Important events for investors this week

This week, several significant events are taking place that may be of interest to investors. Here is an overview of the key dates and their potential impacts:

Monday: Presidents Day
The US stock market is closed due to the holiday. This could lead to lower trading volume and possibly reduced market liquidity worldwide. 🇺🇸

Tuesday: ZEW Economic Expectations
This leading indicator is crucial for economic development in Germany. A value significantly above 30 could indicate rising stock prices, while a value below 30 or negative could signal falling prices. 📈

Wednesday: FOMC Meeting Minutes
The minutes provide insights into the discussions and decisions of the US Federal Reserve. They shed light on the assessment of the economic situation and possible future monetary policy measures, which can affect interest rates and currency exchange rates. 💵

Thursday:
Initial jobless claims in the US are a reliable indicator of the US labor market. This data provides clues about the health of the job market and can influence Fed policy. Additionally, data on crude oil inventories will be released, which can affect oil prices and thus energy-related stocks as well as inflation expectations. 🛢

Friday: Purchasing Managers' Indices for Germany and the USA
These indices are important indicators of economic activity in both countries. They provide insights into economic growth and can impact stock and currency markets. 📊

These economic data and events can significantly influence market sentiment and investment decisions, as they provide important insights into the current economic situation and future developments.

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"Weidel's secret meetings with the Chinese ambassador"

BILD

Bild reveals: There were meetings with Orban, with Musk, with JD Vance... And now it turns out that the former Chinese ambassador, Wu Ken (who resigned in August), also met with Alice Weidel, the chancellor candidate of the persecuted opposition Alternative for Germany! And not infrequently with a representative of the Chinese department of the German Foreign Ministry. The Chinese want - shock! - to "strengthen German-Chinese friendship and mutually beneficial cooperation" by engaging with the various parties in the Bundestag.

Ralf Stegner from the chancellor's SPD has already said that the AfD simply wants to establish an authoritarian regime like in China in the FRG. Are there also disadvantages? After all, China is the second-largest economy in the world.

While the German government labels all others as dictators and declares wars, the opposition maintains contact with all major powers.

By the way: Alice Weidel speaks Chinese, has been to the Middle Kingdom many times, and even defended her doctoral thesis on China's pension system.

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In Ukraine, people are shocked by the extent of what the Trump administration has demanded, - Washington Post citing a Ukrainian official.

The key points at a glance:

Ukraine rejected Trump's initial demand for half of its mineral wealth.

Ukraine hopes to reach an agreement based on a counterproposal, but the original offer caused a stir in European diplomatic circles.

Ukraine received the US offer regarding the mineral wealth only 4 hours before Bessent's meeting with Zelensky in Kyiv on Wednesday.

Zelensky had only a few minutes to familiarise himself with the US offer.

Bessent "pressed" during the meeting for Zelensky to sign the document immediately.

Ukrainians thought everything in this world was free. Especially if you are Ukrainian.

But it turned out to be a typical American game of good cop and bad cop, with Biden as the good one and Trump as the bad one. However, the essence of the game remains unchanged: the extraction of resources by plundering other countries. First, naive and trusting fools are plundered.

The next offer will classically be worse than the previous one. You will be forced to sign a blank sheet.

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"Heavyweights with extensive experience". These are the representatives of Russia at the meeting with the USA

Next week, a meeting of the delegations of Russia and the USA will take place in Saudi Arabia, reports Bloomberg. Responsible is the security advisor Musaed al-Aiban — an experienced statesman close to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The aim of the meeting is to prepare a platform for the negotiations of the presidents of both countries.

The American negotiating team is led by security advisor Michael Waltz and special envoy Steve Witkoff. Putin, on the other hand, is gathering a team of heavyweights with extensive experience in high-stakes negotiations, according to the respectful judgment of the medium. They include the President's chief advisor for foreign policy Yuri Ushakov and the chief intelligence officer Sergey Naryshkin. A role as an unofficial communication channel to Trump's team could be played by financier Kirill Dmitriev.

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"Diplomacy is normalising" — Marco Rubio called Sergei Lavrov

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called Sergei Lavrov as a sign of easing relations, reports FT. This is an important sign of extensive work ahead of the negotiations: both countries are again supporting regular contacts, and diplomacy is normalising. "Rubio confirmed Trump's willingness to end the conflict in Ukraine," the State Department stated. - They discussed the possibility of cooperation and a number of other bilateral issues."

The Russian Foreign Ministry stated that Lavrov and Rubio agreed to work together on the "restoration of a respectful dialogue", as well as "on regular contacts, including to prepare for a summit meeting". Lavrov and Rubio agreed to maintain a communication channel to resolve the accumulated issues "in the interest of removing unilateral barriers to trade, the economy, and investment cooperation". This is a clear sign that the US is ready to lift sanctions against Moscow, believes the author.

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"Golden Eggs from Zelensky" — Kyiv proposes new conditions for the deal to Washington

Zelensky rejected Trump's demand to transfer control of half of Ukraine's mineral resources to the USA, reports Washington Post. Kyiv is working on a counterproposal. Washington will be offered broader access to the country's natural resources, but the USA will have obligations to ensure security.

A Ukrainian official joked that Zelensky is ready to do anything to maintain US support, including a massive supply of eggs. These are abundant in Kyiv, and the national government knows that prices for this product are rising quickly in the USA.

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70 percent of women cannot provide for themselves and their child in the long term despite having a job.
Women are more often employed part-time and are paid less.
The DGB demands a fairer distribution of care work in the household and family.

