Economics

Another losing week for oil – despite growing optimism about a possible rate cut or cuts in the US.

A big week lies ahead for the markets, with US inflation, the global fallout from Friday's major computer outage, the Trump comeback, Biden’s fade-out, investor nervousness about big techs (with the start of some significant earnings reports), and the endless speculation about a looming rate cut, which seems to be firming up at long last.

There was no hiding place in gold as the global CrowdStrike/Microsoft outage plunged markets and businesses into chaos and confusion on Friday. Gold fell sharply, confounding bulls who expected it to firm as a ‘safe haven’ in volatile times like those seen in Friday's trading.

America’s June 30 quarterly reporting season accelerates this week with 138 S&P 500 companies (including seven Dow 30 components) scheduled to release results.

American analysts won’t say so, but some outside the US are—this week saw the start of what could end up being called the Great Trump Rotation as investors abandon stocks perceived to be in the way of the former President’s presidential ambitions, such as companies using products, importing them, or working with companies from Taiwan, China, or Europe.

If media and other reports are accurate, the European Union’s attempts to impose significant tariffs on imports of Chinese-made electric vehicles are encountering difficulties on two fronts.

Some analysis of the health of China’s depressed property sector in June attempted to suggest (almost desperately) that there was a hint of improvement in the data from the National Bureau of Statistics.

Netflix has again surprised doubters by revealing better-than-expected numbers for its second quarter.

Wednesday’s big tech sell-off saw the top three most valuable stocks in the US become two if you use the $3 trillion value line as the qualifier.

While global investors are increasingly confident that the global economy is headed for a so-called soft landing, they have lost some of their fears about inflation, according to the July Bank of America Global Fund Manager Survey, released on Wednesday.

For the second time this year, German sportswear maker Adidas has boosted its earnings guidance, continuing to defy analysts who forecast doom and gloom for the company after it cut ties with rapper Kanye West in late 2022 over anti-Semitic remarks he had made.

Shares in luxury goods maker, Burberry plunged 16% on Monday after a disappointing first-quarter performance saw it issue a profit warning, replace its CEO and axe its dividend.

There’s Elon Musk, wasting time endorsing Donald Trump while Tesla's share of US electric vehicle sales slowly falls below 50% for the first time in the three months to June.

Chinese steelmakers eased production in June, but output was still up by a marginal 0.2% from the same month last year. National Statistics Bureau data showed production dipped to 91.61 million metric tonnes of crude steel last month, compared to 92.86 million tonnes in May.

At the end of last week, OPEC remained bullish on oil demand, while US drillers were less optimistic, and US demand remained difficult to gauge, according to traders and analysts.

On Thursday, American investors received strong hints of growing malaise among Americans as PepsiCo, Delta Airlines, and food group Conagra all reported clear signs of weak consumer support for price rises and weakening sales volumes (or slowing ticket sales in the case of Delta).

China maintained a reasonable appetite for key commodities in June, but there was nothing to suggest confidence building for an upturn anytime soon.

More gains ahead this week for Wall Street after Friday's record session?

There’s a job lot of data and events this week to distract investors, but only the timid will care about them, especially when The Bull is striding the world’s bourses, driving momentum and turning the heads of investors large and small away from prudence and the growing list of warnings.

Gold steadied near seven-week highs at the close on Friday, while the dollar and yields weakened, despite a report showing US producer prices in June were slightly firmer than expected.

Boom, boom for the ASX 200 after last week’s surging end and solid gain for the five days. Another 50-point gain was penciled in for today after the overnight futures market ended strongly early Saturday (Australian time).

After two years of significant price rises and few apologies, US consumers are starting to get their revenge on corporate America, even as price pressures ease.

Chinese EV giant BYD is in the process of establishing an international network of plants and distribution facilities to circumvent the steep tariffs planned by the US and the European Union.

Winston Sammut, the Director Property of Euree Asset Management, gives his weekly take on the REITs sector.

Container shipping and the web of global transport services linked to it are entering the usual peak season for demand, but this year's scenario planning includes many questions about supply.

BP has increased its forecasts for oil and gas demand, signaling a slowdown in the transition to clean energy. In its annual outlook, the oil major highlighted that renewable power sources like wind and solar are not expanding quickly enough to meet the growing global energy demand.

The competition regulator, the ACCC, has launched Federal Court proceedings against The Good Guys Discount Warehouses (Australia) Pty Ltd for allegedly making false or misleading representations about their store credit and ‘StoreCash’ promotions, and failing to provide store credit to eligible consumers, in breach of the Australian Consumer Law.