Category: Flash News

On February 22, the European Union estimated that the first wave of steel and aluminum tariffs imposed by the United States would hit the EU’s exports of up to 28 billion euros, which (including derivative products) would be about four times the size of Trump’s last targeting of the EU’s metal industry. (Bloomberg)

On February 22, the Russia-Ukraine conflict broke out nearly three years ago, and German energy prices rose sharply. According to the latest report released by the German energy comparison platform on the 22nd local time, the average annual energy expenditure of a typical family of three in Germany has reached 5407 euros, an increase of 31% compared to 2021 (4121 euros), with heating costs showing the most significant increase. Data shows that household heating costs have become the main driver of energy expenditure growth. Among them, natural gas prices have increased by 74% compared to 2021, resulting in an average increase of 61% in overall heating costs.

On February 22, a judge from the Southern District of New York Federal Court made a decision on the 21st that the criminal trial against New York Mayor Eric Adams will be indefinitely adjourned. A document signed by the judge on the same day showed that the court had held a meeting on the 19th regarding the US federal government’s motion to withdraw the lawsuit against Adams. Given the motion of the federal government and the statements made by relevant parties at the meeting, the trial of this case will not proceed as originally planned on April 21st, and therefore the trial will be indefinitely adjourned.

On February 22, a federal judge in the United States extended the ban on Musk’s government efficiency department’s access to the Treasury Department’s payment system on February 21 local time. It is reported that US District Judge Janet Vargas, located in Manhattan, has approved the request of 19 Democratic state attorneys general to issue an injunction against the government efficiency department’s access to the system until the relevant litigation results are announced. On the early morning of February 8th local time, a federal judge in the United States temporarily blocked the government efficiency department led by Musk from accessing the government system used by the US Treasury to process trillions of dollars in payments, citing the risk of sensitive and confidential information being improperly leaked. The order was issued by Manhattan District Judge Engel, after a coalition of 19 US states (mostly led by Democrats) filed a lawsuit claiming that Musk’s government efficiency department had no access to the US Treasury Department’s system.

On February 22, the China Futures Association released and implemented the “Management Rules for Derivative Trading Business of Futures Risk Management Companies” and the supporting document “Risk Disclosure Statement for Derivative Trading Business (Reference Template)” on the 21st. The “Rules” consist of ten chapters and sixty-three articles, covering general provisions, trader suitability management, trading management, subject matter management, performance guarantee management, internal management, code of conduct, information reporting, self-discipline management, and supplementary provisions, as well as the attachment “Explanation on Margin Management of Derivative Trading Business”. In the chapter on transaction management, standardized requirements have been made for the entire process of derivative trading, including contract design, concentration management, valuation mechanism, inquiry and quotation management, transaction confirmation, information bookkeeping, and hedging management. In order to prevent futures risk management companies from engaging in derivative trading with natural persons in a disguised manner, the nominal principal of a single transaction of non standardized equity options shall not be less than RMB 1 million, and transactions with financial institutions that have been approved or authorized to engage in derivative trading business in accordance with the law are not subject to this restriction.

On February 22, New York City sued the Trump administration on February 21 for revoking $80.5 million in funding due to the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s improper handling of immigration in New York City. Previously, four Federal Emergency Management Agency employees were fired for bypassing leadership and unilaterally paying huge fees for hotels in New York City used to accommodate illegal immigrants. The Trump administration withdrew over $80 million from bank accounts in New York City on the evening of the 11th, most of which was used to pay for hotel expenses for immigrants.

On February 22, data showed that as of 17:00 on February 21, a total of 153 A-share listed companies disclosed their 2024 performance reports to the public, and nearly 70% of the companies achieved net profit growth. In addition to performance reports, companies such as Jiacheng International, Jucan Optoelectronics, and Compass have already released their 2024 annual reports. In addition, 2817 listed companies have disclosed their 2024 performance forecasts, with 949 of them expecting positive results. The overall performance of listed companies in industries such as biomedicine, semiconductors, chemicals, general equipment manufacturing, automobile manufacturing, transportation, gold, robotics, and aquaculture is impressive. Among the 153 listed companies that have released their performance reports, 106 companies achieved year-on-year growth in operating revenue, accounting for approximately 69.28%; 105 companies achieved a year-on-year increase in net profit attributable to shareholders of listed companies, accounting for approximately 68.63%. (China Securities Network)

On February 22nd, the consumer electronics sector saw a strong upward trend, with the concept of smart wearable devices continuing to strengthen. Analysts believe that the consumer electronics industry has attracted market attention due to factors such as the continuous promotion of new products by major manufacturers and the stimulation of domestic demand for smartphones by the trade in policy for consumer goods. At the same time, large models represented by DeepSeek are driving generative AI in mobile phones PC、 The acceleration of the landing of end side devices such as humanoid robots, coupled with the innovation and upgrading of mobile phone hardware, is expected to reshape the valuation of the consumer electronics industry. (China Securities Journal)

On February 22nd, funds have continued to pour into the technology growth sector since the beginning of this year, driving a significant increase in the net value of related funds. In addition to high-performance active equity funds being highly favored, robot ETFs, artificial intelligence related ETFs, and other funds have also attracted strong investment and experienced significant growth in scale. Related high-performance funds have frequently imposed purchase restrictions, and the top two funds in terms of performance this year have all issued purchase restriction notices. Data shows that as of February 20th, out of over 4600 active equity funds, more than 100 have achieved returns exceeding 20% this year. (Shanghai Stock News)

On February 22nd, the A-share market has been active and trading has continued to heat up recently. In this context, multiple securities firms have conducted in-depth analysis and judgment on the future market trends and investment layout opportunities. Analysts generally believe that this year’s “spring market” is worth looking forward to, whether from the policy side, liquidity, or fundamental perspective. Looking ahead to the whole year of 2025, it is expected that with positive changes in funding and fundamentals, A-shares will enter an upward trend driven by fundamentals. Several analysts have stated that the technology growth sector has been gaining popularity recently, becoming one of the main driving forces behind the positive market trend. Meanwhile, sectors such as consumption and infrastructure have also gained favor from analysts. (Securities Daily)