News about finance, currency, securities 8

 Chinese people spend 73.6 billion USD on luxury goods Last year, the Chinese spent 36% more of their budget on luxury goods, although it is not easy to travel abroad. Last year, sales of personal luxury goods in mainland China grew 36 percent year-on-year, to 471 billion yuan ($73.59 billion), a Bain & Company report said. Compared to 2019 - the time before the pandemic, this number is twice as high. Luxury sales grew despite a decline in China's overall retail sales since the pandemic began in 2020. Along with that, mainland China's share of the global luxury goods market Demand will increase 21% in 2021, from 20% in 2020. "We expect this growth to be sustained, making China the world's largest luxury goods market by 2025 - regardless of future international travel," the Bain & Company report said. determined. Sales of luxury leather goods increased by about 60%, followed by fashion and lifestyle with 40%. According to Bain experts, China remains the wor...

 Hong Kong lacks financial manpower because foreign workers leave Last year, Tania Sibree quit her job as a financial services lawyer in Hong Kong to return to Australia because she could not stand the draconian epidemic prevention regulations. Sibree, who has worked in Hong Kong for five years, is one of hundreds, if not thousands, of foreign workers who have left or plan to leave the city. This will threaten Hong Kong's status as a world financial center. "The isolation policy at the hotel makes it difficult for people to move. Everyone thought the restrictions would be lifted, things would get better and the situation wouldn't last until now," she said. Hong Kong currently has only 13,000 infections out of 7.4 million people, much lower than most parts of the world. However, this place must comply with China's Zero Covid policy, instead of living with the pandemic. Victoria Harbor in Hong Kong (China). Photo: Reuters Victoria Harbor in Hong Kong (China). Photo:...

 The Malaysian billionaire's yacht empire collapsed during the pandemic Genting Hong Kong failed to focus on Asia, where major markets, such as China, remained closed, pursuing a Zero Covid strategy. Lim Kok Thay opened a tour boat and yacht and casino business in the 1990s in Hong Kong, turning it into one of Asia's largest cruise operators. This is a job that serves his hobby, and is also a way to diversify the casino business that his father - Lim Goh Tong - founded in Malaysia. Under the direction of Kok Thay, now 70 years old, Genting Hong Kong expanded the number of boats, bought other companies and even bought German shipbuilders to build yachts for the company. But now, after more than 2 years of struggling in the pandemic, Kok Thay's company is about to stop doing business. Genting Hong Kong last week sent out a shutdown notice. It's one of the biggest cruise ship collapses since the pandemic emerged, and the clearest example of how the pandemic can bring down ...

 Pressure surrounds the US food supply chain Consecutively infected workers with Covid-19 make food production and transportation in the US increasingly stressful, and store shelves are difficult to fill. The US food supply chain is under new strain, as the Omicron variant causes workforce shortages in both processing plants and grocery stores, leaving gaps on supermarket shelves. Omicron has impacted the company's workforce more than any previous wave of outbreaks, said Eddie Quezada, Product Manager at Stop & Shop in Northport, New York. Year-to-date, one-fifth of employees have quit. On the supply side, earlier this month he received only 17 out of 48 boxes of strawberries ordered. "The domino effect is happening," he said. At a Piggly Wiggly franchise in Alabama and Georgia, about a third of the grocery chain's distribution center workers took sick leave during the first week of January 2022. The company's operations supervisor, Keith Milligan, said it has...

 US stocks reversed spectacularly The indices turned higher after falling 3-5% at the beginning of the session, as investors poured money into technology stocks. Closing the session on January 24, the DJIA rose 0.3% to 34,364 points, recording the first increase in 7 sessions. The S&P 500 closed up 0.3% at 4,410 points. The Nasdaq Composite rose 0.6 percent to 13,855 points. The indexes turned green after dropping sharply at the beginning of the session. Nasdaq Composite sometimes lost up to 4.9%. DJIA once dropped 1,115 points, or 3.25%. The S&P 500 fell into a correction zone, down 10% from its January 3 peak. Movement of the DJIA index yesterday. Movement of the DJIA index yesterday. Yesterday was one of Wall Street's most spectacular reversals in years. It was the first time since the 2008 financial crisis that the Nasdaq fell more than 4% in a session but still closed up. As for the DJIA, this is the strongest reversal since March 2020. Marko Kolanovic, chief equity st...

