Today's data selection: China's university rankings rise; gold price falls below 600 yuan per gram
The price of gold dropped, falling below 600 yuan per gram. Some people bought gold bars worth a million yuan in one go.
According to CCTV Finance, international gold prices closed down on the 3rd. The price of December gold futures, the most actively traded in the New York Mercantile Exchange gold futures market, fell 0.31%, and the closing price remained at the lowest level in nearly seven months. Market analysts said that the surge in U.S. Treasury bond yields and the strengthening of the U.S. dollar have put pressure on international gold prices to fall.
Since the beginning of this year, the price of gold has fluctuated greatly, and the price of gold jewelry once rose to 600 yuan per gram. However, during the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holidays, gold prices continued to fall, falling below 600 yuan per gram.
The reporter's visit found that during the holidays, as consumers' "gold holding costs" were significantly reduced, the originally hot gold consumer market still maintained strong vitality, and many consumers took advantage of holiday promotions and the drop in gold prices to purchase gold products. In terms of gold bar products, the reporter visited many stores in Wuhan and found that the price is much lower than that of jewelry gold. Different brands and different products range from 527 yuan to 576 yuan per gram, which has also won the favor of some consumers who love financial management. "During the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holidays, we sold an investment gold bar product, about 1,900 grams, with an amount of up to 1.007 million yuan." said the staff at the Wushang MALL·World Trade Gold Supreme counter.
Foreign experts: Chinese university rankings rise, British and American academic dominance weakens
Recently, the official website of the World Economic Forum published a signed article "Why East Asian Universities Are Rising in the World University Rankings" by Phil Baty, Chief Global Affairs Officer of Times Higher Education. The article points out that behind the 2024 Times Higher Education World University Rankings is the relative weakening of British and American academic dominance and the rise in strength of universities in East Asia. The article stated that recently, the 2024 Times Higher Education World University Rankings were officially announced. The University of Oxford in the United Kingdom has topped the list for eight consecutive years and is the university that has stayed at the top for the longest time in the 20 years since the World University Rankings were released.
Denis Simon, a professor of international business at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, said that the rise of China is one of the many major phenomena in the 21st century. The question has never been "if" Chinese universities can break into the top ten in the world, but "when" they will become the top ten in the world. The article introduces that the Times Higher Education World University Rankings are a powerful indicator of geopolitics and national strength in knowledge creation in the international talent market. This evaluation principle evaluates all important areas of a globally oriented research university, grouping 17 independent measures into several key categories: teaching, research, industry links and internationalization. The article stated that what is striking about the changes in the world university rankings is far more than the competition between prestigious universities at the top of the list. A total of 1,904 colleges and universities are on the ranking list. Longitudinal analysis by its data team shows that the status of British and American universities has declined relative to universities in other countries.
Ming Cheng, a professor of higher education at Sheffield Hallam University, said when evaluating the new year's ranking data that the "weakening" of the relative strength of the United Kingdom and the United States shows that the knowledge economy is shifting from the West to the East. "Perhaps universities in the United States and the United Kingdom can consider learning some good methods from China," she said.
There were less than 4,000 property purchase and sale contracts in Hong Kong in September, hitting a new low this year
The Land Registry of the Hong Kong SAR Government announced on the 4th that 3,893 building sales contracts of various types were submitted to the Land Registry for registration in September 2023, which dropped below 4,000 for the first time this year, a decrease of 16.5% from the previous month. Among the above-mentioned sales contracts, there were 2,862 sales contracts for residential buildings, a decrease of 11.9% from the previous month. The total value of building purchase and sale contracts in September this year was HK$29.8 billion, a decrease of 14.7% from the previous month, of which the total value of residential building purchase and sale contracts was HK$22.8 billion, a decrease of 20.5% from the previous month.
Chen Haichao, head of Hong Kong's Lijia Ge Real Estate Research Department, said that September's data reflected the property market conditions from mid-August to early September. The transaction volume hit a nine-month low, mainly due to local banks increasing interest rates, which made the stagnant property market worse. Chen Haichao pointed out that the transactions of first-hand private residences in September were mainly medium and low-priced units, and the transaction volume was not high; the second-hand private residences were affected by the low-priced sales of first-hand private residences, and the two consecutive weeks of extreme weather in early September brought the market to a halt. City, transaction volume is sluggish, leading to a sluggish overall private residential market. As for the non-residential market, both price and volume fell.
Chen Haichao said that overall property sales have been sluggish in recent months. In addition, major local banks have increased mortgage rates since mid-September, and US interest rates may not have peaked yet, which has reduced the desire of prospective buyers to enter the market. Moreover, the SAR government’s new policy address is about to be released, and the market is waiting for the new policy direction before deciding whether to enter the market.
On the 4th, the Hangzhou Asian Games ushered in the 11th competition day after the opening ceremony. In the morning's final of the women's 12-person dragon boat 200-meter straight racing event, the Chinese team won the gold medal with a time of 53.804 seconds. This is the 300th medal won by the Chinese sports delegation in this event. So far, the Chinese team has topped the gold medal and medal table with 164 golds, 90 silvers and 46 bronzes.
European demand is sluggish and the economy may not escape the fate of "shrinking" in the third quarter
Surveys show the euro zone economy likely shrank last quarter as indebted consumers cut back on spending in the face of rising borrowing costs and rising prices, with demand falling the most in nearly three years in September. Although the final Eurozone Markit Composite PMI rose to 47.2 in September from 46.7 in August, against expectations of 47.1, it was the fourth consecutive month below the 50 mark that separates expansion from contraction, and is seen as a measure of overall economic health. good indicator. Meanwhile, official data showed that retail sales in the euro zone fell much more than expected in August, pointing to weak consumer demand as inflation remains high.
Looking at the breakdown of each member state, the situation is not optimistic. Although Germany's service sector activity rebounded slightly in September, economic performance remained weak due to continued drag on manufacturing activity. The final value of Germany's Markit service industry PMI in September was 50.3, slightly higher than the expected 49.8; however, the final value of Germany's Markit comprehensive PMI in September was 46.4, still below the boom-bust line. Separately, France contracted slightly for the second month in a row, although activity in France's services sector all picked up slightly, and manufacturing shrank at the fastest pace in nearly three years as slumps in new orders and exports weighed on the euro zone's second-largest economy. , the overall economy remains below expansion levels. France’s final Markit composite PMI value in September was 44.1, compared with expectations of 43.5.
