Hi all, welcome to this week’s Fresh Off The Oven (FOTO) newsletter where we talk everything about economies and markets around the world. This is for the week of 12 August – 16 August.

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Markets Fresh from the Oven

Malaysia (FBMKLCI): Huzzah. The Malaysian market recorded one of its best weekly performances with a 1.3% gain.

United States (S&P500): Looks like the bull isn’t over yet. The S&P 500 rose by 4.9% for the week.

China (HSCEI): Uncle Sam did well, so Mr. Pooh in China also did well. The Hang Seng China Enterprise Index (HSCEI) rose by 3.5% for the week.

Slicing the Economic Pie

This week, we focus on the economic news in the US and also the land of Pooh Bears or rather Bulls.

United States: Man, do the Americans love their freedom! Last month, they were all doom and gloom because their retail sales data came out at a contraction of 0.2% (Month-on-month basis) for June 2024.

China: Pooh bear seems to be in a jolly mood. After all, retail sales growth in China rose to 2.7% in July 2024 from 2.0% in June 2024.

Pie in the Sky?

This week, we turn to the shores of the US to look at companies that have outperformed. A beloved coffee (I don’t like their coffee though) chain from the US seems to be rising, and also AI-related companies are still bucking the trend.

Starbucks: +26% in a week? Phew, my balls are about to drop seeing such a sharp rise for Starbucks. It wasn’t that long ago when analysts were sweating at night with night terrors thinking about their declining revenue and profits this year.

Nvidia: Nvidia seems to be investors’ favourite still. It rose by 18.9% for the week and the reasoning seems to be a technical one.

Digging the Bottom of the Barrel

We want to highlight a few companies trading at low valuations in China and Malaysia since it looks like both markets are on the up.

China

Great Wall Motor: Great Wall Motor (GWM) produces and sells automobiles through its electric vehicle (EV) brand, Ora Good Cat.

Malaysia

YTL Power: YTL Power (YTLP) generates and sells electricity to the main grid in Malaysia. It is currently trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.8 times which is lower than its historical average of about 14.3 times and the sector’s average of 14.2 times.