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☆ Bank of Japan has its cake and eats it
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Governor Kazuo Ueda on Friday shocked global markets by pledging more flexibility in the Bank of Japan’s (8301.T) yield curve control scheme, its mechanism for controlling long-term interest rates. The central bank said its previous rigid target of keeping yields on 10-year sovereign bonds in a range of 0.5% to minus 0.5% was now just a “reference”. And it promised to buy 10-year bonds at 1%, which Ueda defined as a “just-in-case” cap. Traders immediately breached the officially unchanged range; the yield on 10-year government bonds hit a 9-year high of 0.575%. Instead, the bank may have found a way to make it more sustainable.

Persons: Kazuo Ueda, Ueda, Francesco Guerrera, Oliver Taslic Organizations: Reuters, Bank of Japan’s, Traders, Global, Twitter, Consumers, Thomson Locations: MUMBAI, Japan, Una

☆ How China, U.S., Russia and Ukraine tension threatens global economic growth: Jeffrey Sachs
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-12 | by ( Mark Licea | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Geopolitical tension is the biggest risk to companies' bottom lines right now said Columbia University economics professor, Jeffrey Sachs. We should negotiate a peace in Ukraine," Sachs told CNBC. He said issues between China, Ukraine and Russia are major reasons why global profitability is low. Trade conflict between the U.S. and China is strained due to a history involving tariffs, tech rivalry and alleged spying. As a result, the U.S. government is dismantling long-standing supply chain relationships with China, creating supply shocks.

Persons: Jeffrey Sachs, Sachs, we're Organizations: Columbia University, CNBC, U.S Locations: U.S, Ukraine, China, Russia, United States

☆ Morning Bid: As yields and the yen go, so goes the dollar
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Traders in Asia nudged both yields and the dollar a whisker lower on Tuesday, with an eye on Wednesday's U.S. inflation data. Two-year and ten-year Treasury yields are back below 5% and 4%, respectively. The yen is in the driver's seat in foreign exchange markets, as investors pull back on high-yielding bets in emerging markets that have been funded by cheaply borrowed yen. Such trades are placed by selling yen for dollars and then dollars for emerging-market currencies such as the peso or the real, so reversing them requires selling dollars for yen. The yen has risen to the strong side of 141 per dollar for the first time in three weeks.

Persons: Tom Westbrook, Janet Yellen's, Edmund Klamann Organizations: Traders, ., HK, Ant Group, Treasury, Thomson Locations: Asia, U.S, Beijing, Hong Kong

An upcoming study from researchers at Stanford University offers a new way to trace far-flung smoke and pollution back to individual wildfires of origin. What’s burning in a wildfire determines what kind of pollution is in the smoke. Dr. Ford and others have studied wildfire smoke patterns, as well as the resulting exposure to particulate matter pollution. But the Stanford researchers have pulled off something new by putting the two together, she said, especially over so many years and so much land area. Aside from that, Dr. Lin thought the Stanford study would be very useful in figuring out the real human toll of wildfire smoke.

Persons: ”, Jeff Wen, Mr, Wen, Bonne Ford, it’s, Ford, John Lin, Lin, Stanford Organizations: Stanford University, Stanford, . Canadian Forces, Reuters, Seaboard, Colorado State University, University of Utah Locations: United States, U.S, Mistissini, Quebec, Georgia, Florida

☆ Accused in Missing Man’s Grisly Killing: His Ex-Wife and Her Husband
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-16 | by ( Erin Nolan | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Just before 4 p.m. on April 28, 2020, Steven Kraft did as he often did on Tuesday afternoons. He caught up with them over a fast-food dinner before returning them to their mother’s home around 7 p.m.That was the last time anyone saw Mr. Kraft alive. But on Thursday, Mr. Kraft’s ex-wife, Jamie Orsini, and her husband, Nicholas Orsini, were arrested and each charged with one count of carjacking resulting in death and one count of conspiracy. The Orsinis are accused of concocting and executing an elaborate scheme to murder Mr. Kraft, 34, and dismember and burn his body, according to a criminal complaint filed in Federal District Court in White Plains, N.Y. Mr. Kraft’s body has not been recovered, according to investigators.

