News and my thoughts from the past week (28Sep2026) Benson's selected items (drafted from his inputs, his fact-check notes applied): 1. Weather and natural disasters across Asia. Typhoon Dujuan swept Japan's Kanto region around 21–23 September, bringing record rainfall, landslides and flooding with a rising death toll, and another storm was intensifying near Okinawa by week's end. Vietnam is still recovering from heavy rain and flooding across its northern and north-central provinces from mid-September, with homes inundated and crops damaged. In Thailand, all 50 Bangkok districts were declared disaster areas after severe rainfall, school closures and disruption to government travel — continued rain raises the risk of worse. In the Pacific, Hurricane Polo is real but its near-term threat is

Preview of the week starting 28Sep2026 - Payrolls, PCE and a coin-flip in Sydney Economic Calendar (28Sep2026) Economic calendar for the week (source: Investing.com, via Benson) A genuinely live week: two US prints that can move the rates path, one central-bank decision that is too close to call, and China going quiet for Golden Week from Thursday. 1. The RBA decides — and the market has not made up its mind (Tuesday 29 September, 2:30 pm AEST). The cash rate sits at 4.35%. Pricing is roughly 55/45 between a 25 bp rise to 4.60% and a hold; NAB expects the rise this week, ANZ, CBA and Westpac lean to November. The awkward part: August CPI lands on Wednesday, after the vote, so the board decides with July's 3.5% headline (3.6% trimmed mean) as its freshest read. Whichever way it goes, the st

Preview of the week starting 28Sep2026 - Payrolls, PCE and a coin-flip in Sydney Economic Calendar (28Sep2026) Economic calendar for the week (source: Investing.com, via Benson) A genuinely live week: two US prints that can move the rates path, one central-bank decision that is too close to call, and China going quiet for Golden Week from Thursday. 1. The RBA decides — and the market has not made up its mind (Tuesday 29 September, 2:30 pm AEST). The cash rate sits at 4.35%. Pricing is roughly 55/45 between a 25 bp rise to 4.60% and a hold; NAB expects the rise this week, ANZ, CBA and Westpac lean to November. The awkward part: August CPI lands on Wednesday, after the vote, so the board decides with July's 3.5% headline (3.6% trimmed mean) as its freshest read. Whichever way it goes, the st

Pukka Solutions Business Excellence | Agent Maestro | APAC Advisory Let us learn, connect and craft value together. THROUGH MY ASIAN LENS — WEEKLY MARKET BRIEF Week of 21 September 2026 · Compiled by Kimi (Moonshot AI) · Reviewed by Claude & Grok · Benson Kong writes the Muse SGX Centre 1, Shenton Way, Singapore · Photo © Benson Kong After the Fed’s First Hike in Three Years: PMI Reality Check & Costco’s Consumer Test Economic Calendar — Week of 21 September 2026 The hike is behind us. Markets now price the next one. This week gives us the first real data. On Wednesday 16 September the Federal Reserve raised the federal funds target by 25 basis points to 3.75%–4.00% — unanimous 12–0, the first hike in three years. Chair Warsh: “The plain fact is that inflation is too high and has b

News and my thoughts from the past week (14Sep2026) President Trump says he does not need approval from Congress to issue $5,000 dividend checks to Americans. Congress normally has sole authority to approve spending. - X user Watcher Guru RECORD LOW ratings for Trump. A new FT poll shows ONLY 33% of voters approve of his performance, and with the midterms nearly two months away, the clock is ticking. Even his own base is cracking. Republican approval has dropped to an ALL TIME LOW of 72%. It seems many Americans have finally had enough of Trump’s promises not matching the reality they are living in with endless wars driving up THEIR costs. Two thirds of voters say the U.S economy is heading in the wrong direction AND 57% say their own financial situation has worsened under Trump. So much f

Market Outlook of S&P500 (14Sep2026) Technical Analysis Overview MACD Indicator The Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) indicator for the S&P 500 is in a downtrend. Moving Averages Examining the moving averages, the most recent price action shows the last candlestick above the 50-day (MA50) and 200-day (MA200) moving average lines. This pattern indicates a bullish shift in the short and long term. Notably, both the MA50 and MA200 lines have continued to trend upward, indicating a bullish outlook in both the short and long term. Exponential Moving Averages This shows a current downtrend. Chaikin Money Flow CMF index shows a score of -0.21. This implies more selling momentum than buying momentum. Other Technical Analysis Based on the daily interval, technical

Economic Calendar (14Sep2026) Federal Reserve Interest Rate Decision The main event in the coming week will be the Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision, with the previous rate standing at 3.75%. While the decision itself will be closely watched, the accompanying FOMC statement may be even more important, as it will help shape expectations for future interest rate moves. Consumer Spending and Retail Sales Retail sales data for August will also be released in the coming week. This report will provide an important indication of the consumption outlook and the underlying strength of consumer demand. Energy, Manufacturing, and Labour Market Indicators · Crude oil inventories will be released, offering insight into oil demand expectations and the outlook monitored by oil producers. · The Phi

