Bill Ackman says Hong Kong dollar peg will break
Billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman questioned the sustainability of the Hong Kong dollar‘s peg to the greenback, adding that his firm Pershing Square has a big short position on the currency.
“Now we have a big notional short position against the Hong Kong dollar through the ownership of put options,” the Pershing Square Holdings CEO said in a series of tweets.
“The peg not is sensible for Hong Kong and it is simply a matter of time before it breaks,” Ackman wrote.
Nonetheless, currency strategist at Bank of Singapore Sim Moh Siong said the peg will remain resilient as negative sentiment regarding China has recently “calmed down” with recent adjustments including China’s quarantine period for international travelers.
“The peg is prone to hold on condition that the basics have continued to support the Fed,” he said. “I feel things might [have] calmed down somewhat on the China front and that would in turn also add to the resilience of the Hong Kong dollar peg,” he said.
–Jihye Lee
Grab, Gojek reply to Singapore’s move to expand job protection for gig staff
Grab said it broadly supports Singapore’s latest announcement to expand job protection and advantages for gig staff from 2024.
The choice includes guaranteeing injury compensation and pension payments as part of recent standards for the gig economy, primarily affecting delivery and ride-hailing firms.
In response to CNBC’s request for comment, Grab said it’s “broadly supportive” of the measures, adding the implementation must be “gradual,” citing current headwinds for the worldwide economy, reminiscent of recession concerns.
“We might be guided by these considerations to make sure minimum impact on our partners’ earnings and consumer prices,” said Grab.
The corporate called for the measures to be also applied to all gig platforms citing fairness concerns.
Gojek said that the measures requiring firms to align the Central Provident Fund pension contribution rates with that of employers “will mean less take-home earnings” for the gig staff, and that the corporate already has similar policies.
“These recommendations will construct on the present safeguards we’ve in place for our driver-partners, offered through our driver advantages program,” Gojek told CNBC.
– JP Ong, Sheila Chiang
Latest Zealand’s central bank discussed mountain climbing by 100 basis points, governor says
The Reserve Bank of Latest Zealand had considered a fair larger rate hike in making its latest official money rate decision – despite its move to boost rates by 75 basis points already being its steepest ever.
“I’d say we had more discussion around a 75 versus 100 than we had around a 50 versus a 75,” RBNZ Governor Adrian Orr said on CNBC’s “Squawk Box Asia.”
“Now we are able to say we’re unambiguously contractionary in our monetary position,” Orr said, “We should be, given the compacity of the economy at present,” he said.
– Jihye Lee
Foxconn says recent hires raised pay concerns, adds communication underway
Major Apple supplier Foxconn said that recent recruits to its iPhone factory in Zhengzhou “appealed to the corporate” with regard to compensation, in accordance with a statement on its website.
The statement comes after media reported a mass protest of tons of of staff seemed to be triggered by a delay in bonus payment, with videos circulating on social media showing people smashing surveillance cameras and windows.
“The corporate has emphasized that the allowance has all the time been fulfilled based on contractual obligation and can proceed to speak with relevant colleagues,” Foxconn said in its statement, adding that reports of Covid-positive employees residing within the factory’s dormintories is “patently unfaithful.”
“Regarding any violence, the corporate will proceed to speak with employees and the federal government to forestall similar incidents from happening again.”
Taiwan-listed shares of Hon Hai Technology Group, the formal name of Foxconn, traded 0.5% lower within the early Thursday session.
– Jihye Lee
Bank of Korea hikes rates by 25 basis points, meets expectations
The Bank of Korea raised its benchmark rate of interest by 25 basis points to three.25%, a smaller hike than its previous move and widely in keeping with expectations.
A Reuters poll of economists had expected the move amid signs of slowing domestic growth.
The nation’s inflation rate for October was 5.7%, in accordance with the newest figures released earlier this month – much higher than the central bank’s goal of two%.
BOK Governor Rhee Chang-yong is slated to carry a press conference later within the day on the monetary decision.
– Jihye Lee
CNBC Pro: Asset manager says investors must buy this large-cap stock immediately
There’s one large-cap stock that investors must buy into immediately, in accordance with Rob Luna, chief investment strategist at asset manager Surevest.
He calls its CEO a “significant visionary.”
While Luna has picked the one large-cap stock, he advised investors generally to reallocate into smaller names, naming two stocks that he called “best in breed.”
CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.
— Weizhen Tan
Stocks rise for second day as Wall Street cheers Fed signaling smaller rate hikes ahead
Stocks rose Wednesday and notched the second straight day of gains as investors cheered minutes from the Federal Reserve that signaled a slower pace of rate of interest hikes ahead.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 95.96 points, or 0.28%, to 34,194.06. The S&P 500 gained 0.59% to shut at 4,027.26 and the Nasdaq Composite increased 0.99% to 11,285.32.
Shares of Nordstrom fell 4.24% after the department store chain reaffirmed its forecast. Nonetheless, Nordstrom beat profit and sales expectations in its latest results, in accordance with consensus expectations on Refinitiv. Tesla rose 7.82% after Citi upgraded shares to neutral from sell. Deere surged 5.03% on an earnings beat.
—Carmen Reinicke
CNBC Pro: Betting against a British supermarket, short-seller expects nearly 50% collapse in share price
There’s more pain to return for investors in a British supermarket company if short-seller’s a prediction comes through.
The hedge fund currently holds a bearish bet value £32.6 million and expects shares in the grocery store to fall by 44%.
The fund’s chief investment officer also believes the supermarket will raise fresh capital by diluting shareholders 12 months after 12 months to maintain itself afloat in a difficult environment.
CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.
— Ganesh Rao
Fed minutes show smaller rate hikes ahead, stocks gain
Stocks rose Wednesday afternoon following the discharge of minutes from the Federal Reserve’s November meeting. The report showed that the central bank sees progress in its fight to lower inflation and expects to slow the pace of rate of interest hikes going forward.
“A considerable majority of participants judged that a slowing within the pace of increase would likely soon be appropriate,” the minutes stated. “The uncertain lags and magnitudes related to the results of monetary policy actions on economic activity and inflation were amongst the explanations cited regarding why such an assessment was vital.”
That signifies that the Fed will likely deliver a smaller rate hike in December and within the early months of 2023.
Markets cheered the news. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 130 points, or 0.38%. The S&P 500 gained 0.70% and the Nasdaq Composite increased 1.10%.
—Carmen Reinicke
