No 900 - It is from Russia

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BANDSFinancial

磐石金融有限公司（ BANDS Financial Limited ）在香港注册成立，是一家持有香港证监会（SFC）2号牌照的期货经纪公司，业务涉及中国以外全球大部分活跃期货及期权市场。

香港

On Friday, in our first data point for some time, Chinese Industrial profits (YTD) YoY January to April increased by 3.5% YoY to RMB 26.58 trillion however the previous print January to March had been an 8.5% rise indicating the month of April was particularly disastrous, I may be wrong but these numbers suggest on a YoY basis corporate profits fell 8.5% April21 to April22 as high raw material prices and supply chain disruptions caused by city and regional covid lockdowns squeezed margins and disrupted factory activity. Tomorrow we have the NBS Manufacturing and Non-Manufacturing PMI which will give us further insight.Here in Shanghai, I can report the feeling is mixed. I was let out of my compound for 2 hours on Saturday, the first time in 71 days, and a scoot around the local streets on a bicycle left me exhausted. However, there was little to see. The streets are deserted of cars. As there are no pedestrians on the sidewalks so little tufts of grass have emerged between the paving stones. The usually well-kept ornamental flowers and shrubs along the boulevards are unkempt, and similar to myself, need a haircut. In the shopping areas, all shops except those selling food were closed. However, I did find the new covid nucleic acid testing station. About the size of a motorway toll booth, it was doing a brisk trade with electric scooter delivery riders. The booth on the sidewalk of my nearest shopping precinct is exactly where the app on my phone said it would be, and no doubt I will be visiting it once a day, once my neighbourhood committee stop organising nucleic testing in my compound.Although we expect a change on 1st June, the issue is the absence of clear messaging on how the lockdown will end. Businesses of all shapes and sizes have no idea when or how they can reopen under the current restrictions. Zero covid is a government-led collective effort, from city-wide authorities devolved down to neighbourhood or compound wide committees. To move forward responsibility must be further devolved down to the individual, perhaps prompted by their phone to get a test. Neighbourhood committees do not want to see an infection in their location of responsibility, so naturally, they are asking for clarity from above before offering change. But perhaps Im being too pessimistic. Most if not all of China continues to operate and iPhone video of life in the further Shanghai suburbs indicates life has seemingly returned to normal. However, on day 73 here in my piece of central Shanghai, the traffic is again non-existent, building work on the adjacent residential block remains halted and the cross-river ferry is idle.As a small housekeeping note, my wife mentioned that our usual brand of canola cooking oil is unavailable in our usual online grocery shop. As ex-pats we tend to gravitate towards the brands we know and this one is sourced from Canada.However, cooking oil is available, the online shop is offering a “new” alternative brand, it is from Russia.

Have a good dayRegards John