Persons: Steven Kraft, Kraft, Kraft’s, Jamie Orsini, Nicholas Orsini Organizations: Court Locations: Marlboro, N.Y, Beacon, White Plains

☆ I've traveled 18,000 miles in an electric car. Here are the 4 things that surprised me about long-distance EV road trips.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-12 | by ( Gia Mora | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

She and her partner have traveled 18,000 miles in the electric car on multiple road trips. Here are four things people should know if they're planning to travel long distances in an EV. We arrange to fill up at an Electrify America station every 150 miles or so. More remote charging stations can be adventures in themselvesPlenty of charging stations look exactly as you'd expect, but when we ventured outside of major metropolitan areas, we discovered some unique stops. Green River, Utah, is home to 847 people, one Tesla Supercharger, and four Electrify America stations located beside the tiny, quirky Green River Coffee Company.

Persons: Gia Mora, Morris, it's, I'm, We've, we've, Lucky Buck Organizations: Hyundai, Walmart, Morning, Apple, Walmart Walmart, Sam's, Coffee, Yosemite National Locations: Los Angeles, Colorado, Scottsdale , Arizona, LA, San Diego, Nevada , Utah, New Mexico, America, Walmart's, Plenty, Green River , Utah, Yosemite

☆ The Artists Depicting the Power and Strangeness of Breasts
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Zoë Lescaze | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

Not all artists painting breasts are interested in them as sexual objects, but their erotic associations can be difficult to shake. “Or people just like sex.” Frustrated, she took a temporary break from breasts to focus on ankles and hands. Image In oil paintings such as “Figure and Monstera” (2022), Somaya Critchlow imbues her subjects with a sense of interiority and unapologetic sensuality. Credit... © Somaya Critchlow. Endowing them with exaggerated breasts is a provocation to the viewer to move past the obvious.

☆ Why China Doesn’t Have a Property Tax
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Keith Bradsher | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Across China, many local governments are on the brink of insolvency. Central government bailouts are a possibility to rescue cities from their deep budget problems, but China hasn’t turned to a source of revenue that would be an obvious option in other countries: property taxes. In China, where the government owns the land, localities almost never tax homeowners to support services like schools. Revenue from these land sales has plunged in the past year. That knowledge means officials in Beijing could start a nationwide property tax system.

☆ The Elusive Fix for China’s Budget Crisis
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Keith Bradsher | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Central government bailouts are a possibility to rescue cities from their deep budget problems, but China hasn’t turned to a source of revenue that would be an obvious option in other countries: property taxes. In China, where the government owns the land, localities almost never tax homeowners to support services like schools. Revenue from these land sales has plunged in the past year. Last month, after a decade-long effort that involved 100,000 workers, China’s central government said it had finally figured out who even owns 790 million apartments and other properties. That knowledge means officials in Beijing could start a nationwide property tax system.

Since then, the combined net long hit an all-time high near 840,000 futures and options contracts in April 2022. In the July contracts, soybeans and soymeal fell 5%, corn and soyoil shed around 6% and CBOT wheat plunged 8%. The only period in which funds were more bearish toward CBOT wheat was between July 2016 and January 2018. ADDITIONAL PRESSUREThe downturn continued for corn and wheat futures between Wednesday and Friday, likely increasing bears’ recent momentum in the grains. Most-active CBOT wheat fell nearly 3% over the last three sessions and featured a dip on Friday to the lowest levels since July 2021.

☆ Goldman Sachs says these 'compelling' stocks are earnings season winners
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-29 | by ( Michael Bloom | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Sifting through the flood of financial reports this week, Goldman Sachs analysts have named a slew of stocks poised for more growth ahead. Constellation Brands Shares of the beer and wine maker are just too attractive to ignore, the firm said. Braze "Long-term fundamentals are intact," analyst Gabriella Borges said of the cloud software marketing company. Braze shares are up more than 7% this year, after coming off of a better-than-expected fiscal fourth-quarter report . Importantly, the company raised its full year outlook at the high end of prior range, with ~8% net sales growth and ~11% adj.

☆ Factbox: Lithium key element for electric vehicle ramp up
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

April 21 (Reuters) - Chile, the world's second largest lithium producer, said it plans to transfer control of the production of the mineral essential for electric vehicle (EV) batteries to a new state-owned company. Australia is the world's largest lithium producer, but Chile has by far the largest known reserves. Battery grade lithium prices touched record levels of $85,000 a tonne in December, but have slumped by nearly 50% since then. EV battery makers have developed multiple types of lithium battery products. Lithium demand is expected to balloon to 3 million tonnes a year by 2030 from only 300,000 tonnes in 2020, according to Bank of America analysts.

