Lower iPhone shipments weigh on Apple shares (4 min read)

The world’s largest iPhone factory in ZhengZhou has been operating at significantly reduced capacity due to China’s Zero-Covid lockdown. The situation worsened last week when workers began to protest which led to many resign and leave. Along with other workers that were put into Covid isolation, it further weighed on Apple’s November iPhone shipment. Apple shares were down almost 2% on Friday as concerns grew over its ability to deliver products for the holiday season.

A Week to Remember for Manchester United Investors (2 min read)
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US-listed shares of Manchester United surged 68% last week and traded at its highest level since 2018. The stock started to rally on Tuesday and continued for three straight days into Friday after Saudi Arabia’s sports minister said its government would back private sector bids for the team. However, not everyone is cheering for the rapid climb. British economist Jim O’Neill for example, said the current valuation is simply too high.

Beijing battles Covid with more lockdowns (4 min read)

Many business activities are banned and more residents are forced to self-isolate in Beijing as Covid outbreak reaches record levels. Other parts of China have also reported similar surges in infections. Data showed that traffic in Covid-hit areas have fallen significantly with some cities plunging nearly 99% from a year ago. There were signs of lockdown easing by the government earlier this month, but it's clear that the Zero-Covid policy itself is here to stay.

Oil prices fall as Chinese demand worries linger (3 min read)
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Oil prices closed another 2% lower on Friday amid worries over China's demand and undecided western price cap on Russian oil. As the world’s top oil importer, China’s recent lockdowns are starting to hit fuel demand as traffic across the country is shifting down. Meanwhile, G7 and the European Union have been discussing a Russian oil price cap that can limit Russia’s revenue without disrupting the global oil markets. But an agreement has still not been reached.

SEC new rules aim to boost ETF transparency (2 min read)
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The SEC issued a new requirement for mutual funds and ETFs that will increase the transparency of fund reporting. Traditional fund reports are usually about 100 pages long and hard to find relevant information. The new requirement is to present fund reports that are easier to understand and the SEC provided a three page sample of what it should look like. It was shown to 2000 investors and 91% said it would be useful in monitoring their fund investments.

Fidelity Converting 6 Thematic Mutual Funds to ETFs (2 min read)
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Fidelity became the latest asset manager to convert mutual funds into ETFs. Fidelity is converting six disruptive theme mutual funds into actively managed ETFs next year. The themes are automation, communications, finance, medicine, technology, and a broader disruptor that combines all of it. There’s an average of $80 million in AUM for each fund. The portfolio management team and investment process will remain the same.

And here’s a newsletter I came across recently that some of you might find interesting. Morfternight is a newsletter that bridges time zones. Every week on Sunday @p3ob7o shares a photo, three links, and one thought about leadership and product for distributed teams.

That's it for today! You can reply to this email if you have any comments or feedback.

Thanks,
Thomas

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