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[1/2] A trader works at the Frankfurt stock exchange, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Frankfurt, Germany, December 30, 2020. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) gained just 0.2% last month, the Labor Department said on Wednesday, lifted by rises in gasoline prices as well as rents, which offset a decrease in prices of used motor vehicles. CPI advanced 3.0% in the 12 months through June, down from 4.0% in May and the smallest year-on-year increase since March 2021. /FRXU.S. Treasury yields also dropped, with the 10-year Treasury yield now at 3.853%, down 12.9 basis points . EARNINGS AHEADOvernight in Asia, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index (.AXJO) rose 0.4%, while the bouncing yen knocked Japan's Nikkei (.N225) down 0.8%.

Persons: Ralph Orlowski, Alexandra Wilson, Elizondo, Bryce Doty, Australia's, Wells, Scott Wren, Wren, Brent, Lawrence Delevingne, Marc Jones, Ankur Banerjee, Jan Harvey, Chizu Nomiyama, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: REUTERS, Companies U.S, Treasury, Index, Labor Department, Dow Jones, Nasdaq, Goldman Sachs Asset Management, Bank of England, U.S, Sit Investment, Fed, Bank of Canada, Japan's Nikkei, JPMorgan, Citigroup, Wells, Investment Institute, Brent, Thomson Locations: Frankfurt, Germany, U.S, Minneapolis, Asia, dealmaking, Boston, London, Singapore, Carolina, New York

[1/2] A trader works at the Frankfurt stock exchange, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Frankfurt, Germany, December 30, 2020. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) gained just 0.2% last month, the Labor Department said on Wednesday, lifted by rises in gasoline prices as well as rents, which offset a decrease in the price of used motor vehicles. CPI advanced 3.0% in the 12 months through June, down from 4.0% in May and the smallest year-on-year increase since March 2021. /FRXU.S. Treasury yields also dropped, with the 10-year Treasury yield now at 3.885%, down 9.7 basis points . GLOBAL STOCKS, COMMODITIESOvernight in Asia, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index (.AXJO) rose 0.4%, while the bouncing yen knocked Japan's Nikkei (.N225) down 0.8%.

Persons: Ralph Orlowski, Alexandra Wilson, Elizondo, Bryce Doty, Australia's, Wells, Brent, Lawrence Delevingne, Marc Jones, Ankur Banerjee, Shashwat Chauhan, Jan Harvey, Chizu Organizations: REUTERS, Companies U.S, Treasury, Index, Labor Department, Dow Jones, Nasdaq, Goldman Sachs Asset Management, Bank of England, U.S, Sit Investment, Fed, Bank of Canada, Japan's Nikkei, JPMorgan, Citigroup, Brent, Thomson Locations: Frankfurt, Germany, U.S, Minneapolis, Asia, Boston, London, Singapore, Bengaluru

☆ S&P Global's top economist sees dollar dominance diminishing
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, July 11 (Reuters) - The dollar's grip as the dominant global currency is loosening, credit rating agency S&P Global's top economist said on Tuesday. The dollar "doesn't have quite the pull it used to," Paul Gruenwald, S&P's chief economist, said at a conference hosted by the ratings firm in London. Gruenwald pointed to a number of examples where countries were now circumventing the dollar: "We've got other things happening outside of the dollar world". "The U.S. (dollar) will continue to be a leading world currency, (but) it will no longer be the dominant world currency," Gruenwald said. Reporting by Libby George; Editing by Marc Jones and Alexander SmithOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Paul Gruenwald, We've, Gruenwald, Libby George, Marc Jones, Alexander Smith Organizations: Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank, New Development Bank, Thomson Locations: London, China

☆ Standard Chartered boosts 2024 bitcoin forecast to $120,000
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-10 | by ( Marc Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, July 10 (Reuters) - The value of top cryptocurrency bitcoin could reach $50,000 this year and $120,000 by the end of 2024 Standard Chartered (STAN.L) said on Monday, predicting the recent jump in its price could encourage bitcoin "miners" to hoard more of the supply. "Increased miner profitability per BTC (bitcoin) mined means they can sell less while maintaining cash inflows, reducing net BTC supply and pushing BTC prices higher," Kendrick said in a report. Bitcoin's price has leapt 80% since the start of the year but its current level of just over $30,200 is still less than half the $69,000 it peaked back in November 2021. "It is the equivalent of miners reducing the amount of bitcoins they sell per day to just 180-270 from 900 currently." "Over a year, that would reduce miner selling from 328,500 to a range of 65,700-98,550 – a reduction in net BTC supply of roughly 250,000 bitcoins a year."

