Hot news

• The Fed minutes are coming! Will continue to raise interest rates until inflation falls sharply, and some officials are afraid of "raising interest rates too much"

The Fed released minutes of the July FOMC monetary policy meeting on Wednesday. Participants agreed that future interest rate increases would depend on the data available and that it would be appropriate to slow down the pace of rate increases "at some point". But they may not consider withdrawing interest rate hikes until inflation falls sharply. Participants pointed out that the 2.5% range of the federal funds rate is near the "neutral" level. Some officials say restrictive policy positions may be appropriate, suggesting that the Fed will raise interest rates more in the future. The minutes also noted that some officials were concerned that the Fed might raise interest rates too much, underscoring the importance of focusing on economic data rather than being linked to forward guidance.

• Fed minutes: "there is little evidence" that inflationary pressures are receding

According to the minutes of the Fed meeting, participants agreed that there was "little evidence" that inflationary pressures were receding and that it would take a long time to resolve the problem. Participants pointed out that recent inflation expectations are "consistent" with long-term expectations of 2 per cent. Participants stressed that "a slowdown in demand will play an important role" in reducing inflation.

• To reduce inflation, we need to prescribe fierce medicine! Dr. Doomsday Kaufman said the Fed needs to "hit the market" in the fight against inflation.

Henry Kaufman, a prominent economist known as Dr Doomsday, said the Fed needed to strengthen its resolve to fight high inflation. "I'm still waiting for him to take bold action-'bold' means he has to hit the market," Kaufman said of Fed chairman Jerome Powell in an interview released on Wednesday. Mr Powell had previously insisted that high inflation in the US was temporary and did not change his view on inflation until last year, warning that prices were likely to remain "persistently high". Kaufman said there was a long time between the time Powell issued the warning and the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) began raising interest rates in March.

• Fed governor: Fed seeks clearer guidance on financial technology tools

Fed governor Michelle Bowman said technology is fundamentally changing the way banks operate in the US, from innovation in financial services to the use of artificial intelligence and institutional interest in encrypted assets, and the Fed is trying to provide clearer guidance on new tools. "failure to innovate can damage the competitiveness of banks and pose a threat to security and soundness, while reckless innovation is also harmful," Bowman said at a fintech summit. The Fed supports responsible innovation in a variety of ways. On central bank digital money, Bowman said: "my expectation is that FedNow will solve some questions about the need for central bank digital money (CBDC)." FedNow refers to the real-time payment system planned by the Federal Reserve.

• Us retail sales were flat in July, dragged down by gasoline and car sales

Us retail sales were almost flat in July, with a sharp drop in gasoline prices and a decline in car sales offsetting improvements in other categories. Excluding lower gas station revenue and lower car purchases caused by rising prices, retail sales rose 0.7% in July, according to data released by the U.S. Commerce Department on Wednesday. These figures are not adjusted for inflation. The median forecast by economists was a 0.1 per cent increase in retail sales. For many Americans, the sharp drop in gasoline prices has boosted their consumer confidence. But even so, widespread and persistently high inflation is eroding wages, forcing many to rely on credit cards and savings to make ends meet, which will pose a drag on consumption in the coming months.

• Crude oil came out of a half-year trough at the end of three consecutive days, and crude oil inventories in the United States fell sharply last week.

Yields on two-year Treasuries, which rose more than 10 basis points in intraday trading, gave up most of their gains after the release of the Fed minutes after the dollar index, which was close to a two-week high, turned lower. By Wednesday's close, the dollar index was above 106.6, up more than 0.1% on the day, and crude oil ended three consecutive days out of a half-year trough. WTI September crude oil futures closed 1.83 per cent higher at $88.11 a barrel, while US EIA crude oil inventories fell 7.056 million barrels last week and US crude oil exports rose to record levels. New York gold futures closed down 0.7 per cent at $1776.7 an ounce, a two-week low.

• Goldman Sachs Group: if the Iranian nuclear agreement is reached, the oil price in 2023 is expected to be reduced by about 15 US dollars per barrel.

Goldman Sachs Group said that if an Iranian nuclear deal is reached, Iran will need about 12 months to comprehensively increase oil production. The bank estimates that Iran will increase its production to 3.7 million barrels a day from the current 2.7 million barrels. It may take months for exports to pick up. Without sanctions, Iran could export about 2 million barrels of oil a day. Goldman Sachs Group said that if an agreement is reached, the price of Brent crude oil is forecast to fall by about $15 a barrel next year. Brent crude is currently trading at about $92 a barrel, down about 13 per cent in the past month.

• EU energy prices continue to rise to the highest level on record

The latest figures show that energy prices are rising across Europe, with no end in sight. The EU's annual energy inflation rate reached 41.1% in June, up 14.1 percentage points from the beginning of the year. Natural gas rose the most, with an average inflation rate of 51.4%, an increase of 10.7 percentage points from the beginning of the year. Energy inflation is the highest since the consumer price coordination index (HICP) was first released in 1997, according to Eurostat.

