Britain's GFK consumer confidence index was negative 17 in December, the highest since August, and negative 18 in November. The survey estimated that it was negative 18.Cathay Pacific: The number of the group has exceeded 30,000, and there will be more than 100 passenger destinations next year. On December 13, Cathay Pacific said that it had the largest recruitment in history in 2024, with about 7,000 new employees hired throughout the year, and the total number of employees in the group exceeded 30,000. With the total flight volume of Cathay Pacific and Hong Kong Express returning to the pre-epidemic level in January next year, Cathay Pacific announced that the two-year reconstruction trip will be completed soon, and there will be more than 100 passenger destinations next year. (Hong Kong Economic Times)Bank of Japan: The confidence index of large manufacturers rose to the highest level since March 2022.
Palestinian President meets Lebanese Prime Minister, stressing the implementation of Security Council resolutions to promote a comprehensive ceasefire. On December 12, local time, Palestinian President Abbas met with Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Mikati in Rome. The two sides discussed the situation in Palestine and Lebanon, agreed on the importance of strengthening efforts and unity, and stressed the need to implement UN Security Council Resolution 2735, promote a comprehensive ceasefire in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip, safeguard Lebanon's stability, peace and security, ensure humanitarian aid to enter the Gaza Strip, and realize the full withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Gaza Strip.BlackRock suggested that investors should consider allocating up to 2% in Bitcoin. BlackRock, an asset management company, reported that interested investors are advised to consider allocating up to 2% of their portfolio in Bitcoin. "We believe that investors with proper management ability and risk tolerance have reason to include Bitcoin in multi-asset portfolios," BlackRock's four-member senior management team pointed out in the report. Team members include Samara Cohen, Chief Investment Officer of ETF, and Paul Henderson, Senior Portfolio Strategist of BlackRock Investment Institute.Rio Tinto will invest $2.5 billion to develop a new lithium mine in Argentina, and Rio Tinto Group plans to invest $2.5 billion to develop a new lithium mine in Argentina, which is a victory for Argentine President Javier Millay, who is trying to loosen the control of the economy and attract foreign investment. The British company said in an announcement on Thursday that it plans to build a processing plant with an annual output of 60,000 tons of lithium carbonate in Rincon mine. Subject to permission, the construction of the facility will begin in the middle of next year.
Soochow securities: It is expected that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates by 25bps in December. According to the soochow securities Research Report, the CPI of the United States rebounded to +2.75% in November as scheduled, and the CPI that did not exceed expectations cleared the last obstacle for the Fed to cut interest rates in December. In the short term, the combination of low base and high viscosity means that CPI is expected to continue to rebound to +2.8% in December. In the medium term, Trump is expected to drive out illegal immigrants on the first day after taking office, which will aggravate the risk of stagflation in the labor market. However, the intensification of wage inflation stickiness may be concealed by the downward movement of non-agricultural centers in the same period, the expectation of increasing oil prices and the high base in the first half of 2025. The market's concern about "stagnation" may provide room for the Fed to cut interest rates smoothly in the first half of 2025. However, in the second half of 2025, the cumulative interest rate cuts will give support to the economy, the persistence of inflation stickiness and the landing of Trump's tax reduction policy will force the Fed to cut interest rates. It is expected that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates by 25bps in December, 25bps in March and June next year, and stop cutting interest rates in the second half of the year. The end point of the policy interest rate in 2025 is [3.75,4.0]%.This year's performance is the worst since the epidemic, and Starbucks will reduce the salary increase for its employees. An internal document shows that in view of the company's worst financial performance since the epidemic, Starbucks will reduce the salary increase for its coffee shop employees. According to different qualifications, this year's salary increase is generally between 2% and 3%, while last year's salary increase was at least 3%, and employees who have served for five years or more were at least 5%. The salary increase will take effect on December 30, and employees will see the change of payroll on January 10 or January 17.The yield of China's 10-year government bonds fell below 1.80% at the beginning of the session, hitting a new record low.