Day: November 26, 2021

Online sales in the US are expected to hit record high levels on Black Friday and Cyber Monday this year despite high inflation, according to data compiled by Anadolu Agency.

Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, that marks the beginning of Christmas shopping season, witnesses thousands of stores across the US offering discount prices every year.

This season, however, is different as the world is mired in supply chain constraints and record high inflation.

Despite the supply bottlenecks and US consumer prices reaching their highest level in 31 years, more shopping than ever is expected to take place this season, especially via the internet.

American consumers are estimated to spend between $5.1-$5.9 billion online just on Thanksgiving Day alone, according to Adobe Digital Insights (ADI), a digital market research agency.

On Black Friday, online sales are forecast to hit a record high of $9.5 billion.

Cyber Monday, which started in 2005 to encourage consumers to shop on the internet, is forecast to rack up $11.3 billion in a single day, ADI’s data showed.

The overall Thanksgiving shopping spree, from Thursday through Friday, is anticipated to increase 10%, compared to last year.

Shortages due to supply issues

Video games and consoles, toys and books are the top goods that consumers seek, but they have already seen supply shortages despite Americans shopping earlier this year for the holiday season.

Despite the head start, almost half of American consumers have faced supply chain issues, according to Morning Consult.

The data intelligence firm also revealed that 74% of consumers who had out-of-stock issues on the internet headed to physical retailers.

Online shoppers viewed more than 2 billion out-of-stock messages just during the month of October, which was double the same period of last year, according to the ADI data.

Electronics, jewelry, apparel, home and garden items were some of the top items that faced shortages.

Yet, Black Friday, which typically showcase sidewalk sleeping and large crowds rushing to stores at dawn, is becoming an online-first shopping day in recent years.

Almost 80% of American consumers are expected to find deals online, with Generation Z and Millennials doing most of the shopping, according to Morning Consult.

Nearly 2 million more people, compared to last year, are expected to shop from Thanksgiving Day through Cyber Monday, the National Retail Federation (NRF) said, with an estimated 158.3 million people expected to shop during Thanksgiving weekend.

While 30.6 million people plan to shop in-store or online on Thanksgiving Day, 108 million people are expected to do so on Black Friday.

Small Business Saturday and this Sunday are forecast to have 58.1 million and 31.2 million shoppers, respectively.

And, 62.8 million consumers are estimated for Cyber Monday, according to the NRF.

ADI estimates total online sales during holiday season, from the beginning of November through New Year’s, to surpass the $200 billion mark for first time in history to reach $207 billion.

The record amount, if realized, would be a 10% increase from the same period of last year.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Global markets started Friday jittery as concerns over the new COVID-19 variant and vaccines that would be less effective against it have increased.

With the ongoing increase in cases in the pandemic, the concern that the new variant may negatively affect the economic recovery brought selling pressure in the stock markets today.

European countries are considering imposing new restrictions amid the fourth wave of cases.

The UK stopped flights with six African countries after the news of the variant.

On the other hand, expectations that the US Fed will slow down the asset purchases earlier than expected are getting stronger by day.

The US Federal Reserve may raise interest rates sooner than anticipated and cut back on its monthly asset purchases faster if inflation continues to run high, the minutes of a recent bank meeting showed on Thursday.

Goldman Sachs, one of the largest investment banks in the US, said in a statement on Thursday that they expect the Fed to reduce its asset purchase rate by another $15 billion in January and to increase interest rates 3 times in 2022.

With these developments, the US 10-year bond yield decreased by 8 basis points to 1.56%, while the ounce price of gold rose by 0.5% to $1,797.

On Thursday, there were no transactions in the New York stock market due to the holiday, while today the markets will trade for half a day.

Europe

In Europe, the pandemic remains at the center of the agenda, while the meeting minutes of the European Central Bank (ECB) were followed yesterday.

It is expected that inflation will rise a little more this year and decrease next year.

The German economy grew by 1.7% in the third quarter of the year compared to the previous quarter, and by 2.5% compared to the same quarter of the previous year, in line with the expectations.

Asia

Uncertainties over the new variant have hit Asian stock markets, leading to concerns that the Chinese economy, which is already growing well below historical averages, may slow down even more.

The Chinese government announced Thursday it strongly protests the US sanctions imposed on 12 of its firms, according to Chinese state-owned news agency Xinhua.

“The US has overstretched the concept of national security and imposed sanctions arbitrarily,” Commerce Ministry spokesperson Shu Jueting told a news conference.

While the softening of the ongoing strict measures in Japan is on the agenda, the new variant negatively affected the markets.

