Good afternoon everyone. On the back of reports saying that Beijing has just pledged over $480 billion to support the market, the Shenzhen Composite posted its best rally in three years, ending the day up 5%. The Shanghai Index also soared 3.5% – a second-straight gain for the composite – while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index didn’t do too bad either, ending the session up 1%. Japan’s Nikkei 225 meanwhile continued its five-day blitz, ending the week up 4.4%.
Here’s what else you need to know:
Bank of England Governor Mark Carney sends the Pound soaring. In a statement that sent the British Pound soaring against its peers, BoE Governor Mark Carney hinted at an earlier than expected rate hike, saying that “(t)he decision as to when to start such a process of adjustment will likely come into sharper relief around the turn of this year,” adding “The need for bank rate to rise reflects the momentum in the economy and a gradual firming of underlying inflationary pressures.” Bloomberg (video)
German regulators slam Deutsche Bank. In a confidential report seen by the WSJ, German regulators slammed Deutsche Bank executives for “failing to stop or tell regulators about years of attempted market manipulation.” Anshu Jain, the German bank’s former co-CEO, apparently got the worst of it. WSJ (paywall)
HXEx CEO calls China’s equity market the “safest” in the world. In an effort to allay volatility and intervention fears, HXEx CEO Charles Li called China’s stock market the “safest” in the world. Some people are a little skeptical about that though, with Ample Capital’s Alex Wong telling Bloomberg “I don’t think many people will agree with him.” Bloomberg / HXEx
North Korea’s economy grew 1% in 2014, South Korea guesses. Using data compiled from intelligence operatives, South Korea’s central bank guesses that North Korea expanded 1% in 2014. Not bad, I guess? Bloomberg
Photo credit: Sean_Marshall via Flickr