DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

Here's how much it costs to own a superyacht — and what that money is going toward. Billionaires like Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, and Steve Jobs each spent nine figures on their megayachts. Some superyachts have space for dozens of crewmembers, including a chef, engineer, and masseuse for the guests onboard. If a superyacht has a support yacht — or a support superyacht, in Bezos' case — expect to pay another 10% of that boat's price annually. "If you charter the boat for 50 days a year, it's going to help a lot," Anders Kurtén, the CEO of brokerage firm Fraser Yachts, told BI.

Persons: you'd, Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, Steve Jobs, Jeffrey Beneville, Eric Schmidt's, Matthew Fleissig, NFP's Beneville, it's, Anders Kurtén, Beneville Organizations: Palm, NFP, BI, Yachts Locations: South China, Russian, San Diego

☆ Gold prices flutter higher as Fed holds rates steady
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-02 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The Fed left interest rates unchanged on Wednesday as expected. Its latest policy statement kept key elements of its economic assessment and policy guidance intact, framing its discussion of interest rates around the conditions under which borrowing costs can be lowered. Traders were relieved that Powell slammed the door shut for further hikes, helping gold prices climb back above $2,300, City Index senior analyst Matt Simpson said. Lower interest rates increase the appeal of holding non-yielding bullion. The U.S. non-farm payrolls report is due on Friday.

Persons: Jerome Powell, Powell, Matt Simpson, Simpson Organizations: Federal Reserve, U.S ., Traders, City Index, U.S, Palladium, MKS PAMP

☆ Gold pauses record rally ahead of U.S. jobs data
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-05 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Two Argor-Heraeus SA 250 gram gold bars at Solar Capital Gold Zrt. Spot gold was down 0.5% at $2,278.50 per ounce, as of 0328 GMT, after hitting a record high of $2,305.04 on Thursday. "Gold will continue to rally with normal pull-backs," Luca Santos, an analyst at ACY Securities said. Bullion was on track for a third straight weekly gain, up 2.3% so far, also driven by strong central bank buying and demand from momentum-following funds. Traders are currently pricing in about 65% chance that the Fed will cut rates in June, according to the CME FedWatch tool.

Persons: Luca Santos, Santos, Bullion, Hugo Pascal, Pascal, Jerome Powell Organizations: Heraeus, Solar, U.S ., Federal, ACY Securities, NFP, Palladium Locations: Budapest, Hungary, U.S

☆ Billionaires' superyachts are bigger, better, and have more on board than ever
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-29 | by ( Madeline Berg | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

And if you don't have someone on board who can whip up a Michelin-star-worthy meal, you might as well stay on land. AdvertisementThe massage room aboard the Talisman C, a $60 million superyacht for sale at the Palm Beach show. The total value of the 203 superyachts over 30 meters delivered last year was $6.4 billion, according to data from SuperYacht Times. Pampering options, be it a massage room, manicure station, or a professional-grade facial machine, are a dime a dozen. Courtesy of Breed MediaAnd what good is a massage room if no one on board can give one?

Persons: —, Ralph Dazert, Burgess, Anders Kurtén, Kurtén, Nero superyacht, Giovanna Vitelli, Champagne, Benetti's, Donald Trump, Trump, Vitelli, they're, It's, Jeff Bezos, Dazert, everything's, Nero, Jeffrey Beneville, Lana, Bill Gates Organizations: Service, Michelin, SuperYacht Times, Palm, Yachts, —, Monaco Yacht Locations: Russian, superyachting

☆ Gold near 3-week high as markets cut back U.S. rate hike bets
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-30 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Pure 1,000-gram gold bars produced by South Korea's LS-Nikko are stacked in a dealers room in Seoul on January 9, 2009. Gold prices hovered near three-week highs on Wednesday, as investors pared back bets of further U.S. interest rate hikes in response to soft economic readings, with more data eyed this week to analyze the outlook. Spot gold was flat at $1,936.17 per ounce by 0328 GMT, about $2 below its highest levels since Aug. 7 hit on Tuesday. Gold may extend gains to $1,948 per ounce, as it has cleared a resistance at $1,936, said Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao. Platinum eased 0.1% to $975.07, having climbed to its highest level since July 19 in the previous session.

