• China Economists Ramp Up Expectations for Rate Cuts, Spending

Banks expect rate cuts of 40 to 60bps. 7-day reverse repo rate is currently 150bps. PBOC expected to reduce reserve requirement ratio by 250bps.

• The Fed’s ‘final 5-pound’ issue with inflation points to gradual rate cuts: Morning Brief

3% Inflation is solid progress from 9% in mid-2022. But the last 1%p gap is hard to close.

• TSMC Revenue Jumps 34% in November in Sign of AI Demand

TSMC shares are up 80% this year.

• Apple’s rally is unabated by sluggish growth and tariff risks

Apple shares continue to gain despite slowest revenue growth among Big Tech and lackluster iPhone sales. An analyst says it owns “the chokepoint between AI and the consumer.” Chokepoints are crucial, and could be counter intuitive. In today’s world chip fabs, as much as the designers, are the choke points. Costco’s large distribution is a big enough chokepoint to gradually promote its own brands.

• US finalizes more than $6.1b chips subsidy for Micron Technology

The investment will help “onshore a critical technology relied upon by our defense industry, automotive sector and national security community”

• Many student loan borrowers are in for a big, bad surprise in 2025

Federal government is expected to start collecting on defaulted loans since the collection pause during the pandemic.