Bank of America said the inflation shock would trigger a recession; Musk decided not to join Twitter's board

An overview of global financial highlights is all in "Global Financial Dynamics". This column selects financial news such as banking and insurance from all over the world every day, helping you expand your international vision, keep up with international trends, and make the global financial market close to the end of the world!

01 // Bank of America: Inflationary shocks will trigger a recession

Bank of America said in its latest report that a recession caused by inflation will cause the stock market to adjust again, and investors will experience a painful period of time in 2022.

"Inflation leads to recession." Bank of America has been blunt in stating, "And now inflation is out of control." ”

As the COVID-19 pandemic subsides, consumer demand recovers, coupled with continued disruptions in supply chains and soaring commodity prices, inflation continues to rise, and house prices are rising at a pace not seen in more than 40 years.

Bank of America said the recession would cause the S&P 500 to fall below a key 4,000 points by the end of 2022, meaning the index could be down 11 percent from its current level.

02 // World Bank forecast: Ukrainian economy will contract by 45.1% this year

According to the Russian Satellite Network, the World Bank recently predicted that due to the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, the Ukrainian economy will shrink by 45.1% this year, while the Russian economy will shrink by 11.2%.

Russia Today (RT) said the World Bank, which measures the economic damage caused by the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, predicts a double-digit decline in Russia's gross domestic product (GDP) and recessions in neighboring Belarus and Moldova.

The World Bank also reportedly said some countries in the region would be forced to seek outside help to avoid debt defaults. The World Bank predicts that "Europe and Central Asia and the rest of the world will suffer significant economic losses."

03// Fed officials expect high inflation to remain high for at least two years

The Fed's vote this year, Cleveland Fed President Mester recently said that even if the Fed's steady tightening of policy will reduce the rate of price increases, but this year and next two years of US inflation will remain high.

In an interview with CBS, Mestre said: "By raising the cost of housing, cars and other loans, Fed rate hikes and other actions will help reduce excessive demand beyond limited supply and lower price pressures to the Fed's 2 percent inflation target." I think it will take some time to reduce inflation, which will remain above 2% this year and even next year. But the inflation trajectory will move downwards. ”

04// Musk decided not to join Twitter's board

Twitter CEO Parag Agarawal said a few days ago that Tesla CEO Musk has decided not to join Twitter's board.

Agrawal said in a statement that Musk's appointment of directors was supposed to go into effect on April 9, but he "announced that morning that he would no longer join the board."

Last week, Musk disclosed that he had acquired a 9.1% stake in Twitter, becoming the company's largest individual shareholder.

05 // West Africa is facing its worst food crisis in 10 years

According to CCTV News, a report released by the international relief organization Oxfam shows that West Africa is facing the worst food crisis in 10 years due to regional conflicts, droughts, floods and food prices affected by the Conflict between Russia and Ukraine, and more than 27 million people are suffering from hunger.

The report said that the decline in cereal production caused by drought, floods, conflict and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has caused food prices in West Africa to soar by 30% in the past five years. In addition, due to the impact of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict and US-European sanctions, the global supply of wheat has decreased, exacerbating the food crisis in West Africa.

06 // The Bank of Japan revises down its economic situation assessment in 8 regions

The Bank of Japan's April 11 Regional Economic Report downgraded its assessment of the economic situation in eight of the country's nine regions due to the recovery of covid-19 and supply chain constraints.

The bank said in the report that there were some signs of slowing in the economic recovery in eight regions, including Tokyo and Osaka. The report also shows that despite rising raw material costs, Japanese companies are still struggling to raise prices for products and services because Japanese consumers remain price-sensitive.

07 // The rate hike panic spreads to crypto assets

Bitcoin's price fell below $42,000 in trading on April 11, for the first time since March 23, largely due to growing concerns about rising interest rates.

On the morning of the 11th, Bitcoin fell to $41918. The coin has been dragged down by investor concerns about the Fed's tightening policy since its rise to a peak of just over $48,000 at the end of March.

Economists surveyed expect U.S. inflation to reach 8.4 percent in March, the highest level since early 1982. Goldman Sachs chief economist Jan Hatzius said recently that the Fed may need to raise interest rates to more than 4% to curb inflation.

08 // GoTo, Indonesia's largest Internet technology company, was listed with a market value of more than 100 billion yuan

On April 11, GoTo (GOTO.JK), Indonesia's largest Internet technology company, was listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange with a market value of more than 100 billion yuan. GoTo is Southeast Asia's first technology platform that integrates e-commerce, mobile on-demand services and financial services. As of September 2021, the platform has more than 55 million users and the total transaction volume of the platform exceeds 28.8 billion US dollars.

In May 2021, Indonesian ride-hailing and payment company Gojek and e-commerce giant Tokopedia agreed to merge, and the two sides jointly created GoTo, the largest merger in Indonesia's history.

Edited by Audio Productions Du Xiangjie