Keeping up with the latest tech & finance market trends (Sponsor)

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BRICS strives to reduce reliance on the dollar (3 min read)

The New Development Bank (NDB) that was formed by the BRICS nations (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) is shifting away from dollar-denominated lending. The NDB will be increasing the use of BRICS currencies to encourage alternatives to the dollar in trades and promote a more multipolar financial system. By the end of this year, the bank aim to have about 30% of its loans in local currencies. Despite its de-dollarization push, the NDB has relied heavily on the dollar in the past, leading some to question whether the move will be sustainable.

US home prices rose in July after 5 months of declines (4 min read)

US home prices are rising again after five straight months of declines. The average existing home price in the US rose about 1.9% from a year ago in July. Homeowners with low mortgage rates remain hesitant to sell due to the high costs of new mortgages. This created a limited housing inventory in the market and along with first-time buyers being active, it drove home prices higher last month. Despite the increase in prices, home sales continue to fall steeply and the persistent lack of inventory could hinder a rebound in the US housing market.

SoftBank’s Arm unveils plans for the biggest US IPO in nearly 2 years (4 min read)

Arm, a chip designer owned by SoftBank, is gearing up for a significant IPO on the Nasdaq next month. The IPO is expected to be one of the largest and potentially become the most valuable firm to list in the US since 2021. Arm currently has a near monopoly on chips for smartphones globally and plans to expand into the automotive and cloud computing sectors. However, a quarter of Arm’s revenue came from China last year since it has the world’s largest smartphone market and this concerned some investors as the country is currently in a major slowdown.

EV maker VinFast’s rally makes it as big as Ford and GM — combined (2 min read)

The shares of Vietnamese EV maker Vinfast surged by 130% on Tuesday, adding an impressive $53 billion in market value after briefly losing some steam late last week. So far the stock had already risen by 280% since its debut on August 15th. The company’s market cap is now over $100 billion, making it the third most valuable car company in the world, just behind Tesla and Toyota. What’s shocking is that it only sold around 1000 cars this year and most of them were recalled. This led to speculations that it may experience a subsequent drop after the rally.

Build an ETF Portfolio: etf.com’s Portfolio Builder Tool (3 min read)

ETF.com has a new tool that makes creating an ETF portfolio easier. It allows users to screen for ETFs based on selected criteria and then manually construct a portfolio from it by allocating the percentage weighting or purchase price. It can also convert your existing watchlist on the platform into a portfolio. This article is a detailed guide on how to use this tool on ETF.com for those interested in learning more.

Global X Launches Actively Managed Brazil, India ETFs (2 min read)

Global X ETFs has introduced two new actively managed stock ETFs that focus on Brazil and India. The Brazil Active ETF (BRAZ) capitalizes on Brazil's rate-cutting strategy to boost its economy, while the India Active ETF (NDIA) aims to benefit from India's demographic advantage, with a young population driving long-term growth. Despite active management historically having mixed results, Global X believes that active strategies can thrive better than passive strategies in emerging markets due to market inefficiencies.

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Thanks,
Thomas

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