NOV 2022

Monthly
Investment
Analysis
EN
CONTENTS

page European and Iberian

03 Market

page Asian and Latin America

09 Market
page US Market
12
page World Exchanges, Main
18 Factors and Performance

page Technology, Cryptos

25 and ESG
 PAGE 3

EUROPEAN AND
IBERIAN MARKET
Ariel Thomaz Bruno Coutada

The energy crisis - Price cap on Russian Oil

The ongoing war in Ukraine could have reached a greater scale if the NATO allies
would have responded to the landed missile in Poland. As the nuclear weapons
threat is increasing over time, NATO’s secretary Jens Stoltenberg claimed that there
was “no indication” that the missile was a result of a deliberate attack by Russia.
Following this path NATO avoids larger bloodshed that could lead to the end of
humankind. Since 24th February 2022, the Russian invasion has reshaped the world.
It has created shock waves in global energy markets, leading to price volatility,
inflation, supply shortages, security issues and economic uncertainty. Hence, the
poorer will bear the burden of negative consequences of the energy crisis. The
International Energy Agency (IEA) believes its impacts will linger for many years.
The most noticeable change for most people is that energy prices are rising. The IEA
says high fuel costs account for 90% of the rise in average costs for electricity
generation worldwide. In addition, the impact of the global pandemic on the energy
crisis means seventy million people who recently gained access to electricity can no
longer afford it. And one hundred million people may no longer be able to make food
with clean fuels, returning instead to biomass, the IEA says.
 PAGE 4

There are several factors influencing the energy price of electricity and natural gas
in the EU such as geopolitical situation, the national energy mix, import
diversification, network costs, environmental protection costs, severe weather
conditions, or levels of excise and taxation. In the first half of 2022, the top three EU
members with the highest household electricity prices are Denmark, Belgium, and
Germany with 0,456€/kWh, 0,338€/kWh and 0,328€/kWh, respectively. The bottom
three EU members are the Netherlands, Hungary and Bulgari registering
0,059€/kWh, 0,095€/kWh and 0,109€/kWh, accordingly.

The price of natural gas for households in Sweden (€0,2216 per kWh) was more than
seven times the price charged in Hungary (€0,0291 per kWh) and 157 % higher than
the EU average price which is 0,0861/kWh. The top three are composed of Denmark
and Netherlands with 0,16€ per kWh and 0,129€ per kWh. Closing the bottom three
are Croatia and Latvia registering 0,041€ and 0,046€, respectively. In Portugal,
prices accelerated to 0,078€ per kWh.
 PAGE 5

The next chart concludes the evidence presented above, regarding the influence of
the Russian invasion on energy markets, especially for a household in the EU. On a
year-to-year basis, the variation in electricity’s price is 15% in the first semester of
2022. While the price of natural gas increased by over 34% in the same period.

Germany blocks Chinese stake in two chipmakers

Unfortunately, the sanctions imposed by the G7, EU and Australia are failing to
deviate Russian authorities away from its purpose and to mitigate the effects of this
humanitarian crisis which is directly threatening the health, safety, and well-being of
Ukraine’s population. Furthermore, it is fuelling the chaos, instability, and uncertainty
in political, economic, and social scopes all over the world.
 PAGE 6

Germany blocks Chinese stake in two

chipmakers

The German government blocked prospective Chinese investment in two domestic

semiconductor producers after the moves raised concerns over national security
and the flow of sensitive technological know-how to Beijing.
The government said it had vetoed the takeover of the chip factory of the
Dortmund-based company Elmos (ELGG.DE) by Silex, a Swedish company that is a
subsidiary of Chinese group Sai Microelectronics (300456.SZ).
The decision had been taken “because the acquisition would have endangered the
public order and safety of Germany,” the germany’s economic ministry said in a
statement. It came at a time of heightened sensitivity around relations between
Berlin and Beijing.
Sai Microelectronics said it "deeply regrets" the decision and will study the details to
decide on any next steps.
"The company will continue to be optimistic about and attach importance to the
automotive chip industry and related business," the Shenzhen-listed chip developer
and wafer maker said in a filing to the Shenzhen bourse.
Silex announced in December that it had signed an agreement with Elmos to buy the
factory for €85 million ($85.4 million).
“The transfer of new micromechanics technologies … from Sweden and significant
investments in the Dortmund location would have strengthened semiconductor
production in Germany,” Elmos said, adding that it was considering whether to take
legal action.
Sia Microelectronics said in a statement that it “deeply regretted” the decision by the
German government. Its shares fell more than 9% in Shenzhen.
The government of Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who visited China last mounth, is trying to
balance a push for access to the Chinese market for European companies with
addressing security concerns and reducing Germany's trade reliance on China.
It has been reviewing its policy towards China especially in the wake of Russia's
invasion of Ukraine in February, which exposed Germany's heavy dependence on
Russian gas.
"We have to look at company takeovers closely, when it comes to important
infrastructure or when there is a danger that technology flows to buyers from non-
EU countries," Economy Minister Robert Habeck said in a statement.
"Especially in the semiconductor sector, it is important to us to protect the
technological and economic sovereignty of Germany and Europe. Of course,
Germany is and will remain an open investment location, but we are not naive either."
 PAGE 7