Persons: Geoff Kendrick, Kendrick, Marc Jones, Amanda Cooper, Sharon Singleton Organizations: Chartered, BTC, Kendrick, Citi, Thomson

☆ Standard Chartered bumps up bitcoin forecast to $120,000
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

LONDON, July 10 (Reuters) - Top cryptocurrency bitcoin could reach $50,000 this year and $120,000 by the end of 2024 Standard Chartered (STAN.L) said on Monday, predicting the jump in its price could encourage bitcoin 'miners' to hoard more of the supply. Standard Chartered published a $100,000 end-2024 forecast for bitcoin back in April on the view the so-called "crypto winter" was over, but one the bank's top FX analysts, Geoff Kendrick, said there was now 20% "upside" to that call. "Increased miner profitability per BTC (bitcoin) mined means they can sell less while maintaining cash inflows, reducing net BTC supply and pushing BTC prices higher," Kendrick said in a report. Reporting by Marc Jones; Editing by Amanda CooperOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Geoff Kendrick, Kendrick, Marc Jones, Amanda Cooper Organizations: Chartered, BTC, Thomson

☆ Countries repatriating gold in wake of sanctions against Russia, study finds
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-10 | by ( Marc Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

LONDON, July 10 (Reuters) - An increasing number of countries are repatriating gold reserves as protection against the sort of sanctions imposed by the West on Russia, according to an Invesco survey of central bank and sovereign wealth funds published on Monday. The survey showed a "substantial share" of central banks were concerned by the precedent that had been set. DIVERSIFYGeopolitical concerns, combined with opportunities in emerging markets, are also encouraging some central banks to diversify away from the dollar. Infrastructure is now seen as the most attractive asset class, particularly those projects involving renewable energy generation. "The funds and the central banks are now trying to get to grips with higher inflation," he said.

Persons: Rod Ringrow, Ringrow, Marc Jones, Mike Harrison Organizations: West, Sovereign Asset Management, Infrastructure, Thomson Locations: Russia, Ukraine, London, China, India, Mexico, Indonesia, Brazil, Britain, Italy

☆ Central bankers lay out digital currency cyber threat
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-07 | by ( Marc Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, July 7 (Reuters) - The central bankers' central bank, the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), has laid out a seven-point plan designed to help countries prevent cyber hacks on the new wave of digital national currencies under development. The BIS acts as an umbrella body for the U.S. Federal Reserve, European Central Bank, Bank of England and other central banks around the world and has been co-ordinating a lot of work on CBDC development. Hackers have struck a number of central banks in recent years from Denmark to Bangladesh. Specifically, it calls on central banks to:• Recognise the complexity and new threat landscape brought by CBDC systems. It also called for central banks to use the global "MITRE ATT&CK" database of past cyber attacks, and for an "official extension" of the MITRE ATT&CK framework to help central banks beef up their security measures.

Persons: MITRE, Marc Jones, Susan Fenton Organizations: Bank for International Settlements, BIS, U.S . Federal Reserve, European Central Bank, Bank of England, Polaris, Thomson Locations: Denmark, Bangladesh

Compounding worries that this would lead to a more hawkish central bank, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas President Lorie Logan said on Thursday that a continued above-target inflation outlook and a stronger-than-expected labor market "calls for more-restrictive monetary policy." U.S. Treasury yields climbed after the labor market data boosted expectations for aggressive Fed rate hikes to rein in stubbornly high inflation. Emerging market stocks (.MSCIEF) lost 1.88%. In Treasuries 2-year Treasury yields rose above 5% for the first time since early March and touched their highest levels since June 2007. In currencies, the dollar index fell 0.048%, with the euro up 0.13% at $1.0865.

