Latest news with #DanskeBank
CNBC
3 days ago
- Business
- CNBC
Xi wants to boost China's advance manufacturing prowess — and Trump may not like it
Forget the factory lines for socks, sneakers and T-shirts. U.S. President Donald Trump wants to boost the domestic production of high-tech products, and not apparel or footwear, he told reporters Sunday. However, China is doubling down on its efforts to bolster advanced manufacturing, which could put both countries on a collision course. Just last week, Chinese President Xi Jinping reaffirmed his plans for manufacturing-led growth during a visit to the northern province of Henan, pressing ahead with a strategy long criticized by the U.S. and major trade partners for deepening global trade imbalances. Xi told workers at a state-owned ball-bearing factory that self-reliance in advanced manufacturing is "the right path" for China and the "backbone" of its economy, according to an official statement. The manufacturing sector contributed to over 25% of China's GDP in 2023, according to the World Bank. While China's push to expand its manufacturing capabilities is part of its goal to achieve self-reliance, especially in high-tech sectors, this could run counter to the Trump administration's core demands in the ongoing trade talks, experts warn. Trump wants China to address the trade imbalances and has slammed Beijing for providing state subsidies to Chinese companies, thereby distorting competition. However, there is "little scope" for China to budge and scale back its manufacturing-led strategy, which is closely tied to Beijing's drive for self-reliance, said Allan von Mehren, China economist at Danske Bank. "I'm not too optimistic on a big deal between the U.S. and China," Mehren said, anticipating U.S. tariff rates on Chinese goods to hold at around 40%. The "Made in China 2025" ten-year plan, released in 2015 — two years after Xi came into power — aimed to transform China into a leading high-end manufacturer, from electric vehicles and commercial aircraft to semiconductors and robots. The Center for Strategic and International Studies estimated in a 2022 report that China's spending in funding favored industries amounted to at least 1.73% of its GDP in 2019, significantly higher than the U.S., which spent 0.39% of its GDP on industrial support in 2019. These include direct grants and tax benefits to its prized sectors, with nearly all large, listed Chinese firms receiving some form of state subsidies, according to economic consulting firm Rhodium Group. Despite the support, China missed several key targets from its ten-year plan, including those for aerospace and high-end robots, and fostered unhealthy industrial competition that worsened global trade tensions, according to the European Chamber of Commerce in China. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, in an interview with CNBC earlier this month, sounded optimistic about reaching a middle ground with China: "We need more manufacturing, they need more consumption, so there is a chance to rebalance together, we'll see if that's possible." But it remains unclear whether Bessent will make that a priority during the ongoing trade negotiation with Beijing as part of the 90-day trade truce. The U.S. trade deficit with China is unlikely to "narrow substantially," Jing Wang, China economist at Nomura, and the team said in a note. They expect Beijing to reduce its reliance on U.S. imports and for American manufacturers to take years to shift manufacturing onshore and find suitable alternatives. "As the U.S. is the most buoyant consumer market worldwide, a sudden flood of cheaper Chinese goods to the rest of the world will inevitably spark global backlash," Wang added. China's continued industrial push and ramped-up exports are stirring anxiety in non-U.S. markets and inviting fresh trade barriers. As the specter of U.S. tariffs loomed at the start of the year, Chinese toy manufacturers in Yiwu city, a manufacturing hub, rushed to redesign Santa Claus figurines with rounder faces and blue eyes in hopes of appealing more to European consumers. But their search for new markets to compensate for the opportunities lost in the U.S. is stirring anxiety in Europe, said Nick Marro, principal economist at Economist Intelligence Unit. "By the end of this year, it's not just U.S.