🇨🇳 Lunar New Year, New China

Lunar New Year celebrations might've brought some joy to China's struggling economy | A major short-selling spectacle kicked off | [Finimize](   TOGETHER WITH   Hi {NAME}, here's what you need to know for February 17th in 3:14 minutes.   🤓 It's not easy to put your money on the line. So join us for [Embark On Your Investment Journey With CFA Institute]( on February 29th, and find out how to build the knowledge and confidence you need to get started. [Grab your free ticket]( Today's big stories - China’s hard-up savers finally released some cash, taking to the roads, trains, and air to celebrate the Lunar New Year - The economies set to benefit most from AI, ranked – [Read Now]( - Short seller Hindenburg sounded a red-alert warning about renowned Swiss fintech firm, Temenos AG On The Rails [On The Rails] What’s going on here? China’s revelers [traveled]( more this Lunar New Year than last, which could finally get the country moving in the right direction. What does this mean? China’s shoppers and travelers have been discovering their thriftier sides lately, eager to keep cash aside in case the economy stays on the slide. But the Lunar New Year brought them back to old habits, with locals making 61% more train trips during the first six days of the holiday than last year. Early indicators seem to show more traffic on the road and skies as well, while the country spent 60% more on online hotel bookings than last year. Although it’s true, Covid lockdowns meant last year wasn’t hard to beat. That said, folk did spend an average of 36% more on Meituan – a one-stop-shopping platform selling everything from dinners to travel to cinema tickets – every day compared to the pandemic-free holiday period of 2019. Why should I care? Zooming in: China’s on a budget. The Lunar New Year is China’s biggest holiday, drawing hundreds of millions home to celebrate with family. That makes it a telling indicator of folks’ financial confidence: if they can afford to spend and travel, they will. There’s an emphasis on “spend”, though. Chinese travelers moved around on a budget last year, so even though they took as many journeys as before the pandemic, they spent far less. If they were just as frugal this year, then all that traveling might not pay off – literally – for the economy. The bigger picture: Analysts are window shopping. Mind you, Wall Street reckons China has something going for it either way. Analysts believe that China’s chipmakers will become bigger and better now that the US has banned chip exports, not least because the Chinese government is funneling cash into local producers. Wall Street’s already picking favorites, eyeing up companies like Naura Technology Group and Hygon Information Technology. You might also like: [China’s aging population is paving the way for spritely investing opportunities.]( Copy to share story: [( 🙋 [Ask a question](mailto:questions@finimize.com?body=Ask us a question: Where are you writing from? Let us know and we'll mention it when we reply.&noapp=true&subject=On The Rails&utm_campaign=daily-global-17-02-2024&utm_source=email) Analyst Take The Economies Set To Benefit Most (And Least) From AI, Ranked [The Economies Set To Benefit Most (And Least) From AI, Ranked]( [Photo of Reda Farran, CFA] Reda Farran, CFA, Analyst It’s not just [tech firms]( that will find ways to harness AI to improve their bottom line. Entire [economies]( are poised to benefit. But as the research group Capital Economics revealed in its latest [report](, they won’t all benefit equally. Here’s [what it means]( for stocks and bonds. That’s today’s Insight: [the economies set to benefit most from AI, ranked](. [Read or listen to the Insight here]( SPONSORED BY TPP Stick it to the status quo The wealthy and well-connected already have it all. So don’t let them keep the best investing strategies to themselves, as well. You can access [proven trading strategies from top-ranking analysts with TPP]( and even the playing field. You’ll get advice on how to integrate [world-class strategies]( into your own portfolio management, and you won’t need to fork out for a wealth advisor, either. The subscription model means you’ll always avoid performance, management, entry and exit fees, leaving you to focus on [your investments]( instead of your bills. The average TPP strategy has made returns of 20% a year since the platform first started. [Discover it for yourself](. [Find Out More]( When you support our sponsors, you support us. Thanks for that. Coming Up Short [Coming Up Short] What’s going on here? Short sellers took aim at Temenos AG after a scandalous [report](, wiping $2.1 billion in value from the Swiss fintech firm. What does this mean? Activist investment firm Hindenburg Research has successfully taken on empires owned by the likes of Gautam Adani, Jack Dorsey, and Carl Icahn, wiping billions from their stock and often collapsing entire firms. This time, Hindenburg has accused Tenemos – which sells software to the banking sector – of seriously bad management. After a four-month investigation and interviews with 25 ex-employees, Hindenburg has alleged that Tenemos fiddled with earnings figures. The allegations alone have pushed Temenos’s shares into freefall, so much so that the fintech firm is now only worth a third of its 2019 peak. Why should I care? For markets: Not-so-dumb money. Activists like Hindenburg can cash in by “short selling” – borrowing stocks from a broker, selling them, and buying them back for a cheaper price later to pocket the difference. Savvy retail investors have used that to their advantage. Empowered by social media platforms like Reddit, they collectively buy shares of those heavily shorted stocks. That pushes their prices higher, forcing short sellers to buy back shares to cover their losing bets. And that keeps the stocks heading upward. Problem is, these “short-squeeze” strategies produce rallies as fast as they are tall, with stocks soon tumbling from their newfound heights. The bigger picture: Stock sellers are market Marvels. Short sellers often get the villain edit, but they’re needed to keep the market in check. They essentially send out a red alert when they bet against a stock. Investors tend to heed the warning, selling at least some of their shares in the company. So long as the short sellers’ research is legit, the resulting lower stock price should more accurately represent a company’s true value. That keeps the market fair and makes bubbles less likely – all in all, pretty heroic efforts. You might also like: [How to invest like activist Carl Icahn.]( Copy to share story: [( 🙋 [Ask a question](mailto:questions@finimize.com?body=Ask us a question: Where are you writing from? Let us know and we'll mention it when we reply.&noapp=true&subject=Coming Up Short&utm_campaign=daily-global-17-02-2024&utm_source=email) 💬 Quote of the day "The roots of all goodness lie in the soil of appreciation for goodness." – Dalai Lama (the highest spiritual leader and head of Tibet) [Tweet this]( "If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?" You're a brilliant business with great products. (We've taken the liberty of making an assumption.) Now you need to find [the right audience](, so you can really make a sound. Our one-million-strong international [financial community]( is on the lookout for any products and services that can help them make smarter decisions with confidence. That sounds like a perfect pairing to us. 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