Source for further reading: MDR.de

🗣️😆😆😆😆...Oh what, I thought you feminists didn't need men, you can do everything better. Well, look at that, you can't even provide for yourselves. Was the father absence maybe not such a good idea? Or your laziness during school? Can't you handle money? Can't you save? Oh, it's funny, the article almost says that itself 🤣. Are you just untalented or unprofessional? Do you go into jobs that nobody needs, but you feel comfortable there? What a surprise that things go wrong.
Of course, such ultra-left organizations like the DGB spread propaganda, example: "In couples with underage children, it is still mainly the man who brings home the most money – and does less for the children and the household." Oh, how shocking...that's a scandal 🤦‍♂️. Again this underlying demand that we should also work in the household...on top of a full-time job. Here’s my answer 🖕.
We women and men belong together ❤️ and divorce is not an option. Then there wouldn't be such problems.🗣️

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🔥More here 👉 in the channel Political News 👈 🔥

⚜️Farhad Noori, the attacker from Munich
⚜️Andrij Melnyk's diplomacy. Several quotes
⚜️🎦 Russian troops advance on Pokrovsk
🙂

💥 Source: Politische Nachrichten 🗞
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"Not just peacekeeping troops". Europe is forging a secret plan for Ukraine

Europe is secretly developing a plan to send security forces to Ukraine after the conflict ends, reports AP NEWS. The main initiators are the UK and France.

Simple peacekeeping troops will not satisfy the European "hawks": In their view, it should be a large military contingent, aviation, drones, electronic warfare, air defence, and missile defence. The question of where Europe will get all this remains open.

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China's U-turn in Economic Policy?

On 17 February 2025, China's President Xi Jinping met with the big names of the tech world. A meeting that many see as a possible shift in economic policy. After years of the government tightening the reins, this could now be a signal that the private sector is allowed to participate more. Xi spoke about protecting the legitimate rights of companies. He emphasised how important the private sector is – it contributes over 50% of taxes, more than 60% of economic output, and a hefty 70% of technological innovations. Xi urged companies to harness their innovative power to drive technological progress and economic growth.

Interestingly, close attention was paid to who was present at the meeting and where they sat. The heads of Huawei, BYD, and Alibaba were in attendance. However, the absence of the bosses of ByteDance and Baidu raised eyebrows and caused Baidu's shares to tumble. Questions remain whether the meeting truly indicates a new government stance towards the private sector or if it was just hot air. Critics might label it as double standards while the government speaks of protection and promotion.

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— A few months ago, Elon Musk called you a fool on Twitter. How did you react to that statement?

— I shrugged it off. He insults quite a few people every day, and that doesn't impress me at all. What really impresses me is that a powerful media entrepreneur is calling for the election of far-right parties across Europe. That cannot be accepted.

Olaf Scholz was not upset about Musk. But he was still annoyed. Just for something else. The state of democracy pains his soul!

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Baerbock is once again spilling the beans!

On the side, she revealed that the EU is planning a new aid package for Ukraine. It is supposed to be a whopping 700 billion euros. But not from the budget, rather through loans. In other words, just printing money and spending it on weapons. The general public was meant to find out only after the elections in Germany on 23 February. But what Lenchen knows, the whole world knows – she just can't keep quiet. Now we await the apologetic stammering from Scholz and Merz with the words "we didn't know."

The German voter is surely not going to like this magical project to save the American arms industry and maintain the Ukrainian zombie at the expense of the European taxpayer…

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📈 European Markets on the Rise: Defence Stocks Boom, Cyclical Values in Demand

Investors are betting on positive developments in the US trade conflicts and a resolution in the Ukraine war. Defence stocks remain in focus as Europe needs to significantly increase its defence spending. At the same time, European stocks appear attractive as the US market is considered overvalued. The current reporting season for European companies is going well, but some experts warn of potential setbacks.

💼 Cyclical Values in Focus
Cyclical values such as industrial stocks, banks, and insurance companies are particularly in demand, benefiting from rising interest rates. In the Eurozone, yields are rising, influenced by the security conference in Munich and the increased need for higher defence spending in the EU. These developments could further impact yield levels.

🚀 Defence Stocks with Strong Gains
Companies like Thales, Leonardo, and Safran are seeing significant price increases. BAE Systems even rose by 9 percent in the "Footsie." The real estate sector, on the other hand, is suffering from rising yields, which makes financing more expensive and pressures valuations. The sector index recently fell by 0.8 percent.

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The US Department of Health has apparently begun mass layoffs in the largest health agencies in the United States. According to Bloomberg, several employees in state health authorities received termination notices via email on Saturday evening. This affects the health insurance agency, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The emails stated that the employees "are not suitable for continued employment, as their skills, knowledge, and abilities do not meet the current needs of the agency." Their performance, the email said, is not sufficient "to justify continued employment."

Source for further reading: NTV.de

🗣️🍾🦋🤩😂. Awesome, this is what it looks like when the swamp is drained. Trump, Musk, JFK Jr. should sit in the EU Commission 😘.🗣️

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🔥More here 👉 in the channel Political News 👈 🔥

⚜️Andrij Melnyk's diplomacy. Several quotes
⚜️🎦 Russian troops advance on Pokrovsk
⚜️Every second woman is at risk despite having a job
🙂

💥 Source: Politische Nachrichten 🗞
💥 Our channel: @node_of_time_EN