Bull Market, Megayachts and Beach Houses: Saturday Asia Briefing

Something for the weekend.

(Bloomberg) — Carefree summer days are infecting the markets. While new Governor Kazuo Ueda may have jolted Japan on Friday by unexpectedly loosening the BOJ’s grip on yields, it’s a blip in the euphoria sweeping global equities. Cash and hedges have been replaced by demand for everything from small caps to meme stocks, bolstered by data indicating the US is beating inflation and heading for a soft landing. Even China’s careworn stocks got a boost.

That’s not to say China is out of the woods yet. Business confidence is timid and the nation is on the brink of deflation, hobbled by long-term problems in the property market. Enter a farmer’s son from a remote corner of Anhui province, tasked with steering the second-biggest economy’s central bank. Who is Pan Gongsheng?

Bulls may be running rampant, but earnings from the big US tech companies show their stocks still rise or fall more on the strength of their main businesses than on how many times they mention AI. Google and Meta’s robust advertising numbers sent the shares up, while Microsoft suffered as its cloud business slowed.

Sipping an iced tea to stave off another scorching weekend, you may be wondering how goes the race to meet the Paris climate goal of keeping global warming to below 2C. You’ll be shocked to know that we’re not doing very well. Bloomberg Green takes the planet’s temperature.

Still, summer heat means travel, though not so much for the US, apparently. Politics, visa issues and border delays are among the reasons why, for the first time in history, the US is running a multiyear travel deficit, with American tourists spending more abroad than visitors are shelling out.

There’s even worse news for those heading to the beach house. One of Europe’s biggest banks says climate change could make some parts of the world uninsurable. Here’s Janet Yellen on the subject.

One way to dodge the heat is to head to cooler northern climates like Norway, or south for the winter. Today, the southern hemisphere holds one of its biggest sporting fixtures, with the dominant New Zealand All Blacks taking on Australia in the Bledisloe Cup, a preview of what to expect in the Rugby World Cup later this year.

Have a packed weekend.

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