4th December 2025

MACRO

Bessent May Become Top White House Economic Adviser

US President Trump’s aides and allies are discussing the possibility of making Treasury Secretary Bessent the top White House economic adviser—in addition to his current job—should the president pick Kevin Hassett as the next chair of the Federal Reserve. (Bloomberg)

Census Bureau Accelerates Economic Data Release Schedule

The US Census Bureau said on Wednesday it was adopting several strategies, including shortening the window for Principal Federal Economic Indicators collection, to get economic data back to their original release schedule “as quickly as possible.” (Reuters)

Trump Administration Tightens H-1B Visa Vetting

The Trump administration will increase vetting of applicants for H-1B visas, with a specific instruction to reject anyone who was involved in “censorship” of free speech. (Bloomberg)

BOJ December Rate Hike Expected

The BOJ is likely to raise rates in December with the government expected to tolerate such a decision, according to Reuters “government sources familiar with the deliberations”. BOJ Governor Ueda said there was uncertainty on how far the central bank could raise interest rates due to the difficulty of estimating the country’s neutral rate of interest. (Reuters)

Japan 30-Year Bond Auction Draws Strong Demand

Japan’s 30-year bonds gained after an auction of the tenor drew the strongest demand since 2019 as elevated yields drew investors. Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said on Thursday the government is closely watching market moves, including long-term JGB yields, after the benchmark 10-year yield rose to its highest since July 2007. (Bloomberg, Reuters)

Japan Inflation Expectations Surge

Bets on rising consumer prices in Japan are keeping a lid on bond yields when adjusted for inflation, reducing their ability to support the yen. The 10-year breakeven inflation rate surged to the highest in records stretching back to 2004, touching about 1.74% early Monday and remaining above 1.7% since then. (Bloomberg)

Japan Nikkei Rallies on Physical AI Bets

Japan’s Nikkei share average closed at a three-week high on Thursday, extending its rally for a third session, as robot makers led gains on bets that physical AI will fuel growth. (Reuters)

China Weakens Yuan Reference Rate

China set its daily reference rate for the yuan at a level that was significantly weaker than estimated by traders and analysts, suggesting the central bank is aiming to ease gains in the managed currency. (Bloomberg)

China Bond Yields Rise Ahead of Policy Meetings

China’s 30-year bond yield is heading toward the highest level in a year as investors withdrew from fixed-income funds, underscoring jitters ahead of high-level government meetings in Beijing that may shape policy into next year. (Bloomberg)

German Coalition Faces Existential Crisis

German Chancellor Merz’s unwieldy ruling alliance with the Social Democrats is facing an existential crisis of its own making that could trigger its demise after only seven months in office. A group of about 18 younger CDU lawmakers rebelled against a pension bill due to go to a final vote in the Bundestag. (Bloomberg)

France Urged to Cut Spending, Not Raise Taxes

France’s politicians must shift their focus from raising taxes to spending cuts to tackle the country’s deficit, the head of the state auditor has warned, as politicians struggle to agree on a 2026 budget. (Financial Times)

UK Investors Continue Stock Exodus

UK investors were net sellers of stocks for a record-extending sixth consecutive month in November, data from funds network Calastone showed on Thursday, as fears the government would cut tax advantages for investments in its closely-watched budget contributed to the cash-out. (Reuters)

UK Energy Network Investment Approved

Britain’s energy regulator has approved an initial £28 billion worth of investment in the country’s gas and electricity networks over the next five years, as it seeks to set a balance between upgrading infrastructure and keeping costs down. (Financial Times)

Franklin Templeton Sees 30-Year Gilt Yields at 6%

The UK government will struggle to fund spending, helping drive the yield on 30-year gilts to 6% in the coming year, according to David Zahn, head of European fixed income at Franklin Templeton. (Bloomberg)

Australia Consumer Spending Surges

Australian households went on the biggest spending binge in almost two years in October in just the latest example of economic froth that could mean the next move in interest rates is up rather than down. Australia’s fiscal position has deteriorated in the past year as rising expenses across federal, state and territory governments outstripped stronger-than-expected revenue, according to the Parliamentary Budget Office. (Reuters, Bloomberg)

New Zealand Building Activity Rebounds

New Zealand residential building rebounded in the third quarter, adding to signs the economy is recovering in response to central bank stimulus. (Bloomberg)

Denmark Raises Growth Projections on Novo Nordisk Strength

Denmark raised its growth projections for this year and the next, suggesting Novo Nordisk is able to fuel the Nordic economy despite mounting pressures on the pharmaceutical heavyweight. (Bloomberg)

