London Metal Exchange (LME): aluminum stocks decreased by 2,500 tons, copper stocks decreased by 75 tons, nickel stocks decreased by 2,862 tons, lead stocks decreased by 2,250 tons, tin stocks were flat, and zinc stocks decreased by 1,300 tons.In 2023, the trade volume between the mainland and Macao increased by 4.3 times compared with that before the reunification. At the regular press conference held by the Ministry of Commerce today (12th), spokesman He Yadong introduced that by signing CEPA and its series of agreements, the mainland has fully liberalized its trade in goods and basically liberalized its trade in services. According to statistics, in 2023, the trade volume between the mainland and Macao was 3.84 billion US dollars, an increase of 4.3 times compared with that before the reunification. By October 2024, the mainland had absorbed a total of 23.93 billion US dollars of direct investment from Macao, and the mainland had invested 14.19 billion US dollars in Macao.Nordic United Bank: The risk of the European Central Bank cutting interest rates by 50 basis points cannot be ignored. Nordic United Bank said that the European Central Bank may cut interest rates by 25 basis points again, but there is also a significant risk of cutting interest rates by 50 basis points. The differences within the Committee have intensified again, and it is not easy for Lagarde to get another consistent compromise. A possible compromise is to cut interest rates by 25 basis points, and at the same time, some guidelines are given, indicating that as long as the ECB's benchmark view remains unchanged, it may cut interest rates again in January. Our benchmark expectation is still to cut interest rates by 25 basis points before the meeting in April next year, when the deposit interest rate is expected to reach 2.25%.
Turkish Defense Ministry source: Syrian allies continue to advance in northern Syria to "eliminate terrorism".Russia is willing to engage with the United States on the Ukrainian issue. Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Zacharova said at a regular press conference on the 11th that Russia is willing to engage with the United States on the Ukrainian issue, but has not received any "serious suggestions" from the team of President-elect Trump.The RMB exchange rate is expected to appreciate again at the end of the year. The research team of the Financial Market Department of Agricultural Bank of China said that the market transactions have shown obvious narrative-driven characteristics in recent years. Considering some recent changes, the RMB exchange rate is expected to stabilize and rebound again in the future. First, the pricing of Trump transactions in the international market has come to an end. Second, there has been a major shift in domestic macro policies. Since late September, financial policies such as lowering the RRR, cutting interest rates, supporting the stock market and the real estate market, and fiscal debt measures have boosted market confidence. Third, there has been a favorable change in supply and demand in the domestic foreign exchange market. The end of the year is the traditional peak season for enterprises to settle foreign exchange, and the continuous forward discount will lead to the backlog of foreign exchange settlement, which will further amplify the demand for foreign exchange settlement at the end of the year. Further considering the overall situation of the game between China and the United States, Trump's return not only means the enhancement of external shocks, but also the upgrading of internal policies. The RMB exchange rate will maintain two-way fluctuations next year, and it is no longer a steady profit for enterprises to hold US dollars and postpone foreign exchange settlement. While stabilizing domestic foreign trade and foreign investment, continuing to expand high-level opening-up and expanding domestic demand in an all-round way implies the certainty of economic stabilization and recovery, which is expected to promote the return of short-term securities investment and medium-and long-term direct investment and help the RMB stop falling and rebound.
Han Yong's bribery case of illegally accepting property of more than 261 million yuan was heard in the first instance. On December 12, 2024, the Nanning Intermediate People's Court of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region held a trial in the first instance to hear the bribery case of Han Yong, former deputy director of Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference Population, Resources and Environment Committee and former party secretary and chairman of Shaanxi Provincial Political Consultative Conference. The Nanning Municipal People's Procuratorate sued the accusation: From 1993 to 2023, the defendant Han Yong took advantage of his position as Party Secretary and Procurator-General of Songyuan Municipal People's Procuratorate of Jilin Province, Party Member and Deputy Procurator-General of Jilin Provincial People's Procuratorate, Deputy Secretary of Jilin Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection, Standing Committee of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Party Committee, Minister and Deputy Secretary of Organization Department, Party Secretary and Chairman of Shaanxi Provincial Political Consultative Conference, and the convenience of his authority and position to help relevant units and individuals in business operation, project contracting and cadre appointment. The procuratorial organ requested Han Yong to be investigated for criminal responsibility for accepting bribes.IEA Monthly Report: Despite the rising demand, the oil market will be fully supplied in 2025. The International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Thursday that although OPEC+extended the reduction of oil supply and the demand forecast was slightly higher than expected, the global oil market will be fully supplied in 2025. In its monthly oil market report, the agency said that its forecast of global oil demand growth in 2025 was raised from 990,000 barrels per day last month to 1.1 million barrels per day, "mainly from Asian countries, especially affected by China's recent stimulus measures".LambdaTest received $38 million in financing, and Qualcomm Venture Capital participated in the investment. On December 12th, LambdaTest, a unified cloud testing platform, announced that the company had received $38 million in financing led by Avataar Ventures and invested by Qualcomm Venture Capital, with a total financing amount of $108 million. Founded in 2017, LambdaTest has raised nearly $70 million from investors in previous rounds of financing, including Premji Invest, Sequoia Capital India, Titanium Ventures, Leo Capital Holdings and Blume Ventures.