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U.S. Dollar banknotes are seen in this illustration taken July 17, 2022. Sterling traded slightly higher after recovering knee-jerk losses following the Bank of England's decision to downshift to a quarter point rate hike on Thursday. Meanwhile, the risk-sensitive Australian dollar strengthened amid a rebound in Chinese stocks and U.S. equity futures. The U.S. dollar index , which gauges the currency against a basket of six counterparts, edged 0.07% lower to 102.38 in early Asia. However, the dollar edged higher to 142.64 yen , aided by the rise in long-term Treasury yields to a nearly nine-month high at 4.198% overnight.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Sterling, BoE, Ray Attrill, Attrill, Hong, Kevin Buckland, Brigid Riley, Jacqueline Wong Organizations: REUTERS, Bank of, of, U.S, National Australia Bank, European Central Bank, Reserve Bank of Australia, Nasdaq, Thomson Locations: Asia, Sterling, U.S, China

☆ Dollar struggles before payrolls test, Aussie rebounds
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-04 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Banknotes of various currencies: the Japanese Yen, the Australian dollar, the Swedish crown, and the US American dollar on a table in Hamburg, Germany, 19 February 2016. Sterling traded slightly higher after recovering knee-jerk losses following the Bank of England's decision to downshift to a quarter point rate hike on Thursday. Meanwhile, the risk-sensitive Australian dollar strengthened amid a rebound in Chinese stocks and U.S. equity futures. The U.S. dollar index , which gauges the currency against a basket of six counterparts, edged 0.07% lower to 102.38 in early Asia. However, the dollar edged higher to 142.64 yen , aided by the rise in long-term Treasury yields to a nearly nine-month high at 4.198% overnight.

Persons: Sterling, BoE, Ray Attrill, Attrill, Hong Organizations: US, Bank of, of, U.S, National Australia Bank, European Central Bank, Reserve Bank of Australia, Nasdaq Locations: Swedish, Hamburg, Germany, Asia, Sterling, U.S, China

☆ Wall St Week Ahead Relentless U.S. stock rally faces Fed test
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-21 | by ( David Randall | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The S&P 500 is up nearly 19% year-to-date and closed on Thursday at 4,534.87, only about 6% below an all-time high reached in January 2022. What the Fed does and says next week will be critical," said Cliff Corso, chief investment officer at Advisors Asset Management. "Bearish investors have had to capitulate," said Liz Ann Sonders, chief investment strategist at Charles Schwab. The bank last month raised its year-end S&P 500 target to 4,500, from 4,000. However, Christopher Tsai, chief investment officer at Tsai Capital, is not worried about buying into an overvalued market.

Persons: Cliff Corso, Jonathan Golub, Tom Lee, Ed Yardeni, Liz Ann Sonders, Charles Schwab, Eric Freedman, Goldman Sachs, Sunitha Thomas, We've, Christopher Tsai, David Randall, Saqib Iqbal Ahmed, Ira Iosebashvili, Richard Chang Organizations: YORK, Federal Reserve, Fed, Asset Management, Jonathan Golub of Credit Suisse, Fundstrat Global, Yardeni Research, National Association of Active Investment, U.S, Bank Wealth Management, Consumers, Northern Trust, Tsai, MSCI Inc, Zoetis Inc, Thomson Locations: U.S, Jonathan Golub of

ABUJA, July 20 (Reuters) - Nigeria's naira traded at a record low of 860 per dollar on the black market on Thursday, according to traders, weakening below its official rate a month after the country devalued the currency and ahead of a central bank policy meeting next week. The naira has been swinging widely on the official market since the devaluation. It touched a new low of 853 naira per dollar on Wednesday, according to OTC market regulator, FMDQ Exchange. The currency closed at 742 naira against the dollar on the official market on Thursday, Refinitiv data showed. Dollar shortages on the official market have seen customers turning to the black market, helping to widen the gap between the spot rate and the black market, one trader said.

Persons: Nigeria's naira, Bola Tinubu, Elisha Bala, Andrew Cawthorne, John Stonestreet, Tomasz Janowski Organizations: FMDQ Exchange, Thomson Locations: ABUJA, Nigeria

☆ Most outsourced coders in India will be gone in 2 years due to A.I., Stability AI boss predicts
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Most outsourced programmers in India will see their jobs wiped out in the next year or two, Stability AI CEO Emad Mostaque said. "I think that it affects different types of jobs in different ways," Mostaque said on a call with analysts at the Swiss investment bank last week. In India, Mostaque said, "outsourced coders up to level three programmers will be gone in the next year or two, whereas in France, you'll never fire a developer." "So it affects different models in different countries in different ways in different sectors." India is home to more than 5 million software programmers, who are most under threat from the impacts of advanced AI tools like ChatGPT, according to a report from Bloomberg.

