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☆ West Virginia’s Redneck Army Refuses to Stay Buried - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-21 | by ( Cassady Rosenblum | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Today Blair Mountain is just that: a mountain. While many battlefields are the object of exhaustive study and veneration — places and times when power wobbled and blood was shed — Blair Mountain is still largely unexplored. Despite a burst of recent interest, for most West Virginians, the story of Blair Mountain barely even exists. My family has lived more or less continuously in West Virginia since our patriarch, John Hinkle, settled his brood near Seneca Rocks around 1760. By the 2020 census, West Virginia had shrunk enough to lose one of its three congressional seats, partially because people keep fleeing.

Persons: Blair, John Hinkle, Ken Hechler, Joe Manchin Organizations: —, Army, West Virginians, Big Branch Locations: West Virginia, Seneca Rocks, Washington, Chicago

☆ Dollar teeters near one-year low; euro scales 17-month peak
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( Rae Wee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

FILE PHOTO: U.S. dollars are counted out by a banker counting currency at a bank in Westminster, Colorado November 3, 2009. “I think the dollar can stay under selling pressure,” said Carol Kong, a currency strategist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia. Money markets have largely priced in a 25-basis-point rate hike from the Fed at its policy meeting later this month, though see rates coming down as early as December. Conversely, investors expect the European Central Bank and the Bank of England to have further to go in their rate-hike cycle. Elsewhere, the Japanese yen rose marginally to 138.66 per dollar and remains more than 4% clear of a seven-month low it hit last month.

Persons: Rick Wilking, ”, Carol Kong, Ryota Abe, China’s, Khoon Goh Organizations: greenback, REUTERS, U.S, Federal Reserve, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, “, Fed, European Central Bank, Bank of England, Bank of Japan, SMBC, Reserve Bank of Australia’s, New Zealand, ANZ Locations: SINGAPORE, Westminster , Colorado, Asia

☆ Dollar teeters near one-year low while euro scales 17-month peak
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

"I think the dollar can stay under selling pressure," said Carol Kong, a currency strategist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia. Money markets have largely priced in a 25-basis-point rate hike from the Fed at its policy meeting later this month, though see rates coming down as early as December. Conversely, investors expect the European Central Bank and the Bank of England to have further to go in their rate-hike cycle. Elsewhere, the Japanese yen rose marginally to 138.66 per dollar and remains more than 4% clear of a seven-month low it hit last month. The Bank of Japan, or BOJ, holds its monetary policy meeting next week, with investors on the lookout for whether the central bank will start phasing out its ultra-dovish policy stance.

Persons: Carol Kong, Ryota Abe, China's, Khoon Goh Organizations: greenback, U.S, Federal Reserve, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Fed, European Central Bank, Bank of England, Bank of Japan, SMBC, Reserve Bank of Australia's, New Zealand, ANZ Locations: Asia

☆ Gold prices tick up as traders await Fed cues
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Gold bars of different sizes lie in a safe on a table at the precious metals dealer Pro Aurum. Spot gold rose 0.3% to $1,959.54 per ounce by 0359 GMT. While the upcoming Fed meeting might temporarily dim the appeal of gold, "the Fed is closer to end of tightening cycle," said OCBC Executive Director and FX Strategist Christopher Wong. "We also favor long gold as a risk-off hedge (safe haven proxy) against slowing global growth or any risk-off market event," Wong added. Investors will also watch for U.S. retail sales data for June later in the day while weak Chinese economic data released the previous day continued to weigh on sentiment.

Persons: Christopher Wong, Wong, Janet Yellen Organizations: Aurum, U.S, U.S . Federal, Bloomberg TV, European Central Bank, Bank of England, Reserve Bank of Australia's Locations: United States, U.S ., U.S

☆ Asian stocks teeter as Russia, rates and China risks weigh
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-27 | by ( Kane Wu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

MSCI's gauge of Asia Pacific stocks outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) was up 0.08% at 0126 GMT, after dropping 0.06% an hour earlier. "Asian equities are set for a downturn on Tuesday, prompted by Wall Street's risk-aversion behavior," said Anderson Alves, a global macro analyst at ActivTrades. All three major U.S. stock indexes ended in the red on Monday, with megacap momentum stocks pulling the tech-heavy Nasdaq down the most. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) fell 0.04%, the S&P 500 (.SPX) lost 0.45% and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.16%. Hang Seng Index (.HSI) and China's benchmark CSI300 Index (.CSI300) opened up 0.3% and 0.1%, respectively, shaking off losses from the past four sessions.