Persons: Matt Simpson, Wang Tao Organizations: South Korea's, Nikko, Treasury, U.S ., Commerce, Federal Locations: Seoul, ., U.S

☆ Market reactions to Powell speech
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +8 min

"It is the Fed's job to bring inflation down to our 2% goal, and we will do so," Powell said. "August has been a difficult month for the market, so it is hungry for news that will help reverse the trend. Investors are hanging on to every word, but the main takeaway is that Powell signaled that the Fed would raise rates if needed. Rather than last year's short but brutal speech, Powell opted for a longer and calmer speech. KARL SCHAMOTTA, CHIEF MARKET STRATEGIST, CORPAY, TORONTO"On balance, this is a modestly less hawkish speech than markets had feared.

Persons: Jerome Powell, Powell, CHRISTOPHER HODGE, MICHAEL GREEN, ANDRE BAKHOS, CARSTEN BRZESKI, Ann Saphir, Christine, Lagarde, ” JOSEPH LAVORGNA, “, ” STUART COLE, ” QUINCY KROSBY, there's, DAVID WAGNER, Jackson, BRIAN JACOBSEN, patting, KARL SCHAMOTTA, Bernanke, Draghi Organizations: U.S . Federal, Federal, NFP, Fed, ING, Kansas City, REUTERS, CHIEF, CPI, Global Finance, Markets, Thomson Locations: U.S, JERSEY, FRANKFURT, Kansas, Jackson Hole , Wyoming, NIKKO, LONDON, CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA, CINCINNATI , OHIO, WISCONSIN, TORONTO

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., July 26, 2023. All eyes will be squarely on the July U.S. nonfarm payrolls report, due at 8:30 a.m. ET, with a Reuters poll of economists estimating payrolls increased by 200,000 jobs last month, after having risen 209,000 in June, showing labor market conditions remain tight. "Today's NFP data would be important for setting the market tone for the coming weeks," Jefferies strategist Mohit Kumar said. ET, Dow e-minis were up 10 points, or 0.03%, S&P 500 e-minis were up 8.5 points, or 0.19%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 44.25 points, or 0.29%.

Persons: Brendan McDermid, Amazon's, nonfarm, Jefferies, Mohit Kumar, Stocks, DraftKings, Shubham Batra, Bansari, Savio D'Souza, Shounak Organizations: New York Stock Exchange, REUTERS, Apple Futures, Dow, Nasdaq, Amazon.com, Microsoft, Labor Department, Fitch, AAA, Dow e, Horizon Therapeutics, Sports, Thomson Locations: New York City, U.S, States, Bengaluru

☆ Rupee likely to remain under pressure on rising US yields
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-04 | by ( Nimesh Vora | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

FILE PHOTO-A customer hands Indian currency notes to an attendant at a fuel station in Mumbai, India, August 13, 2018. REUTERS/Francis Mascarenhas/File PhotoMUMBAI, Aug 4 (Reuters) - The Indian rupee is expected to remain under pressure on Friday after longer maturity U.S. yields reached the highest level this year. Non-deliverable forwards indicate the rupee will open slightly weaker to the U.S. dollar from 82.7225 in the previous session. "The rupee and the whole EM complex will not see any sort of relief if the volatility in U.S. yields remains high." The Fitch downgrade of the U.S. credit rating, broadly resilient U.S. data and rising U.S. inflation expectations have contributed to the selloff in Treasuries.

Persons: Francis Mascarenhas, Fitch, Nimesh Vora, Sonia Cheema Organizations: REUTERS, U.S, Reserve Bank of India, U.S ., Reuters, NFP, DBS Research, Brent, Thomson Locations: Mumbai, India, MUMBAI, Treasuries, U.S

☆ Gold set for worst week in six as U.S. yields surge before jobs data
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-04 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Gold prices looked set to post their worst week in six on Friday as investors braced for a closely watched U.S. jobs report after a string of solid economic data this week drove Treasury yields to nine-month highs. Spot gold was little changed at $1,935.07 per ounce by 0412 GMT, while U.S. gold futures rose 0.1% to $1,970.30. Gold prices have declined more than 1% so far this week, having slipped to their lowest level since July 11 in the last session. U.S. long-term Treasury yields climbed to their highest since November on Thursday after employment and other economic data pointed to easing inflation. Non-farm payrolls, or NFP, data due at 1230 GMT will be the next focus for further clues about the U.S. economy's strength.