Goldman Sachs Cautious on Copper Rally

Goldman Sachs injected some caution into the debate over copper’s prospects, saying its surge past $11,000 a ton will prove short-lived as there’s still more than enough metal to meet global demand. (Bloomberg)

GEOPOLITICAL

Japan PM Reiterates Position on Taiwan

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi reiterated the country’s long-held position that it understands and respects China’s view on Taiwan, a comment that some Chinese social media users saw as an attempt to walk back her recent remarks. (Bloomberg)

China Deploys Over 100 Naval Vessels in East Asian Waters

China is deploying a large number of naval and coast guard vessels across East Asian waters, at one point more than 100, in the largest maritime show of force to date. China is in the middle of what is traditionally a busy season for military exercises, though the People’s Liberation Army has not made any announcements of large-scale officially named drills. (Reuters)

EQUITIES

Salesforce Beats Earnings, AI Product Gains Traction

Salesforce beat on EPS and reported slightly soft revenue figures for the quarter but raised its full-year guidance as its AI product, Agentforce, gained some traction. It said more companies, including Williams Sonoma and SharkNinja, are adopting the AI agent to use for customer service and internal operations. (Wall Street Journal)

EU Planning Meta Antitrust Probe Over WhatsApp AI

The EU is planning a new antitrust investigation into Meta Platforms over its rollout of artificial intelligence features in WhatsApp, reflecting rising scrutiny of Big Tech’s use of generative AI on large platforms. (Financial Times)

Snowflake Margin Outlook Disappoints

Snowflake gave an outlook for operating margin that fell short of analysts’ estimates, raising concerns among investors about the profitability of new AI-based tools. Snowflake entered into a $200 million deal with the artificial intelligence startup Anthropic to make its large models available on the cloud-software company’s platform. (Bloomberg, Wall Street Journal)

TSMC Arizona May Accelerate Packaging Plant

TSMC Arizona may start building an advanced semiconductor packaging plant ahead of schedule on land currently set aside for fab P6, with equipment installation possible by end-2027 if construction is smooth. TSMC had originally partnered with Amkor to provide advanced packaging when its Arizona facility is ready, but that’s not expected to be until 2028. (Liberty Times Net)

Samsung Wins Half of Nvidia SOCAMM Chip Orders

Samsung Electronics secures half of Nvidia’s SOCAMM 2 chip orders for 2026. Samsung Electronics has finally passed the qualification test for HBM4 (High Bandwidth Memory), which will be mounted on Google’s next-generation AI chip, the TPU, and has completed the supply volume contract for next year. It is reported that Samsung has secured orders for more than three times the volume compared to this year, including the HBM3E previously supplied. (Korea Economic Daily)

Altman Explored Rocket Company Partnership

WSJ sources report OpenAI Chief Executive Sam Altman has explored putting together funds to either acquire or partner with a rocket company, a move that would position him to compete against Elon Musk’s SpaceX. The talks are no longer active. (Wall Street Journal)

Australia Implements Teen Social Media Ban

Australia’s internet regulator said a teen social media ban would be the first domino to fall in a global push to rein in Big Tech, as Meta’s Instagram, Facebook and Threads began locking out hundreds of thousands of accounts ahead of a deadline next week. (Reuters)

Chevron Cuts 2026 Spending Plans

Chevron expects to spend less than previously planned next year as the Texas oil giant focuses on profits over production growth with crude prices near the lowest since 2021. (Bloomberg)

Cambricon to Triple AI Chip Production

Chinese chip stocks outperformed after Bloomberg sources reported Cambricon Technologies plans to more than triple its production of AI chips in 2026. The Beijing-based company is preparing to deliver half a million artificial intelligence accelerators in 2026, relying primarily on SMIC’s latest production process, known as “N+2” 7-nanometer. However, SMIC’s technology may prove an obstacle to China’s domestic chip push. When it comes to Cambricon’s top-of-the-line 590 and 690 chips, the company is for now managing yields of just 20%. Bernstein analysts suggest China will be producing more domestically made AI chips than its own domestic demand by 2028, with Huawei taking 50% of China’s AI accelerator market next year. (Bloomberg)

Country Garden Shareholders Approve Debt Restructuring

Country Garden shareholders have approved a plan to issue around $13 billion in convertible bonds, as the struggling Chinese property developer restructures its multibillion-dollar debt. (Wall Street Journal)

Rio Tinto CEO Targets Cost Cuts

Rio Tinto’s new chief executive officer will target cost reductions and scale back capital expenditure in a bid to simplify the business. (Wall Street Journal)

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