Something for the weekend.
(Bloomberg) — The sizzling summer has finally extended to, well pretty much everything. The stampede back into stocks lifted even the most dubious investments, a court win for a token was celebrated across the cryptoverse, and even China’s tech stocks had a good week.
Chinese Premier Li Qiang hailed the nation’s tech companies as “trailblazers of the era” after the government finally concluded its years-long probe into Ant Group and Tencent, spurring the rally. Will it be enough to make up for the $2 trillion rout? Here’s what fund managers are saying.
For Chinese real estate developers, July is also shaping up to be a make-or-break month. Evergrande and Logan Group are among those facing hearings in the coming days that could determine if they can continue operations while they seek to renegotiate billions of dollars worth of debt, decisions that could have a major impact on the rest of the sector.
One thing that might help tech sentiment is a charm offensive by America’s largest semiconductor companies to head off new curbs on sales to China. The chief executive officers of Intel, Qualcomm and Nvidia are among those traveling to Washington next week for talks with administration officials and lawmakers to lobby against extending restrictions.
Power plays between the US, China, Russia and India will be the undercurrent of the G-20 finance chiefs gathering this weekend in Gandhinagar, capital of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state of Gujarat.
Singapore may have managed to dodge a recession, but attention in the city state was more focused this week on a rare graft investigation involving a cabinet minister and one of the nation’s leading property tycoons.
It was a big week in Asia for rockets. North Korea tested a solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile that some observers believe could carry multiple nuclear warheads to the US mainland. On a more peaceful note, India launched an uncrewed mission to the moon, while Japan suffered another setback in its celestial ambitions when its Epsilon S rocket exploded during testing.
Expensive fares, long queues and congested airports have made air travel even more miserable post-pandemic. Add missing bags to that. Here’s how to spend your holiday tracking down your lost luggage.
Finally, remember the iconic $2 bill that was taped anonymously to the revolving door of Bear Stearns’ headquarters during the 2008 financial crisis after JPMorgan had agreed to buy the bank for $2 a share? Meet the pranksters who put it there.
Have a whimsical weekend.
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