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Fundraising and deal-making have dropped sharply at European private debt funds, new data shows. Faisal Ramzan, a partner at law firm Proskauer Rose who advises private credit funds, said he was not seeing default. "There's plenty of dry powder," said Fidelity International's head of private credit strategies Michael Curtis, referring to capital raised already. Joanna Layton, managing director of European private credit at Alcentra, one of Europe's largest private debt managers, added there was "no rush" to deploy capital. High rates have also made private credit less appealing to institutional investors, analysts said.

Persons: Henry Nicholls, Francesco Sandrini, BoE, Andrew Cruickshank, Cruickshank, Pictet, Patrick Marshall, Faisal Ramzan, Proskauer Rose, Michael Curtis, Joanna Layton, Mark Brenke, Ardian, Chris Sier, Sier, Dhara Ranasinghe, Catherine Evans Organizations: City, REUTERS, Reuters Graphics Reuters, The Bank of, European Central Bank, Graphics, Deloitte, Fitch, Federated Hermes, Fidelity International, ClearGlass, Thomson Locations: London's, London, Britain, The Bank of England

☆ One economist still feels a recession is looming — because corporate borrowing costs could shoot up, thanks to rising interest rates
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-04 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Fidelity International's Salman Ahmed is predicting a recession on the back of high interest rates, per Bloomberg. AdvertisementAdvertisementThe increased cost of borrowing due to higher interest rates means companies may not be able to invest in growth. Consumer spending also typically falls when interest rates rise. By the end of 2008, its benchmark interest rate — the Fed Funds Rate was close to 0%. The Fed has been hiking interest rates relentlessly since March 2022 to combat red-hot inflation as the pandemic receded.

Persons: Salman Ahmed, Ahmed, Fidelity's Ahmed —, —, Ahmed isn't, David Rosenberg Organizations: Fidelity, Bloomberg, Service, Federal Locations: Wall, Silicon

☆ Keep an eye on 'blue' bonds, a little-known income alternative tied to clean water
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-04 | by ( Alex Harring | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

"Blue" bonds, securities focused on protecting bodies of water, are popping up with increased frequency with the help of nonprofits. Earlier this month, Denmark's renewable energy producer Ørsted said it would become the first energy company to issue blue bonds. But he said there likely won't be more options until there is wider demand for those blue bonds already available. Because of this, he recommends investors look beyond blue bonds to green bonds that have some focus on water issues. The primary investment thesis behind blue bonds, Atkinson said, is understanding the risk of ignoring the need for healthy oceans and clean water.

Persons: Kris Atkinson, Nomura, Ørsted, Fidelity's Atkinson, Atkinson, Aya Kawamoto, Morgan Stanley, Simon Waever, Waever, Green, Kawamoto, We're, Michael Bloom Organizations: The World Bank, Fidelity International, Nature Conservancy, United Nations, AXA, Inter, American Development Bank, Life Insurance, Conservancy, Treasury Locations: Seychelles, Fiji, Portugal, Europe, East, Africa, Barbados, Belize, Gabon

☆ A China fund from Fidelity is beating the crowd. How it plans to keep doing it
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-03 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Fidelity's China Focus Fund is setting up for another year of outperformance, after ranking first last year among China equity funds tracked by Morningstar. With minimal losses of 0.66% for the year as of Aug. 31, the China Focus Fund has held up far better than the China equity category's decline of 9.45% during that time, according to Morningstar. The China Focus Fund is a "value contrarian strategy," said Catherine Yeung, a Hong Kong-based investment director focused on equities at Fidelity International. Consumer discretionary is the largest sector within the China Focus Fund's holdings, at about one-fourth of the names. Fidelity also has a dedicated China Consumer Fund, which is down by 8.75% year-to-date, only slightly better than its peers, according to Morningstar.

Persons: outperformance, Morningstar, Catherine Yeung, Yeung, hasn't, it's Organizations: Fund, Morningstar, China Focus, China, Fidelity International, CNBC, China Focus Fund, Galaxy Entertainment, Fidelity, China Consumer Fund Locations: China, Hong Kong, expansionary, Macau

