The US debt ceiling agreement will further slow down the US economy; Costco’s third quarter revenue for fiscal year 2023 is $53648 billion | Cross-border e-commerce daily news

US debt ceiling agreement impacts economy, while Costco Q3 FY23 revenue is $53648B

【Raising the US debt ceiling agreement will further slow down the US economy】 The agreement to raise the US debt ceiling will limit government spending and further slow down the US economy, which is already under pressure from the highest interest rates and reduced credit channels in decades.

US President Biden and House Speaker McCarthy reached an agreement over the weekend – assuming Congress will pass it in the coming days – to avoid the worst-case scenario of defaulting on payments and triggering a financial collapse. However, it may also increase the risk of the world’s largest economy heading downhill.

【Costco’s Q3 fiscal year 2023 revenue was $53.648 billion】 On May 29th, Costco recently released its Q3 fiscal year 2023 performance, reporting total revenue of $53.648 billion for the quarter, a year-on-year increase of 1.9%, but lower than the market’s expected $54.66 billion. Net profit attributable to the company was $1.302 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 3.8%.

Net sales for Q3 reached $52.604 billion, up 1.9% from the same period last year’s $51.612 billion; membership fees reached $1.044 billion, up 6.1% from last year’s $0.984 billion.

• One year after retreating from Japan, Coupang plans to enter the Indian market
• Costco’s third quarter revenue was lower than expected, with a 10% year-on-year decrease in e-commerce sales
• Overstock clearance sale for one year! 2023Target persists in a low inventory strategy!

01

North America

【After the debt ceiling agreement, US long-term Treasury futures rise】 US Treasury yields rose across the board to the highest level since mid-March last Friday, wiping out most of the declines caused by regional bank failures that month. The 10-year US Treasury yield rose over 3.85%, below the year-to-date low of less than 3.25% in April. However, the recent rise in yields in the past few weeks has been led by shorter-term bonds, reflecting an increase in expectations for the US Federal Reserve to raise interest rates.

The debt ceiling agreement may push the demand for long-term US Treasury bonds, as evidence will prove its restrictive effect on the economy.

【After the US debt ceiling is raised, there may be a surge in Treasury bond issuance】 Bond traders have just eased concerns about whether the US can reach a debt agreement, and are now worrying about the impact on the currency market after the ceiling is raised.

After the debt agreement is reached, the US Treasury Department is expected to quickly replenish its cash balance. Based on recent calculations, it is expected to issue $1 trillion in Treasury bonds by the end of the third quarter. The current cash reserve of the US Treasury Department is $39 billion, the lowest level since 2017.

【Costco’s shopping carts reflect the tight budgets of US consumers】 On May 29th, Costco stated that in the fiscal quarter ending on May 7th, same-store sales excluding fuel increased by 3.5% year-on-year on a constant currency basis, which is the weakest same-store sales growth for Costco since 2017.

Although shoppers still like to visit Costco, its global store traffic increased by 4.8% and membership increased by 7%, but the amount of money paid at checkout decreased. As consumers buy fewer non-essential items, the average daily transaction amount has decreased by 4.2%.

【Eric Hoffman, head of Apple Pay business, resigns】 On May 29th, it was announced that Eric Hoffman, the development director of Apple Pay business, has resigned. It is currently unclear where he will go after leaving the position.

Hoffman joined Apple in 2014 and was one of the first external employees to establish and expand Apple Pay. He was responsible for managing the team that handles payment partnerships and mainly promoted cooperation between Apple and multiple banks, merchants, and financial institutions in the US. In addition, he was also responsible for the development and launch of Tap to Pay, a project that allows merchants to make contactless payments through their iPhones without additional devices.

【YouTube Announces Termination of Stories Service on June 26】 YouTube announced that its Stories service will cease operations starting from June 26. YouTube Stories is a feature that allows YouTube users to publish short videos or photo slideshows on mobile clients, and the content will be automatically deleted after 24 hours. YouTube stated that all YouTube Stories shared on June 26 will expire after 7 days, and accompanying community posts indicate that YouTube is deleting Stories to support YouTube Shorts and community posts.

【General Motors’ Electric Vehicle Battery Plant in Canada Receives Local Financial Support】 General Motors and South Korean battery material manufacturer Posco Future have received half of the CA$600 million (US$442 million) financing for the electric vehicle battery material factory from the Quebec government in Canada. In March 2022, General Motors and Posco Future announced plans to establish a joint venture named Ultium Cam and build an electric vehicle battery plant in Becancour. General Motors has committed to investing US$35 billion in research and development and manufacturing of electric and autonomous vehicles between 2020 and 2025.

02

European Union

【European Central Bank: Tightening Cycle Nearing End, but Interest Rate Hike Not Stopping Yet】 The European Central Bank (ECB) stated that it is nearing the level where it can stop raising interest rates, but it still needs to take some actions to keep inflation under control.

After raising interest rates by 375 basis points since July, the next two meetings may further raise interest rates by 25 basis points, and some decision-makers have suggested that more action may be needed in September.

The inflation data for the eurozone to be released this week may show slow progress towards the 2% target. The median estimate from surveys shows that consumer prices are expected to rise by 6.3% in May, lower than 7% in April, and economists expect core inflation to remain flat at around 5.5%.

【European Electricity Prices Hit Record Highs in 2022】 The European Commission has released its report on the natural gas and electricity markets for 2022. According to the report, natural gas prices in the European market reached historic highs in August and September, and although they briefly fell in the fourth quarter, they remained high. In 2022, wholesale electricity prices in the European market repeatedly reached historic highs, with August reaching the highest level on record. In 2022, the average European electricity benchmark price was 230 euros per megawatt-hour, an increase of 121% from 2021.

