Syz the moment

Beijing’s stimulus measures appear insufficient to boost domestic consumption, with price wars in the auto sector adding to downward pressure. 🟥 The consumer price index fell 0.1% from a year earlier, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics released Monday, compared with Reuters’ median estimate of a 0.2% decline. 🟥 CPI slipped into negative territory in February, falling 0.7% from a year ago, and has continued to post year-on-year declines of 0.1% in March, April, and now May. Core inflation, excluding food and energy prices, however, rose 0.6% in May — highest since January this year, according to Wind Information. Separately, deflation in the country’s factory-gate or producer prices deepened, falling 3.3% from a year earlier in May, marking the steepest decline since July 2023 and a sharper drop compared with analysts’ estimates of a 3.2% fall, according to LSEG data. Source: CNBC

At a time when the White House has been suggesting the two leaders could talk this week amid a rise in trade tensions: “I like President XI of China, always have, and always will, but he is VERY TOUGH, AND EXTREMELY HARD TO MAKE A DEAL WITH!!!,” the U.S. president wrote on Truth Social. That post on the social media platform came after a senior White House official told CNBC on Monday that Trump and Xi were likely to speak this week. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told the new U.S. Ambassador David Perdue during a meeting Tuesday that the recent string of “negative measures” by the Trump administration were based on “groundless reasons,” and undermined China’s legitimate rights and interests, according to the official English readout. Source: CNBC

Source: Barchart, LESG

In the past 5 years, their U.S. Treasury holdings have plunged from ~$1.1T to ~$760B. Meanwhile, their gold reserves have soared from ~1,850 tons to over 2,200 Source: Andrew Wells, Bloomberg

Link >>>https://lnkd.in/epE_ri2X Source: FT

Between 2020 and 2023, China supplied 70% of U.S. rare earth imports, establishing itself as the primary source. Following closely are Malaysia, Japan, and Estonia in the top four suppliers. Despite their name, rare earths are not scarce in the Earth's crust; the challenge lies in extracting them in concentrated amounts economically and sustainably. China plays a pivotal role in this scenario, producing approximately 90% of the world's refined rare earths. Its extensive capacity for separation and purification gives it a substantial influence over global supply chains. For instance, yttrium, crucial in radar systems, lasers, and television screens, saw 93% of its U.S. imports originating from China between 2020 and 2023. Other vital rare earths like Samarium, Gadolinium, Terbium, Dysprosium, Lutetium, and Scandium face similar supply concentration challenges. These elements are integral to military applications, electric motors, and cutting-edge electronics, with companies such as Lockheed Martin, Tesla, and Apple relying on them for their core products. Source: Elements

The U.S. and China have agreed to maintain communication following a call between Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu and U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau, according to a brief readout released by the Chinese Foreign Ministry on Friday. Both sides exchanged thoughts on crucial issues during the call on Thursday, the statement said, without elaborating. The U.S. Department of State issued a similar statement Thursday, briefly noting the consensus on the importance of the bilateral relationship and an agreement to keep open lines of communication. The statement came as Beijing and Washington continued to trade swipes at each other, despite the tariff de-escalation following a meeting between both sides in Switzerland earlier this month. Source: CNBC

Alibaba Revenue v. Stock Price Revenue: +1,521% Stock Price: +20% $BABA Source: FinChat @finchat_ioRevenue v. Stock Price Revenue: +1,521% Stock Price: +20% $BABA Source: FinChat @finchat_io