Persons: Tim Waterer, it's, Kelvin Wong Organizations: Aurum, KCM, of England, European Central Bank Locations: Asia Pacific

☆ Reaction: June US jobs growth cools, but wages won't comfort Fed
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Nonfarm payrolls increased by 209,000 jobs last month, the Labor Department said on Friday. "Today's numbers confirm the job market is still strong... and this report gives the green light to the Fed to raise rates. "If anything, it probably confirms this idea that the Fed has had that they are making progress in the right direction." "It's not like this is a sudden vast improvement in the labor market." The hours worked numbers are rising slower than the payrolls numbers.

Persons: Nonfarm, payrolls, CANDICE, GOLDMAN, BEN JEFFERY, “, PETER CARDILLO, we're, STUART COLE, JASON PRIDE, MICHAEL BROWN, ”, ” BRIAN JACOBSEN, MENOMONEE Organizations: YORK, Labor Department, Reuters, Treasury, BMO, NFP, Fed, Global Finance, Markets, Thomson Locations: GOLDMAN SACHS, PHILADELPHIA, WISCONSIN

Weekly orders this year now average 26 as the strike by the Writers Guild of America (WGA) halted many film and TV productions, Elyea said. Florists, caterers, costume suppliers and others have seen orders dwindle as many are still recovering from disruptions caused by COVID-19. No new talks are scheduled between major Hollywood studios and the writers, who are seeking higher pay and guardrails around the use of artificial intelligence. The strike's impact would be magnified if the SAG-AFTRA actors union also goes on strike when its contract expires on Friday. "Now, there's the writers' strike, and we're losing the movies that have been so good to us."

Persons: Pam Elyea's, Elyea, Kevin Klowden, Klowden, You've, Ross Garner, Danni Sapp, Sapp, Cristina, John Iverson, Cristina Iverson, Iverson, we're, hadn't, Lisa Richwine, Dawn Chmielewski, Danielle Broadway, Rollo Ross, Mary Milliken, Sandra Maler Organizations: Hollywood, Hire, Writers Guild of America, SAG, WGA, Milken Institute, NFP's Entertainment Group, Services, Netflix, HBO, Television Fund, Vogue, FBI, Thomson Locations: ANGELES, Los Angeles, California, United States, COVID, New Mexico, Santa Fe, Waco

☆ Trump wants the $5 million he owes E. Jean Carroll held as cash, not as a bond, in a weird move that saves him just $55,000
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-24 | by ( Laura Italiano | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Trump must set aside $5.55 million dollars for E. Jean Carroll while he appeals her successful defamation verdict. On Friday, he made the unusual move of asking the court to hold the money as cash, rather than as a bond. Surety experts say the move saves Trump the price of a bond premium: just $55,000. Trump attorney Joe Tacopina filed the request Friday with US District Court Judge Lewis Kaplan, who presided over the defamation and sexual assault trial. That amount could be nothing if Trump wins an outright reversal of the judgment, or less than $5 million if an appeals court reduces the judgment.

Persons: Trump, Jean Carroll, —, Donald Trump, E, It's, Mike Lapre, Lapre, Joe Tacopina, Lewis Kaplan, Tacopina, Carroll, Roberta Kaplan, Trump's, Ira Judelson, Judelson, Dominique Strauss, Kahn, Plaxico Burress, Conor McGregor, nix, he's Organizations: Trump, Service, NFP, NFL Locations: Manhattan, York City

☆ Pound heads for biggest weekly gain in six months
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-02 | by ( Amanda Cooper | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

LONDON, June 2 (Reuters) - Sterling headed for its biggest one-week rally against the dollar in six months on Friday, as U.S. interest rates looked increasingly likely to plateau sooner than UK rates. The pound has gained 1.5% against the dollar this week, the most since early December, and nearly 1.1% against the euro - which would be its largest weekly increase in nearly four months. Meanwhile, as UK inflation remains stubbornly high, traders have reassessed the outlook for monetary policy in Britain too. Money markets show markets are pricing for UK rates to peak at 5.32% by year-end, up from 4.50% now. A month ago, the expectation was that UK rates would be around 4.80% by December.

