Dow Jones Industrial Average extended its rise to a new high
April 17, 2021 (Saturday) Cloudy with occasional rain
- The Biden administration will regulate the use of Chinese-made IT equipment and services by U.S. private companies.
In mid-May, a system will be introduced requiring prior government permission and, at the government's discretion, use will be prohibited.
To prevent leakage of confidential information to the Chinese government through companies.
- Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, while visiting the United States, is preparing to request additional supply of the COVID-19 vaccine from American pharmaceutical giant Pfizer.
On the 17th, he will hold a telephone discussion with Pfizer executives. Japan will increase the amount of vaccines secured.
- Nissan Motor Co. <7201> [Closing price 576.1 yen] The British plant will temporarily suspend about 8,000 workers, roughly one-tenth of its staff.
Because of the semiconductor shortage, production of passenger cars is being reduced, and this will continue until procurement of related parts normalizes.
General Motors (GM) in the United States is also temporarily laying off employees in the United States and elsewhere.
- On the 16th, the government added four prefectures—Saitama, Chiba, Kanagawa, and Aichi—to the "Priority Measures to Prevent the Spread" equivalent to a state of emergency.
From 4/20 to 5/11. The target area expands to ten prefectures and metropolitan areas.
(Nikkei, front page)
- The National Bureau of Statistics of China announced on the 16th that real GDP for January–March 2021 rose 18.3% year over year.
It was the fastest growth on record, driven by the rebound from the previous year's impact of the coronavirus, but the year-over-year growth slowed.
Benefits from strong fixed asset investment and exports have not reached households, and employment remains below pre-COVID levels.
Consumption remains in a recovery phase.
- The semiconductor shortage is expected to ease in some areas by summer.
Recovery progress at Samsung Electronics' Texas plant and other sites halted by power outages continues.
However, even so, demand-supply gaps are expected to persist for the time being, keeping concerns among automotive, home appliance, and other industries worldwide.
- Prime Minister Suga and President Biden will confirm strengthened ICT cooperation in a joint statement released after their summit on the 16th.
The joint statement will specify that the United States and Japan will invest a total of $4.5 billion (about 490 billion yen) in research and development for the next-generation 6G communications standard, aiming for practical use in the 2030s.
- On the 15th, the Dow Jones Industrial Average continued to rise and reached a new high above 34,000.
Domestic U.S. consumer activity has become more active, and falling U.S. long-term interest rates boosted purchases of high-growth tech stocks.
As the fiscal year-end approached in March, Japanese institutional investors that had been selling U.S. Treasuries turned to buy.
- U.S. major banks' January–March 2021 results are now available.
Investment banking activities such as brokerage and underwritings led to large profits for each bank.
Commercial banking activities, centered on lending, were subdued.
- Morgan Stanley reported on the 16th a loss of $910 million (about 100 billion yen) in total, related to its hedge fund activities.
Related to dealings with the U.S. investment firm Archegos Capital Management.
- In his address on the 15th, President Biden warned of additional sanctions against Russia for election interference and cyberattacks.
By taking a tough stance on Russia, he clarified a line that cannot be crossed in defending democracy, a core principle of his administration.
There are hints of avoiding an outright clash.
- Russia has stepped up its opposition to the new sanctions announced by the United States.
The Foreign Ministry notified that countermeasures would be taken.
- The U.S. Department of Commerce on the 15th reported that March retail sales rose 9.8% month over month, the second-highest rise after May 2020.
With progress in COVID-19 vaccination and strong government household support, dining, travel, and entertainment are regaining vitality and money.
As of 4/16, at 4:00 PM, global COVID-19 cases (deaths per day) compiled by Johns Hopkins University: World total 139.1 million (13,550 deaths)
United States 31,495,649 (88,7 deaths) India 14,291,917 (1,185) Brazil 13,746,681 (3,560) France 5,248,853 (296) Russia 4,622,464 (392) United Kingdom 4,396,096 (31)
Turkey 4,086,957 (297) Italy 3,826,156 (380) Spain 3,396,685 (380) Germany 3,110,252 (244) Poland 2,642,242 (682) Argentina 2,629,156 (383)
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