Elmos could not be reached for comment. A spokesperson for China's foreign
ministry said Beijing wanted a fair and open environment for Chinese investment.
Speaking to reporters after the decision, Habeck said China was making a "a
deliberate, strategic approach to influencing both knowledge discovery and
production control, particularly in the area of semiconductor and microchip
manufacturing."
Scholz earlier had pushed through a decision to allow China to buy a minority stake
in a terminal in Germany's largest port despite opposition from within his coalition.
That decision had sparked an angry response by the foreign ministry, which warned
that the investment disproportionately expanded China's strategic influence. China
has previously dismissed such concerns.
Scholz has warned of any decoupling from China or de-globalisation in general, while
also emphasizing the need for Germany to diversify its Asia trade and take strategic
concerns more into account in its business dealings.
While saying he was not aware of the specific Elmos and ERS Electronic investments,
Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said Beijing had encouraged its
companies to carry out win-win investment cooperation overseas.
"All countries, including Germany, should provide a fair, open and non-discriminatory
market environment for the normal operation of Chinese enterprises and refrain from
politicising normal economic and trade cooperation, not to mention protectionism on
the grounds of national security," Zhao said.

UK court rejects independence vote bid

for Scottish nationalists

The Scottish government cannot hold a second referendum on independence

without approval from the British parliament, the United Kingdom's top court ruled
on last week of November, dealing a hammer blow to nationalists' hopes of holding a
vote next year.
Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, leader of the pro-independence Scottish
National Party (SNP), had announced earlier this year she intended to hold an
advisory vote on secession next October, but that it had to be lawful and
internationally recognised.
After the UK Supreme Court ruled she could not do so without the approval of the
United Kingdom parliament, she repeated her vow to campaign in the next UK-wide
election, expected to be held in 2024, solely on a platform of whether Scotland
should be independent, making it a "de facto" referendum.
 PAGE 8

"We must and we will find another democratic, lawful and constitutional means by
which the Scottish people can express their will. In my view, that can only be an
election," Sturgeon told reporters.
"As of today, democracy is what is at stake ... It is now about whether or not we even
have the basic democratic right to choose our own future," she said.
In a referendum in 2014, Scots rejected ending the more-than 300-year-old union
with England by 55% to 45%, but nationalists argue that the vote for Brexit two year
later, which the majority of Scottish voters opposed, changed everything.
However, the British government in London has repeatedly said it would not grant
permission for another plebiscite, saying it should be a once-in-a-generation event.
In a unanimous verdict of five judges, the Supreme Court ruled the Scottish
government could not pass legislation paving the way for an advisory second
referendum without the approval of the UK parliament.
"We respect the clear and definitive ruling of the Supreme Court," British Prime
Minister Rishi Sunak said.
"I think that the people of Scotland want us to be working on fixing the major
challenges that we collectively face, whether that's the economy, supporting the
NHS (National Health Service), or indeed supporting Ukraine, now is the time for
politicians to work together."
Under the 1998 Scotland Act, which created the Scottish parliament and devolved
some powers from Westminster, all matters relating to the Union of the Kingdoms of
Scotland and England are reserved to the UK parliament. The court concluded any
referendum, even advisory, would be a reserved matter.
Sturgeon's left-wing SNP, which has dominated Scottish politics for more than a
decade and won the overwhelming majority of Scottish seats in the 2019 UK election,
has argued that the refusal of the British government to allow another vote means
the views of Scots are being ignored.
The UK government position "essentially says to the people of Scotland that your
votes don't matter," SNP president Michael Russell said. "That is a very foolish thing
for any government to say to a population."
London argues it be wrong to hold another divisive independence vote during a cost
of living and energy crisis, while war rages in Ukraine and the country recovers from
the coronavirus pandemic.
Independence campaigners say it should be for Scotland to decide how to respond
to these major issues, given that the right-wing British government is unpopular in
Scotland, where support for Sunak's Conservative Party is currently running at about
15% according to latest polls.
Should there be a second referendum, polls suggest voters remain evenly split and a
vote would be too close to call, with what currency an independent Scotland would
use or whether it could rejoin the EU, the key issues.
Sources: BBC News, CNN Business, Europa.eu, International Energy Agency, Reuters and The New York Times.
 PAGE 9

ASIAN AND LATIN

AMERICA MARKET
Bruno Coutada Sara Silva

China- The Zero-covid protests

In November, the Chinese Yuan registered an increase in purchasing power by over

4% compared to the US Dollar. Thereby, reversing the strong uptrend of the last
three quarters, as China continued to shift away from strict Covid restrictions,
sparking hopes of further economic reopening.

