China’s Growth Slows Due to Weaker Private Investment, IMF Warns

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Title: China’s Growth Slows as Private Investment Weakens, IMF Reports

Introduction:
China’s growth is experiencing a slowdown as a result of weakened private investment, slowing exports, and reduced domestic demand, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). This assessment, delivered by IMF spokesperson Julie Kozak during a briefing, highlights the recent decline in exports after a strong performance in the first quarter of the year. Kozak emphasizes that the overall outlook for China’s economy aligns with the IMF’s forecast from April, and anticipates that the organization’s updated forecast for China will be reflected in its next World Economic Outlook.

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Singapore’s economy managed to avoid a technical recession in the second quarter, exhibiting a year-on-year growth of 0.7% and a quarter-on-quarter growth of 0.3%, according to advanced estimates. Economists, who were polled by Reuters, had expected quarter-on-quarter growth of 0.3% and year-on-year growth of 0.6%. The first quarter had seen a contraction of 0.4% quarter-on-quarter and marginal growth of 0.4% year-on-year in the Singaporean economy.

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Michele Bullock, the deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), has been appointed as the new chief of the central bank, replacing Philip Lowe. The Australian Treasury announced this appointment and praised Bullock’s exceptional experience and expertise, as well as her fresh leadership perspective. Bullock’s promotion also means that a vacant deputy governor’s position will need to be filled by the government in the coming months.

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The top-performing sectors in the S&P 500 this week have been communication services and energy. The S&P 500 is expected to experience a 2.5% increase overall for the week, with all 11 sectors in positive territory. Within the communication services sector, tech giants Alphabet and Meta have made substantial gains, increasing by 4.2% and 7.8%, respectively. Energy, which has been negative for the year, experienced a standout 3.4% gain this week, with APA and Schlumberger leading the sector with increases of 10.5% and 7.6%, respectively.

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Coinbase, a cryptocurrency services company, witnessed a 2% rise in its shares during extended trading, following a nearly 25% gain during regular trading on Thursday. This increase came after a judge in the Southern District of New York ruled that Ripple’s XRP token is “not necessarily a security on its face,” providing hope for Coinbase’s own battle with the SEC. The ruling is seen as a significant hurdle to overcome in the second half of 2023, as the crypto assets and stocks face regulatory challenges and recent lawsuits from the SEC against Coinbase and Binance in June.

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Market sentiment suggests diminishing chances of the Federal Reserve raising interest rates after the release of softer-than-expected June producer prices, which followed Wednesday’s softer-than-expected June consumer prices. According to the CME’s FedWatch tool, the odds of fed funds standing at 5.50%-5.75% by the end of the central bank’s September 20 meeting fell to 11.1% on Thursday, down from 13.2% the day before and 27.5% one week prior. Furthermore, the likelihood of a quarter-point rate increase by the end of the November 1 meeting decreased to 18.9% from 26.7% on Wednesday and 40.2% one week ago. However, the opinion remains widespread, with a 92.4% consensus that the Fed will raise rates at its July meeting to push the benchmark rate to 5.25%-5.50%.

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Stock futures opened slightly lower on Thursday night, with futures tied to the S&P 500 falling 0.09%. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures decreased by 43 points, or 0.1%, and Nasdaq 100 futures slipped by 0.06%. This followed four consecutive trading days of gains for the major averages, with the S&P 500 closing at 4,510.04, a 0.85% increase. The Dow added 47.71 points, or 0.14%, closing at 34,395.14, while the Nasdaq Composite rose by 1.58% to end at 14,138.57.