The bonus battle at Tesla continues. Plus: Japanese stocks are on the rise, the Fed hits the pause button, European import tariffs also affect the German auto industry, gold shortage, and more.
Japanese stocks are on the rise Simon Morton-Grant, client portfolio manager of the successful CT (Lux) Japan Equities fund at Columbia Threadneedle, is particularly optimistic about the outlook for the Japanese stock market. Better corporate governance, rising inflation, and relatively low valuations are ammunition for further market gains.
Hedge funds remain a black box There have been very good hedge funds and very bad ones in history. Who falls into which category cannot be predicted due to the opacity of this market. This makes hedge funds unsuitable for individual investors, writes opinion maker Adam Grossman.
Fed keeps rates steady and expects one rate cut in 2024 The Federal Reserve has once again hit the pause button: the federal funds rate remains at 5.25% to 5.50%. The Fed is aiming for approximately one rate cut this year, instead of three. Inflation expectations have also been revised upward. Read the detailed report by IEX colleague Jasperien van Weerdt.
Europe imposes hefty import tariffs on Chinese EVs Chinese manufacturers of electric cars are being supported by the Chinese government with billions in subsidies. After months of investigation, the European Commission finds this to be true. Therefore, significant additional import duties are being imposed on electric cars made in China.
European import tariffs affect the German auto industry
Concerns surrounding Triodos and certificate trading Some four hundred Belgian investors are demanding that Triodos buy back their certificates, after the trading in them collapsed almost completely in recent years. The sustainable bank was forced to temporarily halt its certificate trading shortly after the outbreak of the coronavirus crisis, as its internal trading system hit limits when the supply of certificates exceeded demand.
Gold becomes an even scarcer commodity According to the World Gold Council, the gold mining industry is struggling to maintain production growth as deposits of the precious metal are becoming increasingly difficult to find. CNBC spoke with Chief Market Strategist John Reade of the World Gold Council. “We have never seen such high mine production as in the first quarter of 2024: 4% more than the previous year. But the bigger picture is that in fact a plateau was reached around 2017. Since then, we have not seen any more growth.”
Billion-dollar bonus for Elon Musk? “For EV maker Tesla (TSLA) boardroom drama will be on full display. On Thursday afternoon from its Giga Austin plant, Tesla will announce the results from shareholder votes on a number of key issues — most importantly, the status of CEO Elon Musk’s compensation”, reads Yahoo Finance. “While Wall Street expects Musk to secure his pay package, it won’t come without a battle.”
Slightly fewer bankruptcies in May In May, corrected for session days, eighteen fewer companies were declared bankrupt than in April, according to CBS. That is a 5% decrease. However, the underlying trend of the number of bankruptcies has been rising for over 2 years. In the first five months of 2024, over 40% more companies have been declared bankrupt than in the same period a year earlier.