virtual currency and cryptocurrency Top Top stories

Bank of Japan: The confidence index of large manufacturers rose to the highest level since March 2022.The Australian stock market fell for the fourth consecutive trading day, led by mining stocks. The Australian stock market fell with the US stock market on Friday, with mining stocks falling the most. The day before, the unemployment rate in Australia fell sharply in November, prompting investors to reduce their bets on interest rate cuts in February. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index fell 0.7% to 8276.5, the fourth consecutive trading day. The benchmark fell by about 1.6% this week, the biggest weekly decline since early August.The yield of China's 10-year government bonds fell below 1.80% at the beginning of the session, hitting a new record low.

Cathay Pacific: The number of the group has exceeded 30,000, and there will be more than 100 passenger destinations next year. On December 13, Cathay Pacific said that it had the largest recruitment in history in 2024, with about 7,000 new employees hired throughout the year, and the total number of employees in the group exceeded 30,000. With the total flight volume of Cathay Pacific and Hong Kong Express returning to the pre-epidemic level in January next year, Cathay Pacific announced that the two-year reconstruction trip will be completed soon, and there will be more than 100 passenger destinations next year. (Hong Kong Economic Times)Guotai Junan: The liquor sector is determined to be ahead of growth, paying attention to the trend of price approval and the orientation of head liquor enterprises. Guotai Junan said that the liquor reporting end began to enter a downward period in 2024Q2, and the bottom shock is expected in 2025H1. Sales are slowing down, inventory is passively rising, and the approval price is expected to be relatively weak. The Spring Festival in 2025 will experience a stress test period. In terms of price, real estate liquor > high-end > secondary high-end. After this round of adjustment, real estate liquor is expected to recover first, followed by high-end liquor, and the secondary high-end liquor is expected to recover for a long period.Huatai Securities: The main industrial chain of lithium battery pays attention to the opportunity of profit bottoming, and the new technology focuses on solid-state batteries. Huatai Securities said that the domestic market policy side is superimposed on the enterprise side, and the carbon emission assessment in Europe is overweight in 2025. It is expected that the global new energy vehicle market will maintain steady growth in 2025. Coupled with the rapid growth of energy storage, it is estimated that the global battery demand will reach 1544/1937GWh in 2024/2025, which is +30%/+25% year-on-year. In the fourth quarter, the demand for power and energy storage is improving, and the prices of some links of lithium battery have shown signs of stabilization. We are optimistic about the links with tight supply and demand pattern and strong differentiation, and the performance of related enterprises is expected to rise in volume and price next year. In terms of new technologies, solid-state batteries continue to be tested and promoted, composite aluminum foil is expected to be mass-produced next year, lithium-sodium mixed technology is gradually landing, and fast charging permeability is expected to increase. It is recommended to pay attention to the progress of new technology industries.

Japanese Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato: The Mitsubishi UFJ incident is under investigation. Note: Previously, Japan's Financial Services Agency will order Mitsubishi UFJ Bank to prepare a report on a series of safe theft by a former employee.Meta released a new AI tool, which can enhance the experience of the Meta-universe. On Thursday, the American technology giant Meta said that it would release an artificial intelligence model called Meta Motivo, which can control the actions of a digital agent similar to human beings and may enhance the experience of the meta-universe. According to the company, Meta Motivo solves the common body control problems in digital avatars, enabling them to exercise in a more realistic and human-like way. "We believe that this research can pave the way for a fully concrete agent in the meta-universe, resulting in a more realistic NPC (non-player character), democratization of character animation, and a new immersive experience."Asiana Airlines will use Korean Air's 1.500 trillion won investment to repay its debts.