Persons: Wall, Anderson Alves, Alves, Goldman Sachs, Redmond Wong, Wong, Vladimir Putin's, Brent, Kane Wu, Sam Holmes Organizations: Nikkei, ActivTrades, Dow Jones, Nasdaq, U.S, Global, China, Saxo Markets, Treasury, Thomson Locations: HONG KONG, Russia, Asia Pacific, Japan, Europe, U.S, ActivTrades, Asia

That threw a new curveball at UK markets, as just last week economists polled by Reuters had unanimously expected the BoE to raise by 25 basis points. I would not be surprised if we see a 50-bp rate rise from the Bank of England tomorrow." Other analysts said delivering a larger rate rise on Thursday risked further undermining the BoE's messaging. Bets on where BoE rate hikes might peak rose as high as 6% on Wednesday. The rise in yields hit UK housebuilders (.FTNMX402020), which were down as much as 3.1%.

Persons: BoE, Melanie Baker, Liz, Nick Rees, Richard McGuire, Rabobank's McGuire, Yoruk Bahceli, William Schomberg, Dhara Ranasinghe, Danilo Masoni, Alun John, Peter Graff Organizations: Bank of England, Reuters, Royal London Asset Management, Reuters Graphics Reuters, Wednesday's, MPC, FX, Monex, Rabobank, Sterling, Thomson Locations: Monex Europe

☆ U.S. gives Havana embassy a facelift after years of neglect
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-10 | by ( Dave Sherwood | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

HAVANA, June 10 (Reuters) - When the U.S. embassy in Havana reopened last May to Cubans seeking visas after a nearly five-year hiatus, the once proud 1950s vintage building was in shambles. The State Department imported high-grade stainless steel for its fencing, and granite from a quarry in Vermont for the building's new facade. A view of the U.S. Embassy beside the Anti-Imperialist stage in Havana, Cuba, May 24, 2023. CASTRO THREATENED TO SEIZE BUILDINGUnder former leader Fidel Castro, the jabs and antagonism often went both ways between Cuba and the embassy. U.S. intelligence investigations have since determined it "very unlikely" a foreign adversary was responsible for the illness, and a more robust staff and agenda have returned to Havana, Ziff said.

Persons: Hurricane Irma, Benjamin Ziff, Ziff, Alexandre Meneghini, Alexander Garcia, CASTRO, Fidel Castro, Castro, George W, Bush, Harrison & Abramovitz, Jane Loeffler, Barack Obama, Dave Sherwood, Mario Fuentes, Anett Rios, Daniel Wallis Organizations: U.S, State Department, Reuters, Cuban, The State Department, Ziff, Embassy, REUTERS, Harrison &, United Nations, Thomson Locations: HAVANA, U.S, Havana, Hurricane, of Mexico, Cuba, China, United States, Cuban, Vermont, Florida, New York, Washington, America

☆ Countdown to mega merger - how Credit Suisse wobbled and UBS rushed to rescue
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

March 19: An emergency rescue of Credit Suisse, brokered by the Swiss government, central bank and financial regulator, is announced. March 23: Switzerland's financial market regulator FINMA defends its decision to impose steep losses on Credit Suisse bondholders, calling the decision legally watertight. Separately, some holders of Credit Suisse AT1 bonds wiped out by the merger instruct lawyers to represent them for possible litigation to recover losses. April 6 - UBS CEO Ermotti tells Credit Suisse staff to stay focussed on the business, but warns of "change and hard decisions" ahead. April 15 - The Federal Reserve approves UBS's acquisition of the U.S. subsidiaries of Credit Suisse.

Persons: Greensill, FINMA, Sergio Ermotti, Axel Lehmann, Ulrich Koerner, Ermotti, John Revill, Tomasz Janowski Organizations: UBS, Credit Suisse, Suisse, U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, SEC, Silicon Valley Bank, Swiss National Bank, Saudi National Bank, Credit, Swiss Bank Employees Association, Federal Reserve, Court, Switzerland's Social Democratic Party, Thomson Locations: ZURICH, Silicon, Swiss, Switzerland

☆ Turkish lira teeters near record low as Erdogan secures victory
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] A U.S. one dollar banknote is seen next to Turkish lira banknotes in this illustration taken in Istanbul, Turkey November 23, 2021. REUTERS/Murad Sezer/IllustrationLONDON, May 29 (Reuters) - Turkey's lira wobbled near record lows against the dollar as President Tayyip Erdogan secured victory in the country's presidential election on Sunday, extending his increasingly authoritarian rule into a third decade. The currency was at 20.05 to the dollar during Asian hours, just shy of the 20.06 record low hit on Friday. "Only the most optimistic would hope that Erdogan now feels sufficiently secure politically to revert to orthodox economic policy." "Erdogan is unlikely to embrace an outright economic orthodox approach," Wolfango Piccoli, co-president at advisory firm Teneo said in emailed comments.

