“Copper… is trading more than 20 percent below its 52-week high, officially entering bear market territory… potentially signalling an economic slowdown is happening around the world.”
“”Dr. Copper,” as it is sometimes referred to by economists and finance experts, is often seen as a leading indicator of future economic trends since it is utilized in a number of different sectors. Copper is used in home construction and consumer products, as well as manufacturing.
“Ryan McKay, commodities analyst at TD Securities, said copper’s decline is the combination of several factors. “People are seeing weaker data in China, and trade wars are hurting demand,” McKay said. “It’s also dollar strength weighing on commodities as well.””
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/08/15/copper-hits-lowest-level-in-more-than-a-year.html
“A leading emerging market stock index extended its slump since January to 20 percent on Wednesday in a fresh wave of selling which took it into territory commonly regarded as a bear market. The scale of the fall in MSCI’s widely tracked 24-country emerging market index .MSCIEF is likely to be painful for many investors, given the index compiler estimates that more than $1.9 trillion of assets globally are benchmarked to the measure.”
“Brazil’s economy contracted 0.99 percent in the second quarter of this year, Brazil’s Central Bank said on Wednesday, citing the Economic Activity Index (IBC-Br).”
http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2018-08/16/c_137393462.htm
“Struggling to staunch a run on the peso that has helped drive the economy to the brink of recession, Argentina is aggressively pushing investors out of some of the local debt notes they hold.”
“South Africa’s retail sales figures for June surprised on the downside further raising the possibility of the economy has entered a technical recession last quarter.”
https://www.iol.co.za/business-report/economy/sa-economy-on-the-edge-16582644
“The Turkish lira rallied from record lows on Wednesday after Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani said Qatar was standing by its “brothers in Turkey” as he announced a $15bn investment into the country’s financial markets and banks.”
“As the Trump administration continues to ramp up economic pressure on Turkey, the U.S. President signed a policy bill which will restrict the delivery of F-35’s to the beleaguered NATO member.”
https://www.defenceiq.com/air-forces-military-aircraft/news/us-halts-delivery-of-f-35-to-tukey
“The Indian rupee fell 0.6 percent to hit a new record low of 70.32 against the U.S. dollar as the country’s trade deficit in July widened the most in five years, adding to the currency’s woes.”
“”The [South Korean] job market is the worst since financial crisis. The government’s big challenge is how to support the job market through fiscal policies,” Finance Minister Kim Dong Yeon said in a speech.”
“In the escalating trade war with President Donald Trump, China might be digging in its heels. According to a new report, China now appears willing to undertake a major currency devaluation – similar to the policy changes that roiled global markets in late 2015 and early 2016… In the past three months, China’s government has allowed its tightly-controlled currency, the yuan, to weaken by about 9%…”
https://www.thestreet.com/markets/china-might-be-ready-to-weaponize-currency-to-fight-trump-14684505
“According to shipping data quoted by Reuters, the combined oil imports of China and India—the countries solely responsible for buying 12 percent of the world’s oil—were 500,000 bpd lower in July compared to the average combined imports of 12.4 million bpd in January to June this year.”
https://oilprice.com/Energy/Crude-Oil/Oil-Demand-Growth-Starts-To-Weaken-In-Asia.html
“The escalating trade war with China is leading U.S. retailers to speed up the import of goods from Asia’s largest economy to avoid new tariffs and ensure they have adequate supplies for the winter holidays.”
“The pound has endured its longest losing streak against the dollar since the financial crisis a decade ago because of mounting fears that the UK will crash out of the European Union in March and amid signs that the economy is struggling to gather momentum.”
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/sterling-has-its-worst-run-since-crash-f8mq0m7td
“Fears are growing that Britain’s property bubble is about to burst. A string of indicators last night triggered concerns that the market is running out of steam – and could be heading for a correction or even a crash. Prices in London are falling at the fastest pace since the financial crisis – but the declines are not limited to the capital.”
“The price of Italian government bonds dropped sharply on Wednesday afternoon in a renewed bout of selling amid wider woes for risk assets… Jitters have repeatedly hit the €2tn market in Italian government bonds after the country’s populist Eurosceptic coalition government began negotiations on its debut budget earlier this month, something investors had previously not expected until the autumn.”
https://www.ft.com/content/c41f7d88-a09f-11e8-85da-eeb7a9ce36e4
Read the previous ‘Economy’ thread here.