-China tensions that we need to watch, it's going to increasingly be EU-China tensions ... And it's no longer just going to be about electric vehicles [but] across a whole wide range of different products," Marro added. Top finance officials from G7 nations, led by the U.S., convened last week to discuss steps to address overcapacity and unfair trade practices — "with a clear aim of curbing China's export saturation," said Wang Dan, China director at Eurasia Group. These moves could still be interpreted in Beijing as a "deliberate provocation" and prompt it to use other ways to create headaches for foreign businesses eyeing the Chinese market. "Delays in licensing, exclusion from local incentive schemes, or tighter oversight may follow if tensions rise in other areas of the bilateral relationship," Eurasia's Wang said. China's grip on low-end manufacturing could also undercut manufacturing in developing nations, according to Leah Fahy, China economist at Capital Economics. For example, India's share of global exports in furniture, toys and games has stagnated in recent years, while garment exports declined. China widened its lead for these goods in the same period. India, Vietnam and Indonesia have imposed various protectionist measures to provide some relief for domestic producers from intense price competition, particularly in sectors facing overcapacity, cheap imports. That said, some argue that excess Chinese capacity could offer a silver lining for inflation-weary economies by easing price pressures. "China is going to be exporting deflation to the rest of the world," said Marro, noting that for markets with limited manufacturing bases, like Australia, cheap Chinese imports could ease the cost-of-living crisis and help bring down inflationary pressure. Economists at home and abroad have called on Beijing to shift to a consumption-led model and reduce reliance on manufacturing, a strategy widely blamed for deepening deflationary pressure in the economy. Chinese customs data in April offered a fresh reminder of the imbalance between China's productive capacity and its domestic demand. Its trade surplus hit a record high of $992.2 billion, driven by persistent imbalances with major partners including the U.S., the European Union and Southeast Asia. The Chinese leadership has stepped up its support, aiming to divert U.S.-bound goods to sell to domestic consumers. But convincing consumers, wary of income and job prospects, to spend again has proven to be a challenging task. China's retail sales growth slowed to 5.1% in April, missing economists' expectations, with automobile sales lagging significantly, growing just 0.7% from a year earlier, compared with a 5.5% jump in March. Beijing's shift toward a more consumption-led model will see a "very slow reform momentum," said Louise Loo, lead economist at Oxford Economics, forecasting consumption to account for half of China's economy only by mid-century, well below the 70% shares seen in the U.S. However, Xi's focus on manufacturing is not entirely unjustified, as Washington is likely to maintain a firm grip, restricting Beijing's access to more advanced technology. "The Trump administration, by treating China as the most potent near-peer adversary, would make the yard bigger and fence higher," Nomura's Wang said. The "small yard, high fence" was a strategy adopted by the Biden administration aimed at safeguarding a narrow set of critical technologies (small yard) with tough and extensive restrictions (high fence), while maintaining normal economic exchange in other areas. "Strategic decoupling remains inevitable on national security concerns," Wang added.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Sydbank A/S share buyback programme: transactions in week 21
Company Announcement No 24/2025 Peberlyk 46200 AabenraaDenmarkTel +45 74 37 37 37Fax +45 74 37 35 36Sydbank A/SCVR No DK 12626509, 26 May 2025 Dear Sirs Sydbank A/S share buyback programme: transactions in week 21On 26 February 2025 Sydbank A/S announced a share buyback programme of DKK 1,350m. The share buyback programme commenced on 3 March 2025 and will be completed by 31 January 2026. The purpose of the share buyback programme is to reduce the share capital of Sydbank A/S and the programme is executed in compliance with the provisions of Regulation (EU) No 596/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 April 2014 and Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/1052 of 8 March 2016, collectively referred to as the Safe Harbour rules. The following transactions have been made under the share buyback programme: Number of shares VWAP Gross value (DKK) Accumulated, most recent Announcement 831,000 346,542,500.00 19 May 202520 May 202521 May 202522 May 202523 May 2025 12,00012,00012,00012,00016,000 438.63445.14447.06442.10440.20 5,263,560.005,341,680.005,364,720.005,305,200.007,043,200.00 Total over week 21 64,000 28,318,360.00 Total accumulated during theshare buyback programme 895,000 374,860,860.00 All transactions were made under ISIN DK 0010311471 and effected by Danske Bank A/S on behalf of Sydbank A/S. Further information about the transactions, cf Article 5 of Regulation (EU) No 596/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council on market abuse and Commission delegated regulation, is available in the the above transactions, Sydbank A/S holds a total of 895,295 own shares, equal to 1.74% of the Bank's share capital. Yours sincerely Mark Luscombe Jørn Adam MøllerCEO Deputy Group Chief Executive Attachment SM 24 UK incl. enc
