28th November 2025

MACRO

CME Trading Halted on Data Center Cooling Issue

Trading of futures and options on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange was halted Friday due to a cooling issue at CyrusOne data centers. The halt affected contracts including US crude oil futures and palm oil. (Wall Street Journal)

Trump Floats Eliminating Income Tax

US President Trump said on Thursday his administration may slash income tax completely over the next couple of years because of government revenue generated from tariffs. (Reuters)

Trump Announces Migration Pause

Trump said on Thursday his administration will work to permanently pause migration from all “Third World Countries” to allow the US system to fully recover. (Reuters)

US Thanksgiving Online Sales Strong

Online sales in the US on the Thanksgiving holiday are expected to rise 6% compared with last year to reach $8.6 billion, data from Salesforce showed on Thursday, suggesting shoppers were lapping up steep discounts from retailers to splurge amid tariff-induced macroeconomic uncertainty. (Reuters)

Japan Ruling Coalition Secures Majority

Japanese PM Sanae Takaichi’s ruling coalition added three independent lawmakers, securing a majority in the powerful lower house of parliament ahead of two key budget votes. (Bloomberg)

Japan Inflation and Output Keep BOJ Hike on Track

Tokyo’s inflation held steady and industrial output unexpectedly rose, keeping the Bank of Japan on track to consider an interest rate hike in December or January. Japan’s two-year government bond auction Friday was met with weak demand, as rising expectations of a near-term BOJ rate hike sapped investor appetite. (Bloomberg)

Japan Increases Short-Term Debt Issuance

Japan plans to increase its issuance of short-term debt to help finance PM Takaichi’s economic package, a move that comes as markets grow uneasy about fiscal discipline and upward pressure on super-long yields. The cabinet approved a ¥18.3 trillion ($117 billion) extra budget, with ¥11.7 trillion covered by fresh debt. SMBC Nikko Securities analyst said the size of two-and five-year bond issuance “seems manageable, and should be easily absorbed by the market.” (Bloomberg)

Foreign Investors Return to Japanese Stocks

Foreigners bought a combined net 690.9 billion yen of Japanese stocks and index futures for the week ended November 21, the most since October 10. The Topix fell 1.8% for the week. Goldman Sachs estimates rising tensions with China may shave about 0.2 percentage point off Japan’s GDP growth if tourism and consumer goods exports to China decline. (Bloomberg)

Hokkaido Nuclear Plant Wins Governor Endorsement

The only nuclear plant on the Japanese island of Hokkaido has won the crucial endorsement of the local governor, bringing the restart of atomic power generation a step closer in the country’s northernmost region. Japan’s unemployment rate was unchanged at 2.6% in October. (Bloomberg)

China Vanke Troubles Raise Contagion Concerns

Some Chinese government bond traders are concerned debt troubles facing Vanke, once China’s largest builder by sales, may impact bond demand and potentially trigger a cascade of redemptions from fixed-income funds. Analysts note the PBOC could use government bond purchases to add cash into the market, if needed, to avoid possible contagion. (Bloomberg)

China Factory Sector Expected to Contract Again

China’s factory sector data (due Sunday) likely shrank for an eighth month in November, according to a Reuters analyst poll, highlighting the dilemma facing policymakers over whether to press ahead with tough structural reforms or roll out further stimulus amid faltering domestic and external demand. (Reuters)

China Leadership Calls for Risk Prevention

China’s top leadership called for effective prevention and mitigation of all types of risks to ensure social stability. The Politburo stressed the need to refine social governance system, maintain a strict stance on anti-corruption, and promote deepening reform. (Bloomberg)

European Inflation Mixed Picture

French inflation unexpectedly remained unchanged in November (against expectations for a rise), while Spain’s eased less than analysts had anticipated, highlighting the mixed picture for prices in some of the region’s biggest economies. (Bloomberg)

Germany Approves Military Spending

German lawmakers are set to approve spending €2.9 billion ($3.4 billion) on 11 military procurement contracts, including for drones, rifles and missiles, in deals that will go largely to domestic manufacturers. (Bloomberg)

UK Property Market and Fiscal Concerns

UK home sales fell over the four weeks ended November 23 as buyers stayed away over fears of higher property taxes in the budget. Investors are anticipating a “radical” shift away from long-term borrowing by the UK government, after it said it was considering selling more short-term Treasury bills. The pound is likely to slump as the UK approaches a tipping point where tax hikes no longer bring in extra money for the government, according to hedge fund manager Stephen Jen. (Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, Bloomberg)

