Industry

  • Yonhap News Agency: The Korea Superconducting and Low Temperature Society stated that the “LK-99” synthesized by the research team of the Korea Quantum Energy Research Center is not a very high temperature superconductor because it does not show the characteristics of a superconductor. The phenomenon of superconductivity means that certain substances cancel the resistance and produce a “negative effect” that squeezes out the internal magnetic field, but in the videos and papers related to LK-99, this Meissner effect does not appear.
  • Financial Times: The number of companies listing in Europe has fallen to its lowest level since the global financial crisis, underscoring the grim situation facing the European IPO market amid a slowing economy and the attractiveness of listing in the United States. Only 34 companies were listed in Europe in the first half of this year, and the total amount of funds raised by companies listed in Europe in the first half of the year was only 2.4 billion euros.
  • Saudi Ministry of Energy: It will extend the voluntary production reduction measure of 1 million barrels per day, which was implemented in July, for another month until the end of September, and the daily production in September will be about 9 million barrels.
  • According to the forecast of consulting firm GlobalData, the compound annual growth rate of the Korean e-commerce market will reach 7.7% between 2023 and 2027. By 2027, this market size is expected to cross the $160 billion mark.
  • According to data released by Statista, as of March 2023, clothing is the most purchased item by Indonesian consumers on online shopping platforms, accounting for 68%. It is worth mentioning that the proportion of Indonesian users who use social media platforms for shopping and consumption is as high as 86%, of which 46% use TikTok Shop for shopping.

Industry China

  • Ministry of Industry and Information Technology: In the first half of the year, the total export volume of photovoltaic products reached 28.92 billion US dollars, an increase of 11.6% year-on-year. In terms of polysilicon, the national output from January to June exceeded 606,000 tons, a year-on-year increase of 66.1%. In terms of silicon wafers, the national output from January to June exceeded 253.4GW, a year-on-year increase of 65.8%. In terms of batteries, the national output of crystalline silicon batteries from January to June exceeded 224.5GW, a year-on-year increase of 65.7%. In terms of components, the national output of crystalline silicon components from January to June exceeded 204GW, a year-on-year increase of 65%; exports reached 108GW, a year-on-year increase of 37.3%.
  • Ministry of Public Security: At present, the number of motor vehicles in China has reached 430 million, and the total number of drivers has reached 510 million.
  • CPCA乘联会: China’s passenger car market retailed 1.734 million units in July, a year-on-year decrease of 5% and a month-on-month decrease of 8%. Since the beginning of this year, a total of 11.259 million vehicles have been retailed, a year-on-year increase of 1%; the new energy vehicle market has retail sales of 647,000 vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 33%, and a month-on-month decrease of 3%.
  • Float glass futures and spot prices rose significantly in the short term. The current ex-factory price is about 2,000 yuan/ton, which is about 1,600 yuan/ton in the same period last year. August and September are the traditional peak seasons for the glass industry, and the recent price increase is related to traders stockpiling goods in advance. In addition, frequent downstream real estate policies have boosted market expectations for the glass industry.

China

  • Cyberspace Administration of China: Publicly solicit opinions on the “Personal Information Protection Compliance Audit Management Measures”. Processors who process personal information of more than 1 million people shall conduct a personal information protection compliance audit at least once a year; other personal information processors shall conduct a personal information protection compliance audit at least once every two years.

Company

  • EVE亿纬锂能: The net profit in the first half of the year was 2.039 billion yuan to 2.242 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 50%-65%.
  • Daqo Energy大全能源: In the first half of the year, its operating income was 9.325 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 42.93%; its net profit was 4.426 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 53.53%. It was mainly due to the sharp drop in polysilicon prices due to the successive release of new production capacity in the silicon material market during the reporting period.
  • ONE: Announced its second-quarter results. As of June 30, ONE achieved operating income of US$3.765 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 58%; after-tax net profit of US$513 million, a year-on-year decrease of 91%. ONE said that the supply and demand balance of the east-west routes has not yet been restored, and the short-term freight rate level is showing a gradual downward trend.
  • Starbucks: Announced third-quarter results, with quarterly revenue of US$9.17 billion, a year-on-year increase of 12%; net profit attributable to the company was US$1.41 billion, compared with US$913 million in the same period last year. Among them, same-store sales in China soared 46%.
  • Meta: On the 2nd, Meta released an AI tool AudioCraft (literally translated as audio technology), this artificial intelligence integrates the three models or technologies of AudioGen, EnCodec and MusicGen, and can generate high-quality and realistic audio from text content and music.

World

  • Meteorological Bureau: Last week, many meteorological agencies around the world released reports saying that July this year was the hottest month in the earth’s 120,000 years. Global sea surface temperatures also hit record highs. Antarctic sea ice extent also hit a record low for June in satellite records.
  • US: The United States plans to launch the world’s first nuclear-powered spacecraft into orbit as early as 2025. The $499 million mission, dubbed the Agile Earth-Moon Space Operations Demonstrator Rocket, is the first test of a new rocket propulsion system. The new propulsion system could take astronauts to Mars in just 45 days.
  • US: U.S. private payrolls rose more than expected in July.
  • UK: July retail sales post biggest drop in over a year.
  • Vietnam: 7,100 enterprises resumed work in June, a month-on-month increase of 19.3%.