In essence, China’s official buying has another unofficial buyer. This usually happens when a serious play is coming. Perhaps Geopolitical, perhaps stimulus, perhaps both.
More in premium…
EXECUTIVE ORDER- UNLEASHING AMERICAN ENERGY
Summary: No more Green New Deal, Less rules prohibiting ICEs, less bureaucracy for prohibiting oil and gas development, no more subsidies for Green projects. More oil drillling, more refinereies, more mining
Bottom Line: The changes unleash both demand and supply simultaneously which should translate to growth. Footnote for details1
US equities rallied on Tuesday after President Trump's tariff announcements were tamer than expected. Large caps lagged small caps: S&P 500 (+0.88%) vs. Russell 2000 (+1.85%). MSCI Emerging Markets (EEM) and MSCI EAFE (EFA) rose 1.07% and 2.02% respectively.
Market News:
"The Trump administration took its first steps Tuesday toward an expected lowering of regulatory barriers for [virtual] currency. In a long-awaited move from the digital assets industry, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced that acting Chair Mark Uyeda has launched a “[digital currency] task force” aimed at “developing a comprehensive and clear regulatory framework for [digital] assets.” During the presidential campaign, Donald Trump promised a [virtual currency]-friendly administration for the $3.7 trillion industry." Source: CNBC
"Huawei is seeking to grab a larger share of the Chinese market for artificial intelligence chips that is dominated by Nvidia, by encouraging local companies to adopt its rival processors for “inference” tasks. : FT
"Artificial intelligence has suddenly made electricity a hot commodity. No wonder major oil companies want a piece of it. WSJ
"Shares of [NFLX] soared more than 10% after the company posted earnings that beat on the top and bottom line after the closing bell Tuesday. CNBC
"Goldman Sachs is rolling out a generative AI assistant to its bankers,CNBC
Geopolitics/ Politics
Lebanese media report an Israeli drone attack in the Hasbaya area in southern Lebanon, north of Mount Hermon, via Kan 11's Kais.
"Israel is trying to extend the 60-day deadline for the withdrawal of forces from Lebanon by three days", according to Lebanese press cited by Israeli journalist Kai.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Ryabkov says as of today, there is a "small window of opportunity" for agreements with new US administration, via Interfax.
US President Trump said if Russian President Putin does not come to the table on Ukraine, it is likely that he would put sanctions on Russia, while he added that they are looking at the issue of sending weapons to Ukraine, as well as noted the European Union should be paying more on Ukraine and should equalise spending on Ukraine. Furthermore, Trump said he is looking to speak with Russian President Putin soon and told Chinese President Xi to help settle the Ukraine issue.
US Secretary of State Rubio and Japanese Foreign Minister Iwata discussed concerns over North Korea's political and security alignment with Russia and China's support for Russia's defence industrial base.
Australia, India, Japan and the US said they reaffirmed a shared commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific after the first Quad ministerial meeting of the new Trump presidency. Furthermore, the Quad countries strongly oppose any unilateral actions that seek to change the status quo by force or coercion, while they will meet on a regular basis in the coming months to prepare for the next leaders' summit hosted by India.
via Newssquawk
Data on Deck:
MONDAY, JAN. 20 None scheduled, Martin Luther King Jr. holiday
TUESDAY, JAN. 2 1 None scheduled
WEDNESDAY, JAN. 22 U.S. leading economic indicators
THURSDAY, JAN. 23 Initial jobless claims
FRIDAY, JAN. 241 Existing home sales and PMI data2