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Danske Bank share buy-back programme: transactions in week 21
Company announcement no. 26 2025Danske BankBernstorffsgade 40DK-1577 København VTel. + 45 33 44 00 0026 May 2025Page 1 of 1Danske Bank share buy-back programme: transactions in week 21On 7 February 2025, Danske Bank A/S announced a share buy-back programme for a total of DKK 5 billion, with a maximum of 45,000,000 shares, in the period from 10 February 2025 to 30 January 2026, at the latest, as described in company announcement no. 6 2025. The Programme is carried out in accordance with Article 5 of Regulation (EU) No 596/2014 of the European Parliament and Council of 16 April 2014 (the "Market Abuse Regulation") and the Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/1052 of 8 March 2016 (together with the Market Abuse Regulation, the "Safe Harbour Rules"). The following transactions on Nasdaq Copenhagen A/S were made under the share buy-back programme in week 21: Number of shares VWAP DKK Gross value DKK Accumulated, last announcement 6,021,965 225.3747 1,357,198,355 19 May 2025 50,000 252.6524 12,632,620 20 May 2025 50,000 255.7486 12,787,430 21 May 2025 89,501 256.4140 22,949,309 22 May 2025 55,000 254.4755 13,996,153 23 May 2025 60,000 253.8853 15,233,118 Total accumulated over week 21 304,501 254.8387 77,598,630 Total accumulated during the share buyback programme 6,326,466 226.7928 1,434,796,985With the transactions stated above, the total accumulated number of own shares under the share buy-back programme corresponds to 0.758% of Danske Bank A/S' share BankContact: Claus Ingar Jensen, Head of Group Investor Relations, tel. +45 25 42 43 70 This information is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to Section 5-12 the Norwegian Securities Trading Act Attachment Danske Bank Company announcement_UKError in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Malaysian Reserve
14-05-2025
- Business
- Malaysian Reserve
Dollar drops as Korea talks fuel bets Trump wants weaker currency
THE dollar erased this week's gains on fresh speculation President Donald Trump favors a weaker greenback and will prod other governments to let their currencies rise in return for trade deals with the US. The US currency extended an earlier decline on Wednesday after a Bloomberg News report that South Korea and US officials discussed exchange rate policies at a May 5 meeting in Milan and will continue to do so. The won rose nearly 2% and the Japanese yen also climbed, helping to push the Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index down for a second day after it rallied on Monday following the announcement of a temporary truce in the US-China trade war. Trump and other administration officials have long argued weakness in Asian currencies versus the dollar hand an unfair advantage to the region's exporters over US rivals, prompting markets to bet foreign governments will need to allow or even encourage strength in their exchange rates if they are to prove successful when trade talks kick off with the US. News of the US-South Korea talks is 'reinforcing market concerns that the Trump administration may be leaning toward a weaker-dollar stance,' said Mohamad Al-Saraf, an analyst at Danske Bank. A spokesperson for South Korea's finance ministry confirmed a meeting was held between deputy finance minister Choi Ji-young and Robert Kaproth, the US Treasury's assistant secretary for international finance, but declined to elaborate further. The Treasury Department didn't immediately respond to a request for comment outside of regular business hours. 'This is fairly significant and adds to reasons for traders to take bullish bets on the won,' said Aninda Mitra, head of Asia macro & investment strategy at BNY. The won has strengthened about 5% against the dollar this year amid broad weakness in the greenback. South Korea was added to a 'monitoring list' for foreign-exchange practices by the US Treasury in November, along with China, Japan and Taiwan. In late 2024, South Korea bought won to stop it weakening against the rising dollar and as President Yoon Suk Yeol's brief imposition of martial law triggered a selloff of Korean assets. Earlier this week, Japanese Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato said he would seek an opportunity to discuss currency matters with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent if the timing works out when the two are in Canada for a meeting of Group of Seven officials. Analysts and traders are preparing for more dollar weakness. In the options market, a gauge of sentiment toward the greenback over the coming year rose to the most bearish level since early 2020. Meanwhile, BBH strategists said they continue to treat any dollar relief rallies with skepticism. 