In addition, in Japan the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for November increased by 0.5% year on year, surpassing expectations.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Turkey’s benchmark stock index opened at 1,801.30 points on Friday, down by 0.99%, or 17.92 points, from the previous close.

At Thursday’s close, Borsa Istanbul’s BIST 100 index went up by 0.38% to hit another record closing of 1,819.23 points, with a daily trading volume of more than 31.8 billion Turkish liras ($2.65 billion).

The US dollar/Turkish lira exchange rate rose to 12.1420 as of 9.30 a.m. local time (0630GMT) from 11.9690 at the previous close.

The euro/Turkish lira exchange rate also climbed to 13.6170 from 13.4250, while one British pound traded for 16.1730 Turkish liras, up from 15.9700.

One barrel of Brent crude oil sold for around $80.14 as of 10 a.m. local time (0700GMT).

The Turkish banking sector is “very strong,” said the Central Bank governor on Thursday after meeting with public and private banking officials and bank CEOs.

“The sector, central bank and BDDK are very much in harmony and in strong communication,” he added.

The Turkish banking sector is also one of the most successful ones in the world, Sahap Kavcioglu told a group journalists after the meeting in Istanbul, Turkey’s commercial capital.

Kavcioglu’s remarks came amid fluctuating foreign exchange rates in the wake of interest rate cuts by the Central Bank.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Turkey’s banking sector has adequate buffers to manage funding and liquidity risks, the Central Bank said in a report released on Friday.

“The outlook for the asset quality of the banking sector remains positive,” Sahap Kavcioglu, the bank’s governor, said in the preface of the 33rd Financial Stability Report.

The sector’s profitability, which has improved with the increase in net interest income, backs up capital adequacy, he said.

The report said Turkey’s current account balance has improved significantly thanks to buoyant exports and recovering services revenues, particularly in tourism.

“Strong economic activity has been mirrored favorably in the corporate sector’s turnover, profitability, and liquidity indicators,” read the report.

It said the total and short-term foreign exchange positions of the corporate sector have continued to improve, while the corporate sector and household indebtedness ratios also declined to pre-pandemic levels.

Source: Anadolu Agency

The Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) is set to hold its 15th summit in Turkmenistan’s capital Ashgabat on Sunday, with the participation of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

ECO, which was founded by Turkey, Iran and Pakistan in 1985 as a follow-up of the Regional Cooperation for Development, was later joined by Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan in 1992.

The organization holds summits, ministerial meetings and regular sessions to cooperate on trade and investment.

Source: Anadolu Agency

The protests that expanded to many regions in the country came despite a compromise that was signed between the head of the army, Gen. Abdul Fattah Alburhan to reinstate Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok.

Protesters raised anti-military slogans and criticized the agreement that was signed last week.

Thousands gathered in neighborhoods in Khartoum, including 40 station, 60 street, Omdurman, Bahri, Alkalakla, Alshajara, and the cities of Port Sudan, Kassala, Nyala Shandi and other parts of the country.

Among their demands are the release of political detainees and an investigation into the killing of protesters.

The Sudanese Professional Association (SPA) urged the “bringing down the military coup and the agreement with the Prime Minister.”

Before the military takeover on Oct, 25, Sudan was administered by a sovereign council of military and civilian officials which was overseeing the transition period until elections in 2023 as part of a precarious power-sharing pact between the military and the Forces of Freedom and Change coalition.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky held separate telephone calls Thursday with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and European Council head Charles Michel to discuss the security situation on the border with Russia.

Merkel and Zelensky agreed on the cooperation of the international community as well as maintaining sanctions to limit threats posed by Russia, according to a statement from the Presidency of Ukraine.

The parties stressed the importance of the continuation of efforts of the Normandy format, it added.

Earlier Thursday, Merkel warned Russia about its military buildup near the border with Ukraine.

At a news conference with Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, the outgoing chancellor said European Union member states are united and will do everything to prevent new provocations.

In his call with Zelensky, Michel reported on a conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday.

Michel said that establishing contact between parties with the participation of the EU could help alleviate the crisis, according to a statement by Ukraine.

He wrote on Twitter that he expressed the EU’s full support for Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty to Zelensky. “Europe’s security is only possible with a secure Ukraine,” he added.

Several media outlets reported that the US administration officially warned its European allies that Russia may be planning another invasion of Ukraine.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov denied those allegations on Tuesday.

“We have repeatedly stated at various levels that Russia is not going to attack anyone, does not have any aggressive plans,” he told reporters at a briefing in Moscow.

Since March 2014, Ukraine has been plagued by conflict in its eastern regions bordering Russia, following Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea.

Western nations accuse Russia of destabilizing the region by providing military support to separatists.

Source: Anadolu Agency