ORLANDO, Florida, April 10 (Reuters) - Hedge funds started the second quarter positioning for a steeper U.S. yield curve by offloading 10-year U.S. Treasuries futures at one of the fastest rates on record. In one way, betting on a steeper 2s/10s yield curve indicates funds are hoping the trend of recent weeks continues - the curve steepened around 33 basis points in March, the biggest monthly steepening in a decade. The difference is, that was driven by a massive "bull-steepening," buying two-year futures when the banking shock forced funds to cover their near-record short position. In the week through April 4 funds increased their 10-year Treasuries futures net short position by almost 150,000 contracts. A short position is essentially a wager that an asset's price will fall, and a long position is a bet it will rise.

☆ Top analysts are bullish on these five long-term picks
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-02 | by ( Tipranks.Com Staff | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Here are five stocks chosen by Wall Street's top analysts, according to TipRanks, a platform that ranks analysts based on their past performance. Rakesh holds the 94th position among more than 8,000 analysts followed on TipRanks. The analyst ranks 439th among more than 8,000 analysts followed on TipRanks. The analyst remains bullish on the stock and raised his price target to $134 from $128, as he continues to see a "meaningful upside." Santarelli holds the 27th position among more than 8,000 analysts on TipRanks.

☆ Asia's 'best restaurants' list is out — and it's no surprise which country made the list 17 times
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( Goh Chiew Tong | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +10 min

William Drew, director of content for Asia's 50 Best Restaurants, said Japan's strong performance is "no surprise." The top 50 restaurants in AsiaThis year commemorates the 10th anniversary of the "Asia's 50 Best Restaurants" list. Asia's top 50 restaurantsThe list of "Asia's 50 Best Restaurants" for 2023 are: 1. Ten restaurants that ranked among Asia's best 50 restaurants last year fell into the 51-100 ranking this year. Asia's 50 Best Restaurants 2023Labyrinth also rose 29 spots to No.11, winning the "Highest Climber" award.

☆ To escape the rat race, this pair cycled 15,000 km along the route from Finland to Singapore
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( Audrey Wan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Valtteri Heinila was working in a startup when he realized he needed a break. With his friend Alvari Poikola, Heinila cycled through 21 countries in eight months, he told CNBC. The men chose Singapore as their goal because it was the farthest point they could cycle to, Heinila said. Valtteri Heinila (left) and Alvari Poikola at the Imperial City of Hue in Vietnam. Valtteri Heinila

☆ French strikes continue to block refinery shipments and LNG terminals
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( Forrest Crellin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

REUTERS/Eric GaillardPARIS, March 20 (Reuters) - Shipments of refined products from French refinery and depots were blocked on Monday by a 13th day of strike action, though some refineries operated with a reduced flow. The cost of keeping LR2 vessels floating outside ports is leading many traders to avoid shipments into France, traders said. Strikes also continued through the weekend and into Monday at ExxonMobil (XOM.N) subsidiary Esso's Fos refinery, blocking deliveries, CGT union representative Germinal Lancelin said. At French liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals, the strike was extended until March 27 at the three terminals operated by Engie (ENGIE.PA) subsidiary Elengy, a union representative said. Another vote will be held later this week, possibly on Wednesday, on whether to take further strike action, the representative added.

The outages have in recent days led to growing concern that French and regional supplies of fuels, in particular diesel, could tighten in the coming weeks. Reuters GraphicsThe profit margin for refining crude oil into diesel has jumped by nearly 40% over the past month. The Ekofisk North Sea crude grade, produced at a field in Norway where TotalEnergies has equity, relies on France for two-thirds of its export stream, Rauball said. Meanwhile, prices for crude grades from Nigeria, one of France's top suppliers, have dropped by around $1/bbl in the past two weeks, traders said. "It's a buyer's market, with WTI and Azeri crude offered way down to sell," a trader of West African crude said.

☆ Top Wall Street analysts pick these five stocks for the long term
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-19 | by ( Tipranks.Com Staff | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Given the ongoing uncertainty, turning to stock market experts to pick attractive stocks for the long term could be a good decision. Allegro expects to flourish in these two key markets and to deliver low-double-digit percentage revenue growth from fiscal 2023 to 2028. CrowdStrike's adjusted earnings per share for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023 (ended Jan. 31) increased 57%, fueled by revenue growth of 48%. The company's adjusted EPS grew 8% and came ahead of Wall Street's expectations, while revenue growth of 18% fell short of estimates. Nonetheless, Oracle is optimistic about the solid potential of its cloud business, which delivered 45% revenue growth in the fiscal third quarter.

