Columbia University used artificial intelligence (AI) to smash one of the most basic beliefs in forensics. Kind of. Their program found that while each finger does have its own unique pattern of swirls, there are telltale giveaways within them matching one print to another on the same hand – a breakthrough that could help solve cold cases and even prove innocence in cases of a wrong conviction (Picture: Getty)

Imagine the scenario. Two crime scenes. At the first, only a single thumbprint was found. At the second, an index fingerprint was picked up. Until now, there was no way, using these prints alone, to connect one to the other. But Columbia’s AI could change that (Picture: Getty Images)

The team, led by Columbia engineering undergraduate Gabe Guo, fed a government database of 60,000 fingerprints into the network in pairs. Some of the pairs belonged to the same person, some to two different people. Over time, as the team continued to tweak the system, it became better and better at identifying which were pairs and which were not. Accuracy for a pair from the same individual hit 77%, and was significantly higher when from two people (Picture: Getty Image)

The team sent their results to a forensics journal, but the paper was rejected. The anonymous reviewer and editor concluded that ‘It is well known that every fingerprint is unique’, and so it would not be possible to detect similarities even if the fingerprints came from the same person (Picture: Getty)

Undeterred, Mr Guo and the team worked on making their AI even more accurate. ‘I don’t normally argue editorial decisions, but this finding was too important to ignore, said Professor Hod Lipson, head of the university’s Creative Machines lab. ‘If this information tips the balance, then I imagine that cold cases could be revived, and even that innocent people could be acquitted.' The paper was later accepted for publication in Science Advances (Picture: Getty Images)

---- Professor Lipson says the findings also highlight the exciting potential of AI. ‘Many people think that AI cannot make new discoveries – that it just regurgitates knowledge,’ he said. ‘But this research is an example of how even a fairly simple AI, given a fairly plain dataset that the research community has had lying around for years, can provide insights that have eluded experts for decades' (Picture: Getty Images)

More, plus pictures.

AI smashes idea that all fingerprints are unique – and it could solve cold cases (msn.com)

It is the highest impertinence and presumption… in kings and ministers, to pretend to watch over the economy of private people, and to restrain their expense... They are themselves always, and without any exception, the greatest spendthrifts in the society. Let them look well after their own expense, and they may safely trust private people with theirs. If their own extravagance does not ruin the state, that of their subjects never will.

Adam Smith. The Wealth Of Nations, 1776.