 Ukraine tension pulls world gold prices up Gold is currently trading around $1,843 an ounce, driven by strong haven demand. Closing the trading session on January 24, each ounce of world gold spot increased by 7.6 USD to 1,843 USD. During the session, the price at one point reached close to 1,828 USD. Prices rose as geopolitical tensions around Ukraine pushed up demand for haven assets. NATO says it is sending more forces in Eastern Europe as Russia increases its military presence on the border with Ukraine. World gold price movements in recent sessions. World gold price movements in recent sessions. "Ukraine is a positive factor for gold. Fed policy will eventually be cautious tightening, as the agency believes this is just a transition," Ed Moya, senior market analyst at brokerage firm OANDA said. US stocks yesterday sold off at the beginning of the session due to Russia-Ukraine tensions and expectations that the Fed would tighten monetary policy faster than expected to cu...

 New York mayor suffers from receiving salary in digital currency Bloomberg calculates Eric Adams is currently losing more than $900 after taking his salary in Bitcoin and Ethereum last week. In November 2021, when newly elected, New York City Mayor Eric Adams said he would receive his first three salaries in Bitcoin. After taking office on January 1, the mayor's office confirmed to Bloomberg that his first salary ($9,924) was converted into Bitcoin and Ethereum on January 21. Coinbase Global handles this conversion through a feature that allows users to transfer some or all of their salary to a digital wallet. Bloomberg calculates that if Adams paid the 40% tax, he would receive about $5,954. Based on the closing prices of Bitcoin and Ethereum on January 20, assuming the above funds are divided equally between Bitcoin and Ethereum, he has lost $923 as of January 24. New York City Mayor Eric Adams. Photo: Bloomberg New York City Mayor Eric Adams. Photo: Bloomberg Coinbase confirmed...

 Korea's GDP highest in 11 years South Korea's economy grew last year at its fastest pace since 2010 thanks to exports and construction. The Bank of Korea (BOK) said the economy grew 4% in 2011, the highest rate in 11 years. Compared with the decline of 0.9% in 2020, the Korean economy has recovered strongly but unevenly across sectors. While exports rose by the most in 11 years and construction flourished, consumption remained limited due to social distancing orders. Particularly in the fourth quarter of 2021, GDP increased by 4.1% year-on-year, higher than the average forecast of 3.7% according to a Reuters poll. In which, exports increased by 4.3% compared to the previous quarter. Consumers at a shopping mall in Myeongdong, Seoul on May 28, 2020. Photo: Reuters Consumers at a shopping mall in Myeongdong, Seoul on May 28, 2020. Photo: Reuters Sectors such as private consumption, construction investment and services increased by 1.7%, 2.9% and 1.3%, respectively. "People ...

 Bloomberg: Facebook's digital currency project is in danger of disbanding Bloomberg's source said Diem Association is considering selling the property to refund investors. The Diem Association is in discussions with investment banks about selling intellectual property and finding new places for engineers to develop the technology. In 2019, when Facebook first announced the idea of ​​​​issuing digital currency to revolutionize global financial services, they partnered with nearly 30 companies, creating the Libra Association. However, this alliance is not enough to protect the project from scrutiny by global authorities. After Zuckerberg was called to testify by the US Congress, some partners left the project. Libra also changed its name to Diem at the end of 2020. Diem's ​​ambitions dwindled. By last year, this Project Manager – David Marcus – left Meta. The consortium then partnered with Silvergate Capital to issue Diem, but opposition from the US Federal Reserve (Fed) mad...

 The richest man in Korea lost 7 billion USD after a series of scandals Brian Kim - founder and chairman of Kakao lost nearly half of his fortune because the company's stock has been falling for the past half year. The story of Brian Kim - founder and chairman of Kakao once attracted great media attention. From a poor background, having to share a room with all 7 family members, he surpassed Samsung heir Jay Y. Lee to occupy the richest throne in Korea in 2021. However, a series of scandals followed, causing Kakao stock to drop 48% since its June 2021 peak. The first is the Kakao monopoly concern. Then there was the Kakao Pay senior management selling shares not long after the IPO. Kim is also accused of tax evasion. Kim's fortune has therefore also evaporated $7 billion from there, down to $8 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. This fortune is obtained mainly from the 24% stake in Kakao. In March 2021, Kim and his wife signed the Giving Pledge, to donate mo...