Persons: Sterling, Warren Venketas, Jordan Rochester, Amanda Cooper, Susan Fenton Organizations: NFP, Federal Reserve, Treasury, U.S, Nomura, Thomson Locations: Washington, Britain, Rochester

☆ Gold set for biggest weekly gain since April on Fed pause hopes
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-02 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Gold bars and gold coins of different sizes lie in a safe on a table at the precious metal dealer Pro Aurum. Gold prices were set on Friday for their biggest weekly gain in nearly two months, as a softer dollar and hopes for a pause in the Federal Reserve's tightening campaign bolstered bullion's appeal. Bullion has gained 1.7% so far this week, heading for its best week since the week ended April 7. Gold, which does not yield any interest of its own, loses appeal when interest rates rise. A strong labor market print could see a bounce-back in the dollar, which would not help gold, Waterer added.

Persons: Bullion, Edward Meir, Patrick Harker, Joe Biden, Tim Waterer, Waterer Organizations: Aurum, Marex . Philadelphia Fed, U.S, U.S . Senate, U.S . Labor Department's, KCM

☆ Instant View: Solid April US jobs report undermines case for Fed cut soon
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +8 min

ANTHONY SAGLIMBENE, CHIEF MARKET STRATEGIST, AMERIPRISE FINANCIAL, TROY, MICHIGAN“It's definitely telling you that the job market is still hot. PETER CARDILLO, CHIEF MARKET ECONOMIST, SPARTAN CAPITAL SECURITIES, NEW YORK“It was a hotter than expected report, it certainly didn’t show any cooling in the labor market. Hourly earnings were a little higher than I was looking for.”“Bottom line, this is a strong report and shows that the labor market is resilient. So I think the real focus is on the inflation numbers, and what's happening with wage growth. We are hopeful the continued strength of the jobs market and signs of slowing inflation will ease market volatility in the coming months.

☆ Gold flat; set for weekly jump on hopes of Fed pause, banking woes
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Bars of gold are seen at the Krastsvetmet company, one of the world's largest producers of precious metals in Moscow, Russia on January 31, 2023. Gold prices were flat on Friday but are set for their biggest weekly gain in nearly two months, as hopes of a pause in the U.S. Federal Reserve's interest rate hike cycle and banking worries in the country bolstered the safe-haven metal's appeal. Spot gold was little changed at $2,050.63 per ounce as of 0349 GMT, but was up 3% for the week. Mounting risks to the U.S. economy have also supported strong investor demand into gold as they sought haven assets, ANZ said in a note. The dollar index was set for a weekly drop, making gold more attractive for overseas buyers.

Bitcoin peaked at $30,438 in Asian trade and was last up 1.4% at $30,070. It has gained nearly 6% since the start of the month, after rising 23% in March. This brings digital asset flows back into positive territory for the year, the report showed. "If (bitcoin) can survive the week over $30,000, we are going higher." While Shapella is not likely to directly drive sell pressure on ether, there could be heightened volatility around the event, Bank of America strategist Alkesh Shah said.

☆ UK stocks slip as investors gauge prospects of U.S. rate hike
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Susan Mathew | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The blue-chip FTSE 100 index (.FTSE) fell 0.6%, and the mid-cap index (.FTMC) lost 0.7%, extending losses for a third straight session. Strengthening the case for hikes, data showed U.S. job openings fell less than expected in January. The FTSE 100 is up more than 6% so far this year, but is off more than 2% from all-time highs hit last month as investors try to assess the impact of rising interest. Among individual stocks, Rio Tinto (RIO.L) dropped 0.6% as the miner traded without dividend eligibility. Reporting by Susan Mathew in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips and Sonia CheemaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ A reading of more than 200,000 jobs added in February would be the Fed's trigger for a big March rate hike, Barclays says
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Carla Mozée | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The Fed will likely upsize its March rate hike if the February jobs report shows 200,00 or more jobs added, Barclays said. Investors on Tuesday quickly pushed up the odds the Fed deliver a rate hike of a half-percentage point after downsizing the pace to 25 basis points last month. The February jobs report due Friday is expected to show the world's largest economy added 203,000 jobs, with a steady unemployment rate of 3.4%. The January jobs report trounced expectations with growth of 517,000 jobs. Such moves would put the peak of the Fed's benchmark interest rate at 5.5%-5.75% assuming that after June, the Fed sees sufficient evidence that slowing in employment and wages warrant a pause in rate hikes, Barclays said.