☆ Europe's weaker economy limits fallout of US bond rout
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-30 | by ( Yoruk Bahceli | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Last week, U.S. 10-year Treasury yields touched their highest relative to Germany's since December. For rate-sensitive short-dated German bond yields yields are even down 17 bps in August as weak data has raised expectations of a European Central Bank rate hike pause in September. SPILLOVERBofA, Goldman Sachs and Barclays expect Treasury yields to end the year slightly below current levels. Barclays's Khanna estimates German bond yields would have been 50-60 bps lower had they only been driven by domestic factors. The spillover from higher Treasury yields is more challenging elsewhere.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Mauro Valle, Valle, Salman Ahmed, Rohan Khanna, Fitch, Mondher, SPILLOVER BofA, Goldman Sachs, Jackson, Barclays's Khanna, Frederik Ducrozet, Ataru Okumura, Yoruk, Chiara Elisei, Junko Fujita, Kevin Buckland, Dhara Ranasinghe, Tomasz Janowski Organizations: REUTERS, Generali Investment Partners, European Central Bank, Fidelity International, U.S, Fitch, AAA, Vontel Asset Management, Barclays, Treasury, Federal Reserve, ECB, Pictet Wealth Management, of Japan, Nikko Securities, Yoruk Bahceli, Thomson Locations: U.S, United States, Europe, Germany, Britain, Germany's, It's, Italy, France, Japan, Amsterdam, London, Tokyo

☆ China regulator met with foreign investors to alleviate concerns - sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-25 | by ( Selena Li | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] People walk past the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) sign at its building on the Financial Street in Beijing, China July 9, 2021. Fang Xinghai, a vice chairman of the CSRC hosted the meeting from Beijing, the sources said. An executive from Fidelity International was among those from the large funds attending, according to one of the sources. Bloomberg first reported the CSRC meeting on Friday. However, the modest stimulus has so far failed to satisfy investors, who want a stronger policy response, including massive government spending.

Persons: Tingshu Wang, HONG KONG, Fang Xinghai, Selena Li, Sumeet Chatterjee, Sharon Singleton Organizations: China Securities Regulatory Commission, REUTERS, Reuters, The China Securities, Regulatory, Fidelity International, Fidelity, Bloomberg, Thomson Locations: China, Beijing, HONG

☆ Britain faces a mortgage crisis with renters and homeowners in the crossfire. Here's how to protect your money
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-02 | by ( Sophie Kiderlin | In | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

"Demand is being stoked by a strong jobs market, record immigration and rising mortgage rates," Donnell said. Mortgage crisisBritain's mortgage crisis has been brewing for months. Nicholas Mendes, a technical mortgage manager at mortgage broker and advisor John Charcol, told CNBC Make It that there are pros and cons to both. Prospective buyers may feel "trapped" in the rental market, which could deter them from trying to buy, they told CNBC Make It. Higher mortgage rates are prompting some of those who still have mortgages to pay off to pass on those additional costs to renters, he said.

Persons: Oliver Knight, Knight Frank, Oscar Wong, Ed Monk, Richard Donnell, Zoopla, Donnell, Monk, Nicholas Mendes, John Charcol, Mendes, Urvish Patel, Barry Naisbitt Organizations: Fidelity International, CNBC, Mortgage, Bank of, Bank of England, National Institute of Economic, Social Research Locations: Britain

☆ Asian shares fall on growth concerns, focus shifts to Fed minutes
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-05 | by ( Stella Qiu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

S&P 500 futures dipped 0.1% and Nasdaq futures fell 0.2%. Australia's resources heavy shares (.AXJO) fell 0.2% after the Reserve Bank of Australia held rates steady on Tuesday but warned of more tightening ahead. However, shares of some Chinese makers of products used to make chips rallied as supply concerns sent prices of the metals higher. "It now seems the thesis has evolved, and the market wants to see strong job creation, conditional on subdued wage growth." Brent crude futures fell 0.6% to $75.78 a barrel after climbing 2.1% overnight.

Persons: HSI, Andrew McCaffery, Janet Yellen, Chris Weston, Brent, Stella Qiu, Sam Holmes Organizations: Nikkei, SYDNEY, Federal, Day, Nasdaq, Japan's Nikkei, Reserve Bank of Australia, Fidelity International, Traders, Reuters, Australian, Thomson Locations: U.S, Asia, Pacific, Japan, China, US, Beijing, Washington, United States, Saudi Arabia, Russia

SHANGHAI/HONG KONG, June 27 (Reuters) - China should allow cross-border sharing of information by financial firms operating in the country, a leading financial lobby group said, as authorities tighten control of data generated within its borders in a national security drive. Last July, China unveiled cross-border data review measures that require a security review for "important" offshore data transfers - a move that triggered confusion and concern among foreign financial firms operating in the country. The financial sector lobby group said cross-border transfer of data such as investment outlooks, portfolio analysis, shareholding information and anti-money laundering information should be allowed. However, ASIFMA said the data security rules have made operating in China "very painful" for some of its members. One major complaint from firms operating in China is that Chinese data rules are ambiguous, the lobby group said.

