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China Eases Lockdowns

China continues its path to reopening as it downgraded risk levels of many locations that were previously deemed high-risk for COVID. “High-risk” areas have fallen from more than 30,000 on December 7th to 4,500 on Monday, official data showed. One of the main facilities for Foxconn in Zhengzhou district, Apple’s iPhone supplier, was also taken off the list of high-risk COVID locations.

Titan’s Takeaway

China’s reopening will not be easy or straightforward, and there could be a two steps forward and one step back cadence in terms of policy. But the easing of Covid-restrictions bodes better for growth.

Microsoft’s Quid Pro Quo

Microsoft is buying a 4% stake in the London Stock Exchange Group, valued roughly at $2 billion, after LSEG agreed to spend a minimum of $2 billion on cloud services over the next ten years. The partnership follows a spate of other cloud deals in the financial sector, such as Amazon’s partnership with Nasdaq and Alphabet and CME Group. Financial market data continues to grow at a voracious pace, with spending rising to a record $35.6 billion in 2021.

Titan’s Takeaway

Cross-sell opportunities in these cloud mega-deals are attractive for tech giants who view tradeoffs as necessary to gain an edge in the competitive cloud wars. Microsoft’s quid pro quo with LSEG underscores investors’ sizable demand for information in the electronic markets.