Canada Cabinet Resignation Over Alberta Deal

Canadian PM Mark Carney faces his first major political setback, as a member of his cabinet stepped down Thursday after Carney cut a deal with the energy-rich province of Alberta that suspends environmental rules aimed at curbing oil-and-gas carbon emissions. (Wall Street Journal)

Swiss Business Gifts to Trump Under Scrutiny

Two Swiss lawmakers asked prosecutors to examine whether gifts by Swiss business leaders to US President Trump—including a Rolex watch and a gold bar—violated Switzerland’s anti-bribery laws, although a source close to the delegation said they complied with the laws of both countries. Swiss voters are poised to reject an inheritance tax proposal targeting super-rich residents, mindful of the risk of an exodus from one of Europe’s most alluring havens for billionaires. (Reuters, Bloomberg)

Sweden Growth Surges

Sweden’s economic growth surged to its fastest pace in over two years, suggesting the nation’s central bank may need to raise interest rates sooner than its policymakers are signaling. (Bloomberg)

GEOPOLITICAL

US Signals Venezuela Land Operations

The US will “very soon” start taking action to stop suspected Venezuelan drug traffickers on land, US President Trump said on Thursday. (Reuters)

Ukraine Anti-Corruption Probe Escalates

Ukrainian anti-corruption watchdogs on Friday raided the office of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s top adviser Andriy Yermak in a bombshell development to a snowballing graft probe. (Politico)

China Continues Pressure on Japan Over Taiwan Comments

Japan has yet to show remorse for or retract PM Takaichi’s comment about Taiwan despite multiple stern representations from China, the People’s Daily newspaper says in a commentary published Friday. (Bloomberg)

Israel-Syria Border Flareup

Several Israeli soldiers were wounded in a deadly overnight battle with militants during an operation inside Syria, one of the worst flareups near the countries’ border this year. (Bloomberg)

EQUITIES

OpenAI Data Center Partners Amass $100 Billion in Debt

OpenAI’s data centre partners are on course to amass almost $100 billion in borrowing tied to the lossmaking start-up, as the ChatGPT maker benefits from a debt-fuelled spending spree without taking on financial risks itself. (Financial Times)

Memory Chip Supply Fears Drive Long-Term Agreements

Cloud giants from the US and China are gobbling up memory chips for data centers, with several now seeking 1-year or 2-year long term agreements amid fears there won’t be enough memory chip production next year. (DigiTimes)

Nvidia CEO Huang in Taiwan

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang is in Taipei with his wife and daughter on a quiet Thanksgiving trip, his 5th visit to Taiwan this year and just a few weeks after attending TSMC’s Sports Day. He will reportedly visit TSMC founder Morris Chang. (UDN)

JPMorgan’s Dimon Approved London Tower After UK Assurances

JPMorgan’s Dimon approved London tower after UK assurances. (Financial Times)

Nexperia Urges China Unit to Restore Chip Flow

Nexperia has urged its China unit to facilitate production and restore the flow of chips, warning that customers are facing imminent stoppages. The Dutch chip maker said in an open letter Thursday that it hasn’t received any meaningful response from its Chinese unit despite multiple attempts to re-establish dialogue. (Wall Street Journal)

Baidu Layoffs Amid AI Competition

Baidu started layoffs this week that will hit multiple business units, as the company struggles with intensifying competition in artificial intelligence and declining advertising revenue. However, Baidu is emerging as one of China’s key AI chip players, positioning itself as a challenger to Huawei as both look to fill the void left by Nvidia being kept out of the country. (Reuters, CNBC)

China Vanke Downgraded

S&P Global downgraded China Vanke on Friday, saying the troubled property developer’s financial commitments are unsustainable due to its weak liquidity levels. (Reuters)

MediaTek Posts Best Week Since 2002

MediaTek shares posted their best week since 2002, as artificial intelligence advances at its client Google help reshape the growth outlook for the Taiwanese chipmaker. (Bloomberg)

Panasonic Hikes Capacitor Prices

Panasonic notified clients it will hike tantalum capacitor prices by up to 30% from February 1, 2026, as passive component prices continue to rise amid the buildout in AI data centers. (UDN)

SK Hynix Leads DRAM Market

SK Hynix topped the global market for dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) in the July-September period, maintaining its lead for three consecutive quarters. (Yonhap)

Deutsche Boerse Eyes Allfunds Acquisition

Deutsche Boerse said it is in talks with European fund-technology company Allfunds on a possible acquisition valued at around $6 billion. (Wall Street Journal)

JD.com Secures Ceconomy Takeover Nod

JD.com up on securing conditional nod for Ceconomy takeover. (Reuters)

‍