Persons: Lorie Logan, Alex Coffey, Coffey, Sterling, Janet Yellen, Matt Simpson, Brent, Sinéad Carew, Marc Jones, Clarence Fernandez, Hugh Lawson, Richard Chang Organizations: ADP, The Labor Department, Federal Reserve Bank, Dallas, Treasury, U.S, Dow Jones, Nasdaq, Japan's Nikkei, Reuters Graphics Reuters Graphics CHIPPING, Reuters, Thomson Locations: U.S, Asia, Pacific, Japan, United States, Europe, China, Beijing, New York, London

☆ Global markets in H1: Banks vs the machines
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( Marc Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Linking it all has been the relentless rise in interest rates, which was exactly what battered markets in 2022. But just that this time has been different due to an unshakeable view that the end of the cycle is near. A 12%, or $6 trillion, rally in value of world stocks (.MIWD00000PUS), (.FTAWORLDSR) although it has been ominously top heavy. Thanks largely to ChatGPT, the AI boom has seen the 'Big Tech' giants enjoy a combined surge of 70%. There have also been around a total of 90 interest rate hikes this year by central banks globally versus just 17 cuts.

Persons: Andrew Kelly, Lehman, Trevor Greetham, Gold, Viktor Szabo, Tayyip Erdogan's, haven't, bitcoin, Binance, Milla Savova, Dhara Ranasinghe, Tom Wilson, Rashmi Organizations: New York Stock Exchange, REUTERS, Nikkei, LONDON, Big Tech, Apple, Microsoft, Google, Netflix, Meta, Nvidia, Royal London Asset Management, Japan's Nikkei, U.S . Federal Reserve, European Central Bank, Bank of Japan's, Silicon Valley Bank, behemoth, UBS, Treasury, Wall, BlackRock, Commodities, Thomson Locations: New York City, U.S, El Salvador, Sri, Zambia, Ukraine, Pakistan, Argentina, Japan, Egypt, Nigeria, London

☆ S&P 500 ends higher, Treasury yields touch three-month high on solid US economic data
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-29 | by ( Stephen Culp | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/3] Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., June 29, 2023. Financials (.SPSY) led the gainers after the Federal Reserve's stress test showed U.S. lenders have adequate capital to weather an economic storm. Treasury yields rose, with 10-year yields touching their highest level since early March after economic reports painted a picture of a solid U.S. economy, promoting the "higher for longer" scenario with respect to restrictive monetary policy. The dollar touched a two-week high against a basket of world currencies as upbeat economic data provided cushion to the Fed to continue raising rates. Oil prices posted modest gains as the solid economic data suggested strong demand and a steeper-than-expected drop in U.S. crude inventories.

Persons: Brendan McDermid, Russell, Michael Green, Joseph Sroka, Brent, Stephen Culp, Marc Jones, Susan Fenton, Deepa Babington Organizations: New York Stock Exchange, REUTERS, Treasury, Fed, Dow, Nasdaq, Management, Dow Jones, Reuters Graphics Reuters, Japan's Nikkei, Thomson Locations: New York City, U.S, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Spain, Asia, Pacific, Japan, London

Kenyan shipments of tea - its major export - have fallen by a fifth over the last year, according to the local regulator. The spike in global interest rates has already tipped Sri Lanka and Ghana into defaulting. Reuters GraphicsBLACK MARKETAlthough the dollar's share as a global reserve currency has dropped to 59% from 70% over a decade, it continues to dominate global trade. Nigeria has long had a web of multiple exchange rates which it is now trying to untangle, having also devalued its naira currency again last week. A plunge of around 70% in Bolivia's reserves has spawned queues at banks and currency exchange shops as some merchants stopped accepting local currency.

