U.S. Markets Move Down; Cool off from Highs
U.S. stocks consolidated near all-time highs and after another bullish week for the global markets. A fall in consumer sentiment was seen in the U.S. showing that slowing economic growth may be seen in the coming months.
The S&P 500 set another intraday record high in a market still rallying on the back of liquidity. The European markets are also at fresh highs.
Stoxx Europe is up 0.22%
Dow Jones is up by 0.11%
NASDAQ is up by 0.015%
US Grants Covid Vaccine Booster For People With A Weakened Immune System
The US government has decided to give an extra dose of the Covid vaccine to people with weakened immune systems. USFDA (United States Food and Drug Administration) regulator has granted the emergency use authorization for a third injection of Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines as Covid Delta cases rise.
China Rejects WHO’s Call For A Probe Into Covid Origin
China on Friday rejected the WHO’s(World Health Organization) call for a renewed probe looking into the origins of Covid-19. Covid was first reported in Wuhan city of China and on Thursday the WHO asked China to share raw data of the earliest Covid-19 cases. China is under a lot of pressure due to the investigations on Covid origin that took the lives of millions.
Taiwan Upgrades Its Growth Outlook
Taiwan’s statistics office said on Friday the country will grow faster than expected and will be powered by exports. Gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to jump 5.88% this year, which will be the fastest in a decade. The previous growth forecast was 5.46% made in June. The exports in 2021 would rise 28.15% compared with last year, versus a previous prediction of 20.4%.
China’s Port Shutdown Brings Fears Among Other Ports
The latest shutdown at the Ningbo-Zhoushan port in China is bringing fear among major ports. The Port of Los Angeles is expecting a huge volume fall in the coming days because of the latest shutdown and will be similar to the fall that happened earlier due to the Covid outbreak at the Yantian port in China during June 2021.
Hong Kong Home Prices Break Levels Set Two Years Ago
According to the Centaline Property Agency, the resale house value in Hong Kong rose 0.65% for the week ended August 8. This is majorly due to supply shortage and low-interest rates and prices are expected to keep rising. The value of the residential property has increased 8.6% since the beginning of the year.
Baring PE Looking for $1 Billion Buyout of Straive
Private Equity firm Baring who just completed a $1.2 Billion buyout of Hinduja Group’s healthcare arm has its eyes on another company now. Straive, earlier known as SPi Global, is a content outsourcing company owned by Swiss buyout firm Partners Group.
Baring is looking to pay around $1 Billion(Rs 7,400 crores) for the Straive, which was bought by Partners Group for $300 Million(~Rs 2,220 crores) in 2017.
Hong Kong sees Economic Growth as Spending Recovers
Hong Kong has raised its economic growth predictions for 2021, with Gross Domestic Product(GDP) expected to grow at 5.5% to 6.5% this year.
This is higher than earlier estimates, and has been boosted by ‘consumption vouchers’ being distributed by the state worth HK$5,000 (~Rs 48,000) to boost spending. to encourage spending. This programme is expected to cost Hong Kong about HK$36 Billion(~Rs 34,000 crores) and give a 0.7% increase to this year’s GDP.