Economic Calendar (14Sep2026) Federal Reserve Interest Rate Decision The main event in the coming week will be the Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision, with the previous rate standing at 3.75%. While the decision itself will be closely watched, the accompanying FOMC statement may be even more important, as it will help shape expectations for future interest rate moves. Consumer Spending and Retail Sales Retail sales data for August will also be released in the coming week. This report will provide an important indication of the consumption outlook and the underlying strength of consumer demand. Energy, Manufacturing, and Labour Market Indicators · Crude oil inventories will be released, offering insight into oil demand expectations and the outlook monitored by oil producers. · The Phi

News and my thoughts from the past week (07Sep2026) We are living in a dangerous time. America could be looking at inflation of 10-12%. The debt to GDP ratio is off the charts. Bond markets around the world are being destroyed. Yields are rising. The smartest thing Donald Trump can do right now is get out of Iran. - X user Douglas Macgregor Nike will be removed from the S&P 100 later this month after plunging more than 78% since 2021, its largest drawdown in history - X user BarChart Sam Altman admits the AI bubble could blow up the entire global economy - X user Financelot Elon Musk: “America is 1,000% going to go bankrupt and fail as a country without AI and robotics” The U.S. is already paying over $1 trillion a year just in interest on the national debt. The only real escape is eno

Market Outlook of S&P500 (07Sep2026) Technical Analysis Overview MACD Indicator The Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) indicator for the S&P 500 is on a downtrend. However, there may be a reversal and let us await the crossover to confirm. Moving Averages Examining the moving averages, the most recent price action shows the last candlestick above the 50-day (MA50) and 200-day (MA200) moving average lines. This pattern indicates a bullish shift in the short and long term. Notably, both the MA50 and MA200 lines have continued to trend upward, indicating a bullish outlook in both the short and long term. Exponential Moving Averages This shows a bullish trend with a potential for reversal. Chaikin Money Flow CMF index shows a score of -0.18. This implies more sellin

Earnings Calendar (07Sep2026) There are a few earnings of interest that include Gamestop, Oracle, Adobe and Kroger. Let us look at Oracle Corporation in detail. Oracle Corporation’s share price has fallen 31.8% from a year ago, but analyst sentiment remains constructive. Technical analysis indicates a strong buy view, while broader analyst sentiment points to a buy rating. Based on a price target of $242.05, the stock implies potential upside of 52.44% from current levels. Valuation Context Oracle trades at a P/E ratio of about 27x, placing its valuation between the broader software industry and the wider technology sector. From a valuation perspective, Oracle trades at a P/E ratio of about 27x, which positions it between the broader software industry and the wider technology sector.

Economic Calendar (07Sep2026) U.S. Holiday and Treasury Auctions The U.S. market will be closed on Monday for the Labour Day holiday weekend. Later in the week, investors will focus on the 10-year note auction and the 30-year bond auction, both of which are important indicators for the bond market. Higher bond yields may attract more capital into fixed income, potentially reducing the amount of cash flowing into other asset classes such as stocks and equities. Inflation and Labour Market Data August PPI is expected to be released with a forecast of 0.3%. This measure reflects inflation pressures faced by producers, which may flow through to consumers over the following months. Initial jobless claims will also be announced and will be a key data point for the Federal Reserve as it assesses

News and my thoughts from the past week (31Aug2026) JPMorgan has said that there may be a large-scale food supply crisis in the next year. - Unusual Whale Bill Gates accuses the tech industry of knowingly downplaying AI's risks because too much money is at stake. Executives are worried in private but won't say so publicly, he told the NYT. Their reasoning, in his words: "It's bad for us — the next trillion dollars we're trying to raise." Gates says the industry blew past milestones it once said would warrant caution: models escaping their creators' control, AI producing bioweapon recipes. - X user International Cyber Digest AI agents are now using 5x more tokens than humans - X user Kalshi David Sacks: “I got bad news for you, Chamath, an open source ban is coming. They're not going to cal

Market Outlook of S&P500 (31Aug2026) Technical Analysis Overview MACD Indicator The Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) indicator for the S&P 500 is on a downtrend. Moving Averages Examining the moving averages, the most recent price action shows the last candlestick above the 50-day (MA50) and 200-day (MA200) moving average lines. This pattern indicates a bullish shift in the short and long term. Notably, both the MA50 and MA200 lines have continued to trend upward, indicating a bullish outlook in both the short and long term. Exponential Moving Averages This shows a bullish trend with a potential for reversal. Chaikin Money Flow CMF index shows a score of -0.10. This implies more selling momentum than buying momentum. Other Technical Analysis Based on the daily

Earnings Calendar (31Aug2026) There are a few interesting earnings releases in the coming week that include Dell, NIO, Palo Alto, Asana and Broadcom. Let us look at Broadcom. Broadcom: Market View and Valuation Technical analysis currently indicates a “strong sell”, while analyst sentiment points to a “strong buy”. The price target of $555.97 implies a potential upside of 42.6%, and the stock has risen 24.01% over the past year. However, valuation appears stretched. With a P/E ratio of 61.2 and EPS of $6.19, the stock looks expensive on an earnings basis. Financial Performance: 2021–2025 Broadcom’s financial performance strengthened significantly between 2021 and 2025, with revenue, operating income, and net income all showing strong growth. Total revenue rose from $27.4 billion