Persons: Wilson Muthaura, KTDA, Charlie Robertson, Muthaura, David Willacy, Ojo, Chaucer, Ronal, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Kristalina Georgieva, William Ruto, Duncan Miriri, Marc Jones, Macdonald Dzirutwe, Monica Machicao, Mayela Armas, David Sherwood, Catherine Evans Organizations: Bank, FIM Partners, Reuters Graphics, Workers, REUTERS, La Paz, West, Reuters, JPMorgan, Monetary Fund, IMF, Fund, Thomson Locations: NAIROBI, LONDON, Pakistan, COVID, Russia, Ukraine, London, Islamabad, Egypt, Sri Lanka, Ghana, Tunisia, teetering, Nigeria, Kenya, StoneX, Nigeria's, Lagos, British, Cuba, Venezuela, Githunguri, Kiambu County, United States, Lebanon, Turkey, Ethiopia, China, India, Johannesburg, Saudi Arabia, Africa, Argentina, Nairobi, La Paz, Caracas, Havana

☆ Study shows 130 countries exploring central bank digital currencies
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-28 | by ( Marc Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

LONDON, June 28 (Reuters) - A total of 130 countries representing 98% of the global economy are now exploring digital versions of their currencies, with almost half in advanced development, pilot or launch stages, a closely-followed study shows. Eleven countries, including a number in the Caribbean, and Nigeria, have already launched central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) as they are known, while pilot testing in China now reaches 260 million people and covers 200 scenarios from e-commerce to government stimulus payments. Two other big emerging economies, India and Brazil, also plan to launch digital currencies next year. U.S. President Joe Biden ordered government officials to assess the risks and benefits of creating a digital dollar in March 2022. A worker at the Lithuanian mint holds a silver coin, produced to be exchanged for sets of digital currency released by Lithuanian central bank in Vilnius, Lithuania June 1, 2020.

Persons: Joe Biden, Andrius, Marc Jones, Mark Potter Organizations: Council, European Central Bank, REUTERS, Federal Reserve, Big Tech, Visa, Mastercard, Atlantic Council, Bank of England, Thomson Locations: U.S, Argentina, Caribbean, Nigeria, China, India, Brazil, United States, Lithuanian, Vilnius, Lithuania, Russia, Venezuela, Europe, Ukraine, Sweden, Australia, Thailand, South Korea, CBDCs, Senegal, Ecuador

☆ Zambia's bondholders see debt restructure deal in coming weeks
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-27 | by ( Marc Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

LONDON, June 27 (Reuters) - Zambia's international bondholders expect to strike a debt restructuring deal with the country "in the coming weeks", a leading member said on Tuesday, a move that would draw a line under the nation's near three-year stint in default. "So I think we (bondholders) can now reach a deal in the coming weeks." Daly said that was something bondholders themselves had called for when restructuring talks became stalled last year over how much debt relief would be required. "The adjustment mechanism provides for an accelerated repayment schedule and higher interest rates if Zambia's debt carrying capacity improves from the current 'weak' classification to 'medium' classification," he said. While China has rejected writing off some of the debt altogether, bondholders could still do that, Daly added.

Persons: Hakainde, Kevin Daly, Daly, Situmbeko Musokotwane, Marc Jones, Chris Mfula, Libby George, Christina Fincher, Ed Osmond, William Maclean Organizations: International Monetary Fund, Zambian Finance, IMF, World Bank, Thomson Locations: China, Zambia, Sri Lanka, Ghana, Lusaka

☆ JPMorgan sees yuan weakness continuing, possibility of "circuit breaker"
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, June 27 (Reuters) - Wall Street bank JPMorgan said on Tuesday it was staying "bearish" on China's yuan despite its recent slide and that the country's central bank could look to step in to prevent the move accelerating. "As spot currency weakness and depreciation expectations tend to be self-reinforcing, the People's Bank of China might find it necessary to introduce some circuit breaker, with stronger fixings (the central bank's official daily FX rate) a preemptive move to prevent currency weakness going non-linear," JPMorgan's analysts said in a research note. The yuan rallied on Tuesday after the central bank set its daily fixing stronger than market expectations for the second day in a row, bolstering speculation that authorities were becoming less tolerant of the currency's weakness. Reporting by Marc Jones; Editing by Amanda CooperOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Marc Jones, Amanda Cooper Organizations: JPMorgan, People's Bank of China, Thomson Locations: Street

☆ Economy at critical juncture in inflation fight: central-bank body
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-26 | by ( Marc Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

"The global economy is at a critical juncture. Stern challenges must be addressed," Agustin Carstens, BIS general manager, said in the organisation's annual report published on Sunday. It is the first time that, across much of the world, a surge in inflation has co-existed with widespread financial vulnerabilities. The longer inflation remains elevated, the stronger and prolonged the required policy tightening, the BIS report said, warning that the possibility of further problems in the banking sector was now "material". Commenting further on the economic picture, Carstens, former head of Mexico's central bank, said the emphasis was now on policymakers to act.