'Easing trade tensions have removed a significant headwind on the dollar over the short-term, but the medium- and long-term impact on the US economy will be felt in the coming weeks and months,' Win Thin and Elias Haddad wrote in a note. –BLOOMBERG
The Advertiser
14-05-2025
- Business
- The Advertiser
European shares steady after surge on tariff truce
European stocks are little changed as markets take a breather after a strong rally on easing global trade tensions, while the dollar has extended losses from the day before as relatively benign US inflation data kept Federal Reserve rate cuts on the table. Stocks climbed in Asia on Wednesday while US stock futures were flat after the S&P 500 moved into positive territory for the year on Tuesday. As a truce in the tariff spat between China and the United States appeared to hit pause in the global trade war, investors have pushed global equities higher. "It's all about the change in risk appetite," said Lars Skovgaard, senior investment strategist at Danske Bank. "I have a hard time seeing that we'll go back to this extreme political noise." Europe's STOXX 600 was last down less than 0.2 per cent, taking a breather after its recent rally, having jumped more than 17 per cent since its trough on April 9, the day US President Donald Trump announced he would be pausing most of the reciprocal tariffs on US trading partners. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 1.4 per cent, while Japan's Nikkei 225 dipped 0.1 per cent. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index jumped 2 per cent, lifted by tech stocks after Chinese e-commerce retailer posted strong results. Investor focus this week will be on earnings from Tencent and Alibaba. Equity futures pointed to a flat start on Wall Street. Data on Tuesday showing softer-than-expected US consumer inflation also provided some relief to investors worried about the inflationary impact of US tariff policies, which had severely undercut expectations of near term Fed rate cuts. Though traders expect inflation to pick up as tariffs lift import costs, the uncertainty over the outlook remains as Washington moves ahead to strike deals with its trading partners. Trump in an interview on Tuesday said he could see himself dealing directly with Chinese President Xi Jinping on details of a trade pact. His touted "potential deals" with India, Japan and South Korea are still pending. The Fed has warned of rising economic uncertainty, signalling it is prepared to wait to assess the impact of US tariffs before moving to cut interest rates again. Fed chair Jerome Powell is scheduled to give remarks on Thursday. The US dollar, which has taken a beating recently on the back of the economic and policy uncertainty, dropped 0.7 per cent against the yen to 146.40, and was down 0.4 per cent against the euro. The dollar index slipped 0.4 per cent, adding to a 0.8 per cent slide in the previous session. Global asset managers held their biggest underweight position in the dollar in 19 years in May, as Trump's trade policy cut investor appetite for US assets, Bank of America's global fund manager survey showed on Tuesday. With the US inflation figures out, the next major signal for US economic health is retail sales data for April due on Thursday. The same day, talks are planned between Ukraine and Russia in Istanbul with hopes of a ceasefire three years into the deadliest conflict in Europe since World War II. In commodities, US crude dipped 0.3 per cent to $US63.49 a barrel, but held near a two-week high. Spot gold fell 0.3 per cent to $US3,237 per ounce as easing trade tensions weakened its safe-haven appeal. European stocks are little changed as markets take a breather after a strong rally on easing global trade tensions, while the dollar has extended losses from the day before as relatively benign US inflation data kept Federal Reserve rate cuts on the table. Stocks climbed in Asia on Wednesday while US stock futures were flat after the S&P 500 moved into positive territory for the year on Tuesday. As a truce in the tariff spat between China and the United States appeared to hit pause in the global trade war, investors have pushed global equities higher. "It's all about the change in risk appetite," said Lars Skovgaard, senior investment strategist at Danske Bank. "I have a hard time seeing that we'll go back to this extreme political noise." Europe's STOXX 600 was last down less than 0.2 per cent, taking a breather after its recent rally, having jumped more than 17 per cent since its trough on April 9, the day US President Donald Trump announced he would be pausing most of the reciprocal tariffs on US trading partners. