Money Talks

The Chinese government plans to ease social distancing restrictions in major cities next month. And it can't come soon enough, with the lockdowns, including in major cities like Shanghai, causing a major economic slump. Government data show the world's second largest economy is on track for a contraction in the second quarter, as it deals with its worst COVID-19 wave since the beginning of the pandemic.

For more on the Chinese economy, we were joined by Guido Cozzi, who is macroeconomics professor at the University of St. Gallen.

#China #Economy #COVID-19

Cryptocurrency investors have lost hundreds of billions of dollars this week, and some currencies, like Luna, are facing an existential threat. The market had been contracting steadily since hitting record highs in November, but the sell-off intensified sharply, this week. Stable coins, which aim to maintain their value against major currencies like the dollar, were particularly hard hit.

We spoke to financial economist Alex de Vries for more on the crypto crash.

#Cryptocurrencies #StableCoins #Luna

In the Philippines, where President Rodrigo Duterte is leaving his successor Ferdinand Marcos Junior with an economy at the height of a post-pandemic boom. Consumer spending in the nation of 100M people has jumped, thanks to the relaxation of social distancing restrictions. Now the challenge for the incoming government will be solidifying those gains so the country is able to deal with future crises.

TRT World's Senior Business Producer Paolo Montecillo was in the Philippines this week and spoke to the governor of the country's central bank, Benjamin Diokno. They discussed the biggest achievements of the outgoing Duterte administration and the prospects for the domestic economy.

#Philippines #PhilippinesEconomy #BenjaminDiokno

In Europe, companies such as Volkswagen posted strong results for the first quarter, as operating profit before special items hit $541M. Things are not looking any better on the other side of the pond. In the US, the global shortage in semiconductor chips has been wreaking havoc on profits.

#AutoIndustry #ChipShortage #Earnings

European Union responses to Russia's attack on Ukraine with new round of sanctions. Since the conflict began on the 24th of February, the bloc has announced six rounds of sanctions that officials say are squeezing Moscow's revenues. While EU members are seemingly unwilling to turn off the taps on Russian energy immediately, Brussels says it's got a plan to end the EU's reliance on Moscow, by 2030.

For more on the story, independent analyst Neil Atkinson joined us from Paris.

#RussiaAttacksUkraine #Russia #EuropeanUnion

Oil prices extended gains on Friday but they are headed for their first weekly loss in three weeks. Investors are concerned that rising inflation and China's COVID lockdowns are slowing global growth. Supply concerns have eased for now, as the prospects of the EU quickly ending purchases of Russian fuel, are dimming.

Equiti Capital market analyst, David Madden joined us from London.

#OilPrices #Russia #OilEmbargo

Global equity markets continue to fall as investors fear rising prices may knock the wind out of consumer spending and job creation. The fresh round of selling began in the US after the Bureau of Statistics reported inflation at 8.3% for April. The tech-heavy Nasdaq fell 3% and the S&P 500 closed at its lowest level for the year. It is now down 17% since the start of the year. But the worst carnage is being felt by investors in the cryptocurrency markets. The price of Bitcoin is down nearly 9% while Ethereum has plunged by 13%.

For more on the markets, we spoke Victoria Scholar, who is the investment head at Interactive Investor.

#UnitedStates #Inflation #Cryptocurrencies

It's been one month since Shehbaz Sharif became prime minister of Pakistan, replacing Imran Khan. His government's biggest challenge has been to revive the country's faltering economy. But the coalition government is reluctant to take difficult and some say unpopular decisions. Kamran Yousaf has more in this report.

#PakistanEconomy #PakistaniRupee #ShehbazSharif

Shares in Asia-Pacific are in the positive territory, as investors react to higher than expected inflation in China. Producer prices in the country rose 8% year-on-year against an expected increase of 7.7%. The data comes as China battles its worst Covid outbreak since the initial phase of the pandemic in early 2020. Meanwhile, US stock futures are also higher ahead of a key inflation reading. Mega-cap technology names such as Apple and Microsoft, led gains Tuesday, after struggling through the last four sessions.

We had OANDA's senior market analyst, Craig Erlam to discuss more on inflation readings in China and the US.

#China #United States #Inflation

Asian stocks are under pressure once again as slowing demand from China, rising inflation and interest rates continue to dampen investor sentiment. Tech stocks are among the biggest losers. Industry giants Apple, Microsoft, Tesla and Alphabet have lost more than $1T over the last three trading days. Apple alone, the most valuable publicly-traded company, has seen its market capitalization trimmed by over $200B since Wednesday, when the Fed raised interest rates by a half percentage point.

AvaTrade chief market analyst, Naeem Aslam joined us from London to discuss more on global markets.

#StockMarkets #TechFirms #Apple