Persons: Stern, Agustin Carstens, Claudio Borio, Borio, Marc Jones, Emelia Sihtole Organizations: BIS, LONDON, Bank for International Settlements, Reuters, Reuters Graphics Reuters, Silicon Valley Bank, Credit Suisse, Bank of America, U.S . Federal Reserve, European Central Bank, Thomson Locations: Britain, Norway, Silicon

☆ World economy at critical juncture in inflation fight, central-bank body warns
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-25 | by ( Marc Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Stern challenges must be addressed," Agustin Carstens, BIS general manager, said in the organisation's annual report published on Sunday. It is the first time that, across much of the world, a surge in inflation has co-existed with widespread financial vulnerabilities. The longer inflation remains elevated, the stronger and prolonged the required policy tightening, the BIS report said, warning that the possibility of further problems in the banking sector was now "material". "Very high debt levels, a remarkable global inflation surge, and the strong pandemic-era increase in house prices check all these boxes," the BIS said. Commenting further on the economic picture, Carstens, former head of Mexico's central bank, said the emphasis was now on policymakers to act.

☆ EU's lending arm to explore climate emergency repayment pause clauses
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

"The EIB is exploring ways to scale up climate finance," it said in a statement on Friday at an international summit being held in Paris. EIB Global, the arm of the bank that lends outside the EU, invests around 10 billion euros ($10.87 billion) a year. It is estimated that roughly half of that money goes to countries that could be eligble for the new clauses. "We know that more climate disasters are coming," Maria Shaw-Barragan, a Director of Lending the bank told Reuters. "So it makes sense for the MDBs, and bilateral lenders, to include these clauses in order to give countries some breathing space."

Persons: Maria Shaw, Barragan, Marc Jones, Mark Heinrich, Louise Heavens Organizations: European Investment, LONDON, European Investment Bank, World Bank, EIB, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Paris

☆ Analysis: Investors lament lost opportunity after unconvincing Turkish rate hike
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

REUTERS/Murad Sezer/IllustrationLONDON, June 23 (Reuters) - Foreign investors hoping for a game-changing rate hike from Turkey's newly appointed central bank chief said Thursday's disappointing move to a key rate of just 15% could keep some money on the sidelines. "They lost one perfect chance to demonstrate that they mean business," said Viktor Szabo, emerging markets investment director with Abrdn. But analysts said that after Thursday's decision, Erkan and Simsek would need to work even harder to prove the country had indeed shifted course. Already in the week to June 16, foreign investor holdings of Turkish government bonds had fallen by $16.2 million. "I don't think investors will throw in the towel just yet because I think there is still expectation there is more to come in the coming months," said Kaan Nazli, portfolio manager at Neuberger Berman.

Persons: Murad Sezer, Thursday's, Hafize Gaye Erkan, Viktor Szabo, Abrdn, it's, It's, Tayyip Erdogan, Mehmet Simsek, Eric Fine, Marek Drimal, Simsek, Dan Wood, William Blair, Fitch, Erdogan, Erkan, Kaan, Neuberger Berman, Karin Strohecker, Marc Jones, Toby Chopra Organizations: REUTERS, Societe Generale, Thomson Locations: Istanbul, Turkey, VanEck

☆ Smaller-than-expected Turkey rate hike hits lira, bonds
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, June 22 (Reuters) - Turkey's new central bank governor Hafize Gaye Erkan delivered a smaller-than-expected interest rate hike at her first rate meeting on Thursday, sending the lira and the country's dollar-denominated sovereign bonds sharply lower. The bank lifted its key rate 650 basis points to 15% compared to the median of 21% expected in a Reuters poll. "On the other hand they are promising more tightening ahead... so you have to give them the benefit of the doubt." "I am more worried about the medium-term outlook which is likely to see further lira depreciation. TIM ASH, EM SENIOR SOVEREIGN STRATEGIST, BLUEBAY ASSET MANAGEMENT"Ouch - disappointing.

