Asia seems to have a fondness for political dynasties. This week we look at members of two such clans that are trying to get their parties back into power after years in the wilderness. We’ll also look for clues about the path ahead for big tech companies and global food prices. But first…
(Bloomberg) — Asia seems to have a fondness for political dynasties. This week we look at members of two such clans that are trying to get their parties back into power after years in the wilderness. We’ll also look for clues about the path ahead for big tech companies and global food prices. But first…
The big toro: A four-week rally in Chinese equities is set to culminate in a bull market when trading reopens on Monday, with travel and box office data signaling consumers threw off Covid fears during the weeklong Lunar New Year holiday and are spending big again. Strategists say the rally has plenty of room to run.
The big data: We should get the first broad picture of China’s rebound after the end of Covid Zero, with numbers from purchasing managers showing the breakout of the service sector during the Lunar New Year vacation. Manufacturing should also improve, taking into account the holiday shutdown. In Japan, weaker US and European demand could hit industrial production. On Friday, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization will publish its monthly World Food Price Index.
The big downshift: The Federal Reserve is widely expected to maintain the slower pace of interest-rate hikes with a quarter-percentage point on Feb. 1 as the business of predicting a recession becomes ever murkier. The European and UK central banks follow with decisions the next day.
The big budget: India’s budget on Feb. 1 may see the government targeting a deficit of 5.9% of GDP in fiscal 2024, even as it ramps up spending and incentives to develop manufacturing. For the current year ending in March, higher tax revenues should keep the budget shortfall to around 6.4% of GDP, below target.
The big trek: In an effort to dent the enduring-popularity of India Prime Minister Narendra Modi and restore the image of the once dominant Congress Party, Rahul Gandhi, has been on a 2,170 mile trek from one end of the country to the other, ending in the icy north of Kashmir on Monday. It’s a deeply symbolic march to try to show the scion of India’s most famous political dynasty is one of the people, but will it work?
Read: The Global Economy Needs a New Powerhouse. India Is Stepping Up
The big clan: Paetongtarn Shinawatra is bidding to become the fourth member in her family to become Thailand’s prime minister. The 36-year-old daughter of Thaksin Shinawatra is confident her party can win a “landslide victory” in elections slated for May. This is her plan.
The big purge: Malaysia’s Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi on Friday purged some of his biggest rivals in the United Malays National Organisation. Will it help reverse the dramatic decline in a party that once dominated Malaysian politics?
The big earnings: Japan’s big banks kick off third-quarter results with this fiscal year’s top performer Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group reporting after the bell on Monday, with the sector expected to outperform overall. After Microsoft Corp.’s miserable revenue forecast and a slew of layoffs in Big Tech, watch results from Naver Corp. and other Asian technology stock to see how far the contamination has spread to Asia. Much of the attention though may focus on the big tech companies in the US, with Alphabet, Apple, Meta, AMD and Qualcomm all reporting.
The big match: Serbia’s Novak Djokovic, 35, faces Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas, 24, at the Australian Open final today, looking for his 10th title at the tournament. Such athletic longevity can be yours too for $2 million a year, according to this regenerative medicine team.
Have a youthful week.
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