Despite the optimistic outlook for the Chinese economy at the beginning of the last
quarter, the largest protests in more than 30 years rocked China as tens of
thousands of demonstrators across the country filled the streets to grieve the ten
people killed in the blaze in Xinjiang’s capital Urumqi. Protestors called for freedom,
and democracy and denounce the zero-covid quarantine and testing policies. In
many videos shown by CNBC, protestors demand political change as they chant to
the ruthless communist party and its leader Xi Jinping to “step down”.
 PAGE 10

November is the best month for Asia Stocks

since 1993
The last month of November was the best
month for the Asian stocks since 1993
relative to the rest of the global market. Asian stocks rebounded, inching closer to
the bull market, result of the relax on the Covid rules in China – Asia’s biggest
economy.
Investors were happy with the latest signs from China, as the authorities eased
Covid testing requirements across the biggest cities, such as Shanghai – the Chinese
financial hub. This move allowed more gains in the reopening stocks across the
country and is its neighbours, such as South Korea. With this the bullish calls from
Wall Street Banks on Chinese equities stared to grow, which left more and more
market watchers wanting the nation’s share.
Morgan Stanley upgraded China stocks to overweight from an equal-weight position
held since January 2021, while Asia-Pacific chief executive Rene Buehlmann urged
investors to “go back” into Chinese markets.
The MSCI Asia-Pacific Index jumped 15% on this month, set for its biggest jump since
1998, as benchmarks in markets from Hong Kong to the Philippines saw strong gains
that cracked records held for at least a decade. The MSCI All Country World Index is
up less than 6%.
Foreign funds bought $12.6 billion worth of shares on a net basis in emerging Asia,
excluding China this month, the biggest inflows in two years, according to data
compiled by Bloomberg.
After falling for much of the year, Asian stocks staged a dramatic rally in the past
few weeks, with a surge in foreign inflows into emerging Asian shares, supported by
the dollar’s weakness and expectations for a slowdown in the Fed’s hikes.

Asia-Pacific's Markets
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose 4.51%, leading gains in the region, with the Hang
Seng Tech index gaining 9.27%. In mainland China, the Shanghai Composite added
1.76% to 3,211.81 and the Shenzhen Component gained 0.92%.
Oil prices rose 2% before paring gains to trade around 0.5% higher as OPEC+
(Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) stuck to its policy of lowering oil
production.
The Nikkei 225 in Japan gained 0.15% to 27,820.40 and the S&P/ASX 200 in Australia
rose 0.33% to 7,325.60. South Korea’s Kospi bucked the trend to fall 0.62% to
2,419.32. The MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 1.66%.
 PAGE 11

Asia-Pacific's Markets
Sectors to watch

● Shares of Asia’s iron miners and steel companies advanced, as Chinese authorities expanded the easing of Covid rules.

● Chinese property firms’ dollar bonds rose, while stocks also soared, on reopening moves by Chinese authorities.

● Shares connected to Macau casino operators rallied, as JPMorgan said it expects 2023 to be a “year of Macau” with casino operators
benefiting from licence renewals, reopening and cheap valuations.

● China state-owned enterprises jumped after the Shanghai Securities Exchange issued guidelines aimed to help listed central SOEs return to
reasonable valuations.

Korean petrochemical stocks, such as Lotte Chemical, rallied as South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol seeks a stern response to striking
● truck drivers, ordering his cabinet to be ready to issue another return-to-work order. amid disruptions in the transporting of petrochemicals
and other key materials.

● Chinese solar and energy storage shares dropped after reports that Sungrow Power Supply lowered guidance for this year, dampening
sentiment for the sector.

Sources: BBC News, CNN Business,

Europa.eu, International Energy Agency,
Reuters and The New York Times.
 PAGE 12

US MARKET
Ariel Thomaz Daniela Azevedo

Republicans win U.S. House majority

Republicans win a majority in the U.S. House of Representatives on November 17,

government as President Joe Biden's
setting the stage for two years of divided
Democratic Party held control of the Senate.
Notably, US President Joe Biden entered the office with Democrats in control of both
chambers. Now, a Republican House could complicate the administration's legislative
agenda for the second half of his term.
The final call came after more than a week of ballot counting, when Edison Research
projected Republicans had won the 218 seats they needed to control the House.
The party's current House leader, Kevin McCarthy, may have a challenging road
ahead as he will need his restive caucus to hold together on critical votes, including
funding the government and military at a time when former President Donald Trump
has launched another run for the White House.
"Americans are ready for a new direction, and House Republicans are ready to
deliver," McCarthy said on Twitter.
The loss takes away some of Biden's power in Washington. However, he
congratulated McCarthy and said he would work across the aisle to deliver results.
"The American people want us to get things done for them," Biden said in a
statement.
In retaliation for two impeachment efforts by Democrats against Trump, they are
gearing up to investigate Biden administration officials and the president's son
Hunter's past business dealings with China and other countries - and even Biden
himself.
On the international front, Republicans could seek to tamp down U.S. military and
economic aid to Ukraine as it battles Russian forces.
 PAGE 13

