US President Donald

 

U.S. President Donald Trump was wondering if he could require Chinese companies to
Industrial production in China in April +3.9% YoY, forecast +1.0%
Industrial production in China recovered in April thanks to the government's decision to restart operations, but capital investment and consumption continued to fall compared to the same period the previous year amid sluggish domestic demand.

China's industrial production grew 3.9% YoY in April after falling 1.1% in March. This is evidenced by the data published on Friday by the National Bureau of Statistics of the country.

The growth rate of industrial production, which is an indicator of economic growth, was above the average forecast of 15 economists surveyed by the Wall Street Journal. They expected the indicator to grow by 1.0%.

Fixed capital investment in China's urban areas fell by 10.3% in January-April after falling by 16.1% in Q1. Economists expected a 9.5% drop.

Retail sales in China fell by 7.5% in April after falling by 15.8% in March. Economists expected the sales to fall by 9.5%.

The unemployment rate in China's urban areas rose to 6.0% in April after it fell to 5.9% in March. It reached a record high of 6.2% in February as millions of workers were unable to return to work due to coronavirus restrictions.

New Zealand Finance Minister: The central bank has other instruments besides negative rates
In addition to negative rates, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand has other instruments that it can use to support the recovery of the economy after the shock of the pandemic, said Prime Minister Grant Robertson on Friday.

The markets began to take into account in the price the likelihood of the key interest rate of New Zealand to move to the negative territory after the release this week of RBNZ statement, in which negative rates were named as one of the options for further monetary policy.

"The RBNZ manager has other instruments and he is working on it," Robertson said.

"We're not in this position right now, and the financial system is in quite good condition at this time," he added.

On Wednesday, RBNZ doubled its target level for government bond purchases to $60 billion ($36 billion). In March, when it lowered its key rate by 75 basis points to 0.25%, it ran out of traditional monetary policy resources.

Robertson acknowledged that the central bank offered commercial banks to prepare for a negative key rate, but noted that it was a preventive measure, not a statement of intent.

According to some economists, a negative key rate could further inflate asset market bubbles and restrain credit growth, which would hinder economic recovery.

"Evidence of how they (negative rates) stimulate the real economy and thus inflation is at best contradictory, and their impact on asset price inflation is undeniable," said Sharon Zollner, economist at ANZ.

"In the short term, this may support economic growth, but will create problems in the future," she added.

According to Robertson, financial markets in New Zealand in March quickly adapted to the quantitative easing program, although for the country it has become a new instrument of monetary policy.

Robertson "believes" that RBNZ will adhere to its forecast that the key rate will remain at 0.25% until March 2021.

The central bank operates independently of the government, but it works closely with the Ministry of Finance to fight the crisis.

The bank buys government bonds on the secondary market by absorbing rapidly growing government debt and preventing the rise of market interest rates.
U.S. President Donald Trump has thought about whether to require Chinese companies wishing to register on U.S. stock exchanges to maintain accounting records according to U.S. standards.
It is concerned, however, that this may force such companies to register on other exchanges.

Trump said he was "very closely" considering keeping such a rule for Chinese companies, which are not yet required to keep records in the same way as his US companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq.

However, he said: "Let's say we do this. What will they do? They'll be listed in London or anywhere else. Do you understand?"

A representative of the New York Stock Exchange refused to comment on this situation.