Persons: Alice Law, Lyndon Chao, ASIFMA, Chao, Neuberger Berman, They've, Law, Samuel Shen, Selena Li, Sumeet Chatterjee, Sonali Paul Organizations: Asia Securities Industry, Financial Markets Association, BlackRock, Fidelity International, Thomson Locations: SHANGHAI, HONG KONG, China, Beijing, U.S

☆ Fidelity International: If there are no more curve balls, it will be a good second half of the year for U.K. investors
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-16 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailFidelity International: If there are no more curve balls, it will be a good second half of the year for U.K. investorsEmma-Lou Montgomery, associate director for personal investing at Fidelity International, discusses the retail outlook for the U.K. after retail giant Tesco delivered strong results.

Persons: Emma, Lou Montgomery Organizations: Fidelity, Fidelity International, Tesco

☆ Fidelity International turns to defensive strategy ahead of potential 2023 recession
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailFidelity International turns to defensive strategy ahead of potential 2023 recessionSalman Ahmed, global head of macro and strategic asset allocation at Fidelity International, says the investor has turned more defensive ahead of a potential recession later this year and concerns over company valuations.

Persons: Salman Ahmed Organizations: Fidelity International

An internal Union Investment document seen by Reuters shows that the firm received just 30 responses to its outreach. Although consumer goods manufacturers are particularly exposed, other sectors that import goods associated with deforestation, including commodities houses and industrials companies, will also face scrutiny. Consumer goods makers are counting on technology such as satellites and artificial intelligence to help eradicate deforestation from their supply chains. Several large consumer goods companies say they are close to meeting their ambitious zero-deforestation goals. "The EU rules make deforestation a financial risk as well as an environmental risk."

Persons: Ueslei Marcelino, Henrik Pontzen, Pontzen, Janus Henderson, Jonathan Toub, haven't, Snorre Gjerde, Christophe Hansen, Magdi Batato, Kit Kat, Nestlé, David Croft, Reckitt's, Arild Skedsmo, Richa Naidu, Kate Abnett, Matt Scuffham, David Evans Organizations: REUTERS, Reuters, EU, Germany's, Investment, Unilever, ESG, Union Investment, Nestle, Pepsico, Danone, L'Oreal, KLP, Aviva, Fidelity International, Reckitt, UN Food and Agriculture Organization, Consumer, Thomson Locations: Uruara, Para State, Brazil, NBIM, Nescafe, London, Brussels

☆ The biggest money mistakes that could change your future — and how to get ahead of them right now
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-29 | by ( Sophie Kiderlin | In | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Making money mistakes can be scary and seem catastrophic. A lack of planning and not having specific goals are two of the most common mistakes, experts say. "You might be more likely to maintain contributions or ride out short-term market volatility if that new home, dream trip or once-in-a-lifetime experience is clear in your mind," he added. But plenty of common money mistakes are related to losing or spending money rather than making it. Paying off debt, such as your rent and bills, should be prioritized — not doing so could have serious consequences, Myron Jobson, senior personal finance analyst at interactive investor, tells CNBC Make It.

☆ Investing in AI: how to avoid the hype
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-26 | by ( Naomi Rovnick | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

SummarySummary Companies AI boom brings fresh challenge for investorsAI-themed stocks highly valuedStick with big tech not AI stocks - investorsLONDON, May 26(Reuters) - Experienced tech investors are hunting for undervalued opportunities in an over-valued space. Investors are chasing exposure to generative AI, the technology run by ChatGPT that learns from analysing vast datasets to generate text, images and computer code. Businesses are trying to use generative AI to speed up video editing, recruitment and even legal work. GAM's Hawtin said he has also hunted out companies that provide the "picks and shovels," necessary for enabling new AI technology. Amazon's Bedrock service, for example, lets companies customise generative AI models rather than invest in developing them themselves.

☆ 'Huge consolidation' in China's property market: Portfolio manager
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailThere's 'huge consolidation' in China's property market, says portfolio managerGeorge Efstathopoulos of Fidelity International says China's state-owned enterprises in property are "meaningfully" taking market share from private-owned ones.

☆ UK economy limps along as high inflation hits spending
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-12 | by ( Anna Cooban | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

“Sky-high inflation, negative real wage growth and general cost of living pressures are weighing on the consumer, and in turn the services industry which is typically a key growth engine for the UK economy,” she added in a note. The Bank of England raised interest rates for the 12th consecutive time Thursday in its battle with double-digit inflation. The central bank expects the UK economy to grow by 0.25% this year and by 0.75% in 2024 — a much more positive assessment than in February, when it forecast contractions of 0.5% and 0.25%, respectively. Inflation still highConsumer price inflation in the UK remains stubbornly high, holding above 10% in the year to March. “With inflation still in double digits, it feels depressingly like a re-run of the 1970s.”The Bank of England expects inflation to fall sharply over the coming months.

