South Korea GDP, Caixin Manufacturing PMI, Japanese Consumer Confidence

Singapore’s Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said the country’s sovereign wealth fund’s $275 million investment loss on collapsing cryptocurrency exchange FTX is… “Disappointing and reputational damage” to the city-state.

A loss of investment does not mean the governance system is not working, Wong said, adding that an internal review is being conducted.

“It’s the nature of investing and taking risks,” he said.

He said the loss of FTX would not affect net investment returns for Singapore’s reserves, which “are linked to the expected long-term aggregate returns of our investment entities and not to individual investments.”

Going forward, Singapore plans to require crypto service providers to implement basic investor protection measures, but “no amount of regulation can remove this risk,” he warned.

– Sheila Chiang

China Caixin / Markit Manufacturing PMI November came in at 49.4, above the forecast of 48.9 in a Reuters survey of economists.

The reading marked the fourth consecutive month of contraction, after reading 49.2 from October and dipping to 48.1 in September – below the 50-point mark that separates growth from contraction.

separately , Print the official PMI From China’s National Bureau of Statistics on Wednesday it came in at 48, showing the second consecutive month of contraction in factory activity.

– Jihe Lee

White House Consider building additional oil reserves Against the backdrop of the upcoming winter and the uncertainty surrounding the market, sources familiar with the matter told CNBC.

People said the Biden administration is considering whether to ask Congress to increase the storage limit, possibly doubling it, to build up additional reserves that the administration could release if it tightens supplies or prices rise again.

The United States currently holds about 1 million barrels of heating oil in New York and Connecticut.

The White House is bracing for a potential price spike, as the European oil embargo and G7 cap on Russian oil looms large, potentially disrupting supplies.

Oil prices were little changed in the early Asian hours. The West Texas Intermediate Futures It fell fractionally, to stand at $80.53 per barrel, whereas Brent Crude Futures It decreased by 0.06%, to stand at $86.92 per barrel.

– Kayla Tausch, Lee Ying Chan

Investor confidence in the tech sector has been shaken this year amid a flight to safety, but chief technology investor Paul Meeks said he is now more “optimistic” in the sector than he has been in recent months, though he remains selective within the sector.

He tells CNBC which stocks he likes best.

Professional subscribers can Read more here.

– Xavier Ong

South Korea Revised gross domestic product For the third quarter, it confirmed growth of 3.1% year-over-year — up from the 2.9% increase in the second quarter.

The economy experienced slower quarterly growth of 0.3% in the third quarter, after growth of 0.7% in the prior period.

Separately, South Korea You reported a trade deficit $7.01 billion for the month of November, beating expectations of $4.42 billion — the third month in a row that the trade deficit widened, driven by sluggish exports.

Exports contracted by 14%, below expectations for a decline of 11% – while imports grew more than expected by 2.7%, according to preliminary data from the customs agency.

– Jihe Lee

Chinese stocks rose this week after the country’s health authorities reported a recent increase in vaccination rates, which experts consider essential to reopening the country.

The impact of Beijing’s change in handling the Covid-19 outbreak is being felt not only in China but also around the world.

Swiss bank UBS named 15 shares in MSCI Europe Index That would outperform “in an environment where Chinese growth picks up and the country reopens its borders.”

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

– Ganesh Rao

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell says he still believes in a “soft” downward path — even if the path has narrowed over the past year.

“I would continue to believe that there is a path to a soft or soft landing,” Powell said at the Brookings Institution.

“Our job is to try to make that happen, and I think it’s still achievable,” Powell said. “If you look at history, that wouldn’t be a likely outcome, but I would just say that’s a different set of circumstances.”

– Sarah Maine

Comments from Fed Chair Jerome Powell suggest that the central bank will slow down future rate hikes once December puts pressure on the three major indicators.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 It jumped 0.6% from the red on the news.

The daw It was close to stabilizing after trading lower for most of the day.

The NASDAQ Composite It gained momentum by 1.3%.

– Alex Haring

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell told an audience at the Brookings Institution on Wednesday that the central bank could afford to ease its more hawkish monetary policy at its December meeting (scheduled to conclude Dec. 14).

The delayed effect of higher rates already taken in 2022, combined with a reduction in the size of the Fed’s balance sheet through quantitative tightening, means “it makes sense that we moderate the pace of our rate increases as we approach a level of restraint that would be sufficient to lower the rate,” Powell said. inflation.”

“The time for adjusting the pace of interest rate increases may come as soon as we meet in December,” said the 69-year-old Fed chair.

In response to Powell’s remarks, the S&P 500 quickly rose to around 3,970 from 3,950 before the address.

Scott Schneiber, Jeff Cox