China's Construction Equipment Sales Surge, Signaling Recovery
Domestic excavator sales, which usually ramp up as builders prepare for projects, climbed almost 23% from a year earlier during the January-June period, data compiled by the China Construction Machinery Association showed. The equipment is a key barometer of activity in the construction industry and can serve as a proxy for steel demand.
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Forbes
24 minutes ago
- Forbes
Even A.I. Might Not Be Able To Save These New Style Trademarks
North American and European brands have been successfully selling made-in-China goods for decades. It was probably inevitable that many of its small factories would become direct online sellers, perhaps in competition with their former customers. But the trademarks that many of them have been using may not be helping them crack the market. American companies – and startups are certainly no different – give a lot of thought to the best mark, which will personify their product, using a name which helps it to sell, yet also distinguishes it from its competition. All companies should also search their marks to be sure they do not come too close to a potential competitor which may demand a name change, or worse, threaten to sue. Many Chinese startups have taken a different path. They are adopting made-up names which bear little resemblance to the traditional English or Romance language sounding words we usually see. Consider this random assortment I came up with: 'Lvrigfpro' for pharmaceuticals 'Matdg' for jewelry 'Mahcscha' for beach towels 'Bfxlmki' for paintings and paper 'Haisiwlkj' for furniture covers 'RabvPerce' for toys A number of these brands are setting new paradigms by using a combination of consonants and vowels which don't follow familiar patterns, making them arguably a little difficult to recognize and to pronounce. These contrast sharply with now-household names of many Chinese brands with a gigantic U.S. presence – brands such as: 'Tik Tok' 'Alibaba' 'Huawei' 'Shein' 'Haier' Pronunciation can always be a challenge for brands coming into the U.S. from overseas. All of the well-known brands listed above are capable of a pronunciation in English, largely because they still follow certain rules which combine consonants and vowels in a way that makes them understandable, even if initially pronunciation is unclear. Words have a certain flow, creating a kind of familiarity so that made-up words can sound like and be pronounced like a word in the English language. These marks follow the rules in a way that the other marks above which I randomly selected do not. Words are formed of syllables, and syllables are composed of a combination of consonants. The reader needs to build up a 'beat,' and words which are readily recognized will march to that beat. Interestingly, companies could save time and money in the trademark creation process by coming up with something that feels unfamiliar, like 'Haisiwlkj.' One interesting aspect of these marks is that while I always counsel startup companies to adopt a mark that they will be able to protect and to register in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, it is also desirable that the words look, appear and sound different from anything already in use in traditional terms; this equates to a stronger, more distinctive trademark. The chances of running into another mark already used with a similar appearance, sound and meaning seem small. So, two of the three goals of brand name creation are fulfilled: (1) first, do no harm (avoid conflicting with others); (2) get something you can protect (make it distinctive as possible); (3) as for the third, which is 'pick a name that will sell the product' – maybe not so much. (Marketers accuse lawyers of preferring 1 and 2 over 3, and in many cases, they're not wrong. What's the use of having a mark if it doesn't help actually sell the product?) The great inherent value to using the right word for a brand is the benefit of projecting the right image, taking into account an enormous range of cultural preferences which range from the literal messages words or portions of words suggest, to a sound of familiarity which elicits good or positive feelings, or reflects certain values. All of that is lost in brand names which are not only fanciful creations, but which fail to send a message to a consumer who is busy trying to figure out exactly what the word is and how you would pronounce it. Given the roles trademarks play in conveying meaning or evoking emotion, these new marks may be losing out on the main branding opportunity. The U.S. market has since the very beginning featured 'foreign' products, and often many of those products have had the greatest of prestige. Not all of them have been inherently easy for American consumers to pronounce, whether from Europe, Asia, or elsewhere. But they have had a certain common element to them much more familiar to the American and English language speaker's ear than this newest generation of trademarks. Over time, people become accustomed to and comfortable with new things. Will these neologisms start to sound familiar once there are enough of them in everyday use, or will they fade in favor of more traditional sounding words? There's always a back story. The explosion in trademark applications from China in recent years has actually been well documented. Lawyers who practice regularly in front of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office also recognize certain patterns among some segment of these applications. A word is created, and a web page is thrown together to show the product being offered for sale. Many of these applications are accused of being filed simply to try to reserve rights, and names are even more blatantly just to get applications on file in the Trademark Office for the benefit of certain subsidies that were being offered by the Chinese government to obtain U.S. trademark registration protection. The flood of these offbeat names in the Trademark Office has its own story. Official investigations by the United States Patent and Trademark Office have indicated the Chinese government, at every level from national to local, has incentivized companies to seek to develop and protect their brands abroad, including in the U.S.A. In many cases some government agency paid the bill not only for the cost of applications in the Trademark Office, but even allowed the trademark owner to end up with a surplus for each trademark application they file in the United States. Over the past few years, the Trademark Office has even taken some enforcement actions where it has found that some of these practices violate the good faith rule that any application exhibits a 'bona fide intent' to use the mark in the United States. Will American consumers accept and become familiar with these names and come to appreciate them as trusted brands? Or is this only a phase during which time these non-U.S. marketers and non-English language natives are making an all-out assault to project and protect brand names into the United States for their own purposes? Putting aside the tariffs in the room, it would otherwise seem that direct-to-consumer marketing from these small China-based enterprises which formerly relied on U.S. entities to sell their wares is not likely to die down. They presumably will change their branding habits – through time, experience, and maybe even the assistance of A.I. – to develop words and names that look more like the types of familiar terms that will motivate American shoppers to trust those brands and remember the names. You might say that this process will be more consonant with consumer expectations.