Persons: OpenAI Dall, Emad Mostaque, Mostaque, you'll Organizations: UBS, Bloomberg Locations: India, Swiss, France

☆ World economy in a difficult place but not destined to stay there - W.Bank chief
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

GANDHINAGAR, India, July 17 (Reuters) - The world economy is in a difficult place but it is not destined to stay there, World Bank President Ajay Banga said on Monday. The World Bank last month cut its 2024 forecast for global economic growth to 2.4% from 2.7% earlier, citing global monetary tightening. "The fact is that the world economy is in a difficult place. We can change destiny, that's what we should think of right now," Banga said. Reporting by Aftab Ahmed; Editing by Angus MacSwan, William MacleanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Ajay Banga, Banga, Aftab Ahmed, Angus MacSwan, William Maclean Organizations: World, Bank, Thomson Locations: GANDHINAGAR, India, Indian, Gandhinagar

☆ India ties up with UAE to settle trade in rupees
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-15 | by ( Arpan Chaturvedi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

NEW DELHI, July 15 (Reuters) - India has signed an agreement with the United Arab Emirates that will allow it to settle trade in rupees instead of dollars, boosting India's efforts to cut transaction costs by eliminating dollar conversions. The two agreements will enable "seamless cross-border transactions and payments, and foster greater economic cooperation", said a statement from the Reserve Bank of India on Saturday. India, the world's third biggest oil importer and consumer and whose central bank last year announced a framework for settling global trade in rupees, currently pays for UAE oil in dollars. An official with knowledge of the details of the agreement said India could make its first rupee payment for UAE oil to Abu Dhabi National Oil Co (ADNOC), Reuters reported on Friday. The Reserve Bank of India said the two central banks agreed to link India's Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and UAE's Instant Payment Platform (IPP).

Persons: Narendra Modi, Modi, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Arpan Chaturvedi, Clelia Organizations: United Arab, India's, UAE, Reserve Bank of India, Abu Dhabi National Oil Co, Reuters, Thomson Locations: DELHI, India, United Arab Emirates, Abu Dhabi, Asia

☆ Israel files terrorism charges against two settlers in West Bank rampages
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-12 | by ( Dan Williams | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The spree of vandalism and arson by hundreds of settlers in several villages and towns in the occupied West Bank last month followed the June 20 killing of four Israelis by Hamas gunmen. Their goal was "to arouse fear or shock in the community through a grave blow to the sacrosanct," it said. The charges - including disorderly conduct, insulting religion, aggravated arson and aggravated assault - normally carry maximum prison terms ranging between three and 20 years. The Palestinian Foreign Ministry described the settler rampages as "state-sponsored terrorism". Israel's hard-right government includes ministers who chafe at attributing the term terrorism to settlers.

Persons: Dan Williams, Nick Macfie, Conor Humphries Organizations: West Bank, Palestinian Foreign Ministry, Thomson Locations: Orif, Umm Safa

[1/2] People walk outside the Bank of England in the City of London financial district in London, Britain May 11, 2023. REUTERS/Henry Nicholls//File PhotoLONDON, July 12 (Reuters) - Britain's economy is so far proving resilient to a surge in interest rates over the past year and a half, but it will take time for the full impact to feed through, the Bank of England said on Wednesday. "The UK economy has so far been resilient to interest rate risk, though it will take time for the full impact of higher interest rates to come through," it said. It said British banks were less exposed than households to the adverse effects of higher interest rates, especially compared with financial institutions in other countries, while the corporate sector remained "broadly resilient". "Nevertheless, higher financing costs are likely to put pressure on some smaller or highly leveraged firms," it added.

Persons: Henry Nicholls, BoE, BoE Governor Andrew Bailey, David Milliken, Huw Jones, William Schomberg, Kevin Liffey Organizations: Bank of England, REUTERS, The Bank, Bank, Silicon Valley Bank, Thomson Locations: City, London, Britain, Silicon

☆ Barclays hires Birchenough as chairman of healthcare investment banking
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-07 | by ( David Carnevali | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NEW YORK, July 7 (Reuters) - Barclays Plc (BARC.L) has hired Jim Birchenough from Wells Fargo & Co (WFC.N) as its chairman of global healthcare investment banking, a spokesperson for the British bank confirmed, after Reuters reported on the appointment on Friday. Birchenough last served as vice chairman of biopharma investment banking at Wells Fargo. In his new role, Birchenough will also lead Barclays' global biopharma investment banking unit alongside Alexis de Rosnay, who joined the bank last year and is taking on an expanded role in addition to his responsibilities as chairman of global healthcare investment banking. More than two dozen U.S. investment bankers have left Barclays since January when it named two new global co-heads of investment banking. They are Cathal Deasy, former co-head of Credit Suisse Group AG investment banking and capital markets, and Taylor Wright, former co-head of Morgan Stanley (MS.N) global capital markets.

