I can’t describe that excited thrill of getting a Labubu doll from one of the blind boxes from Pop Mart.

Do I have a problem? I don’t know.

But I can’t get enough of it!

This week, I am covering Pop Mart International and how it has defied the odds. Furthermore, I take a look also at U.S. banks making a big push up.

Oh, and I have a meme of JD Vance below … Will I get deported if I go to the U.S.?

Moving on, here are the news that shocked the world…

One Big Beautiful Act $SPX ( ▲ 0.83% ) : It’s passed, by a razor-thin margin of 1. Trump’s One Big Beautiful Act is through now in the Senate. Vice President, Vance was that one vote. [Read More]

Tesla $TSLA ( ▼ 0.1% ) : Tesla made the news again, and this time, its deliveries crashed! It’s down by 13.5% for 2Q 2025 as it faces intense competition from Chinese EVs [Read More]

Ford $F ( ▲ 0.34% ) : Ford forges ahead. Sales is up by 14% to 612,095 as its F-Series trucks powered through while its 'pure EVs sales faltered. [Read More]

UPS $UPS ( ▼ 1.34% ) : Layoffs at the horizon. Because of lower demand from Amazon and Trump tariffs, UPS is offering voluntary buyout packages for 20,000 drivers [Read More]

Home Depot $HD ( ▼ 0.05% )  : Home Depot is spending US$4.3 billion to buy GMS, a building products distributor as they bet on professionals building more stuff [Read More]

Here are the news covering the Asia market…

Zhejiang $ZJLMF ( 0.0% )  : Oh? Is there a new EV baddie in town? Zhejiang Leapmotor led EV sales among Chinese upstarts in the highly competitive market [Read More]

Sembcorp: Sembcorp is issuing SG$300 million worth of fixed-rate guaranteed notes due 2046 under its Euro Medium Term Note Program [Read More]

Ever Glory X Guthrie: Ever Glory has bought Guthrie Engineering for SG$31.5 million, with the deal expected to be completed by end July [Read More]

China Medical System: China Medical System, a Hong Kong listed pharmaceutical company is planning a secondary listing in the Singapore Exchange [Read More]

NTT IPO: NTT, a Japanese telecommunications company, is looking to list a data centre REIT for US$864 million in the Singapore Exchange [Read More]

See below for our handpicked analyst reports:

They crashed in 2008. Needed help from the government for a bailout. Got a bunch of regulations on them because they were deemed ‘too big to fail’.

Now, 17 years on, U.S. banking stocks are roaring back in 2025.

U.S. stocks crashed in early April 2025, as Trump tariffs got everyone worried about higher prices and a weak economy.

However, since then, the Dow Jones U.S. Bank Index has risen by 39% to the level of 752 as of 3 July 2025.

There are several reasons for this.

Firstly, the U.S. economy is still chugging along fine. Banks give out loans to U.S. consumers to buy house, cars, and many other things. If the economy is fine, banks are fine.

Secondly, the banks passed the annual stress test set by the Federal Reserve with flying colours. Confidence in banks? Check!

Thirdly, because they passed the test, they are now jacking up dividends and stock buybacks which is good news for investors.

Lastly, the Federal Reserve still at least have one more interest rate cut penciled in for the year. Lower interest rate = more people take loan = more people and companies consume and invest = good for banks.

Be careful though, there are still risks to the U.S. economy.

• Trump has recently threatened to raise tariffs to as high as 70% on some countries.

• Consumer spending (which makes up close to 70% of the U.S. economy) could collapse if inflation rises due to inflation.

I sent out thousands of emails to investors to keep my company afloat in 2012. Only one replied, and gave me 2 million yuan. It was Mai Gang.

- Paraphrased from Wang Ning, the CEO of Pop Mart International.

It’s crazy to think that Pop Mart is as big as it is now.

What started off as a niche designer toy seller has exploded into the cultural scene across China and the world.

On 12 June 2025, Pop Mart launched a new line of collectibles for its Labubu …

And sold out within seconds online.

I admit it’s actually hard to get a good grasp of Pop Mart and Labubu. It is after all dependent on a collectible toy trend which can change overnight.

Who knows when will consumers move on the next big thing?

But at least for now, they are still hooked. And hooked badly.

Here are the facts:

1. Revenue has more than quadrupled from HKD2.8 billion in 2020 to HKD14.1 billion in 2024.

2. Its market capitalisation has tripled to US$42.8 billion in 2025 from US$15 billion in 2024. It’s the 43rd biggest company in China, on par with CITIC, Trip.com and China Pacific Insurance.

Its numbers don’t lie.

However, while it’s all good and dandy, there are some negatives to keep an eye out too.

• The Chinese government is starting to clamp down on ‘blind boxes’ (which is a big feature of Pop Mart International).

• Its recent drop by Morgan Stanley in one of its key indexes, sent share price down.

• Counterfeits are a big problem.

In any case, my friend Su Wei is joining the queue for a Labubu this weekend, wish him luck!

Hope the above is fruitful for you all

Cheers,
James Yeo