Industry

  • According to the Associated Press, U.S. apartment rents rose 0.5% in January, the highest increase in 20 years; electricity prices rose 4.2%, the largest increase in 15 years, and rose 10.7% year-on-year; rising prices for eggs, cereals and dairy products drove the Food prices rose 0.9%. Biden acknowledged that data released by the Labor Department is a reminder that American households are “tight on budgets” and that “the table is under real pressure.”
  • Nissin Foods announced that it will raise the prices of its about 180 kinds of instant noodles for the first time in three years, with an increase of up to 12%. The Japanese subsidiary of Coca-Cola also announced that it will increase the shipping price of a variety of beverages above 1.5 liters by up to 8%. Not only food, but under the influence of tight global supply chains, Japan’s notebook computers and white goods have also begun to see price increases.
  • Recently, a document issued by the Minerals and Coal Bureau under the Indonesian Ministry of Mines shows that Indonesia has suspended the operation of more than 1,000 miners’ mines (including tin and nickel mines, etc.). The market is worried that once the suspension is too long, it may affect the export supply of related resource varieties, or it may exacerbate the tight supply and demand of global bulk commodities, and prices may rise further.
  • World Intellectual Property Organization: Huawei will be the largest applicant in 2021 with 6,952 published PCT applications, ranking first in the applicant list for five consecutive years. It was followed by Qualcomm, Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics and Mitsubishi. A total of 13 Chinese companies have entered the top 50 global PCT international patent applicants, including Huawei, OPPO, BOE, ZTE, vivo, DJI, Tencent, Xiaomi, etc.
  • Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare: In 2021, Japan’s per capita cash monthly average salary will be 319,528 yen, or about 17,597 yuan, a year-on-year increase of 0.3%, the first positive growth in three years.

China

  • The Olympic Broadcasting Service said the Beijing Winter Olympics became the most-watched Winter Olympics. The Australian rights-holding broadcaster said its live broadcast of the opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics had a 331% increase in viewership over the previous session. In Germany, Austria, Norway, Sweden and other powerhouses of the Winter Olympics, the audience rating of the event has also increased exponentially.
  • Charging Alliance: By the end of 2021, member units reported a total of 1.147 million public charging piles, a year-on-year increase of 65%; 1.47 million charging piles (private charging piles) were built with vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 74.3%. It is estimated that in 2022, 1.9 million new charging piles will be built with vehicles, and the number of vehicles will reach 3.37 million; 25,000 public charging stations will be added, and the number of public charging stations will reach 100,000.
  • As of February 10, the national spot inventory of electrolytic aluminum was 950,000 tons, and only 140,000 tons were accumulated seasonally during the Spring Festival, which was the lowest level in the past five years. The overseas aluminum inventory is 880,000 tons, which is also at a historically low level. The limited supply at home and abroad, the recovery of demand, and the low inventory have made the current domestic and overseas aluminum prices rise again in resonance. Goldman Sachs even raised its 12-month aluminum price forecast to a record $4,000 a tonne.
  • It is estimated that the market size of China’s script killing industry will increase to 23.89 billion yuan by 2022, exceeding the 11.74 billion yuan in 2020. There are more than 10,000 board game-related companies nationwide, and 5,957 new registrations will be registered in 2021 alone, the most in the past decade, with a year-on-year increase of 85%.
  • Hema: Valentine’s Day is approaching. As of February 11, online pre-sale bouquets have increased by 459% over the same period last year, and bouquets under 200 yuan are the most popular.