Pre-market actions: The US-China struggle is not going away. This proves it



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What’s Happening: The US House of Representatives passed a bill on Wednesday that could kick several Chinese companies off American stock exchanges. It had already been given the go-ahead in the Senate, which means it now only needs President Donald Trump’s signature to become law.

The legislation would prevent companies that refuse to open their books to U.S. accounting regulators from trading on Wall Street. While it would apply to any foreign company, the focus on China is obvious.

Beijing has withstood such scrutiny and requires companies that trade overseas to keep key documents in mainland China, where they cannot be reviewed by foreign agencies, my CNN Business colleague Jill Disis reports.

“US policy is allowing China to break the rules that American companies play, and it’s dangerous,” Senator John Kennedy, a Louisiana Republican who is one of the initial sponsors of the bill, said in a statement. “Today, the House joined the Senate in rejecting a toxic status quo.”

Beijing is not happy. “We strongly oppose the politicization of securities regulation,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Hua Chunying said when asked about the vote.

Sensing that control is growing, Chinese companies have prepared contingency plans. Earlier this year, game company NetEase (DETECTOR) and e-commerce company JD.com (JD), both trading in New York, acknowledged the tensions as they announced secondary listings on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Other companies that may be interested include Alibaba (BABA) is China Telecom (NO).
That’s not all: the vote came shortly after the New York Times published an interview with Joe Biden in which the US president-elect indicated that he has no intention of being nice to China, telling reporter Thomas Friedman that he would not take immediate action to reduce the 25% tariffs that Trump imposed on about half of China’s exports to the United States.

“I’m not going to make any immediate moves, and the same goes for the tariffs,” Biden said. “I’m not going to compromise my options.”

Step back: the Biden administration could work more closely with US allies when engaging with China. However, it is clear that tensions with the second world economy will remain high.

Investor Insight: The feeling among investors is that Biden is a firmer hand than Trump, which makes it more likely that the conflict between Beijing and Washington could prevent a rapid escalation over the next four years.

“We did not expect an immediate reduction in tariffs, but we do expect a more conciliatory and multilateral approach from the incoming administration, reducing one of the main sources of market instability during the Trump presidency,” said Mark Haefele, chief investment officer of UBS Global. Wealth Management.

But they remain on guard for changes that could affect global business and capital flows, such as legislation now on Trump’s desk.

Are the stimulus discussions finally going somewhere?

Discussions about spending on additional stimulus in the United States were stuck in a partisan bloc for most of the year. This week, however, there were signs of movement on further coronavirus relief measures.

The latest: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Wednesday that “in the spirit of compromise,” the $ 908 billion bipartisan package presented earlier this week should be “used as a basis “for future talks.

“Of course, we and others will offer improvements, but the need for action is immediate and we believe that with good faith negotiations we could come to an agreement,” they said.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell threw cold water on the proposal. But Goldman Sachs told customers it sees Pelosi and Schumer’s announcement as a step forward.

“Democratic leaders appear to have succumbed to their insistence on a multi-billion dollar fiscal stimulus package, increasing the likelihood that a deal could be reached before the end of the year,” strategists including chief US political economist Alec said in a statement. Phillips.

However, many critical points remain, including what will actually be included in the bill.

According to Phillips, Democrats are likely to ask for fiscal help for states, while another round of stimulus checks seems unlikely given the price, which “would rule out many other competing priorities.” Goldman Sachs expects the bulk of the package to be small business support.

There is also the question of whether Trump would sign a bill if he reached his desk.

UPS struggles to cope with the boom in holiday shopping

UPS (UPS) is putting shipping limits on some of its major retailers, a sign that online shopping is putting a strain on its delivery network during the holiday season when many people are stuck at home.
UPS imposes a shipping limit on some of its major retailers with the boom in holiday shopping

The company did not provide the names of retailers they would be interested in, but said the new restrictions will go into effect this week, my CNN Business colleague Jazmin Goodwin reports. The Wall Street Journal reports that Gap and Nike are among those subject to the new rules.

“We expect the majority of these orders to meet estimated delivery dates and will notify consumers of any changes to delivery,” a Nike spokesperson said.

Big picture: The skyrocketing online shopping over Thanksgiving was a taste of what’s to come. Cyber ​​Monday produced $ 10.8 billion in sales, a 15% increase from last year and the largest online shopping day in history, according to Adobe Analytics.

UPS added 20 new facilities and 14 additional aircraft for the peak season. It also expanded its weekend operations and the speed of its ground delivery. Other shipping services such as FedEx and USPS have raised premiums on holiday pricing by hiring thousands of temporary workers to handle shipments.

Amazon, meanwhile, has avoided significant shipping problems by relying on its own delivery service and drivers. Last weekend, Amazon reported that it raised nearly $ 5 billion between Black Friday and Cyber ​​Monday, a 60% increase from last year.

Next next

General dollar (DG) is Kroger (KR) report gains before US markets open. Smith & Wesson and Ulta Beauty (ULTA) follow after closing.

Also today:

  • OPEC and Russia have to make a tough demand on whether to start pumping more crude.
  • The first jobless claims in the United States for last week arrive at 8:30 am ET. An additional 775,000 claims are expected, down slightly from the previous week.

Coming tomorrow: Investors will turn their attention to the official US employment report for November, which is expected to show the weakest level of employment growth since the start of the Covid-19 recovery.

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