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 1.4 per cent, while Japan's Nikkei 225 dipped 0.1 per cent. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index jumped 2 per cent, lifted by tech stocks after Chinese e-commerce retailer posted strong results. Investor focus this week will be on earnings from Tencent and Alibaba. Equity futures pointed to a flat start on Wall Street. Data on Tuesday showing softer-than-expected US consumer inflation also provided some relief to investors worried about the inflationary impact of US tariff policies, which had severely undercut expectations of near term Fed rate cuts. Though traders expect inflation to pick up as tariffs lift import costs, the uncertainty over the outlook remains as Washington moves ahead to strike deals with its trading partners. Trump in an interview on Tuesday said he could see himself dealing directly with Chinese President Xi Jinping on details of a trade pact. His touted "potential deals" with India, Japan and South Korea are still pending. The Fed has warned of rising economic uncertainty, signalling it is prepared to wait to assess the impact of US tariffs before moving to cut interest rates again. Fed chair Jerome Powell is scheduled to give remarks on Thursday. The US dollar, which has taken a beating recently on the back of the economic and policy uncertainty, dropped 0.7 per cent against the yen to 146.40, and was down 0.4 per cent against the euro. The dollar index slipped 0.4 per cent, adding to a 0.8 per cent slide in the previous session. Global asset managers held their biggest underweight position in the dollar in 19 years in May, as Trump's trade policy cut investor appetite for US assets, Bank of America's global fund manager survey showed on Tuesday. With the US inflation figures out, the next major signal for US economic health is retail sales data for April due on Thursday. The same day, talks are planned between Ukraine and Russia in Istanbul with hopes of a ceasefire three years into the deadliest conflict in Europe since World War II. In commodities, US crude dipped 0.3 per cent to $US63.49 a barrel, but held near a two-week high. Spot gold fell 0.3 per cent to $US3,237 per ounce as easing trade tensions weakened its safe-haven appeal. European stocks are little changed as markets take a breather after a strong rally on easing global trade tensions, while the dollar has extended losses from the day before as relatively benign US inflation data kept Federal Reserve rate cuts on the table. Stocks climbed in Asia on Wednesday while US stock futures were flat after the S&P 500 moved into positive territory for the year on Tuesday. As a truce in the tariff spat between China and the United States appeared to hit pause in the global trade war, investors have pushed global equities higher. "It's all about the change in risk appetite," said Lars Skovgaard, senior investment strategist at Danske Bank. "I have a hard time seeing that we'll go back to this extreme political noise." Europe's STOXX 600 was last down less than 0.2 per cent, taking a breather after its recent rally, having jumped more than 17 per cent since its trough on April 9, the day US President Donald Trump announced he would be pausing most of the reciprocal tariffs on US trading partners. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 1.4 per cent, while Japan's Nikkei 225 dipped 0.1 per cent. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index jumped 2 per cent, lifted by tech stocks after Chinese e-commerce retailer posted strong results. Investor focus this week will be on earnings from Tencent and Alibaba. Equity futures pointed to a flat start on Wall Street. Data on Tuesday showing softer-than-expected US consumer inflation also provided some relief to investors worried about the inflationary impact of US tariff policies, which had severely undercut expectations of near term Fed rate cuts. Though traders expect inflation to pick up as tariffs lift import costs, the uncertainty over the outlook remains as Washington moves ahead to strike deals with its trading partners. Trump in an interview on Tuesday said he could