Economy

2023-07-04 11:02:25

The Fed’s rate increases have made it more attractive for companies and households to send money out of China and invest it in the United States, in defiance of Beijing’s stringent limits on overseas money movements.

China pledged as part of the Phase 1 trade agreement with the United States three years ago not to seek an advantage in trade by pushing down the value of its currency. But the Biden administration’s options may be limited if China lets its currency weaken anyway.

Global debt

China has provided more than $500 billion to developing countries through its lending program, making it one of the world’s largest creditors. Many of those borrowers, including several African nations, have struggled economically since the pandemic and face the possibility of defaulting on their debt payments.

The United States, along with other Western nations, has been pressing China to allow some of those countries to restructure their debt and reduce the amount that they owe. But for more than two years, China has insisted that other creditors and multilateral lenders absorb financial losses as part of any restructuring, bogging down the loan relief process and threatening to push millions of people in developing countries deeper into poverty.

In June, international creditors including China agreed to a debt relief plan with Zambia that would provide a grace period on its interest payments and extend the dates when its loans are due. The arrangement did not require that the World Bank or International Monetary Fund write off any debts, offering global policymakers like Ms. Yellen hope for similar debt restructuring in poorer countries.

Human rights and national security issues

Tensions over national security and human rights have created an atmosphere of mutual distrust and spilled over into economic relations. The flight of a Chinese surveillance balloon across the United States this year deeply unsettled the American public, and members of Congress have been pressing the administration to reveal more of what it knows regarding the balloon. Mr. Biden’s recent labeling of China’s leader, Xi Jinping, as a “dictator” also rankled Chinese officials and state-run media.

American officials continue to be concerned regarding China’s human rights violations, including the suppression of the democracy movement in Hong Kong and the detention of mainly Muslim ethnic minorities in the Xinjiang region of northwestern China. A senior Treasury Department official, speaking on the condition of anonymity before Ms. Yellen’s trip, said the United States had no intention of shying away from its views on human rights during the meetings in China.

Chinese officials continue to protest the various sanctions that the United States has issued once morest Chinese companies, organizations and individuals for national security threats and human rights violations — including Sanctions once morest Li ShangfuChina’s defense minister. The Chinese government has cited those sanctions as a reason for its rejection of high-level military dialogues.

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2023-07-04 11:53:59

Toyota revealed that it has achieved a technological breakthrough in the field of solid-state batteries, which may contribute to the recovery of the electric car market.

According to what was reported by the newspaper The GuardianOn Tuesday, the company said its breakthrough allows it to cut the weight, size and cost of batteries in half.

It quoted the head of the Japanese automaker’s Carbon Neutral R&D Center, Keiji Kaita: “For both our liquid and solid-state batteries, we aim for a fundamental change (..) as the current batteries are too big, heavy and expensive. We aim to reduce all of these factors.” to half.”

Kaita said the company has developed ways to make the batteries more durable and believes it can now make a solid-state battery with a range of 1,200 km (745 miles) that can be charged in 10 minutes or less.

The company expects to be able to manufacture solid-state batteries for use in electric vehicles on a large scale by 2027 or 2028, according to the newspaper. Financial Times.

Solid-state batteries were usually more difficult and expensive to make, which limited their commercial applications.

But Toyota said it believes it can now streamline the production process, making solid-state batteries easier to produce than lithium-ion batteries.

David Bailey, professor of business economics at the University of Birmingham, said: “There are often breakthroughs at the prototype stage, but then it is difficult to scale them up.”

But he stressed that if Toyota fulfilled its promise, it might be a defining moment in the future of electric cars.

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2023-07-04 16:06:11

The Australian Central Bank fixed interest rates in July at 4.1%, once morest expectations of a 25 basis point hike to 4.35% levels.

In just two years, Australian interest rates jumped by 400 basis points, with inflation rising in the country and reaching in the fourth quarter of 2022 its highest level in 30 years at 7.8%, before slowing in the first quarter of 2023 to 7%.

“Further tightening of monetary policy may be required to ensure inflation returns to target within a reasonable time frame, but this will depend on how the economy and inflation evolve,” RBA Governor Philip Lowe said in a statement.

The decision comes following the central bank raised the cash rate by 25 basis points last month, a move it described as a “finely balanced” decision, according to the minutes of its June meeting.

“The decision to hold interest rates steady this month gives the board more time to assess the state of the economy, the economic outlook and associated risks,” Lowe said in a statement. He added that the central bank will continue to closely monitor developments in the global economy, household spending trends and inflation expectations.

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2023-07-04 15:31:26

Couche-Tard sees a more positive environment and plans to carry out three to four significant transactions over the next year. (Photo: 123RF)

What to do with the titles of Patriot Battery Metals, mdf commerce and Alimentation Couche-tard? Here are some recommendations from analysts likely to move prices soon. Note: the author may have a totally different opinion from that expressed.

Patriot Battery Metals Inc. (PMET, $15.05): Will exploration results justify expectations?

The firm that is active in the exploration of hard rock lithium in the James Bay region and which has gone from a “Penny stock” ($0.25) to a title worth more than $15 over the Last 18 months has just disclosed the results of the fourth quarter of its financial year 2023.

While these did not hold any surprises, Frederic Tremblay, an analyst at Desjardins Securities, indicates that attention should be focused primarily on the results of his exploration program at his flagship Corvette property, which should be known soon, as well as than on its drilling program for the summer and fall of 2023.

The analyst’s interest stems from his expectation that the initial resource estimate will confirm Corvette as the largest hard rock lithium deposit in North America.

Despite the temporary shutdown of its activities at its Corvette property due to the recent forest fires, the firm reiterates that it will be able to announce its initial results in July. Management will submit a request to the stock market authorities in the coming months to graduate from the Venture Exchange to the TSX.

In its fourth quarter, the firm suffered a loss of $0.02 per share, as forecast by the analyst. It used approximately $3 million of its liquidities for its operating expenses and approximately $12 million for its exploration investments. Having carried out a $50 million flow-through share issue, it ended the quarter with a cash position of $56.7 million compared to $19.3 million at the end of the previous quarter.

Beyond his forecast that the initial resource estimate will be large, Frederic Tremblay also likes the strong potential for resource expansion at the Corvette property.

He recommends the purchase of the security while specifying the speculative nature of this investment. Its 12-month target price is $21.

mdf commerce inc. (MDF, $3.54): the title is well evaluated

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