At the same time, there was a tug to the left after the Supreme Court's June ruling
ending the right to abortion enraged a wide swath of voters, bolstering Democratic
candidates.
While the midterms were all about elections for the U.S. Congress, state governors,
and other local offices, hovering over it all was the 2024 U.S. presidential race.
Donald Trump announced his decision to run for the President in 2024 elections. The
announcement came in the wake of mid-term elections held in the US.
"In order to make America great and glorious again I am tonight announcing my
candidacy for President of the United States," Trump said on Tuesday during a public
address. "It was only the beginning to rescue the American dream," he added.
Trump, who still polls as the top choice among Republicans for the party's
presidential nomination, nevertheless suffered a series of setbacks as far-right
candidates he either recruited or became allied with performed poorly on Nov. 8.
Some conservative Republican voters voiced fatigue with Trump.
At the same time, Ron DeSantis coasted to a second term as governor of Florida,
defeating Democratic opponent Charlie Crist by nearly 20 percentage points. Trump
reportedly was seething over the high marks political pundits were doling out to
DeSantis, seen as a potential challenger to Trump in the 2024 field of Republican
presidential candidates.
The 2024 election will immediately influence many of the legislative decisions House
Republicans pursue as they flex their muscles with a new-found majority, however
narrow.
Conservatives are threatening to hold back on a needed debt-limit increase next
year unless significant spending reductions are achieved.

FED Chairman Admits Possible Slowdown

in Interest Rates Soon

The president of the United States Federal Reserve, Jerome Powell, admitted last
November 2, a possible decrease in the pace of interest rate increases, in
corroboration with a prolonged economic adjustment to a new reality, characterized
by quite high borrowing costs, inflation rates decreasing at a low pace and the
constant lack of labor force in the country.
 PAGE 14

Powell's message, caused some of the markets to soar, namely, with the slowing of
the pace of the significant ¾ of a percentage point increases in interest rates that
have prevailed since June and that would now feel its way to the maximum interest
rate needed to slow inflation to a 2% target, given by the Federal Reserve. Likewise, it
rejected the idea that the central bank is so committed to reducing the highest
inflation in 40 years that it would fragment the economy with that effort, so it insists
on a softer approach with a gradual slowing of rates in order to find the best solution
in the long run.
In an overview, with the minutes of the meeting, the comments show that the
Federal Reserve, faces some long-term trends, which have been amplified by the
pandemic, particularly the demographic burden of the aging population, reforms
derived from the pandemic period, and the lack of immigration, which have caused a
decline in the nation's labor force. These kinds of structural concerns have indeed
been in the background of debate since the early days of the pandemic, and have
been given increasing prominence.
Similarly, concerns about global supply chains were initially thought to be transitory,
and that over time they would improve, helping to combat inflation, but progress has
proved slower than expected, particularly given the successive lock-downs that
have happened in China that make it a less secure source of goods.

A LONG WAY TO GO

Indeed, the president's comments, triggered a vigorous rally in stock and bond

markets, the benchmark S&P 500 index (.SPX) soared to nearly 3.09% higher, and
bond yields, which move in the opposite direction of their prices, fell. The yield on the
2-year Treasury note, the maturity most sensitive to Federal Reserve rate
expectations, fell to 4.37% from 4.52%. The dollar (.DXY) weakened against the
currency basket of major trading partners.
Although Powell did not give an estimate for the "terminal rate," he said that it is
likely to be somewhat higher than the 4.6% that economists predicted in their
September forecast. He also noted that while goods inflation is slowing, the cost of
housing will continue to rise next year, while measures of services have remained
high and the labor market quite tight.
"Despite some promising developments, we have a long way to go to restore price
stability," Powell said. "We will stay the course until the job is done."
 PAGE 15

Employment growth in the United States

despite rising inflation rate

Indeed, the president's comments, triggered a vigorous rally in stock and bond In the
month of November, the growth of the
employment rate in the United States,
remained strong, in parallel with a sharp rise in wages, a sign that the world's largest
economy still faces an ongoing controversy to contain rising prices and inflation
rates.
Employers created about 263,000 jobs, while the average hourly wage rose about
5.1% from last year, yet the unemployment rate remained at 3.7%, according to
official data.

This year, the Federal Reserve has raised borrowing costs at the highest rate since
1980 in response to rising inflation, which, in particular, is approaching the highest
levels in 40 years.
Thus, analysts anticipated that the pace of job creation would slow as companies
reduced their expansion or cost burden.
However, the report submitted by the US labor department, suggests that the labor
market has remained solid over the past month. Bars, restaurants and healthcare
companies boosted hiring in November, similarly, contrary to forecasts, new jobs
were also recorded in areas such as construction and manufacturing.
 PAGE 16

