My Investing Muse (22Apr24) Layoffs & Closure news Walgreens Boots Alliance is laying off another round of workers, marking the fourth time the struggling retailer has had to do corporate personnel cuts within a year. - Supermarket News Tesla is planning to lay off 300 temporary workers at its German plant near Berlin as part of plans to cut global staff, Business Insider reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter. - Reuters Citibank laid off 2,000 employees after a reorganization. Headcount at Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and PNC Financial, declined by about 2,000 jobs combined in the three months ended March 31. - Reuters Morgan Stanley Is Planning Biggest China Job Cuts in Years. About 50 investment bankers in APAC ex-Japan may lose jobs. China, HK bankers accou

News and my thoughts from the last week (22 Apr 2024) Charlie Munger Gave His Family Fortune To The 'Chinese Warren Buffett' Li Lu Who Turned It Into Over $400 Million Dollars — 'Unholy Good Returns' China unloads more US Treasury bills as odds of Fed rate cuts grow slim. With the Federal Reserve suggesting interest rate cuts are unlikely in the immediate future, China has unloaded more of its US Treasury holdings - SCMP Epson closure of Tuas plant in Singapore - CNA IMF Steps Up Its Warning to US Over Spending and Ballooning Debt. Annual report credits unsustainable spending for US growth. US fiscal stance risks global financial instability, IMF says. - Bloomberg JUST IN: Ft. Worth Texas' tallest building is facing foreclosure just 3 years after the buyer acquired the buildingThe 40-s

Public Holidays There are no holidays in Singapore, Hong Kong, China and America for the coming week. Economic Calendar (22 Apr 2024) Notable Highlights New home sales will bring insight into the current status of US real estate. S&P global US manufacturing PMI will bring about an understanding of the manufacturing outlook for the US. S&P Global Services PMI will bring an understanding of services production for the US The most watched economic data in the coming week will be the PCE price index. This is the main index that the Federal Reserve used as a reference for inflation in America. Should this continue to trend upwards, it will be more difficult for the Federal Reserve to impose a fat pivot or a drop in interest rates. US GDP results will also be

My Investing Muse (15Apr24) Layoffs & Closure news ConvergeOne blamed rising interest rates and a downgraded credit rating as reasons for its recent financial struggles. The company has $1.8 billion in debt, and it reported $1.525 billion in revenue for 2023. - Reuters A popular West Coast pizza chain Mod Pizza shuttered five of its California locations shortly before the state enacted its new minimum wage law this month that raises fast-food workers’ pay from $16 an hour to $20. - NYPost More layoffs hit logistics which is the blood of the economy. over 1300 layoffs hit logistics companies across US - FreightWaves The Associated Press (AP) reported last week that 614 Apple employees were notified in late March that they would be laid off effective May 27. - HCAMAG The job elimination

News and my thoughts from the last week (15 Apr 2024) U.S. large caps saw $15.8 billion of outflows in the week, while stocks in general saw outflows of $19.6 billion, Bank of America said in its weekly round-up of flows in and out of world markets using EPFR data. - Yahoo Finance IRAN BANS ALL SHIPS LINKED TO ISRAEL “Starting today, all vessels linked to the Zionist regime are banned from operating in the Oman Sea and the Persian Gulf. Any such vessels found in these waters will be confiscated.” - From X user ShaykhSulaiman Iran launched dozens of drones at Israel on Saturday but they will take hours to reach their targets. An attack that may trigger a major escalation between the regional archenemies, with the U.S. pledging to back Israel. - Reuters MSC Aries was taken by Iran. This wou

Market Outlook of S&P500 - 15Apr24 Technical observations of the S&P500 1D chart: The MACD indicator is on a downtrend from the past week and this should continue into the coming week. Chaikin Money Flow (CMF) has hit below the zero line. This can be seen as a bearish signal with more selling volume. Interpretation of CMF from the CFI website: When there is a continuous buying period (when the CMF value is sustained above zero), the trend is considered bullish and indicates that price will continue to rise with the trend. When there is continuous selling pressure (CMF value below zero), this points to a bearish trend, indicating price will continue downward.Higher readings, either positive or negative, indicate a stronger trend. Increasing readings indicate gaining momentum.Cro

Public Holidays There are no holidays in Singapore, Hong Kong, China and America for the coming week. Economic Calendar (15 Apr 2024) Notable Highlights In the coming week, US core retail sales and retail sales data will be released. These data will highlight the current state of consumerism in the USA. There will be an important GDP update coming from China. This is important data not just for China but also for the rest of the world as China is still deemed to be the world's factory. Philadelphia Fed manufacturing index will be released in the week. This data highlights the expansion or contraction of the manufacturing sector. Existing home sales data will be a good barometer of real estate status. Initial jobless claims will also be a key

News and my thoughts from the last week (08 Apr 2024) Can America afford another war front or fund another war? Will the USA run out of both money and bullets? Are there sufficient arms left for defence? Should there be an international or local authority that monitors the development of AI and requires AI solutions with decision-making automation to have identification so that we can establish ownership and accountability? In the world of AI, he/she who controls the algorithm controls the world 12% of the world tries to define a view of China through their media. China is here as a global power and there is no stopping them. I hope that we can mix our opinions with travel. With working from home, the impact will spill over from commercial real estate (CRE) to retail, F&B and even cit

Public Holidays Singapore celebrates Eid al-Fitr (Hari Raya Puaa) on 10 Apr 2024 (Wed). There are no public holidays in Hong Kong, China and America in the coming week. Economic Calendar (08 Apr 2024) Notable Highlights The most watched data in the coming week from the economic calendar will be CPI. The CPI is also known as the inflation indicator. A forecast of 3.4% CPI year on year is on the cards. Should the figure turn out to be higher, the market is expected to turn bearish and vice versa. There will be updates of 10-year note auctions and 30-year bond auctions. These are part of the Federal Reserve funding the spending deficit. Initial jobless claims will also be a key macro data that the Federal Reserve will look into as they ponder the next interest rate decision Crude