The following are some of the news items mentioned in the last few days:

  • Chancellor-in-waiting Merz has agreed with rival SDP to exempt defense spending above 1 percent of GDP from Germany’s strict constitutional borrowing limit, set up a 500B off-balance sheet vehicle for debt-funded infrastructure investment and loosen debt rules for states.
    • Analysts say that this deal could improve the Germany’s GDP growth to 2 percent next year
    • 10 Year Bund surged by 0.31 percentage points to 2.79 percent
    • the surge in Germany’s 10-year Bund yield is attributed to the government’s expansive fiscal plans, which are expected to stimulate economic growth but also necessitate increased borrowing, leading to higher yields in the bond market.
    • Debt brake - This is a statement written in Germany’s constitution in 2009, that limits the government’s capacity to take on new debt to 0.35 percent of GDP. It has been changed for defense spending now where country can make an expenditure of more than 1 percent of GDP and it is exempt from debt brake limitations
  • Turning award winners lament the funding freeze put in by Trump
    • In late January 2025, the National Science Foundation (NSF) implemented a temporary freeze on grant payments and suspended grant review panels. This action was in response to executive orders from President Donald Trump targeting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in federally funded programs.
  • Chinese president announced a growth target of about 5 percent for 2025
  • Trump policies spur feare of inflation alongside low growth for US economy
  • TSMC produces 90 percent of world’s most advanced chips, pledged to raise investment in Arizona from 65B to 165B USD
  • Deloitte says that staff should in the office atleast 2 to 3 days a week
  • China is a big market for Nvidia. It has made 12 B USD last year - a tenth of company’s annual total underscores the importance of China
    • With Sanctions on Huawei and SMIC, China is on its path to attain self-sufficiency in Chip manufacturing.
  • Private equity firms managed 4.7T in assets as of June 2024 - down about 2 percent from 2023
  • BlackRock takes over Panama Canal port
  • Oil prices tumble to three year low ($68.33) as concerns rise over a slow down in economic activity after Trump confirmed new trade tariffs this week on Canada, Mexico and China.
  • Trump’s embracer of Crypto threatens Wall Street business