In light of this, several politicians stated that this data could translate into good news
for workers, as previous forecasts had feared a significant rise in unemployment
rates. However, this strong wage growth will, on the other hand, continue to put
upward pressure on prices, suggesting that the Federal Reserve, will continue to
raise interest rates in the coming months.
"It has not gone unnoticed by the authorities that average hourly earnings have
strengthened steadily over the past three months, exceeding all expectations and
going completely the wrong direction from what they expected," said Seema Shah,
chief global strategist at Principal Asset Management. "Yes, it is good that the US
labor market is so robust. But it is very worrisome that wage pressures continue to
rise."
However, despite the significant rise in wages, these have not ticked up as fast as
that of prices. Inflation was still 7.7% in November, lower than the 9.1% recorded in
June, but still the highest in recent years.
"We still believe that a moderation in wage growth is a good bet, but only because we
expect payrolls to decline sharply in the first quarter as a result of slower gross hiring
and increasing layoffs," said Ian Shepherdson of Pantheon Macroeconomics.
 PAGE 17

BIDEN LOVES THE EMPLOYABILITY REPORT,

UNLIKE THE FED

US President Joe Biden celebrated the numbers presented by the report, "We
continue to create jobs, lots of jobs," he
said before signing a bill to prevent a
national rail strike. "We're in a situation where things are moving in the right
direction."
However, in paradox to the statements made by the president, for the Federal
Reserve, the report offered little to celebrate. Officials expect hiring and wage
growth to slow, paving the way for a more balanced economy where inflation can
return to normal values.
"In the labor market, the demand for workers far exceeds the supply of available
workers," said Jerome H. Powell, chairman of the Fed. Officials seek "the restoration
of equilibrium ... in the labor market."

Sources: BBC, Reuters, The news on and The New York Times
 PAGE 18

WORLD EXCHANGES,
MAIN FACTORS AND
PERFORMANCE
Ariel Thomaz Elsa Machado

Paris Stock Exchange dethrones London Stock

Exchange

After almost 20 years, the Paris Stock Exchange steals the top place from the Stock
Exchange London, due to a set of factors that pushed the British stock exchange

having the largest stock exchange in
down and that raised the French one up, now
Europe.
Of these factors, we mainly highlight the devaluation of the British currency which,
as we can see in the graph presented below, has recorded a decrease throughout
the month of November, going from approximately 0.8829 to 0.8640 pounds against
the euro, despite the misleading growth at the beginning of November. This
devaluation was the result of the tax proposals of the duo consisting of the British
Prime Minister, Liz Truss, and its finance minister, Kwasi Kwarteng - who were going
to finance tax cuts through increasing debt - caused financing costs to increase for
the United Kingdom.
 PAGE 19

While analysts have already predicted this situation since Brexit, which greatly
affected the British economy, the prevailing economic sectors in France benefited
from the economic situation they were living. On November 14, Bloomberg's
calculations put the total value of British shares at 2,821 billion euros, while France
reached 2.823 billion euros.
In addition to the devaluation of the pound sterling, the effects of Brexit are also
justification, as it discouraged companies from listing in the United Kingdom. On the
other hand, the mini budget that the British Prime Minister announced came to sink
the country's conjuncture a little more, dropping the country's currency even more,
which, in this way, drove potential international investors away from investing in
British assets due to political instability and economic uncertainty, which devalued
the companies listed on the Stock Exchange.
As the London Stock Exchange falls, the Paris Stock Exchange takes its place by
exploring its opportunities. The luxury sector, which predominates in listed
companies, has been growing due to positive prospects for the end of pandemic
restrictions in China, which is probably the largest market for this sector. In the
graph below, we can conclude that the value of the sum of the 5 largest luxury
brands in France is worth about 980 billion euros, while the British ones are worth
about 728 billion euros.

Analysts believe that this situation is expected to continue soon, as the United
Kingdom is preparing for a strong economic contraction.
 PAGE 20

Will this be a different World Cup?

Last month there was the beginning of one of the biggest football championships.

This championship always brings many economic advantages to the participating

countries, since it messes with thousands of people and sectors of activity, such as
catering, hospitality, advertising, commerce, security, transport, and others. Daniel
Sá, executive director of the Portuguese Institute of Administration and Marketing,
declared that the World Cup that took place in Russia in 2018 generated about 394
million euros to the Portuguese economy.
All this festive atmosphere brought to the surface by the dynamics of the
competition before, during and after the game makes society and its wallets boil.
There is a pre-championship stage that is fed by the sale of tickets for the
preparation games that took place in Portugal and that already generate a small
percentage of profits. In addition, the companies associated with the selection begin
to invest in promotion, merchandising, in sports betting and social media. During this
month of tournament, there is a world of opportunities for companies that enjoy
social exposure to influence consumers and grow in the market. In Qatar, this event
is expected to inject about 20 billion dollars into the local economy.
However, it is expected that this year the trend will not be the same, with the
championship in Qatar. In addition to Portugal’s great exposure in one of the richest
countries in the world, a lower impact on the economy is expected.
Several justifications are pointed out to complete this forecast. The first reason is
based on the fact that it takes place in a country far from ours, which is a cut in
consumption of tickets, trips and stays. On the other hand, the course of
championship in a cold and rainy season of the year doesn’t encourage coexistence
outdoors so much, thus condemning the terrace and restoration service. In addition,
summer is usually related to school holidays, which facilitates travel for families with
children and, this time, it will not be very feasible due to the course of classes.
Another reason that is pointed out as an obstacle to a greater economic impact is
the schedule of football games, which most of them
 PAGE 21