☆ How to Pick a Financial Advisor
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( ) www.wsj.com time to read: +12 min

Read on to get started:Types of financial advisorsMany financial professionals, including financial planners, securities brokers, investment managers, and insurance brokers call themselves financial advisors so it’s important to know exactly what services an advisor provides before hiring one. Financial advisor designationsThere are myriad designations for financial advisors but only a handful that indicate the expertise most consumers need. CPAs, or Certified Public Accountants, can be certified with a Personal Financial Specialist credential, which combines their tax expertise with personal financial planning knowledge. How to find a financial advisorFinding a financial advisor is not so different from finding any other specialized service you’re in the market for. The right financial advisor can help navigate your financial life, from budgeting everyday spending to fulfilling long-term financial goals over a lifetime including the purchase of a home and a comfortable retirement.

☆ BlackRock's Larry Fink said the last few years have dramatically reshaped supply chains. Data — and experts — disagree.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( Emma Cosgrove | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

From the headlines, it's easy to think that supply chains are making a major shift closer to the consumer. "The repeated shocks of the past few years have also dramatically reshaped supply chains," Fink wrote in his highly-anticipated annual letter to shareholders Wednesday. His statements echo those from other top execs and prognosticators, who looked at the last few years and saw inevitable evolution toward more localized supply chains. Before the pandemic, supply chains were largely built with cost as a guiding principle. Is a "dramatic" redesign of supply chains possible?

☆ Citi says buy 3 stocks tied to the consumer for the same reasons we own them
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Paulina Likos | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

What Citi thinks Analysts at Citi chose our three Club holdings among their top-rated picks — initiating coverage in U.S. beverages, household and personal care products. STZ YTD mountain Constellation Brands (STZ) YTD performance Citi also said it's time to buy Constellation Brands, the company behind Mexican beers Corona, Modelo and Pacifico. Analysts at Citi have a $265 price target on the stock, which fell slightly lower Friday to just under $227. EL YTD mountain Estee Lauder (EL) YTD performance Citi also estimates "strong topline/margin recovery" from Estee Lauder as China's economy continues to reopen. Buy Estee Lauder."

☆ Citi says buy Coca-Cola as beverage giant emerges stronger post-Covid
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Hakyung Kim | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Coca-Cola is a stronger company post-Covid, according to Citi. Analyst Filippo Falorni named Coca-Cola as one of his top buy-rated picks in the U.S. beverages and household products sector. He added that the beverage giant "can navigate well through weaker macro conditions, and/or offer compelling long-term growth stories" at a reasonable valuation. "KO has emerged as a stronger company post-COVID with a more effective networked organizational model aiding market share gains and innovation, and an improved margin structure with a more efficient advertising spend," Falorni wrote. We view KO's valuation close to the average of mega-cap peers as compelling given a stronger topline growth and higher margin profile."

☆ Here are Friday's biggest analyst calls: Tesla, Nvidia, Roku, Coinbase, DraftKings, Disney & more
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Michael Bloom | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

Here are the biggest calls on Wall Street on Friday: Compass Point upgrades Coinbase to buy from neutral Compass said the "long-term opportunities outweigh near-term risks." Goldman Sachs reiterates Tesla as buy Goldman said it's bullish heading into the company's investor day on March 1. KeyBanc reiterates Nvidia as overweight KeyBanc raised its price target on the stock to $280 per share from $220. Daiwa reiterates Disney as buy Daiwa said it sees international growth for Disney which will further drive parks outperformance. Evercore ISI adds a positive tactical call on Walmart Evercore said it's bullish on Walmart heading into earnings next week.

☆ How big hedge funds would trade sticky inflation
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Nell Mackenzie | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

LONDON, Feb 16 (Reuters) - Hedge funds, pinning little hope on central banks' attempts to cool inflation, are spotting ways to profit from climbing interest rates. Five prominent hedge funds shared five ideas using five different asset classes to profit from inflation so pugnacious it might force the Federal Reserve to keep interest rates higher for longer. Lancaster favours a trade selling long-term borrowing costs against shorter-term ones, on the view that the spread between them will decline. "Concern now for markets is that reacceleration of the economy will lead to higher terminal rates," said Lancaster. Buying U.S. long-dated natural gas futures for these reasons and also, he added, "in an inflationary cost/wage environment looks compelling."

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