Category: Flash News

On December 21st, Carlos Ghosn, former chairman of Nissan, stated that the struggling Japanese automaker is seeking an agreement with Honda, indicating that the former is in a “panic mode”. This is a desperate move, “Ghosn said on Friday.” It’s not a pragmatic deal because frankly, it’s difficult to find synergies between the two companies. “Ghosn said negotiations with Honda regarding a potential merger indicate that Nissan is in a” panic mode. (Bloomberg)

On December 21st, Ukrainian Prime Minister Shmyjar announced in a speech before the Verkhovna Rada (parliament) on December 20th that Ukraine plans to stop transferring Russian natural gas to Europe through its natural gas transportation system from 7:00 am on January 1st, 2025. However, Shmeigar also stated that if the European Commission requests and meets a series of legal and technical conditions, it does not rule out the possibility of continuing to transport natural gas from Russia through Ukraine to Europe.

On December 21st, Volkswagen announced that it will lay off more than 35000 employees in Germany before 2030. The agreement reached will save over 15 billion euros in costs annually in the medium term, and has no significant impact on the expected guidance for 2024; We are looking for an alternative solution for the Dresden factory in Germany.

On December 21, Foreign Minister Ferdinand of Türkiye met with visiting German Foreign Minister Behlberg on December 20 local time. According to Türkiye’s diplomatic sources, the two sides focused on issues related to the situation in Syria. During the talks, Fedan said that Türkiye would never allow terrorist organizations, including the PKK, the People’s Protection Force and the extremist organization Islamic State, to take advantage of the current situation. It is hoped that all allies will respect Türkiye’s security concerns. (CCTV News)

On December 21st, Citigroup economist Andrew Hollenhorst believes that the Federal Reserve may be at a loss. Due to a 0.1% month on month increase in core PCE in November, price increases are slowing down, and the final rate cut by the Federal Reserve may exceed current expectations. In our basic assumption, a weak labor market would lead to the Federal Reserve cutting interest rates at every subsequent meeting. This view contradicts the market’s expectation that the Fed will pause interest rate cuts in January. But even if we are wrong, the sideways unemployment rate and slowing inflation are enough reasons to cut interest rates at least every meeting outside of January

On December 21st, the latest data released by the Silicon Industry Branch of the China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association showed that the price of polycrystalline silicon remained unchanged this week, with an average transaction price of 40300 yuan/ton for N-type recycled materials; The average transaction price of N-type granular silicon is 37000 yuan/ton; The average transaction price of P-type silicon material is 33100 yuan/ton. This week, there were a large number of orders signed by polysilicon companies, and the feedback from the companies was that all orders signed this week were small transactions. Since last week, there has been a significant differentiation in the signing strategies of enterprises, but this week it has been more pronounced. Some enterprises have indicated a slight decrease in transaction prices due to factors such as market supply and demand and their own inventory; In addition, some companies believe that under the stimulation of multiple factors such as industry self-discipline and pre holiday stocking, the market is expected to show a trend of “low prices disappearing, high prices detecting”, and transactions will increase slightly. (Securities Times)

On the evening of December 21st, the Japanese Ministry of Defense released a statement from the US military regarding the investigation into the leakage of harmful pollutants perfluorinated and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) at the Yokota base of the US military stationed in Japan. The US military stated that the flow of pollutants through underground drainage ditches to the southwest of the base may lead to pollutant leakage, but the possibility of pollutants flowing directly outside the base without drainage ditches is extremely low.

On December 21st, it was reported that the Palermo District Court in Italy acquitted Italian Deputy Prime Minister Salvini of charges of illegal detention and abuse of power for refusing to dock a non-governmental organization ship carrying refugees during his tenure as Minister of Interior. Italian Prime Minister Meloni stated that the verdict shows that the charges against Salvini are unfounded and that defending the country’s borders is not a crime. (CCTV News)

On December 21st, according to the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), as of the week ending December 17th, speculators’ net long positions in COMEX gold decreased by 16252 contracts, hitting a four week low at 203937 contracts. The net long position of COMEX silver held will reach 22078 contracts, hitting a new low in over nine months. The net long position of COMEX copper held will reach 6321 contracts, hitting a new low in over nine months. Switching to holding a net short position of 106 contracts in NYMEX platinum, setting a new 14 week high. The net short position in NYMEX palladium increased to 8924 contracts, reaching a 14 week high.

On December 21st, according to the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), as of the week ending December 17th, speculators’ net long positions in WTI crude oil increased by 57215 contracts to 161201 contracts, setting a new 12 week high. The net long position in WTI crude oil increased by 57215 contracts to 161201 contracts, setting a new 12 week high. The net long position in Brent and WTI crude oil increased to 296832 contracts, reaching a 21 week high. Our net long position in NYMEX gasoline is approaching 67104 contracts. Our net short position in NYMEX heating oil is approaching 32134 contracts. The net long position in seven US Henry Hub contracts for NYMEX natural gas increased to 113381 contracts, setting a new three week high.