①In June, the CPI in the USA increased by 3% year-on-year, with an estimated increase of 3.1%; ②Apple reached a settlement agreement with the European Union and will open up its mobile payment technology to third-party payments; ③Saudi Aramco is reportedly issuing $6 billion in bonds, attracting strong demand.
On Thursday, after the release of the US June CPI data, the three major US equity index futures rose collectively. Major European indices rose across the board.
(Source: Investing.com)
The data released before the market revealed that the US June CPI increased by 3% year-on-year, with an estimated increase of 3.1%. The previous value was an increase of 3.3%. The US June CPI fell by 0.1% month-on-month, with an estimated increase of 0.1%. The previous value was 0%.
The US core CPI in June rose by 3.3% year-on-year, dropping to the lowest level since April 2021, with an estimated increase of 3.4%. The previous value was an increase of 3.4%. The US June core CPI rose by 0.1% month-on-month, reaching the lowest level since August 2021, with an estimated increase of 0.2%. The previous value was 0.2%.
This week, Federal Reserve Chairman Powell laid the groundwork for a rate cut in his speech to Congress, saying that cooling labor market means a potential source of inflation pressure has weakened.
Company news
Apple has reached a settlement agreement with the European Union and will open up its mobile payment technology to third-party payments.
Apple has reached a settlement agreement with the European Union and agreed to provide free access to its 'tap-and-go' mobile payment technology to competitors. The agreement will be binding for ten years, and if violated, Apple will face fines of up to 10% of its global annual income.
Two years ago, the European Commission accused Apple of preventing other mobile payment application developers from using its 'tap-and-go' technology, i.e. near-field communication (NFC) technology, thus impeding competition. In January of this year, Apple proposed that competitors use NFC technology on iPhones, iPads, and other Apple mobile devices for free, without using Apple Pay or Apple Wallet.
BHP: Global nickel market oversupply, Western Australia nickel industry will suspend operation from October
BHP announced on July 11 that the Western nickel business and the West Musgrave project (Western Australia nickel industry) will be temporarily suspended from October 2024. BHP intends to review the decision to suspend the Western Australian nickel industry before February 2027.
BHP said that the transition period will begin in July 2024, and operations will be suspended in October 2024. The temporary suspension transfer activities will be completed before December 2024. BHP explained that the decision to temporarily suspend the Western Australian nickel industry was made considering the oversupply in the global nickel market. The consensus for the next five years is that nickel prices will fall sharply to reflect the strong growth of alternative low-cost nickel supplies.
【BASF responds to giving up investment plan for Chilean lithium resources: the company regularly evaluates possible procurement opportunities for lithium resources】
In response to the withdrawal from cooperation with Wealth Minerals lithium resource project in Canada on July 11, BASF stated that its battery material business regularly evaluates potential lithium resource procurement opportunities to make thoughtful decisions. BASF said that preliminary talks were held with Wealth Minerals about lithium resource cooperation in Chile, which revolved around lithium resource procurement and did not involve investment in positive active materials, and the cooperation ultimately failed to materialize.
【Citigroup fined US$0.136 billion in the US】
Two US regulators imposed a $0.1356 billion fine on Citigroup, stating that the bank did not make sufficient progress in resolving long-standing internal control and risk issues.
The Federal Reserve and the US currency regulator separately announced that Citigroup did not fulfill its obligations under a consent decree regarding risks and control issues at the bank in 2020. Although regulators said Citigroup has made progress, the bank still has significant issues that require additional penalties from the currency regulator and the Federal Reserve.
【Saudi Aramco is reportedly issuing $6 billion in bonds, attracting strong demand】
On July 11th, the issuance of $6 billion in bonds by Saudi Aramco attracted more than $31 billion in subscriptions, the first dollar bond issuance transaction in three years for the company.
Sources revealed that Saudi Aramco issued 10-year and 30-year bonds, with the highest subscription size of both exceeding $11 billion. Saudi Aramco also issued 40-year bonds during the transaction. The strong demand allowed the company to reduce the spread of each bond by at least 35 basis points.
【Volkswagen is reportedly delaying the release of the electric car ID.Golf until 2029】
Volkswagen plans to postpone the launch of its electric car ID.Golf by 15 months to 2029. The T-Sport SUV will be delayed by almost three years until 2031 because the launch of the software architecture needs to be postponed.
Events to watch during the US stock market hours (Beijing time)
July 11th.
23:15, 2024 FOMC voting member and Atlanta Fed President Bostic participated in a Q&A session.
July 12th.
At 01:00, St. Louis Fed President Mester, a voting member of the 2025 FOMC Committee, will speak on the economy.