Last Friday's surge in new US jobs went largely unnoticed by stock investors, but it caught the attention of those in the commodities market, particularly due to the jump in US bond yields and the strengthening of the US dollar.

The Reserve Bank is stepping into the spotlight this week, and investors and the general public can expect more than the usual level of noise from Tuesday afternoon onwards.

The Australian December half and full-year earnings season kicks off this week with several ASX 200 stocks set to reveal their figures. Property groups are leading the way, likely setting an unwanted tone of impairments and losses.

Last week, we witnessed more record-breaking moments in the US and Australian markets, while China faced an unwelcome five-year low, deepening its economic challenges.

A week before the start of China's Lunar New Year break on February 10, the country's stock market has experienced its worst performance in five years. Despite government support discussions for the market, property companies' concerns overshadowed the market due to the Hong Kong court's decision to order the liquidation of China Evergrande, the country's second-largest developer with $US328 billion in debt.

No rate cut is anticipated from the US Federal Reserve following the robust January jobs report and substantial revisions to December's figures.

Tech giants Meta, Amazon, and Apple reported their quarterly earnings after hours on Thursday, offering insights into the performance of some of the world's most influential companies.

Brazilian iron ore miner and exporter, Vale, may have regained the title of the world's top producer of the key steelmaking material in the 4th quarter of 2023. However, Rio Tinto remained the number one player throughout the year, both in production and, more crucially, in sales.

The outlook has further worsened for lithium, nickel, and other materials linked to electric vehicle manufacturing with the news of a significant move by Chinese car giant Geely to take control of the faltering Polestar business from Volvo.

Elon Musk is determined to secure his $56 billion in remuneration, recently denied by a Delaware Chancery Court decision, the favored court for numerous American businesses based in the state.

In January, China's factory sector continued to contract, underscoring the persistent challenges faced by the world's second-largest economy.

The quarterly CPI of 4.1% was under the forecast of 4.3%, but well ahead of the monthly figure for December of 3.4%.

When will the budget crack, and will all that silly spending on golf, soccer, and tennis be cut?

The chances of Elon Musk getting billions of dollars in shares to gain control of Tesla have suffered a significant setback. A judge in Delaware voided his extravagant $56 billion compensation package from the company.

Shares of China's biggest electric vehicle maker, BYD, fell more than 4% on Tuesday after its 2023 profit forecast indicated that it might face financial challenges similar to Tesla due to the intense price war.

Not so confident now in Hong Kong. After resisting the negative impact of Monday's news that China Evergrande had been put into liquidation with a rise of 0.8%, reality slammed into the market on Tuesday with a sharp fall in the Hang Seng index.

The decision by Pandora, the world's largest jewelry maker, to stop using mined gold and silver won't significantly affect gold demand. However, it will certainly impact the latter. P

Just as China was attempting to stabilise its fractured property sector, a Hong Kong court has dealt a blow by ordering the troubled developer, China Evergrande, to be wound up.

China's securities regulator announces a complete suspension of restricted shares lending effective today (Monday), in response to the recent sharp decline in Chinese shares, particularly last Monday.

A year ago, expectations for the performance of the US economy in 2023 were uniformly negative: a slowdown or recession, a surge in jobless numbers, weak earnings, and worse were predicted.

Wall Street capped off a successful week on Friday, marking its 12th winning week out of the last 13, as investors eagerly anticipated the Federal Reserve's upcoming decision and Chair Jay Powell's remarks. While the market closely watched the central bank, it was the quarterly reports from tech giants Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Meta, and Alphabet that stole the spotlight, potentially overshadowing the Fed's impact.