Persons: Jim Birchenough, Birchenough, Wells, Alexis de Rosnay, Darren Campili, Jim, Richard Landgarten, Cathal Deasy, Taylor Wright, Morgan Stanley, David Carnevali, Anirban Sen, Mark Porter, Will Dunham, Richard Chang Organizations: YORK, Barclays Plc, Wells Fargo & Co, Reuters, Barclays, BMO Capital Markets, Lehman Brothers, Wells, Credit Suisse Group, Thomson Locations: Wells, Wells Fargo, San Francisco, New York

July 3 (Reuters) - A look at the day ahead in Asian markets from Jamie McGeever, financial markets columnist. Purchasing managers index (PMI) reports on Monday from across the Asia-Pacific region, including China, India, South Korea and Australia, will give the first glimpse into private sector services and factory activity in June. Monday's Asian economic calendar is dominated by a raft of manufacturing PMIs including China's, Indonesian inflation, Japan's 'tankan' business sentiment survey for the second quarter, and Australian housing. China's Caixin manufacturing PMI is expected to fall to 50.2 from 50.9, signaling a slowdown in factory sector growth almost the point of stagnation. The official PMI, expected to show a third month of contraction, will be released on Friday.

Persons: Jamie McGeever, Josie Kao Organizations: Japan's Nikkei, U.S, PMI, Equity, Indonesia CPI, Thomson, Reuters Locations: Asia, Japan, Pacific, China, India, South Korea, Australia, Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia

☆ Sharp slowdown in growth of bank lending for euro zone and Germany forecast
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Lending to businesses and households in the 20-nation euro zone will expand 2.1% in 2023 and 1.7% in 2024, muted increases after a 14-year high of 5% in 2022, EY said in its lending forecast published Monday. The euro zone meanwhile dipped into recession earlier this year. "While the downturn is expected to be very shallow and short-lived, European markets continue to face high inflation and an unprecedented rise in interest rates. Mortgage lending is a particular area of weakness, with lending set to grow 1.4% in 2023, down from 4.9% in 2022. The ECB's latest lending survey, published in May, also found that lending growth to businesses and households slowed.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, EY, Sinead Cruise, Tom Sims, Elaine Hardcastle Organizations: REUTERS, EY, Reuters, Central Bank, Thomson Locations: FRANKFURT, Europe, Germany

☆ Europe stocks open lower to round off gloomy week; Siemens Energy down 30%
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-23 | by ( Jenni Reid | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

The Stoxx 600 index was down 0.2% at 9 a.m. in London, with most sectors in the red. Oil and gas stocks fell 1.9% as oil prices traded lower, and banks dropped 1.6%. A few sectors managed gains, with food and beverage up by 0.65% and health-care stocks 0.9% higher. China's central bank last week lowered lending rates as the economy's much-anticipated post-Covid rebound stutters. Oil prices are on course for a more than 3% drop this week, according to Reuters, pulled down by demand concerns and the economic growth outlook.

Organizations: Siemens Energy, Bank of England, European Central Bank, U.S . Federal, Reuters Locations: London, Asia, Pacific, U.S

☆ Norway central bank raises rate to 15-year high, with more to come
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-22 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The facade of Norway's central bank, also known as Norges Bank, in Oslo, Norway. The central bank predicted the policy rate would rise to 4.25% during the autumn. "If we do not raise the policy rate, prices and wages could continue to rise rapidly and inflation become entrenched," Norges Bank Governor Ida Wolden Bache said in a statement. "Today's hawkish decision shows that Norges Bank means business and is concerned about inflation becoming entrenched," analysts at Nordea said in a note to clients. The hike raises the policy rate to its highest level since the outbreak of the global financial crisis of 2008.

