Respond in the early hours of the morning!
Recently, a video of "the company's female executives illegally fired employees" has attracted widespread attention on the Internet, and many related topics have rushed to the hot search. In the early morning of January 8th, Beijing Neox Technology Co., Ltd. issued a statement on this matter, saying, "Recently, there was a video of a dispute between our human resources employee Jing and former employee Sun due to the termination of labor relations on the Internet.
At the market level, in the first week of 2024, the global stock and bond market hit its worst start in two decades. According to Bloomberg data, in the first week of 2024, the total market value of the global stock market evaporated by more than 2 trillion US dollars, and the total market value of the global bond market fell by about 1 trillion US dollars, with a total evaporation of 3.18 trillion US dollars (about 23 trillion yuan).
The latest signal released by the Federal Reserve may be one of the "fuses" for the decline of global markets. Among them, Fed officials warned that the possibility of further interest rate hikes remains, and the minutes of the Fed's latest December 2023 monetary policy meeting also poured cold water on the market. Previously, the market frantically bet that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates in March this year, and the "interest rate cut deal" was once very crowded, which has also become a "hidden danger" for the start of 2024.
It was reported on the Internet that "female executives illegally fired employees", and the company involved responded in the early morning
Recently, a video of "a female executive of the company illegally fired an employee" circulated on social networks and attracted widespread attention.
In the early morning of January 8, Beijing Neox Technology Co., Ltd. issued a statement on this matter:
Recently, there was a video of a dispute between our human resources employee Jing and former employee Sun due to the termination of labor relations on the Internet, Jing was emotional and made inappropriate remarks, causing netizens to be extremely uncomfortable, and I would like to sincerely apologize to everyone! The situation is explained below.
Mr. Sun, a former employee of our company, joined the company on June 25, 2023, signed a 3-year labor contract and a confidentiality and non-compete agreement, and the probation period was 6 months. Due to Sun's incompetence, our company decided not to pass the probationary period. After consensus, the two parties signed an agreement on the termination of labor relations on December 1, and our company paid the wages and severance compensation in full for November on December 8 in accordance with the agreement. The above procedures are handled in accordance with the law.
Our company always adheres to the rule of law, we believe in the rule of law and fairness in the society, and strive to create value for the society.
In addition, Shougang Group Co., Ltd. responded on the evening of January 7, and after careful verification, it is hereby stated as follows:
The woman in the online video is not an employee or executive of Shougang Group, and the incident has nothing to do with Shougang Group. Thank you netizens for their concern and attention to Shougang Group, and let us work together to maintain a harmonious and clear network environment.
23 trillion "ashes"
In the first week of 2024, more than $3 trillion will be wiped out, and global stocks and bonds will have their worst start in two decades.
According to Bloomberg data, in the first week of 2024, the total market value of the global stock market will evaporate by more than $2 trillion, and the total market value of the global bond market will fall by about $1 trillion, with a total of $3.18 trillion (about 23 trillion yuan). In terms of the total market value of evaporation, this is the worst start since 2004.
All major U.S. stocks fell, among which small-cap stocks and the Nasdaq index fell the most, of which the Nasdaq index fell 3.25% in a single week, the largest weekly decline since March 10, the Nasdaq 100 fell 3.09%, ending a nine-week winning streak, the Russell 2000 fell 3.75%, falling for two consecutive weeks after six consecutive weeks, and the S&P 500 index fell 1.52% in a single week, the first decline in the past 10 weeks, ending the longest winning streak in nearly 20 years.
Including Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet, Meta, Amazon, Nvidia, and Tesla, the total market value of the seven major technology stocks evaporated by more than 400 billion US dollars (about 2.9 trillion yuan) this week, and the stock price generally gave up almost all the gains in December.
At the same time, U.S. Treasury bonds and corporate bonds both recorded the biggest weekly declines since October. Treasury yields rose for the week across all maturities:
Among them, the yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 4%, the yield on the 30-year Treasury note rose the most, rising 16 basis points, the second largest yield increase since the beginning of 2011, and the yield on the 2-year Treasury note rose by 13.5 basis points, the largest yield increase since the beginning of 2005.
The unfavorable start to the year has set the tone for the trend of U.S. stocks throughout the year?
According to U.S. media quoting Deutsche Bank strategists, if the S&P 500 index falls in the first five trading days of each year, its annual average increase is 1.1%, and if it rises in the same period, its annual average increase is 11.2%.
The Fed "poured cold water" on it
The latest signal released by the Federal Reserve may be one of the "fuses" for the decline of global markets.
On January 4, local time, Richmond Fed President Thomas Barkin said that a soft landing for the U.S. economy is more likely, but it is not certain, and the possibility of further interest rate hikes still exists.
At the same time, the minutes of the Federal Reserve's December 2023 monetary policy meeting showed that Fed policymakers appear more confident in curbing high inflation, believing that the risk of inflation upward has decreased, and it is expected that the next year may be suitable for interest rate cuts, but the path of interest rates is still very uncertain, and many policymakers believe that high interest rates may remain high for longer.
This series of signals has undoubtedly poured cold water on the market.
Prior to this, the consensus expectation that the Fed would cut interest rates in March this year was almost "certain". This directly boosted the big carnival of the U.S. stock and bond markets at the end of 2023.
A large amount of money is frantically betting on the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates, which has also become a "hidden danger" for the sharp fall at the beginning of 2024.
Guotai Junan's latest report pointed out that the first window of the interest rate cut trade is starting to show weakness after two months. The market rush is the most fundamental reason.
Guotai Junan said that the rate cut would have brought about an easing of liquidity, but the congestion of the "rate cut trade" has created new problems. The accumulation of large positions for fear of missing out on trading opportunities has made the negative spreads in long-term bond trading more pronounced on the one hand, and liquidity in the market has become tighter on the other.
Looking ahead, Guotai Junan believes that there are three events worth paying attention to at the end of January 2024:
First, at the Fed's first interest rate meeting in 2024 (January 31), the Fed may recalibrate its interest rate cut expectations;
second, the U.S. Treasury's Refunding Plan (January 31), which is related to the bond issuance plan from February to April;
Third, the United States will announce the GDP for the fourth quarter of 2023 (January 25), which is a very important "weather vane" for future interest rate cuts and interest rate cut transactions.
Editor-in-charge: Tactical Heng
Proofreading: Su Huanwen