take place during the afternoon, which, in general, coincides with the working hours
of much of society. In this way, this decision prevents the public from attending
places where they can consume, reducing the monetary flow that could be much
greater.
Despite these details, there are more significant factors that contribute to the
contraction of the economy, rather than its expansion. This phase of economic
uncertainty and risk of imminent recession dispersed around the world affects this
championship that could have higher returns than previous years. High levels of
inflation are devouring day after day taxpayers’ wealth and savings.
The generalized increase in prices has been felt for a long time and more and more,
forcing people to retract and contain themselves in the consumption of superfluous
goods, which will be reflected in the World Cup, because there will be fewer people
buying merchandising, going to see the games oh the terraces and beyond. This is,
by far, the reason that best explains the prediction of the lowest economic impact,
because it influences the entire society, both national and international.
It is not worth talking about the World Cup in Qatar without referring the associated
social controversy. Throughout this time of preparation of Qatar for the World Cup,
there has been a lot of criticism of the country and its conversative rules.
It was public knowledge the death of migrants’ workers who worked in the
construction of stadiums for the 2022 World Cup due to the lack of qualifications and
human conditions at work. In addition, prejudice about LGBTQ+ community is high,
and homosexuality was considered a “mental disorder” by one of the World Cup
ambassadors. Not to mention the cooling systems implemented in the stadiums to
ensure the well-being of players and fans, thus ignoring all existing climate
problems.
All these factors also end up having an impact on the economy since it drives
away potential consumers and large investors.

Current situation in Ukraine War

Ukraine war dominates summit of G20 major economies, blackouts hit Ukraine's

and harsh winter looms as Russian
small businesses, and wider economy, hard
attacks hobble Ukraine's power capacity
A Western-led push to condemn Russia's invasion of Ukraine dominated Tuesday's
Group of 20 (G20) summit on the Indonesian island of Bali where leaders of major
economies grappled with a dizzying array of issues from hunger to nuclear threats.
President Vladimir Putin's Feb. 24 invasion of neighbouring Ukraine has pummelled
the global economy and revived Cold War-era geopolitical divisions just as the world
was emerging from the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
 PAGE 22

"Most members strongly condemned the war in Ukraine and stressed it is causing
immense human suffering and exacerbating existing fragilities in the global
economy," said a 16-page graft declaration, which diplomats said was yet to be
adopted by leaders, acknowledged the rift.
"There were other views and different assessments of the situation and sanctions."
The 20 nations account for more than 80% of the world's gross domestic product,
75% of international trade and 60% of its population.
Hosts Indonesia pleaded for unity and a focus on problems like inflation, hunger and
high energy prices, all exacerbated by the war.
"We have no other option, collaboration is needed to save the world," said Indonesian
President Joko Widodo.
"G20 must be the catalyst for inclusive economic recovery. We should not divide the
world into parts. We must not allow the world to fall into another Cold War."
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy told the summit in a virtual address that it
was time to implement a 10-point peace plan he has proposed. Kyiv is demanding a
full Russian withdrawal from occupied territories.
Zelenskiy called for restoring "radiation safety" at the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia
nuclear power plant, price restrictions on Russian energy resources, and an
expanded grain export initiative.
Russia has said Putin was too busy to attend the summit.
Having endured a pandemic and then the economic crunch that followed Russia's
Feb. 24 invasion, Ukrainian businesses are struggling to adapt to widespread
blackouts that have become a feature of daily life.
Russian forces have increasingly fired missiles at critical infrastructure such as
power plants and substations as their losses on the battlefield mount, forcing
providers into power cuts to preserve grid stability and complete repairs.
Russia has said that the last strikes on Ukraine are aimed at military and energy
infrastructure.
For businesses, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that
comprised around 60% of the Ukrainian economy and accounted for some 40% of tax
revenue before the invasion, regular outages mean lost income and the inability to
plan ahead.
Ukrainian Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko told reporters that Russian strikes on
critical infrastructure could lead to a larger economic contraction this year than the
35% originally expected.
Some larger enterprises appear to be better equipped to cope with the uncertainties.
 PAGE 23