Persons: Norges Bank Governor Ida Wolden Bache, Nordea Organizations: Norges Bank, Reuters, Norges Bank Governor, Bank, European Central Bank, U.S . Federal Reserve Locations: Oslo, Norway, Norway's, U.S

☆ Indian rupee to nudge higher at open, avoiding losses in Asian peers
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-21 | by ( Nimesh Vora | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MUMBAI, June 21 (Reuters) - The Indian rupee is likely to open slightly higher to the U.S. dollar on Wednesday, shrugging off a decline in other Asian currencies. Non-deliverable forwards (NDF) indicate the rupee will open at 82.06-82.08, up slightly from 82.1175 in the previous session. The USD/INR NDF has not reacted to another round of losses for the Chinese yuan and the move higher on USD/Asia overall, a forex trader at a private bank said. The offshore Chinese yuan dropped below 7.20 to the dollar, the lowest since November 2022. The offshore Chinese yuan has lost 1% this month to add to the 3% decline in May.

Persons: shrugging, Jerome Powell's, Powell, Nimesh Vora, Sonia Cheema Organizations: U.S, NDF, Korean, U.S . Federal, ANZ, Brent, Thomson Locations: MUMBAI, Asia, U.S

☆ Bank of England poised to raise rates after inflation shock
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-21 | by ( David Milliken | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Economists polled by Reuters last week were unanimous that the BoE would raise rates to 4.75%, their highest since 2008, from 4.5%. But after inflation held at 8.7% in May, financial markets priced in a nearly 50% chance that the BoE would opt for a bigger move and raise rates by half a percentage point. "The UK has a uniquely bad inflation problem," Krishna Guha, a vice chairman at U.S. investment banking advisory firm Evercore, said. Core inflation - which strips out more volatile prices to show an underlying trend - rose to a 31-year high in May. "Unfortunately, the Bank of England is in a situation where they will have to hike until something breaks," he said.

Persons: BoE, Tomasz Wieladek, Rowe Price, Krishna Guha, Evercore, Rishi Sunak, Andrew Bailey, Megan Greene, Wieladek, David Milliken, Kirsten Donovan Organizations: Bank of England, Reuters, U.S . Federal, European Central Bank, Sky News, MPC, Nomura, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, United States

☆ Bull market or fool's market? Investors say the latter
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-18 | by ( Krystal Hur | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

Mega-cap tech stocks that were battered by rising interest rates in 2022 have also seen a huge boost this year. The Federal Reserve on Wednesday held interest rates steady but indicated that it could hike rates twice more this year. Tech stocks’ record runApple shares closed at a record high on Thursday, creeping closer to reaching a $3 trillion market capitalization. The rally’s next testDespite some bullish signs in the market, investors say the math isn’t adding up to a sustained rally — especially considering a possible recession looms on the horizon. The central bank last Wednesday paused interest rates and indicated that it could raise rates two more times this year.

Persons: Dow, ”, Amanda Agati, Wednesday’s, Stocks, Joe Biden, Dan Ives, “, ” Ives, Richard Steinberg, Jerome Powell, Agati, Sylvia Jablonski, Christopher Waller, Thomas Barkin, ” Waller, Sarah Henry, Henry, Here’s, Price, Refinitiv, Paul Eitelman, ” Eitelman Organizations: CNN Business, Bell, New York CNN, Apple, Nasdaq, PNC Financial Services, Management, “, Federal Reserve, Nvidia, Wedbush Securities, Microsoft, The Colony, Treasury, ”, Federal, Richmond Fed, Logan Capital Management, CPI, PPI, University of, Consumers, North America, Russell Investments, Wednesday, National Association of Realtors, Senate Locations: New York, what’s, Oslo

☆ China cuts a key policy rate for first time in 10 months as economic rebound cools
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( Jihye Lee | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

BEIJING, CHINA - JUNE 13: A woman walks past the People's Bank of China (PBOC) building on June 13, 2023 in Beijing, China. China's central bank lowered its key medium-term lending rates on Thursday, in a much anticipated move as the economy's post-Covid recovery continues to lose momentum. The central bank last lowered the rate on 400 billion yuan of one-year MLF loans in August, making Thursday's move the first such cut in 10 months. China's medium-term lending facility is a funding channel introduced to allow the central bank to inject liquidity into the banking system and influence interest rates for certain loans. Earlier this week, the central bank cut its seven-day reverse repurchase rate by 10 basis points from 2% to 1.9%, injecting 2 billion Chinese yuan through its seven-day repos.

