After two quiet years, 2025 is likely to see a series of initial public offerings. We discuss which stock markets will likely see new listings in this episode. We then look to China and discuss the January contraction in manufacturing output as well as DeepSeek's AI chatbot that has rocked Wall Street and Silicon Valley. Finally, we evaluate Germany's future in the face of a minority government and a zero-growth economy.

To start off this episode, we give a brief run-through of the current situation on Southeast Asia's residential property market. Then, we dive into the Chinese government's newest attempt to stabilize the stock market by requiring state-run insurers and mutual fund managers to increase their equity investments. Finally, we look towards the West where US President Donald Trump returns to the White House with his "opportunistic" approach towards domestic and foreign policy.

To kick off this year, we look back at the major market movers of 2024 and identify 2025 megatrends. Here at Lundgreen's, we see megatrends as market developments that merit consistent monitoring in terms of how they evolve and influence domestic and global markets.

We are keeping an eye on five megatrends for 2025 which we discuss in this episode.

Watch the video episode here.

Before we head off and celebrate the holidays, we end the year dissecting the merger talks of Japanese carmakers Honda and Nissan amid the global EV race. We also tackle the impact of the US Fed's rate cut and forward guidance, China's plan to boost domestic consumption for 2025, and Germany's snap elections in February on the global financial markets. 

We're counting down to the holidays and to the changing of the guard in the US. Amid increased volatility, we look into China's way forward in boosting private consumption, the mainland's antitrust probe on Nvidia, and the fate of the strong dollar policy under incoming Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. We also look at the Philippines' new tax refund scheme for foreign tourists. 

We discuss Trump's vow to block Nippon Steel's acquisition of US Steel and how the policy is more symbolic than progressive, as well as net equity inflows into the UK after three straight years of recording net outflows. We also give comment on the financial markets' reaction to South Korea's flip-flop on martial law and the collapse of the French government following the ouster of Prime Minister Michel Barnier. 

Hear about the US Federal Reserve's slow approach towards further rate cuts, Japan's $250-billion economic stimulus that includes cash subsidies for households, the reaction of Chinese markets to Trump's threat of imposing bigger tariffs on his first day back at the White House, and the unfolding political chaos in France in this episode.

This time around, we talk about Indonesia's ban on the sale of iPhone 16s and Apple's USD 100-million offer to re-enter this market, new missile attacks and conversations towards a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine, global producer price movements and the impact on inflation, and the relative strength of the US dollar in recent weeks. 

Major economies are on the spotlight in this episode. The discussion involves Germany's political transition that's unsupportive of growth; Thailand adding two holidays in 2025 hoping to spur domestic tourism; and the ways forward for China and the US amid an intensifying tariff war, a squeezed  middle class, and elevated public debt. 

This episode puts the spotlight on the US elections, such as the winners and losers across business segments and the Trump effect on the stock and bond markets. We also discuss China's tax mandates for wealthy individuals and corporations and BYD's edge in the global electric vehicle race, as well as Germany's political fallout.