Dear followers everywhere, welcome to a new global tour of the financial, business, corporate and energy markets around the world and everything new for today, Saturday, December 7th… coming to you from Banker.
Starting from China, where official data issued by the People’s Bank of China showed that the country’s central bank resumed purchasing gold for its reserves in November after a six-month hiatus.
The People’s Bank of China was the largest official buyer of gold in the world in 2023. The resumption of purchases may support demand from Chinese investors, which has been subdued since the Chinese central bank stopped the series of purchases that lasted 18 months until last May.
The next news on our global tour is from Norway, as the value of the Norwegian Wealth Fund, the largest sovereign fund in the world, jumped to a record level of 20 trillion kroner ($1.8 trillion), on Friday, doubling in just five years thanks to oil and gas revenues and rising stock markets.
The fund was established in 1996 to be a savings pot in times of crises, and it owns about 1.5% of all listed stocks in the world. Its size has grown to nearly four times Norway’s annual gross domestic product, which far exceeds original expectations.
From Norway to Britain, where a $637 million train deal saved hundreds of jobs at the Hitachi factory..
The fate of hundreds of jobs at a train factory in County Durham in northeastern England is no longer unknown after Hitachi, the company that owns the factory, concluded a deal worth 500 million pounds ($637 million) with the train operator First Group.
The British News Agency said that the deal, which was announced yesterday, Friday, will see the Newton Aycliffe factory, owned by the Japanese company Hitachi, manufacture 14 new trains, in addition to an option for an additional investment worth 460 million pounds sterling.
We are still in Britain and the next news in our global tour is about the power outage for thousands in Britain and the cancellation of train trips.
Millions in the United Kingdom were warned to remain in closed places, electricity was cut off for thousands, and train trips were canceled, while the warning called “Danger to Life” due to Storm Dara came into effect.
The British News Agency reported that the emergency warning came into effect at one in the morning on Saturday, for people covered by the rare red warning issued by the Met Office for winds in parts of Wales and southwest England.
The last news in our global tour of global oil markets, as Goldman Sachs maintained its forecast for the Brent price in 2025 at $76 in 2025.
The World Bank indicated a balanced situation in the market, as the decline in OPEC+ supplies offset an unexpected rise in commercial inventories in OECD countries last month.
The investment bank said, “We maintain our annual expectations for the average price of Brent crude at $76 per barrel in 2025 and $71 in 2026, and our range is between $70 and $85.”
