Asean Food Cost Post Net-Zero Polices| China Weaker Yuan| Commodity Trader Worst Year

Market Updates

• Straits Times Index (SG) hits 17-year high.

• Markets anticipate U.S. inflation data won’t hinder rate cut next week.

• Adobe’s upcoming results critical to establish AI credentials.

• Xi gathers leverage for trade war with the US.

Net-zero policies in Asean may cause food production costs to jump 60% by 2050

Increased Costs: Net-zero policies in ASEAN could raise food production costs by 60% by 2050.

Energy and Labor: Higher taxes and regulations on fossil fuels will drive up energy and labor costs.

Region Impact: Indonesia will face the highest cost increase (58.9%), followed by Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand, and the Philippines.

Climate Change: Extreme weather events are already pushing food prices up in the region. [Learn more]

China’s weaker Yuan sends ripples across emerging market currencies

Weaker Yuan: China's yuan has weakened, causing a ripple effect across emerging market currencies.

Market Impact: The offshore yuan fell by 0.5% to 7.2921 per dollar, leading to the steepest one-day loss in a week and a half for an index of developing-nation currencies.

Economic Strategy: Beijing may allow further weakening of the yuan next year to counter potential US tariffs under President-elect Donald Trump.

Global Repercussions: The depreciation supports Chinese exporters but raises risks of capital outflows and financial instability in emerging markets. [Learn more]

Wall Street commodity traders set for worst year since pre-Covid

Worst Year Since Pre-Covid: Wall Street commodity traders are facing their worst year since before the pandemic, with revenues expected to drop to $10.6 billion.

Revenue Decline: This marks a nearly 20% decrease from last year's revenues, attributed to easing market volatility.

Market Turbulence: The trading boom driven by Covid-19 restrictions and geopolitical events has started to fade.

Bank Performance: Despite the overall decline, some banks like Bank of America have outperformed peers by investing in Asia and hedge funds. [Learn more]

Joke of the Day!

What do cows do on date night?

Go to the moo-vies.

(Share with me some of your favorite jokes to be highlighted in the next edition)

Generative AI Photo of the Day!

Prompt: A cool cow enjoying a movie night at an open-air cinema. The cow is wearing trendy sunglasses and a stylish fedora hat. It's sitting on a cozy blanket, munching on a large tub of popcorn with a content expression. The cow's front hooves are resting on a soda cup with a straw. Around it, there are twinkling fairy lights hanging from trees, creating a magical atmosphere. The movie screen in the background is showing an action-packed film, with other farm animals sitting nearby, also enjoying the show under a starry night sky.