Both hiked interest rates a quarter point - but only the ECB said more was to come. Without committing to it, the Fed signalled a pause in its 13-month, five percentage point tightening campaign. Money markets do partly agree with Lagarde - seeing one more quarter point rate rise in the pipeline. They now see the so-called terminal ECB rate at 3.5% in September - still a chunky 175 bps below peak Fed rates if you assume that at 5.25%, those have now reached the end of the line. "The extent of policy tightening delivered by the ECB to date is already sufficient to cause a recession," said Fidelity International's Anna Stupnytska.

Lenders wasted little time in charging more for loans when interest rates rapidly rose from an almost 15-year slumber around zero last year, but most have dragged their feet on boosting deposit rates paid to millions of their customers. Money market funds are proving popular among savers seeking bigger returns on their cash as high levels of inflation persist. Data from Refinitiv Lipper showed more than 34 billion euros ($37.6 billion) of net flows into European money market funds in March, the best-selling asset type that month. Fidelity International also reported an 8% year-on-year uplift in flows into money market funds on its investment platform between Jan. 1 and April 26. Some lawmakers have criticised banks for the mismatch between what they charge borrowers and the interest rates offered to savers.

ECB chief Christine Lagarde said the central bank for the 20 countries that share the euro was not pausing. "This is a very restrictive policy and it will turn into credit tightening and that will bring a recession." The ECB has now increased its key deposit rate by some 375 bps since last July, from -0.5%. U.S. rates have jumped 500 bps, with the Federal Reserve hiking again on Wednesday while opening the door to a pause. Gareth Rudd, a European equity fund manager at Chelverton Asset Management, said he was negative on European bank stocks because regulators will want them to conserve capital instead of paying dividends.

[1/2] A Confederation of British Industry (CBI) logo is seen during their annual conference in London, Britain November 9, 2015. "While the CBI was not previously aware of the most serious allegations, it is vital that they are thoroughly investigated now and we are liaising closely with the police," CBI President Brian McBride said. Virgin Media O2 criticised how the CBI had dealt with the allegations. Aviva (AV.L) and two other insurers, Phoenix Group and Zurich Insurance Group (ZURN.S), also quit on Friday along with asset manager Schroders. Accountancy firm PWC suspended activity with the CBI, as has telecoms company BT Group, while bank Santander said it was reviewing its membership.

Inflation, which hit a 41-year high of 11.1% in October, continued to eat into the spending power of workers whose pay is rising by less. Britain's headline inflation rate is now the highest in western Europe and compares with an average of 6.9% in the euro zone and 5.0% in the United States. Austria recorded a higher inflation rate than Britain in February. Reuters GraphicsPOLITICAL PRESSUREHigh inflation is a problem for Britain's government as well as the BoE, which forecast in February that inflation would be below 4% by the end of the year. Producer price inflation - which measures changes in prices charged and paid by manufacturers and often leads changes in CPI - tumbled in March due to lower oil prices.

LONDON, March 31 (Reuters) - Even after a bank shock that could well have changed the whole picture, investors appear reluctant to give up the ghost just yet. The tech-heavy, interest-rate sensitive Nasdaq (.IXIC) is up 14% and even broad European bank stock indices (.SX7P) are still up more than 4% for the year. Pull the lens out as far as it can go and MSCI's all-country index of world stocks (.MIWD00000PUS) is up more than 5%. That U-turn in thinking during the month saw wild swings in the bond and rates markets, where key volatility gauges (.MOVE) hit their highest since the 2008 crash. by Mike Dolan; Editing by Toby Chopra; Twitter: @reutersMikeDOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ After a more than $1 trillion rout, Beijing appears to be warming to Chinese tech giants
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Arjun Kharpal | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

In this article BABA Follow your favorite stocks CREATE FREE ACCOUNTwatch nowBeijing's regulatory crackdown on the Chinese tech sector began in late 2020, wiping off more than a combined $1 trillion from the country's biggest companies. There are now signs that the central government is softening its stance towards internet titans like Alibaba , in a move that could prove positive for Chinese tech stocks. Jean Chung | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesIn addition to warming to the domestic tech sector, China is also courting foreign business. To achieve that, it will need the help of private businesses — including the tech sector. Is China tech out of the woods yet?

☆ Recession risk: Asia is in a different cycle from the West, portfolio manager says
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailRecession risk: Asia is in a different cycle from the West, portfolio manager saysGeorge Efstathopoulos of Fidelity International says "Asia is in a bit of a different place, just because China has opened up."

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