Review of US stocks

• The three major indexes of US stocks collectively closed down, while Chinese stocks continued to be under pressure.

All three major stock indexes closed down on Wednesday.The Dow fell 0.5%, the s & p 500 fell 0.72%, and the Nasdaq fell 1.25%.

Us technology stocks continue to declineAmong them, Tesla, Inc. fell about 1 per cent, Amazon.Com Inc and Alphabet Inc-CL C fell about 2 per cent.

Chinese stocks continued to be under pressure on Wednesday.The Nasdaq China Golden Dragon Index fell 2.24%. IQIYI, Inc. fell by more than 6%, Zhihu Inc. by more than 4%, NIO Inc., Pinduoduo and BABA by more than 3%, and Baidu, Inc. by more than 2%.

• Saudi sovereign wealth fund PIFQ2 holds a position: Lucid is the number one heavy stock, Jiancang Microsoft Corp and Alphabet Inc-CL C

The Saudi sovereign wealth fund Public Investment Fund (PIF) submitted its position report for the second quarter ended June 30, 2022, according to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The total market capitalization of PIF's positions in US stocks was $40.817 billion in the second quarter, down 6 per cent from the previous quarter. In the top five heavy stocks$Lucid (LCID.US) $It still ranks first, accounting for 42.68% of the portfolio.Activision Blizzard (ATVI.US) $The market value of the position is about $2.949 billion, accounting for 7.22% of the portfolio.Selected Public Utilities Industry Index ETF-SPDR (XLU.US) $It accounts for 5.67% of the portfolio.Electronic Arts (EA.US) $、$UBER TECHNOLOGIES INC (UBER.US) $Ranked fourth and fifth respectively, with a market capitalization of $1.948 billion and $1.49 billion respectively. PIF also built positions in the second quarter.$Microsoft Corp (MSFT.US) $、$Alphabet Inc-CL C-A (GOOGL.US) $、$Blackrock (BLK.US) $、$The Home Depot Inc (HD.US) $、$Amazon.Com Inc (AMZN.US) $Wait for individual stocks.

• Ryan Cohen pre-disclosure of documents required for clearance of 3B home

After Wednesday's trading, Ryan Cohen, chairman of $GME.US $and shareholder of $3B Home (BBBY.US), submitted its 144th form disclosing all 3B home shares it might liquidate. What needs to be explained here is that the main reason for the doubling of 3B Home shares this week is that Cohen subscribed for call options with an exercise price of $60 to $80 when the company's share price was only $16, which also sparked heated discussion among retail investors and followed suit. So after the news that Cohen might sell 3B household shares, the company fell 18.33% by the end of the day.

• Apple Inc may release iPhone 14 on September 7th.

Mark Gurman, a well-known technology journalist, posted on Wednesday that$Apple Inc (AAPL.US) $The first product launch this fall will be held on Sept. 7, when the iPhone 14 product line and three latest Apple Watch models will be unveiled. Then at the October press conference, the new iPad and iPad Pro with M2 chip will also be unveiled. According to the usual practice, Apple Inc will announce the relevant news a week before the official press conference.

• Manchester United's share price soared, and the Glazer family considered selling a minority stake after Musk joked about the acquisition.

$Manchester United (MANU.US) $Shares rose more than 7 per cent at one point on Wednesday on reports that the Glazer family, the owner of the football club, might be willing to sell a minority stake. The Glazer family are reported to have held early discussions about the sale of a stake in Manchester United. According to the report, the Glazer family are not ready to give up control of Manchester United, but are weighing the options of new investors and have had some preliminary discussions on the possibility of introducing new investors. Discussions are under way and it is uncertain whether the Glazers will decide to sell their shares, according to people familiar with the matter. Representatives of Manchester United and the Glazer family declined to comment. Musk said on social media on Tuesday night local time that "I want to buy Manchester United, you're welcome", but quickly clarified that he was only joking, saying that "buying Manchester United" was an old Terrier on Twitter and that he would not buy any sports team.

• The US court ordered Walmart Inc and other companies to pay compensation of 650 million US dollars for encouraging opium abuse.

On Wednesday, local time, a federal court in Ohio ruled that CVS Pharmacy, Walgreens and$Walmart Inc (WMT.US) $The judge said the three companies contributed to the local opium crisis by paying $650 million in batches to two counties in Ohio over the next 15 years. After the verdict was announced, all three companies expressed dissatisfaction with the verdict and intended to appeal.

