Hudson Lockett

An official position paper shrugs off critiques of overcapacity and ​lauds Chinese innovation for ​bumper sales abroad. But it ignores ⁠how policy has strangled domestic ​demand in the $20 trln economy. ​Beijing’s inability to overcome that gives Brussels little negotiating leverage.

Robot-maker Unitree's stock surged 629% ​on debut, giving it ​a $67 bln market value. ⁠That implies banker Citic ​left $1.4 bln on the table. ​Yet falling profits would have made a valuation of 860 times ​2026 earnings hard ​to justify. Blame Beijing’s tight supply ‌of ⁠new listings.

The $67 bln bourse's record earnings relied on equities surging past 50% of revenue. ​It seems counter to CEO ​Bonnie Chan's goal to be a ⁠big player in bonds, currencies, ​commodities and indices. Picking just one ​or two, perhaps with some M&A help, could speed up the process.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's ‌suggestion that the BOJ will raise rates in September has already led markets to price it in, ​undermining Japan's monetary independence. It shows US ​support for the yen carries conditions that ⁠could derail the prime minister's fiscal splurge.

Restarting reactors shut after a 2011 ​disaster could double atomic ​power’s share of total output ⁠to 20%, reducing fossil ​fuel imports. But it’s a ​glacial process. Access to Tokyo’s $2 trln spending plan could speed it ​up and even hasten ​the country’s broader energy transition.

It reads like setup for a bad political thriller: with war roiling the Middle East, China's strongman leader arrives in Washington for a high-stakes state visit with his American counterpart. The US president once vowed to tariff Chinese imports into oblivion, but now faces record-low approval ratings just before midterm elections and the expiry of a vital Sino-American trade truce. That means any landmark deal between the two superpowers could do more harm than good to the president's political prospects.

Regulators may water ‌down a new system that calculates end-of-day share prices after volatility spiked in the $5 trln stock ​market. But that would ignore the key ​lesson earlier adopters like Hong Kong learned: ⁠that boosting liquidity, while hard, is a ​more durable solution.

Extending the US-China trade truce by a less-than-expected two months ​makes it harder for ​businesses to plan ahead. Lower levies ⁠on $30 bln of goods ​look marginal and a new AI ​dialogue echoes one announced in May. The main upshot is this stay of ​execution will be short.

The ‌activist wants the South Korean titan to sop up $100 bln of preferred shares but ​overcomplicates the play by calling ​for the issuance of US ADRs ⁠to fund it. Demanding ordinary shares' ​exclusion from repurchases also risks driving a ​wedge between foreign and local investors.

With available funds running low ​the government will scale down ​a gasoline price cap burning ⁠through some $3 bln a ​month. That clashes with Prime ​Minister Sanae Takaichi's assertion that Tokyo can boost spending without serious ​consequences. Market pressures ​suggest otherwise.