BRICS Scorecard

Morning Rundown

VBL

Jun 13, 2024

∙ Paid

Housekeeping: Good Morning.

Gold revaluation is a process, not an event

Today:

Commentary: BRICS, FED
Premium: Commodities, Fed, Oil

Session Recap:

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Comp closed at record highs on Wednesday even after the Federal Reserve signaled one rate cut this year, down from 3 in March.

Premium / Markets: Fed Day

BRICS Update

mBridge is operational and growing with the BiS as a part of it
Gold and the UNIT concept are being heavily discussed in certain circles close to adoption
Russia is driving the news cycle now and will continue to keep it in the eastern press.
The West will continue to ignore it
The US/SA dollar pact expired June 9th, making it less politically onerous for countries to transact in their own currencies
There will be trust issues down the road related to central counterparty custodianship of the Gold.. blockchain or not.

CPI/Fed Recap

The Fed left interest rates unchanged at 5.25-5.5%. Their updated forecasts leave 2024 growth and unemployment unchanged, but inflation projections are higher than previously thought as they signal they are on track to cut the policy rate only once this year. ING thinks they will start in September with a high chance they end up cutting rates by more. Treasuries, they think are on a rate-cut-build path unless negated by data/events

Aluminum and Copper

Our monthly report looks at the performance of iron ore, copper, aluminium and other industrial metals. In this month’s edition, we take a closer look at aluminium and discuss where we see prices heading in the second half of the year

`Continues in Premium…`

Market News:

"Federal Reserve officials penciled in just one interest-rate cut for this year, indicating most are in no hurry to lower rates, even after a widely watched report Wednesday showed inflation improved last month. Source: WSJ

"The consumer price index held flat in May though it increased 3.3% from a year ago. Source: CNBC

"Brussels will impose tariffs of up to almost 50 per cent on Chinese electric vehicles, brushing aside German government warnings that the move risks starting a costly trade war with Beijing. FT

"Apple briefly became the world’s most valuable company again, fueled by artificial intelligence enthusiasm. CNBC

Geopolitics:

Russian nuclear-powered submarine and other naval vessels arrived in Cuba for a five-day visit to the communist island in a show of force amid spiralling US-Russian tensions, according to AFP News Agency.
Hamas's request in advance for a guarantee of a permanent ceasefire complicates Gaza truce negotiations and the main sticking point in the hostage negotiation is the demand for an explicit pledge by Israel to end the war, according to The Times of Israel.
Hamas statement said it showed positivity in all stages of negotiations to stop the aggression
Iran is responding to last week's IAEA resolution against it by expanding uranium-enrichment capacity at two underground sites although the escalations are not as large as many feared, according to diplomats cited by Reuters.

Some headlines via NewSquawk or DataTrek