• The second largest retailer in the United StatesTarget CorpProfits plummeted by 90%

Before Wednesday's trading, the retail giant in the United States second only to Walmart Inc$Target Corp (TGT.US) $In the second quarterly report, revenue was $26.037 billion, up 3.5% from the same period last year, below market expectations; net profit was $183 million, down nearly 90% from the same period last year. As of Wednesday's close, Target Corp closed down 2.69 per cent.

• FDA approves gene therapy for thalassemia

The US FDA announced on Wednesday that it had approved$bluebird bio (BLUE.US) $Gene therapy Zynteglo. The drug is used to treat type B thalassemia at a cost of $2.8 million per patient. According to the company, there are about 1500 patients with this rare disease in the United States, of whom 850 meet the health standards for using the drug. According to Bluebird Biology, because the disease needs to be treated with blood transfusions, a patient's lifetime treatment costs up to $6.4 million under conventional treatment in the past. Although Bluebird biological rose more than 20% at one point after the news was announced on Wednesday, it fell back quickly and finally closed up 3.04%.

Yesterday's turnover of US stocks TOP20

The Prospect of Hong Kong City

• Beishui sold nearly HK $1.1 billion of Meituan and bought more than HK $300m of China Electric Power against the market.

Southbound Capital sold a net HK $2.405 billion, while Meituan-W, Hang Seng China Enterprises and Kuaishou Technology-W received a net sale of HK $1.068 billion, HK $1.007 billion and HK $543 million respectively. China Electric Power gained a net purchase of HK $313 million against the trend. Xuhui Holdings Group and Byd Company Limited received a net purchase of HK $106 million and HK $55.96 million respectively.

• Tencent: Q2's revenue is 134.034 billion yuan, down 3% from the same period last year.

$Tencent (00700.HK) $For the first half of 2022 and Q2 results, the first-half income is about 269.505 billion yuan (the same as the same unit below), down 1% from the same period last year; the gross profit is about 114.941 billion yuan, down 8% from the same period last year; the profit attributable to the company's equity holders is 42.032 billion yuan, down 53% from the same period last year; basic earnings per share are 4.407 yuan. In 2022, Q2 revenue was about 134.034 billion yuan, down 3% from the same period last year; gross profit was 57.867 billion yuan, down 8% from the same period last year; profit attributable to the company's equity holders was 18.619 billion yuan, down 56% from the same period last year; and basic profit per share was 1.951 yuan.

• Wuxi Biologics's medium-term adjusted net profit increased by 60.3% to 2.835 billion yuan.

$Wuxi Biologics (02269.HK) $According to the announcement, in the six months ended June 30, 2022, the company's earnings increased by 63.5% year-on-year to RMB 7.206 billion, while the group's gross profit also increased by 48.6% to RMB 3.413 billion. The net profit attributable to the owners of the company was 2.535 billion yuan, an increase of 37.6% over the same period last year. And the adjusted net profit attributable to company owners increased by 60.3% to 2.835 billion yuan compared with the same period last year.

• ZTO Express: after Q2 adjustment, the net profit increased by 38.2% to 1.8 billion yuan and the package volume reached 6.2 billion pieces.

$ZTO Express-SW (02057.HK) $According to the announcement, in the second quarter of 2022, revenue was 8.6567 billion yuan ($1.2924 billion), up 18.2 percent over the same period in 2021; gross profit was 2.2028 billion yuan, up 31.6 percent over the same period in 2021; net profit was 1.7587 billion yuan, an increase of 38.2 percent over the same period in 2021; and adjusted net profit was 1,758.7 million yuan, an increase of 38.2 percent over the same period in 2021. In the second quarter of 2022, the number of packages was 6.203 billion, an increase of 7.5 per cent over the same period in 2021.

Focus today

Key words: the number of people applying for unemployment benefits in the United States, the minutes of the Fed's monetary policy meeting, NetEase, Inc, Cisco Systems and others released financial reports.

On Thursday, investors can followThe number of Americans claiming unemployment benefits at the beginning of the weekData such as the Philadelphia Federal Reserve Manufacturing Index, the total annualized sales of existing homes, the monthly rate of the Chamber of Commerce's leading indicators, and so on.

The number of initial claims for unemployment benefits in the US in the week ended Aug. 6 was 262000, compared with a previous figure of 260000 and a market estimate of 263000, according to data released by the Labor Department on Thursday. The number of US jobless claims rose for the second week in a row, close to its highest level since November, indicating that the labour market continues to slow.

Financial reportHong Kong stock$Geely Automobile (00175.HK) $、$Ping An Healthcare And Technology (01833.HK) $、$NetEase, Inc-S (09999.HK) $, US stocks$Cisco Systems (CSCO.US) $The financial results will be announced.

In terms of new sharesHong Kong stock$Shuangcai (02321.HK) $The winning result will be announced.

Niuniu morning reading:

Make the trend your friend.

-- Peter Lynch