But smaller businesses, especially those in the service industry, are under more
pressure, often dependent on factors like client loyalty and a break from the landlord.
Some experts warn that stabilising Ukraine's energy grid will be a long-term effort.
Oleksandr Kharchenko, director of the Energy Industry Research Center in Kyiv,
estimated this week that it would be up to six weeks before it was repaired well
enough for most customers to experience minimal or no cut-offs.
"But this is only assuming there are no further attacks," he told a briefing, a day
before fresh Russian strikes on energy facilities and a defence plant.
Businesses in cities closer to the fighting, meanwhile, are more acutely affected by
the flight of potential customers.
Oleksandr Chumak, president of the Association of Private Employers in Kharkiv,
estimates the city's population of more than 1 million has plummeted to around
600,000 today.
"This makes it impossible for some of them to survive," he said.
Still, both Borovsky and Revutskyi said many Ukrainians were now conditioned to a
range of difficulties, so neither they nor their colleagues were panicking yet. Kyiv's
military successes had also helped sustain a sense of purpose among the population.
A survey by Ukrainian market research firm Gradus found that 65% of businesses
believed active fighting would be over by the end of 2023 at the latest. The poll was
conducted in early November and included 203 respondents representing Ukrainian
small, medium and large businesses.
Ukraine's government urged people to conserve energy amid relentless Russian
strikes that have halved the country's power capacity, as the United Nations health
body warned of a humanitarian disaster in Ukraine this winter.
Authorities said millions of Ukrainians, including in the capital Kyiv, could face power
cuts at least until the end of March due to the missile attacks, which Ukraine's
national grid operator Ukrenergo said had wreaked "colossal" damage.
Temperatures have been unseasonably mild in Ukraine this autumn, but are starting
to dip below zero and are expected to drop to -20 Celsius (-4 Fahrenheit) or even
lower in some areas during the winter months.
Planned power shutdowns are happening in all regions, and emergency shutdowns
are possible in some situations as frosts have started and electricity consumption is
rising, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said.
Kyiv and the West describe Russia's actions as an unprovoked, imperialist land grab
in the neighbouring state it once dominated within the former Soviet Union.
 PAGE 24

The nine-month-old war has killed tens of thousands, uprooted millions and
pummelled the global economy. The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and
Development said the world's worst energy crisis since the 1970s would trigger a
sharp slowdown, with Europe hit hardest.
"Attacks continue to damage critical infrastructure and civilian homes," Ukraine's
General Staff said.
Meanwhile Ukraine received a new 2.5 billion euro ($2.57 billion) tranche of financial
support from the European Union, Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko said.
In Washington, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said disbursement of $4.5 billion
in U.S. aid for Ukraine would begin in the coming weeks to bolster its economic
stability.
Ukraine's SBU security service and police raided a 1,000-year-old Orthodox Christian
monastery in Kyiv early on Tuesday as part of operations to counter suspected
"subversive activities by Russian special services", the SBU said.

Sources: Reuters, Jornal de Negócios, Expresso.pt, Sapo.pt

 PAGE 25

TECHNOLOGY,
CRYPTOS AND ESG
Elsa Machado

Web Summit back for another year of success

Summit with the tickets sold out, in the
Lisbon embraced another edition of the Web
last days 1, 2, 3 and 4 November, the target of great applause and praise.
The Web Summit, the largest technology event in the world, is a very strong initiative
for the Portuguese economy, with and immeasurable reach and an incomparable
magnitude. This year, there were more than seventy thousand people involved, from
160 different countries and thousands of investors enthusiastic about seeing the
new ideas that were waiting for them. This is a great bet of Portugal in the
technological sector and should be considered a priority due to its big positive effect
on the Portuguese economy. In 2019, the organization of the event recorded gains of
68,8 million euros in Gross Added Value, which emphasizes its economic importance.
According to Forbes Portugal, purchases made at the Web Summit by participants
recorded a growth of about 42% compared to 2021 and purchases and surveys made
in the district of Lisbon increased by 24,9% compared to the same period, quite
favorable numbers for the Portuguese and local conjuncture.
However, it is not only Portugal that triumphs with this event. Entrepreneurs and
investors enter the environment with a great appetite for innovation and interest in
winning – entrepreneurs seek financing to sustain their businesses and investors
investigate a business in which they identify and gives them the possibility to
multiply their money.
Despite the compliments made to Web Summit, it was also a victim of some criticism.
Throughout the technology summit that presented crypto and related universes as a
theme, the Jornal de Negócios tried, unsuccessfully, to make some purchases with
cryptocurrency, in which they received answers such as “Here is only serious
money”, which shows that society still very skeptical about digital currencies, which
proved to be very inconsistent with the theme of the event and in disagreement with
Binance, one of the official sponsors of the event. In 17 operators, only one accepted
payment in cryptocurrencies.
This is the reality of today, a society with a futuristic vision that still cannot
implement its ideas in its entirety. However, progress is being made, one step at a
time.
 PAGE 26

Twitter: ascending or decadente future?

social media in April, which was closed
After signing the agreement to acquire the
only at the end of October, chaos has settled in the company and the repercussions
are already felt in the market.
Since then, Elon Musk has been the center of attention in the technology sector due
to the sudden changes he has implemented. The multimillionaire left the employees
between “the sword and the wall”, demanding a “hardcore” work system or their
dismissal with a compensation of 3 months. According to Daniel Ives, an analyst at
the investment bank Wedbush Securities, tells to Jornal de Negócios that “the
Twitter circus has been absolutely disastrous in all perspectives”, evidencing a great
disagreement between the attitudes of the tycoon and the essence of the social
media.
Being Musk one of the richest men in the world, all his movements have effects on
the world and especially on the stock market. But who suffers the most from this
situation are the shares of Tesla, which since the CEO announced that he has
reached an agreement to buy Twitter, have sunk more than 40% to date, going from
332 dollars to 292 dollars on the same day currently worth about 170 dollars.