☆ Hawkish Powell puts 50 bp Fed rate hikes back on table
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

"Powell makes it clear the Fed would react accordingly if the data suggests that inflation continues to move in the wrong direction. It was very clear to the market that the Fed is not going to equivocate in terms of data that suggests inflation continues to climb higher or remain sticky." "Six percent (terminal rate) would be a little higher than it is likely. ROBERT PAVLIK, SENIOR PORTFOLIO MANAGER, DAKOTA WEALTH, FAIRFIELD, CONNECTICUT"The focus of the Fed is trying to get inflation down to 2%. "I prefer just one more 25 basis point rate hike, but probably we're going to get three 25 basis point rate hikes."

SINGAPORE/LONDON, March 7 (Reuters) - The U.S. dollar held steady on Tuesday ahead of testimony before Congress by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, while the Aussie slid after the Reserve Bank of Australia hinted it might nearly be done with monetary tightening. Elsewhere, the euro, sterling and yen were all broadly steady with the common currency at $1.0671 , the pound at $1.20245 , and one dollar worth 135.7 yen . That meant U.S. dollar index , which measures the unit against six major rivals, was also flat at 104.3, having slipped 0.26% a day earlier. "If (he) remains cautious ... that could trigger the dollar index to fall further below the 105.00-level ahead of the release of the NFP report on Friday." Investors are also awaiting the final policy meeting for Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda on Thursday and Friday, when the central bank is set to stick to its ultra-loose monetary path.

☆ Powell's speech triggered record options bets, topping even the meme stock frenzy
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( Patti Domm | In | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

he asked in a note, adding that the previous record amount of call buying activity was in January 2021 just as the meme stock frenzy peaked. Those options were big market bets, like in the SPDR S & P 500 ETF and Invesco QQQ Trust, which represents the Nasdaq 100. SPY 5D line spy Much of the volume was in zero-day to expiration options, which expire on the same day. "The reality is if you bought the stock market in January 2021 and held onto it for any time period, you would be happy." Stock Chart Icon Stock chart icon spyMuch of the volume was in zero-day to expiration options, which expire on the same day.

☆ Gold rises, set for weekly gain with spotlight on U.S. jobs data
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( Ashitha Shivaprasad | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Spot gold rose 0.3% to $1,838.38 per ounce, as of 0238 GMT. The market's focus shifts to the U.S. Labor Department's closely watched nonfarm payrolls (NFP) data due at 1330 GMT. "Higher-than-expected job gains and more persistent wage pressures may be catalysts to add pressure on gold," said IG Market strategist Yeap Jun Rong. "Gold prices have been finding its way higher since November as bullish bets in dollar and yields unwind. For 2023, gold prices may continue to draw in buyers but it might face some risk from hawkish pushback from policymakers."

☆ Gold edges higher as dollar dips ahead of U.S. jobs data
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( Ashitha Shivaprasad | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Spot gold was up 0.1% at $1,856.11 per ounce, as of 0302 GMT, after hitting a near seven-month high in the previous session. U.S. gold futures also edged 0.1% higher at $1,861.20. "Gold has had a good start to the year, helped by a weaker dollar and expectations that the Fed might slow its pace of rate hikes. "If the jobs data reflects that the rate hikes have taken a toll on the economy, then dollar might weaken further and benefit gold." Bullion is seen as a hedge against inflation and economic uncertainties, but higher interest rates tend to weigh on non-yielding gold.

Search resuls for: "NFP"

25 mentions found