☆ Wall Street closes down, dollar dips as debt ceiling talks stall
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Stephen Culp | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/3] A Wall Street sign is pictured outside the New York Stock Exchange in New York, October 28, 2013. "All eyes are on Washington and investors remain focused on the debt ceiling," said David Carter, investment specialist at JPMorgan Private Bank in New York. "This is new territory and (it is) not perfectly clear if the Fed will allow tighter bank lending to replace tighter monetary policy." European shares closed higher and the German DAX reached a record high as hopes of progress in U.S. debt ceiling talks boosted investor sentiment. Oil prices edged lower following news that the debt ceiling talks were on pause, raising the possibility of a default that could hit energy demand.

☆ Wall Street turns red, dollar dips as debt ceiling talks stall
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Stephen Culp | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

☆ Asian shares on edge for China data, Fed speakers
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Stella Qiu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

On Monday, MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) wobbled between losses and gains and was last up 0.1%. China is due to report monthly industrial production, retail sales and fixed asset investment data on Tuesday. Very much on investors' mind was the uncertainty about lifting the U.S. debt ceiling and the return of bank worries. The yield on benchmark 10-year notes was little changed at 3.4588%, after rising 6 basis points on Friday, and two-year yields eased 2 basis points to 3.9830%, having also jumped 10 basis points in the previous session. U.S. crude futures eased 0.5% to $69.71 per barrel, while Brent crude futures were down 0.6% to $73.74 per barrel.

☆ The Lies We Tell Ourselves About Multitasking
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( Rachel Feintzeig | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Alison Cate was walking on the treadmill while tapping away on her laptop and taking a selfie. Until she wasn’t. Her foot slipped. Her ankle rolled. The desk attachment clipped to the treadmill wobbled as she tried to steady herself.

☆ ‘A Trump tribute act’: Meet Suella Braverman, the commander-in-chief of Britain’s culture wars
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-07 | by ( Rob Picheta | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +14 min

London CNN —Late last year, after a breakneck ascent of British politics put her in charge of the country’s migration, crime and national security agenda, Suella Braverman revealed her political fantasy. Leon Neal/Getty ImagesAnd she is an equally furious culture warrior, borrowing rhetoric from the American right when lambasting “woke” culture, transgender rights and climate protesters. Sameer Al-Doumy/AFP/Getty ImagesIt is a stance that has drawn sharp criticism – including from within the traditional wing of Braverman’s Conservative Party. Should Braverman succeed at her next bid for the party leadership, her critics fear another rightwards shift in British politics. “She’s recognized that in the current political climate, her way of creating an impact… (is) positioning herself as a Trump tribute act.

☆ Stocks on edge, Aussie surges after RBA surprise
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Tom Westbrook | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

SINGAPORE, May 2 (Reuters) - Asian shares wobbled in cautious trade on Tuesday ahead of a series of data releases and central bank meetings, which began with a surprise rate hike in Australia that boosted the local dollar. Markets were positioned for Australia's central bank to stay on hold and a 25 basis point hike sent the Aussie dollar up about 0.8% to its highest in a week at $0.6692. Three-year Aussie government bond yields also jumped, while Australian stocks (.AXJO) slipped 0.7%. "So as well as the increase today, that's supporting the Aussie dollar," he said, though he warned that could unwind as there's a "reasonable chance" the Federal Reserve takes a similar approach at its meeting on Wednesday. Two-year Treasury yields , which track short-term U.S. rate expectations were steady at 4.1451% in Asia.

☆ Stocks on edge as traders wait on central bankers
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Tom Westbrook | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Treasury yields rose in response and expectations firmed to near certain for one final U.S. rate hike this week. JPMorgan shares rose 2.1%. The policy stands in contrast to the U.S. and Europe where central banks are deep into a hiking cycle and still going. On the monetary policy front the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) is first up in a week that brings central bank meetings in the U.S., Europe and Norway. Overnight, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the Treasury might run out of money to cover obligations as soon as June 1.

☆ Fox has more headaches coming after agreeing to pay $787.5 million to settle Dominion's defamation lawsuit
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Jacob Shamsian | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

After shelling out $787.5 billion to settle Dominion's lawsuit, Fox has more troubles on the way. Atop the list is a separate lawsuit from Smartmatic, another election technology company that sued Fox News Network and its parent company, Fox Corp., in the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election. Smartmatic's defamation lawsuit asks for $2.7 billion in damages and was filed against Fox Corp.; Fox News Network; hosts Jeanine Pirro, Maria Bartiromo, and Lou Dobbs; and Powell and Giuliani. Aside from the Smartmatic case, Fox News has to deal with potential shareholder lawsuits. The overall value of Fox Corp. — which also includes Fox Sports and the streaming service Tubi — is more than $17.6 billion.