However, the fall continues tirelessly and even more so sharp since the officialization
of the purchase, with a decline of more than 16%.
 PAGE 27

However, the fall continues tirelessly and even more so sharp since the officialization
of the purchase, with a decline of more than 16%.

In addition to removing Twitter from the stock market, making it a private company,
Musk shook the waters of one of the leading social media through new rules
implemented, hundreds of redundancies, ruled out brand investment in advertising
and watched the abandonment of thousands of users.
He begans by replacing the high executive positions by himself and about 50% of
employees, in order to monetize the company’s costs. In order to continue the
drama, he also decided to increase “freedom of expression”, through policies that do
not condemn the publications of hate and racism messages and, according to him,
“the comedy is now legal on Twitter”. It also launched a new Twitter model – Twitter
Blue – that allows users to have their account certified with only an 8$ subscription
per month. In addition, it has also created a content moderation board that will have
the power to determine the suspension of profiles.
 PAGE 28

In addition to removing Twitter from the stock market, making it a private company,
Musk shook the waters of one of the leading social media through new rules
implemented, hundreds of redundancies, ruled out brand investment in advertising
and watched the abandonment of thousands of users.
He begans by replacing the high executive positions by himself and about 50% of
employees, in order to monetize the company’s costs. In order to continue the
drama, he also decided to increase “freedom of expression”, through policies that do
not condemn the publications of hate and racism messages and, according to him,
“the comedy is now legal on Twitter”. It also launched a new Twitter model – Twitter
Blue – that allows users to have their account certified with only an 8$ subscription
per month. In addition, it has also created a content moderation board that will have

the power to determine the suspension of profiles.

Cryptocurrencies suffer from the collapse of

FTX

After some recent events, FTX International, the second largest cryptoasset broker
in the world, finds itself in a liquidity crisis caused by a mass customer leak. Last
Friday, November 11, the digital asset broker did not resist the damage and collapsed,
thus starting its insolvency process.
This whole episode was triggered by Coindesk, one of the largest news sites
specialized in digital currencies, when it released a balance sheet of Alameda
Research (hedge fund administered by the CEO of FTX) that revealed that the
company held its own virtual currency as its main asset, created by FTX - the
cryptocurrency token called FTT- and by other illegitimate assets. That is, the two
companies held the majority of all FTT tokens in circulation, which caused a crisis of
confidence in investors.
To aggravate the situation of FTX, the CEO of Binance, the world's largest
cryptoasset broker, announced that he would liquidate all the FTT tokens he owned.
This statement generated panic among investors, who hurried to sell their assets
and withdraw their investments from the broker
In a short time, the broker had already suffered a withdrawal of about 6 billion
dollars, which left it with difficulties in meeting the needs of investors. In the
following days, Samuel Bankman-Fried announced that the withdrawals would be
interrupted since the platform did not have capacity for all requests. On the same
day, FTX reported that it reached a rescue agreement with Binance through its
acquisition. However, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao warned that Binance could
withdraw from the agreement at any time. Bankman-Fried, on the other hand,
assured investors that the agreement would allow the withdrawals to be all
processed. This agreement stagnated the losses that occurred a few days ago in the
crypto market, except in FTT, which from November 7 to 8, went from a value of
22,145$ to 5.51$.
 PAGE 29

In addition to removing Twitter from the stock market, making it a private company,
The rest of the crypto market, in turn, felt a slight recovery, stimulated by the
disclosure of new inflation values that highlighted that the Consumer Price index
showed a reduction, thus pushing prices down.
As if all this disaster were not enough, Zhao decided to shake the market more with
the news that Binance resigned the agreement previously made with FTX, claiming
that it gave up buying the company due to revelations about the results that could
cause many problems and because it was the target of regulatory investigations and
poorly administered funds. After this turnaround, FTX turned around through an
agreement with Icon, a blockchain platform, which guaranteed the exchange of
some FTX tokens for other cryptocurrency wallets.
FTX, according to the Financial Times, then tried to obtain financing with other 8
billion dollar strategies. But this Friday he even ended up making the insolvency
claim that protects it from creditors. This insolvency process includes FTX Jradiog.
Alameda Research and the Company under U.S. jurisdiction FTX US.
This event has shaken the crypto market in its entirety, since it is the two largest
cryptocurrency brokers in the world. The price of FTT fell about 80% on Tuesday,
November 8, and the prices of Bitcoin and Ethereum suffered great volatilities,
reaching a fall of about 20%.
 PAGE 30

These events alarm investors in this sector to be more careful, because even the
largest companies may not be infallible.

Sources: Financial Times, Forbes, Expresso.pt, Exame, Observador.pt e

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