see himself dealing directly with Chinese President Xi Jinping on details of a trade pact. His touted "potential deals" with India, Japan and South Korea are still pending. The Fed has warned of rising economic uncertainty, signalling it is prepared to wait to assess the impact of US tariffs before moving to cut interest rates again. Fed chair Jerome Powell is scheduled to give remarks on Thursday. The US dollar, which has taken a beating recently on the back of the economic and policy uncertainty, dropped 0.7 per cent against the yen to 146.40, and was down 0.4 per cent against the euro. The dollar index slipped 0.4 per cent, adding to a 0.8 per cent slide in the previous session. Global asset managers held their biggest underweight position in the dollar in 19 years in May, as Trump's trade policy cut investor appetite for US assets, Bank of America's global fund manager survey showed on Tuesday. With the US inflation figures out, the next major signal for US economic health is retail sales data for April due on Thursday. The same day, talks are planned between Ukraine and Russia in Istanbul with hopes of a ceasefire three years into the deadliest conflict in Europe since World War II. In commodities, US crude dipped 0.3 per cent to $US63.49 a barrel, but held near a two-week high. Spot gold fell 0.3 per cent to $US3,237 per ounce as easing trade tensions weakened its safe-haven appeal. European stocks are little changed as markets take a breather after a strong rally on easing global trade tensions, while the dollar has extended losses from the day before as relatively benign US inflation data kept Federal Reserve rate cuts on the table. Stocks climbed in Asia on Wednesday while US stock futures were flat after the S&P 500 moved into positive territory for the year on Tuesday. As a truce in the tariff spat between China and the United States appeared to hit pause in the global trade war, investors have pushed global equities higher. "It's all about the change in risk appetite," said Lars Skovgaard, senior investment strategist at Danske Bank. "I have a hard time seeing that we'll go back to this extreme political noise." Europe's STOXX 600 was last down less than 0.2 per cent, taking a breather after its recent rally, having jumped more than 17 per cent since its trough on April 9, the day US President Donald Trump announced he would be pausing most of the reciprocal tariffs on US trading partners. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 1.4 per cent, while Japan's Nikkei 225 dipped 0.1 per cent. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index jumped 2 per cent, lifted by tech stocks after Chinese e-commerce retailer posted strong results. Investor focus this week will be on earnings from Tencent and Alibaba. Equity futures pointed to a flat start on Wall Street. Data on Tuesday showing softer-than-expected US consumer inflation also provided some relief to investors worried about the inflationary impact of US tariff policies, which had severely undercut expectations of near term Fed rate cuts. Though traders expect inflation to pick up as tariffs lift import costs, the uncertainty over the outlook remains as Washington moves ahead to strike deals with its trading partners. Trump in an interview on Tuesday said he could see himself dealing directly with Chinese President Xi Jinping on details of a trade pact. His touted "potential deals" with India, Japan and South Korea are still pending. The Fed has warned of rising economic uncertainty, signalling it is prepared to wait to assess the impact of US tariffs before moving to cut interest rates again. Fed chair Jerome Powell is scheduled to give remarks on Thursday. The US dollar, which has taken a beating recently on the back of the economic and policy uncertainty, dropped 0.7 per cent against the yen to 146.40, and was down 0.4 per cent against the euro. The dollar index slipped 0.4 per cent, adding to a 0.8 per cent slide in the previous session. Global asset managers held their biggest underweight position in the dollar in 19 years in May, as Trump's trade policy cut investor appetite for US assets, Bank of America's global fund manager survey showed on Tuesday. With the US inflation figures out, the next major signal for US economic health is retail sales data for April due on Thursday. The same day, talks are planned between Ukraine and Russia in Istanbul with hopes of a ceasefire three years into the deadliest conflict in Europe since World War II. In commodities, US crude dipped 0.3 per cent to $US63.49 a barrel, but held near a two-week high. Spot gold fell 0.3 per cent to $US3,237 per ounce as easing trade tensions weakened its safe-haven appeal.