☆ Sinner digs deep to reach Monte Carlo quarter-finals, Ruud stunned
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Hurkacz raised his game to force a tiebreak and looked in control but the scrappy Sinner saved a matchpoint and dragged the contest into a decider. The Italian then got his nose in front and held firm to complete the win as Hurkacz faded. German qualifier Jan-Lennard Struff earlier stunned fourth seed Casper Ruud 6-1 7-6(6), ending the Estoril champion's nine-match winning streak on clay stretching back to last July. In-form third seed Daniil Medvedev, the winner of four hardcourt tournaments in 2023, will take on Alexander Zverev in the pair's first claycourt meeting. read moreReporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru Editing by Toby DavisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Marketmind: Dollar skids, China revs
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The dollar's DXY index - the Swiss franc hit its strongest level in more than two years. Taking in all the information, futures markets still show a near 75% chance of another quarter point rate rise to the 5.0-5.25% range in May, but more than 60 basis points of cuts from there to yearend. Two-year Treasury yields were stuck at 4%, with producer price inflation and weekly jobless up next on Thursday's data calendar. European markets were further pepped by reports the European Central Bank was minded to downsize its rate hikes to a quarter point in May after six successive half point moves. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

☆ For some US banks, it’s still a wonderful life
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( John Foley | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

Bank customers are still sitting on a pile of savings manufactured by pandemic-era government stimulus and curtailed consumption. Among all banks, deposit balances have fallen 5% year-on-year; to get back to their pre-Covid trend, they’d need to fall 20%. What of small banks that can’t match either advantage? Better placed within communities to soothe the nerves of mostly local customers, small banks can instill trust and loyalty while allaying fears. This edge for small banks should also insulate them from the worst effects of a deposit price war.

☆ Morning Bid: Markets labor under recession cloud
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

A look at the day ahead in U.S. and global markets from Mike Dolan. If the tight U.S. labor market is finally unwinding, markets suspect the Federal Reserve's job may well done after all - but at the cost of a looming recession. With Wednesday's private sector jobs reading for March and Friday's national payrolls report ahead, U.S. interest rate markets were jolted again on Tuesday by surprisingly soft data on job vacancies that suggested cooling demand for staff. More decisively, the two-year Treasury yield plunged more than 20 basis points intraday to hover just above 3.8% on Wednesday. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

☆ Dollar slides on sluggish US data, Aussie steadies ahead of RBA
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Against the sliding dollar, the British pound and the Australian and New Zealand dollars rose to multi-week highs in early Asia trade on Tuesday. The kiwi rose 0.2% to $0.6310, its highest since mid-February, while the U.S. dollar index was marginally lower at 102.02, having fallen more than 0.5% on Monday. "The closest thing we get to good news in (the) report is that the slowing in the factory sector is pushing prices lower and supply chains are continuing to heal, benefiting from the slack. The RBA will pause policy tightening according to a poll of analysts, although a strong minority still forecast a hike. Data out last week showed Australian inflation slowed to an eight-month low in February, due in part to a sharp retreat in prices for holiday travel and accommodation.

☆ Elon Musk loses his position atop Forbes’ annual billionaires list
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( Jordan Valinsky | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

This shouldn’t come as a surprise to Musk, whose position wobbled on the Forbes’ “Real-Time Billionaires” list, which is updated daily, for the past several months. Forbes explained that Musk’s wealth had fallen because his $44 billion Twitter purchase, funded by Tesla shares, scared investors and sent Tesla stock sinking sharply last year. Tesla gained much of those losses back this year but is still significantly lower than before Musk bought Twitter. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos lost the most amount of money of any billionaire on the list ($57 billion), knocking him down from second position to third. Forbes said that the total number of billionaires on this year’s list fell to 2,640 (down from 2,668), marking the second-straight year of decline.

☆ Investors cut bearish bets on most Asian FX as policy rate bets shift
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Savyata Mishra | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The currency firmed on Thursday, following dovish comments from the U.S. Federal Reserve that reined in expectations for more interest rate hikes and lifted sentiment for other Asian currencies. The dollar index slipped to near seven-week lows following the Fed's latest policy statement that no longer says that "ongoing increases" in rates will likely be appropriate. Bearish bets on Singapore's dollar eased to their lowest since Nov. 18, 2021. Short bets on the Indonesian rupiah and the Indian rupee rose slightly from a fortnight ago, while sentiment toward South Korea's won improved. The poll uses estimates of net long or short positions on a scale of minus 3 to plus 3.

New York CNN —Global banks just suffered their worst week since 2008. Credit Suisse and First Republic: Two more banks wobbled but remained upright through the week. Meanwhile, First Republic bank received a $30 billion lifeline on Thursday from some of the largest banks in the United States. US-traded shares of Credit Suisse were down nearly 7% and First Republic shares plunged by about 33% on Friday. That doesn’t mean that banks taking money from the FHLB and participating in the Federal Reserve’s emergency Bank Term Lending Program, which lent out $12 billion to banks this week, are in big trouble.

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