03

Other Regions

【UK Government to Control Prices of Basic Foods, but No Price Caps】 UK government officials recently stated that they are in talks with responsible persons in the food retail industry, hoping to reduce the prices of basic foods such as bread and milk as much as possible to alleviate the pressure of rising living costs caused by high inflation for UK families. However, any price reduction measures taken by retailers will be voluntary, and the UK government has not considered implementing price caps.

【WPP Collaborates with NVIDIA to Mass-Produce Advertising Content Using Generative AI】 The world’s largest advertising company, WPP, has partnered with chipmaker NVIDIA to use generative artificial intelligence to mass-produce advertising content for clients.

【Bank of Japan Suffers First Loss on Government Bonds in 17 Years】 The Bank of Japan announced on Monday that it suffered a book loss of 157.1 billion yen ($1.12 billion) on Japanese government bonds held at the end of the previous fiscal year, compared to a profit of 4.373 trillion yen in the previous fiscal year. This is the first annual loss the Bank of Japan has experienced on Japanese government bonds since March 2006.

South Korean e-commerce giant Coupang plans to enter Indian market According to media reports on May 29th, South Korean e-commerce giant Coupang is in talks with the Indian government to enter the Indian e-commerce market. Indian government officials revealed that they have received an application from the South Korean government, in which Coupang expressed interest in entering the Indian market. Dialogue with the Coupang delegation may begin next month. As of now, Coupang has not responded.

Vietnam’s export value in the first five months of this year decreased by 11.6% year-on-year Data released by the Vietnamese General Statistics Office on May 29th shows that Vietnam’s export value in the first five months of this year decreased by 11.6% year-on-year to 136.17 billion US dollars, and the import value decreased by 17.9% year-on-year to 126.37 billion US dollars, resulting in a trade surplus of 9.8 billion US dollars. As Vietnam’s largest export commodity, the export value of mobile phones and accessories in the first five months of this year decreased by 16% year-on-year to 21.17 billion US dollars.

May CPI is expected to increase slightly less than last month year-on-year May 29th news, forecasting May’s CPI and PPI data. It is generally believed that due to the improvement of domestic demand and the low base last year, the year-on-year increase in May’s CPI may slightly rebound compared with April. At the same time, affected by factors such as further fall in energy and other commodity prices, and the reduction of procurement costs of main raw materials for domestic enterprises, the year-on-year decline in May’s PPI will further expand.

SHEIN and Reliance Retail cooperate to establish a global export supply chain in India On May 29th, Reliance Industries, India’s largest conglomerate, is seeking to dominate the country’s $10 billion domestic online fashion market. The company has reached an agreement with Chinese cross-border e-commerce SHEIN, which will enable the latter to re-enter the Indian market. It is reported that the Indian government has approved the cooperation between SHEIN and Reliance Retail, a subsidiary of Reliance Industries. Insiders revealed that the agreement includes SHEIN receiving a certain percentage of profits generated from its fast fashion sales in India, while Reliance Retail will help SHEIN establish a supply chain connected to India’s clothing industry to achieve global exports.

【Amazon to Discontinue Some Functions of Marketplace Web Service Starting August 31】 On May 29, Amazon US, Europe, and Japan announced that starting from August 31, Amazon will stop using some functions of the Marketplace Web Service (MWS) related to merchant fulfillment, orders, and reports APIs.

If sellers use any of the functions in the API section, they must migrate from MWS to SP-API or replace their private applications with third-party applications before August 31 to avoid interrupting their business automation.

Using SP-API will help sellers develop their business by increasing sales efficiency, reducing labor demand, and shortening response time to customers. It should be noted that as of April 1, 2024, all other remaining MWS API functions will be discontinued.

【AliExpress Spain Station Launches Free Returns Service】 On May 29, the global AliExpress Spain Station launched the free returns service for the entire site on May 29, American Western time. Spanish users can enjoy the service of free non-reason return to local warehouses throughout the site.

Consumer rights under the free returns service include: Spanish consumers enjoy the right to return for free within 15 days without reason; Consumers initiate returns (whether it is non-reason or reason), and the package is returned free of charge to the local warehouse through the platform service provider; When the local warehouse in Spain receives the return, consumers can receive a refund.

【Ali International Station Logistics Tracking Platform Launches】 On May 29, the Ali International Station logistics tracking platform was launched, supporting convenient trajectory queries, one-key sharing with buyers, proactive warning of shipping exceptions, etc., providing small and medium-sized foreign trade enterprises with multi-dimensional, efficient, and convenient trajectory tracking queries, truly achieving intelligent and visible logistics throughout the process.

【Shopee Singapore will hide buyer’s personal information starting from June 1】 On May 29th, Shopee Singapore announced that in order to strengthen data security and ensure that Shopee remains the safest and most reliable market for all users, access to buyer’s personal information will be removed during the entire order fulfillment process starting from June 1, 2023.

【Dunhuang.com adds brand intellectual property protection for Alma Lasers and other brands】 On May 29th, Dunhuang.com released 17 brand intellectual property protection notices, including Alma Lasers and endospheres.

Recently, the platform has received complaints from relevant brand owners that some of the products sold by sellers involve the infringement of the following brands: Alma Lasers, endospheres, DecathlonGolf Wang, Olaplex, Dr. Seuss, Thom Browne, Anine Bing, Celtic F.C, ASRV, Lanky Box, Lashify, Corteiz, Creed, Acne Studios, Moose Knuckles, Represent, and TV Tokyo’s relevant intellectual property.

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