Economy

US growth  

Nordea: The Fed's first cut will take six months  

 

According to a new forecast, the major bank Nordea predicts that the Federal Reserve will postpone the interest rate cut by 25 points until September. Two more reductions will then follow – one in December and one in March 2025.  

 

“Several Fed members have expressed confidence until this week that it would be easy to deliver 2 percent inflation, even with higher economic activity. The January inflation should make them doubt," writes Nordea.  

 

The bank's previous forecast was an interest rate cut in March. 

 

********************

 

China's growth  

Professor on the crisis in China: "Winter has come" 

 

In China, prices are falling at their fastest rate in 15 years, the real estate market is in decline and stock markets are crashing. There is a panicky mood for the middle class that got used to high yields, according to Wu Fei, a finance professor at Shanghai Jiao Tong University.  

 

"Everyone realizes that winter has come, and they are becoming more conservative and have a better sense of risk, especially when it comes to the real estate market and the stock market," he told the South China Morning Post.  

 

Stock markets in Shanghai and Shenzhen have been closed since Thursday for the Chinese New Year and plan to reopen on Monday.  

 

********************

 

The development of AI  

Sources: Altman's chip venture requires support from the White House  

 

Open AI chief Sam Altman wants support from the US government in his efforts to raise multibillion-dollar funds for a global network of chip factories, sources told Bloomberg.  

 

Altman's project is said to have raised questions about aspects of national security.  

 

As sources previously told Bloomberg and the Wall Street Journal, Sam Altman should have met with investors in the United States, the Middle East and Asia in recent weeks. He is said to have told some of them that he cannot go ahead with the investment before the politicians in Washington give the green light, the news agency writes.  

 

TSMC, Intel and Samsung are singled out as the main options for who will manufacture the high-tech AI chips.  

 

*******************

 

The development of electric cars  

Ford: China poses a 'tremendous strategic threat'  

 

Chinese low-cost cars pose a "huge strategic threat" to Ford's ambitions in the electric car market. This is stated by the operations manager of the car giant's electric car unit for Bloomberg. 

 

- They are ahead of us in this technology, says Marin Gjaja. China's BYD recently knocked Tesla off the throne of the world's largest electric car manufacturer. The company's best-selling Seagull has a price tag of $11,000.

********************

Swedish growth  

Chief economist: The EU is wrong - we are not the worst in the class  

The EU predicts that Sweden will have the union's lowest growth this year at 0.2 percent - but according to Danske Bank's chief economist Michael Grahn, they are "completely wrong", writes DI.  

- I don't believe at all that we would be the worst in the class, he tells the newspaper. 

In the latest KI barometer, for example, more positive signals came from all sectors. Real wages are going up, the interest rate peak has been reached and hopefully electricity prices will come down, continues the chief economist.  

Danske Bank's forecast for Sweden's GDP growth this year is instead 1.2 percent. Thus, the big bank is one of the most positive forecasters. ​