9/13

 All from WSJ
9/13

中國否認禁止使用iPhone，但提及了與蘋果手機有關的安全事件

路透社(Reuters)和彭博社(Bloomberg)援引外交部發言人在外交部每日新聞發布會上的話說，中國沒有出台禁止購買或使用蘋果等外國品牌手機的法律法規或政策文件。

不過該發言人還說，最近確實注意到媒體曝光了很多與蘋果手機有關的安全事件，中國政府高度重視資訊和網絡安全，對內外資企業一視同仁。

9/13

歐洲汽車製造商股票走高，先前歐盟宣布調查中國汽車公司

歐盟反壟斷機構表示將對中國電動汽車公司可能存在的不公平市場行為展開調查。

「全球市場現在充斥著較廉價的中國電動汽車，」歐盟委員會主席馮德萊恩(Ursula von der Leyen)在歐盟國情咨文講話中說。「中國電動汽車的價格因獲得巨額國家補貼而被人為壓低。這正在扭曲我們的市場。」

9/13

美國CPI報告看點：8月份通脹會繼續降溫嗎？

--接受《華爾街日報》(The Wall Street Journal)調查的經濟學家給出的預期是，8月份消費者價格環比上漲0.6%、同比上漲3.6%。這將高於7月份0.2%的環比升速和3.2%的同比升速。

--但如果剔除波動較大的食品和能源項目，這些經濟學家預計8月份所謂核心價格會環比上漲0.2%，漲速與6月和7月相同——這段時間的數據比起之前幾個月可謂相當溫和。

--經濟學家估計8月核心CPI同比增長4.3%，較7月份的同比增幅4.7%有所放緩。

--今夏核心通脹率的降溫為美聯儲奠定了基礎，而8月份的CPI數據將為美聯儲討論是否有必要在今年晚些時候再次加息提供參考。美聯儲已經激進加息了一年多的時間，試圖通過放慢經濟增速來壓低通脹。

美國擬出資改善電動汽車充電設施

現在，美國政府計劃出資1億美元，努力解決可靠性問題，使公共充電設施問題不再那麼令人煩惱，且更加穩定。這筆資金旨在維修和更換數以千計的老舊或無法正常工作的充電樁，這些充電樁使電動汽車駕駛者有一種「擲骰子」的感覺，他們永遠不知道自己可能發現什麼。

這筆資金來自2021年兩黨基礎設施法案中批準的款項，將用於6000多個在一個廣泛使用的政府數據庫中被歸類為「暫時不可用」的現有充電樁，該數據庫追蹤公共充電樁的安裝情況。充電樁被報告為不可用的原因可能包括電力問題、人為破壞或日常維護等。

根據政府數據，目前約有15萬個公共充電樁可供司機使用。大多數充電樁的充電時間為數小時，但約有3.4萬個是快速充電樁，可在20分鐘至1小時內完成充電，具體取決於設備和汽車電池的充電速度。

9/12

IEA署長：石油、煤炭和天然氣需求將在本十年內達到峰值

國際能源署(International Energy Agency, 簡稱：IEA)負責人表示，三大化石燃料（石油、煤炭和天然氣）的需求將在本十年內達到峰值，這是全球向可再生能源轉型的「歷史性轉折點」

9/12

U.S. Incomes Fall for Third Straight Year

Rapid price increases hit household finances in 2022, cutting inflation-adjusted median income to $74,580

Americans’ inflation-adjusted median household income fell to $74,580 in 2022, declining 2.3% from the 2021 estimate of $76,330, the Census Bureau said Tuesday. The amount has dropped 4.7% since its peak in 2019.

This year could be different. Earnings and inflation trends have improved as a strong labor market and cooling price increases boosted household purchasing power, said Bill Adams, chief economist at Comerica Bank.

“Shifting into the present and into the future, the prospects are better for wages to make up for some of the ground lost during the last couple of years,” Adams said. 

9/12

California Legislature Passes Sweeping Emissions Bill

Legislation would require large companies doing business in state to disclose emissions tied to operations and supply chain

The bill, which received final passage in the state Senate on Tuesday, now heads to the desk of Gov. Gavin Newsom, who hasn’t yet taken a position on the bill. 

Under the proposal, known as SB 253, businesses with $1 billion or more in annual revenue that operate in California would be required to calculate and report to the state a range of emissions, including those produced at facilities they own and control directly as well as those tied to suppliers’ operations, employee commutes and business travel.

Inclusion of such indirect emissions, better known as “Scope 3,” became the main point of contention for industry groups, which argued that accurately measuring such outputs would be nearly impossible. 

“SB 253 is a costly mandate that will negatively impact businesses of all sizes in California and will not directly reduce emissions,” said Denise Davis of the California chamber. “We remain opposed and will respectfully request the governor to veto this bill.”

9/13

Hedge Funds’ Big Bet Against Treasurys Isn’t What You Think

Inflation, bond issuance and Fed tightening are spurring a Treasury derivative bonanza

A popular way for hedge funds to profit from bond trading while minimizing their exposure to swings in the market, the basis trade exploits the price difference between Treasurys and Treasury futures. The resurgence is attracting fresh scrutiny from Wall Street because previous meltdowns have rattled global markets. 

Hedge funds buy Treasurys, then bet against Treasury futures by selling contracts promising delivery of a bond on a specific date at a preset price. Instead of betting on the direction of bond markets, the trade seeks to take advantage of small differences in the securities’ prices. 

The trade works because large asset managers like pension funds often prefer buying Treasury futures that require less up-front cash than actual bonds. That tends to make the contracts slightly more expensive than the bonds, creating a window for speculators to take advantage. Futures prices typically converge toward bond prices as their settlement date approaches.

9/13

SpaceX’s Starlink Demonstrates Its Power but Still Needs Growth

Revenue at satellite-internet business has jumped but fallen short of Elon Musk’s financial projections 

Starlink, which relies on a satellite fleet to provide high-speed internet connections, reported $1.4 billion in revenue for 2022, according to recent documents viewed by The Wall Street Journal—up from $222 million the year before. Toward the end of last year, Starlink had more than one million active subscribers, SpaceX has said. The company thought its satellite-internet business would have 20 million subscribers as 2022 closed out, according to SpaceX’s 2015 presentation.

The recent documents viewed by the Journal showed that capital expenditures at SpaceX for 2022 were $3.2 billion. SpaceX has funded its capital investments in part by using upfront cash that customers use to reserve future launch slots, as well as by selling additional stock. Those sources of cash could be unsustainable without faster and more profitable growth.  Competitors are behind Starlink, but are setting their own plans for low-Earth-orbit satellite networks. 

Amazon.com

 is expected to have two prototype satellites launched soon as it works to build out a global network. Canadian satellite operator Telesat recently said it came up with a funding plan to deploy a new fleet, called 

Lightspeed

.