월스트리트저널 읽기 - Rate, Nokia, Oil Prices etc.

<FRIDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2023>

 

◈ September Home Sales Slid as High Rates Squeezeed Market (9월 주택 판매는 높은 금리가 시장을 압박하면서 하락했다)

 

 

Home sales fell in September to the lowest rate in 13 years, showing the corner of the economy most weakened by high interest rates remains in decline.

 

For all of 2023, sales of previously owned homes are on track to be the lowest since at least 2011, because increased rates are weighing on demand. But high rates are also limiting the inventory of homes on the market, because homeowners with low rates are unwilling to sell and move. The small supply is pushing home prices higher in much of the U.S.

 

Existing home sales, which make up most of the housing market, decreased 2% in September from the prior month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.96 million, the lowest rate since October 2010, the National Association of Realtors said Thursday. September sales fell 15.4% from a year earlier.

 

The national median existing- home price rose 2.8% in September from a year earlier to $394,300, NAR said. That was the highest price for any September in data going back to 1999, said Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist. Prices aren’t adjusted for inflation.

 

◈ Rate Fears Spur Stock-Market Selloff (금리 공포가 주식시장 매도를 부추기다)

 

 

Stocks ultimately sank Thursday after being whipsawed by remarks from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.

 

Powell’s comments jostled markets as investors were weighing bond yields’ ascent toward 5%, the continuing conflict between Israel and Hamas and the influx of corporate earnings results from the third quarter.

 

The S& P 500 dropped 0.8% with 10 of its 11 sectors finishing in the red. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell 1%, while the Dow industrials declined 0.7%.

 

Powell initially suggested that the central bank is unlikely to raise interest rates again in November, a reprieve for investors. Stocks climbed and bond yields fell. He then spooked investors once his speech resumed, shortly after an interruption by climate activists, prompting a reversal. Traders struggled to discern a clear sense of direction from his comments.

 

“Given the uncertainties and risks, and how far we have come, the committee is proceeding carefully,” Powell said Thursday.

 

◈ Nokia Plans Majors Layoffs (노키아, 대규모 정리해고 계획)

 

 

Nokia said it plans to cut up to 14,000 jobs as the telecommunications- equipment maker wrestles with a sharp downturn in spending by telecom operators.

 

The Finnish company said Thursday it would shrink its workforce to between 72,000 and 77,000 by 2026, from 86,000, depending on how market demand evolves. The cuts are part of an effort to generate annual cost savings of up to 1.2 billion euros, equivalent to $1.26 billion.

 

The move comes as Nokia contends with weakening demand in its network-infrastructure and mobile-networks businesses, with customers facing a tough macroeconomic environment beset by high inflation and rising interest rates. Telecom operators are also working through stockpiles of inventory that were ordered during previous periods of tight supply.

 

Nokia’s comments mirror those made by Swedish rival Ericsson earlier this week, with the two Nordic telecom-gear giants also grappling with a shift in business mix from higher-margin 5G work in early-mover markets such as North America to lower-margin developing markets such as India.

 

◈ Oil Prices Rise as U.S. Lifts Venezuela curbs (미국의 베네수엘라 규제 완화로 유가 상승)

 

 

Oil prices rose after the U.S. removed an array of sanctions against Venezuela’s energy industry for six months.

 

The global benchmark for crude, Brent, increased 1% to $92.38 a barrel Thursday.

 

The Treasury Department suspended measures that prohibited financial transactions with the country’s energy and gold-mining industries and trading of Venezuelan government bonds. Oil prices have been volatile amid production cuts by OPEC+ members, and in recent days, concerns that the Israel-Hamas war could escalate into a regional conflict.

 

오늘도 경제신문으로 세상을 봅니다.

 

2023.10.20 - [경제신문 읽기] - 월스트리트저널 읽기 - Netflix, Rate, China's Economy etc.