StanChart North Asia Investment Director Zheng Zifeng predicts that the negative impact of past rate hikes will drag down the US economy, although a hard landing is likely to be avoided in the first half of this year. However, the second half of the year may continue to face risks of recession. As the Federal Reserve hinted at a shift from fighting inflation to supporting growth at its December meeting last year, it is expected to start cutting rates in June this year, with a total reduction of 1.25% for the year. Due to falling bond yields, cooling inflation, and economic weakening, bond yields may further decline, with the US 10-year Treasury yield expected to fall between 3.25% and 3.5% in the next 6-12 months. Zheng Zifeng expects that the investment market will continue to show characteristics of differentiation and diversification in 2024. Diversified deployment across asset classes and regions is key to strategy. Due to geopolitical tensions and lingering inflation threats, global stock and bond markets may have a positive relationship. Policy rates are expected to decrease this year, global economic growth will slow down, and bond yields may fall. Therefore, he is more bullish on US stocks, Japanese stocks, and mature market government bonds. He advises investors to focus on long-term high-quality US Treasury and corporate bonds, taking advantage of the opportunity to lock in high returns and potentially benefit from falling bond yields and rising bond prices. Zheng Zifeng also mentioned that he is optimistic about mainland e-commerce platforms operating special sale events and industries such as non-essential consumer goods, giving them a "overweight" rating. StanChart Senior Investment Strategist Chen Zhenglun, on the other hand, stated that the US is entering a rate-cutting cycle, giving non-US currencies the opportunity to rebound. Among them, the Australian dollar and Japanese yen are worth watching.