Apple is accelerating plans to move production out of China (2 min read)
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Apple has been planning to move iPhone production out of China since early this year. The recent uprising protests and zero-Covid lockdowns at the largest iPhone factory in ZhengZhou are propelling Apple to take action sooner. It has significantly slowed the production capacity leading to a shortfall of 6 million iPhone Pros ahead of the holidays. Apple is ramping up efforts to source up to 45% of iPhone production from factories in India and Vietnam.

Ford claims No. 2 spot in EVs behind Tesla – but gap remains wide (2 min read)
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Ford has become the second best-selling automaker of electric vehicles in the US. It passed Hyundai/Kia after they lost the incentives that would give buyers EV tax credits under the Inflation Reduction Act. Ford accounts for 7.4% of the EV market in the US, still far behind the industry leader Tesla who is at 65%. Some suggest that it may be challenging for Ford to hold onto the No. 2 spot as their sales had one of the worst declines last month.

Europe agrees to cap the price of Russian oil at $60 a barrel (3 min read)

The European Union has reached an agreement on the price cap for Russian oil just days before it takes effect. The goal is to limit Russia’s oil revenue without disrupting the global oil market. It will be enforced by companies that provide shipping, insurance, and other related services for Russian oil imports where they can withhold services if a buyer pays more than the price cap. There are still confusions about the impact and how it affects the oil market.

Payrolls and wages blow past expectations, flying in the face of Fed rate hikes (4 min read)

US job growth was higher than expected in November despite the Fed’s aggressive rate hikes to slow the labor market. Nonfarm payrolls increased by 236,000 and the average hourly wage also went up by 0.6%. The unemployment rate was at 3.7%, the only data that was in line with estimates. However, these new numbers had little impact on rate expectations this month as the market continued to price in nearly 80% chance of 0.5% rate hike in December.

New ProShares ETF Focused on Surging Battery Demand (2 min read)

ProShares recently launched the first ETF that invests specifically in companies mining battery materials. The ProShares S&P Global Core Battery Metals ETF (ION) includes companies globally that generate revenue from mining metals crucial to powering electric vehicles or phones. Battery demand has been surging alongside the growth of electric vehicles which made companies mining battery metals attractive since they own the direct rights to the resources.

Oil ETFs Plummet on Russian Oil Cap (2 min read)

Oil and energy related ETFs took a dip on Friday after the European Union agreed on a $60 price cap for Russian oil. The Proshare Ultra Bloomberg Natural Gas (BOIL) dropped nearly 14% in a single day while energy-focused ETFs only slid slightly at about 1%. Despite the market reacting to the news, some experts suggest that the price cap will have minimal impact on the oil market because the physical flow of Russian oil has not been stopped or slowed.

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Thanks,
Thomas

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