A daily market update from FS Insight — what you need to know ahead of opening bell
“Time, for all its smuggling in of new problems, conspicuously cancels others.” — Clara Winston
Overnight
South Korea impeaches acting president, prolonging political upheaval WSJ
Germany’s president dissolves parliament, sets national election for Feb. 23 AP
US holiday retail sales stronger than last year, Mastercard says REU
Dozens dead in airliner crash ‘likely’ caused by Russian air defenses WSJ
Trump’s tariff threats are setting off a global supply chain ‘freakout’ BBG
Wealth of US private capital chiefs boosted by $56bn FT
China ousts two more generals as Xi’s defence purge widens ST
US chief executives are leaving the corner office in record numbers FT
Nippon Steel extends the closing date to acquire U.S. Steel as Biden decides its fate QZ
FTX executives shave serious time off their sentences CNN
China approves world’s largest hydropower dam in Tibet despite public pushback SEM
Former Citigroup chair Richard Parsons dies FT
Bald eagle officially declared US national bird after 250 years BBC
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| Date | Time | Description | Estimate | Last |
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| 1/2 | 9:45AM | Dec F S&P Manu PMI | 48.3 | 48.3 |
| Date | Time | Description | Estimate | Last |
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| 1/2 | 9:45AM | Dec F S&P Manu PMI | 48.3 | 48.3 |
MORNING INSIGHT
Good morning!
Though some are cautious after > 20% gains in back to-back years, we believe this should not be viewed in isolation, and we should also look at the year preceding that – or 2022.
Click HERE for more.
TECHNICAL
- SPX and QQQ have both rallied back to just shy of resistance.
- Charts of Equal-weighted S&P 500 and DJIA remain quite a bit weaker than QQQ, SPX.
- AAPL’s trend quite bullish, but could face resistance between 260-5.
Click HERE for more.
CRYPTO
The stopgap funding bill passed by Congress last Friday has implications for the crypto market, and so does yesterday’s altcoin price action.
Click HERE for more.
First News
Sir Henry Keswick died recently – November 6, 2024 to be exact. He had been managing director of Jardine Matheson, a long-established Hong Kong-based multinational conglomerate with origins dating back to the 1800s, when it was one of the major opium smugglers of the day. The company’s co-founder, William Jardine, played a large part in Hong Kong’s evolution from a fishing village into not just a global center of commerce, but also a major hub for smuggling. It was Jardine who convinced the British government to begin what is now known as the First Opium War, provided the strategy for the invasion, and suggested that the British should demand Hong Kong after China’s defeat – primarily because he knew Hong Kong would be an excellent port from which to base smuggling operations in Asia.
It still is. Smuggling in Hong Kong has evolved into other areas since Jardine’s lifetime – other illicit drugs, fancy French wines, counterfeit goods, cigarettes and cigars, gold – the list goes on and on. And while William Jardine was seeking to circumvent trade restrictions placed by the Dragon Throne of Beijing, modern-day smugglers increasingly see Hong Kong as the key to thwarting the sanctions and mandates imposed by Washington, DC.
Hong Kong has emerged as the center for the illicit trade in Nvidia’s cutting-edge H1000 chips, which are barred from sale to China. A flourishing trade has emerged in which purported customers based in countries Malaysia and Singapore purchase Nvidia chips and then smuggle them into Hong Kong, where Chinese buyers inspect them for purchase before bringing them into mainland China.
The U.S. Treasury Department has also highlighted Hong Kong’s role as a key link in the smuggling of military-grade technology to Russia (imposed after it invaded Ukraine), with multiple Hong Kong-based entities allegedly participating in various schemes to evade U.S. sanctions. In July, a Russian national was sentenced to three years in prison after pleading guilty to his role in another effort in this regard.
The so-called “Fragrant Harbor” is also active in the smuggling of Iranian oil to China. Numerous front companies and various shippers are alleged to be involved in transporting Iranian oil to its end destination in mainland China, and the port of Hong Kong is one of the transit points often used by Iran’s so-called shadow fleet of tankers.
Jardine Matheson has transitioned into a respected multinational conglomerate with a broad range of legitimate business ventures around the world. Hong Kong’s authorities repeatedly note that “smuggling is a serious offense” punishable by law through large fines and up to seven years in prison. But we suspect the late William Jardine would have been pleased to learn that smuggling remains alive and well in Hong Kong, even 181 years after his death. .
P.S. Fans of the author James Clavell (“Shogun“) might enjoy reading about the fictional trading house largely based on Jardine Matheson in Clavell’s novels Tai-Pan and Noble House.