Bloomberg
39 minutes ago
- Bloomberg
JPMorgan Says Korean Stock Gauge May Near 5,000 Over Two Years
South Korea's equity benchmark may rise more than 50% from its current level over a two-year period should corporate governance reforms gain momentum, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co. Korea remains a key overweight market in Asia and among emerging markets, strategists led by Mixo Das wrote in a note on Friday. The Kospi Index, which has gained 32% so far this year to near a record high, could reach around 5,000, they said. That compares with Friday's close of around 3,176.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Asia Morning Briefing: BTC Smashes Through All-Time High With No Sell Pressure on the Horizon
Welcome to Asia Morning Briefing, a daily summary of top stories during U.S. hours and an overview of market moves and analysis. For a detailed overview of U.S. markets, see CoinDesk's Crypto Daybook trading day is starting with a bang as bitcoin (BTC) breached its all-time high during the U.S. trading day, and is currently changing hands above $115,300, according to CoinDesk market data. Bitcoin has experienced its share of rallies before, but on-chain data indicates that this time, things are different. Usually, when BTC has a rapid price appreciation, selling pressure increases accordingly. A new CryptoQuant report, however, shows that its HODLing season. 'Bitcoin selling pressure remains low despite the price reaching a fresh all-time high of $112.2K yesterday,' the firm wrote, adding that 'a declining amount of Bitcoin flowing into exchanges indicates less selling pressure from new capital flows.' BTC exchange inflows have dropped to just 18,000 BTC per day, the lowest level since April 2015. That lack of sell pressure isn't just limited to retail-sized wallets. The report shows that large holders, wallets sending 100 or more BTC, have also pulled back sharply. 'The daily amount of Bitcoin sent to exchanges in batches of 100 or more BTC has declined from 62K Bitcoin on November 26, 2024, to 7K BTC today,' CryptoQuant wrote. Other major tokens show a similar trend. Ethereum (ETH) inflows are down from 1.57 million ETH in February to just 584,000, a drop that coincided with an 87% rally since April. Meanwhile, XRP whales have 'remained on the sidelines,' with daily inflows falling 85% from 1.1 billion XRP in February to 169 million today. Even smaller altcoins reflect the same behavior. Daily altcoin inflow transactions, a proxy for broad retail activity, are just 21,000, compared to 120,000 during market tops in March and December 2024. The report notes this reinforces 'the prevailing low-pressure environment.' For now, the data shows this is not a typical top. It's a breakout with no rush to exit. HODLing season. Bitcoin (BTC) is now the sixth most valuable asset in the world, trading at $115,595 with a market capitalization of $2.298 trillion, having overtaken Alphabet (Google) and inching closer to Amazon at $2.359 trillion. This milestone marks a return to territory BTC briefly held in May, when it surpassed Amazon with a $2.16 trillion valuation after rallying to a then-record high of $109,400. Though the market briefly consolidated lower, recent strength, driven by macro tailwinds and institutional demand, has pushed bitcoin even higher, rewriting the leaderboard once again. One key driver behind this resurgence: spot bitcoin ETFs. After net outflows in February and March totaling over $4.3 billion, the market has rebounded strongly. May saw $5.23 billion in net inflows, followed by $4.6 billion in June and $1.18 billion so far in July. Cumulative net inflows now exceed $50 billion, according to SoSoValue. With total ETF net assets approaching $140 billion, this institutional presence is no longer just a narrative, it's reshaping market structure. The next psychological milestone? A clean flip of Amazon and a potential march toward Apple ($3.17T) and Microsoft ($3.72T). BTC: Bitcoin surged past $116,000 on Thursday, setting a new all-time high and nearly doubling over the past year, while triggering $950 million in short liquidations, the largest single-day wipeout of bearish bets in 2025, according to CoinGlass. ETH: Ethereum's ETH surged to nearly $3,000, its highest in over four months, as strong ETF inflows, growing adoption in tokenization and corporate treasuries, with shifting market sentiment fueling a strong rally. Gold: Gold is down about 4% from its June 13 high of $3,432.56, recently trading around $3,294.71, marking a modest pullback that some investors see as a buying opportunity amid forecasts that the metal could climb to $4,000 sooner than expected. Nikkei 225: Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed Friday after President Trump announced 35% tariffs on Canada and signaled plans for broad 15–20% tariffs on most U.S. trade partners. S&P 500: U.S. stocks closed at fresh record highs Thursday as Nvidia edged up and bitcoin surged, with the S&P 500 hitting 6,280.46 and the Nasdaq logging a second consecutive all-time high despite renewed tariff threats from President Trump. Former Bitfury Exec Gould Confirmed to Take Over U.S. Banking Agency OCC (CoinDesk) Securities On-Chain? There's Only One True Way, Says BlackRock-Backed Firm's CEO (Decrypt) MARA Holdings Names Ex-Blue River Exec as CPO to Lead Productization of Energy Tech (CoinDesk) Fehler beim Abrufen der Daten Melden Sie sich an, um Ihr Portfolio aufzurufen. Fehler beim Abrufen der Daten Fehler beim Abrufen der Daten Fehler beim Abrufen der Daten Fehler beim Abrufen der Daten
