—— Ant IPO is expected to restart; Deloitte is ready to split its audit and consulting departments; buying a house in the United States may be the most cost-effective way; the world’s largest fertilizer manufacturer has greatly increased production; Eating two portions of Fish per week linked to skin cancer; May CPI index may cause stock market volatility; Microsoft discloses job salary ranges

1. Ant IPO is expected to restart

China’s financial regulator recently held a preliminary meeting with Ant Group Co. about plans to restart the IPO, people familiar with the matter said.

The China Securities Regulatory Commission has set up a team dedicated to Ant’s IPO and may soon grant Ant Group permission to IPO, people familiar with the matter said.

Although the exact timeline is still unclear, the China Securities Regulatory Commission’s renewed support for technology companies is good news for investors, and Chinese technology stocks have ushered in an exciting rally in the past few weeks.

Last week, Didi Global’s app was also expected to be available on the app store again, sending shares soaring. Alibaba, which holds a 7% stake in Ant, rose 7% before the market opened today.

Investors regain hope as CSRC backs Chinese tech companies again

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2. Deloitte splits audit and consulting departments

Deloitte, one of the Big Four accounting firms, plans to follow in the footsteps of Ernst & Young (EY) by splitting its consulting and audit divisions globally, people familiar with the matter said.

Currently, JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs are helping Ernst & Young complete the split transaction, and Deloitte is also consulting Goldman Sachs on the feasibility of a split.

Ernst & Young believes that without splitting the consulting and auditing divisions, the company will have a lot of constraints in selling consulting services to audit clients, so splitting up could help the consulting division attract more new clients. The company expects the split transaction to last at least 18 months because of the wider scope and the more regulation involved.

For Deloitte, the firm’s consulting arm is a major profit driver. The company’s consulting and tax divisions earned $40 billion in profit in fiscal 2021, while audits earned just $10.5 billion.

KPMG and PwC say that they are not considering any split plans for the time being

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3. All cash house purchase becomes the most cost-effective

According to the National Association of Realtors, 28% of home buyers purchased a home in all-cash in March, close to the highest level in 2014.

Real estate agents say cash is king in today’s real estate market. With mortgages still high, renters and first-time homebuyers are having to figure out other ways to fulfill their dream of buying a home.

Some buyers who cannot afford all-cash will borrow money from relatives and friends to make up the money to buy a house. When interest rates come down, they will reapply for a mortgage or a home-equity line of credit.

In the last quarter of 2021, 75% of investors bought homes in all cash, according to Redfin Corp. Investors usually resell or rent out a house after buying it.

Cash is also a better payment method for sellers, as bank loans can run the risk of delays and strandings. As a result, the all-cash buyer’s markup is also relatively small at the time of the auction. When it comes to bidding, all-cash odds of winning an auction are four times higher than loans, Redfin said.

All-cash is the seller’s preferred and less risky payment method, so auction premiums may be relatively lower

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4. World’s largest fertilizer maker boosts production significantly

Nutrien Ltd., the world’s largest fertilizer producer, has announced a goal to increase production of potash to 18 million tons a year by 2025, 40 percent higher than 2020 production.

The company’s interim president and CEO Ken Seitz said that the current global shortage of fertilizer supplies has led to a surge in commodity prices, which has seriously affected global food security. The existing thorny problems cannot be solved immediately, and it will likely take years for companies to improve the health of the crop and fertilizer markets.

Russia is an important exporter of almost all major crops, and the Russian-Ukrainian war has also worried many companies. Although the prices of some commodities have corrected recently, they are still at extremely high levels.

Nutrien’s increased fertilizer production can lower market prices, thereby lowering the price of crops as well as food

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5. Eating two portions of Fish per week linked to skin cancer

The National Health Service (NHS) recommends that people eat at least two servings of fish weighing around 140g per week, including fish that are higher in fat.

However, a recent study by Brown University in the United States found that eating a total of 280 grams per week increases the risk of malignant melanoma, the most well-known type of skin cancer.

The results of the study showed that people who ate more than 42.8 grams of fish per day had a 22% higher risk of developing malignant melanoma than those who ate 3.2 grams of fish per day. In addition, eating too much fish increased the chance of developing abnormal cells in the outer layer of the skin by 28%, also known as precancerous lesions.

It is reported that this study involved 491,000 American adults, with an average age of 62. Ultimately, 5,034 people in the experimental population developed malignant melanoma and 3,284 developed precancerous lesions. The data found that there was a positive relationship between the risk of disease and the consumption of fish.

Dr. Duane Mellor, a senior lecturer at Aston Medical School, explained that the study did not find a direct link between eating fish and developing cancer, so the evidence was not clear enough and people should not stop because of the results. Eat healthy fish.

The doctor believes that this investigation and research does not have enough evidence to prove that eating fish will cause cancer

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6. May CPI index may lead to market volatility again

This week, the European Central Bank announced more aggressive fiscal measures to fight inflation, and today US stocks and Treasuries fell again and the dollar rose again.

The ECB plans to raise its benchmark rate by 0.25% next month and by the same or more in the following month. In most regions where the euro is used, inflation is already over 8%, and the problem is very difficult.

Tomorrow, the CPI data for May will be released. The industry expects that the CPI value has risen compared with the previous month, and the year-on-year increase may remain above 8%. In addition to the US CPI data, China will also announce the CPI and PPI data tomorrow. These two sets of data are likely to cause huge market volatility. Investors should be prepared for defense.

Today, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq fell 2.4% and 2.7%, respectively, while the 10-year Treasury yield rose to 3.04%.

China and the United States will release the latest CPI and PPI data, and the market may experience greater volatility

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7. Microsoft will disclose job salary ranges

Today, Microsoft announced in a blog post that the company will disclose salary ranges for all U.S. jobs on its internal and external recruiting platforms, becoming the first tech giant to increase hiring transparency.

Earlier this year, Washington state’s latest law was established and requires employers to disclose salary ranges and all fringe benefits starting next year, and businesses with more than 15 employees must comply. New York City has recently adopted a similar bill, which will go into effect in November.

Proponents of the bill argue that wage transparency could reduce wage inequality between men and women, but opponents say the rule would make the job market tighter.

As of June 30, 2021, Microsoft had 181,000 employees, of which 103,000 were in the United States. The median salary for Microsoft employees in fiscal 2021 is $177,000.

Improving employee rights is one of several corporate goals set by Microsoft

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The content of this article comes from various financial news media such as The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, and Bloomberg.