Organizations: People's Bank of China, People's Bank of, CNBC Locations: BEIJING, CHINA, Beijing, China, People's Bank of China, China's

☆ HSBC to close New Zealand wealth and personal banking business
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

June 13 (Reuters) - HSBC (HSBA.L) has decided to wind-down its wealth and personal banking business in New Zealand, the bank website showed on Tuesday. The move comes after the London-listed bank last year said it was reviewing its retail banking business in New Zealand with a view to selling it. Reporting by Mrinmay Dey in Bengaluru; Editing by Dhanya Ann ThoppilOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Mrinmay Dey, Dhanya Ann Thoppil Organizations: HSBC, Thomson Locations: New Zealand, London, Bengaluru

☆ New Zealand's economy likely in recession as rate hikes take hold
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-13 | by ( Lucy Craymer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WELLINGTON, June 13 (Reuters) - The New Zealand central bank’s aggressive hiking of the cash rate likely pushed the country into a technical recession in the first quarter, a Reuters poll found, giving traction to the idea the cash rate may have peaked. This would mean the country moved into a technical recession - two consecutive quarters of negative growth - after the economy contracted by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. New Zealand's central bank last month signalled it was done tightening after raising rates by 25 basis points to the highest in more than 14-years at 5.5%, ending its most aggressive hiking cycle since 1999. Yet a handful of economists think the boost to the economy from historically high migration and the return of tourism might force the central bank to do more. He said he expects the next cash rate move to be a cut.

Persons: ”, Jarrod Kerr, Cyclone Gabrielle, Brad Olsen, Lucy Craymer, Lincoln Organizations: Gross, Reserve Bank of New, “, Treasury, Reserve Bank, Zealand, Thomson Locations: Zealand, Auckland

☆ Meet Wall Street's rising stars of equity research, the ones to watch as the stock market faces one of its biggest challenges yet
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( Carter Johnson | Emmalyse Brownstein | Paige Hagy | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Meet Insider's lineup of up-and-coming talent in the world of equity research. The group hails from JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, and other top Wall Street firms. Lizzul is one of Insider's equity-research rising stars for 2023, a group of 17 up-and-coming research analysts covering a range of sectors, including energy and cybersecurity. To qualify for the list, analysts had to be 35 or younger, based in the US, working in sell-side equity research at a Wall Street firm, and producing work that stood out from competitors. Here is Insider's 2023 list of the top up-and-coming stars of equity research on Wall Street:

☆ Six Pacific countries at high risk of debt distress - World Bank
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

To match Feature PACIFIC-JUSTICE/ REUTERS/Lincoln FeastWELLINGTON, May 18 (Reuters) - Six Pacific countries are at a high risk of debt distress in part due to government spending to respond to the COVID-19 crisis, the World Bank said in a report on Thursday. Among other countries in the region, Vanuatu is rated at medium risk, while Palau and Nauru’s debt is sustainable, the report noted. The World Bank last month said that Fiji must also take urgent action to reduce its debt burden. Stephen Ndegwa, World Bank Country Director for Papua New Guinea & the Pacific Islands, said reducing debt, strengthening revenue and improving the quality of government spending are critical areas for Pacific countries to address. It also said that Pacific countries should allocate more to social assistance and protection measures.

WILMINGTON, Delaware, May 15 (Reuters) - The U.S. Virgin Islands has subpoenaed Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) CEO Elon Musk for documents in its lawsuit accusing JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N) of helping enable sexual abuses by late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The Virgin Islands did not provide further explanation for its interest in obtaining documents from Musk. In the subpoena, the Virgin Islands demanded any documents Musk has about Epstein’s involvement in human trafficking and his procurement of girls or women for commercial sex. Additionally, the subpoena sought any communications between the entrepreneur and JPMorgan about Epstein as well as between Musk and Epstein. Musk is the second tech entrepreneur touched by the Virgin Islands litigation.

☆ World Bank suspends $1 bln worth of project funding in Congo
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Sonia Rolley | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The suspension will affect more than 600,000 beneficiaries, including victims of sexual violence, the World Bank told Congo's finance minister last week in a letter seen by Reuters. A World Bank spokesperson confirmed its authenticity. On May 4, Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi dissolved the structure, the "Social Fund of the Democratic Republic of Congo", by presidential order and created another public fund. A spokesperson for Congo's finance ministry said he was waiting for the go-ahead from the presidency before he could comment. Four of Congo's main opposition politicians wrote to the leaders of the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the African Development Bank last week asking them to conduct an audit of their funds in Congo, saying they suspected misuse.

☆ Elon Musk documents subpoenaed in Jeffrey Epstein lawsuit by U.S. Virgin Islands
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Tom Hals | Thomson Reuters | Tom Hals Is An Award-Winning Reporter With Years Of Experience Working In Asia | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

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