Persons: Hafize Gaye Erkan, PIOTR MATYS, Erkan, Erdogan, PETER KISLER, JON HARRISON, Amruta Khandekar, Ali Kucukgocmen, Marc Jones, Libby George, Karin Strohecker, Hugh Lawson Organizations: Thomson

☆ Telecoms firm Veon to invest $600 mln in mobile unit Kyivstar
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-21 | by ( Marc Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, June 21 (Reuters) - Telecoms company Veon (VON.AS) said on Wednesday it would invest $600 million in the infrastructure of its Ukrainian subsidiary Kyivstar, the war-ravaged country's largest mobile network. The Amsterdam-listed company said the funds would help upgrade the mobile operator's infrastructure, including improving connectivity and 4G services throughout Ukraine. The country has seen much of its mobile infrastructure hit by Russian rocket attacks. Kyivstar's technical teams have performed nearly 150,000 repairs since Russia invaded last year, Veon said, adding it ensured that 93% of the network is operational. Kyivstar has lost around 7% of its active customer base - or roughly 1.7 million subscribers - since the war started last February.

Persons: Veon, Oleksandr Komarov, Kyivstar, Komarov, Aleksander Torbakhov, Olivier Sorgho, Clarence Fernandez, Sherry Jacob, Phillips, Sharon Singleton Organizations: Reuters, Thomson Locations: Amsterdam, Ukraine, Russian, Russia, London

☆ Turkish central bank to hike rates sharply in post-election pivot
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-21 | by ( Ali Kucukgocmen | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

But the level remains uncertain as the central bank has not given any signals as to its next steps, including the size or pace of potential hikes. Some economists have expressed doubt about Erdogan's commitment to abandoning his unorthodox policy of low rates, which led the central bank to slash its policy rate from 19% in 2021 to 8.5% currently. The median estimate for the policy rate at end-2023 was 30%, with forecasts ranging from 18% to 35%. He named Naci Agbal as central bank governor in Nov. 2020 but, after some sharp rate hikes, replaced him less than five months later. The central bank is scheduled to announce its rate decision at 1100 GMT on Thursday.

Persons: Murad Sezer, Tayyip Erdogan, Hafize Gaye Erkan, Malek Drimal, Erdogan, Mehmet Simsek, Moody's, Naci, Simsek, Ali Kucukgocmen, Marc Jones, Jonathan Spicer, Daren Butler, Christina Fincher Organizations: REUTERS, Societe Generale, stoke, Thomson Locations: Istanbul, Turkey, ISTANBUL

Equities trading was choppy on Wednesday after the Fed signaled it could follow its June pause with two more rate increases this year. But by Thursday afternoon the S&P 500 .SPX and the Nasdaq had rallied to 14-month highs on upbeat economic data. Higher jobless claims helped fuel bets that the Fed would not follow through with more rate hikes. "It's almost like a sweet spot," Tunkel said, also pointing to Chinese data boosting energy stocks and oil prices. Gold prices rose from a three-month low as the dollar and bond yields fell after U.S. economic data, although worries over more Fed rate hikes capped gains.

Persons: Irene Tunkel, Tunkel, Brendan McDermid, Sterling, Brent, Sinéad Carew, Marc Jones, Tom Westbrook, Mark Potter, Alexander Smith, Richard Chang Organizations: LONDON, European Central Bank, Federal Reserve, Nasdaq, BCA Research, Dow Jones, New York Stock Exchange, REUTERS, Treasury, Reuters, Thomson Locations: U.S, New York City, China, New York, London, Singapore

☆ Natural evolution: Record Galapagos deal sparks clamour for eco-friendly debt swaps
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-09 | by ( Marc Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The growing appetite comes as record numbers of developing world governments face debt pressures due to higher global interest rates. There have been around 140 over the past 35 years, but even including last month's super-sized Galapagos deal they have only involved around $5 billion of debt altogether. The top-level attendees will be urged to do more, not only debt swaps, but also by providing foreign exchange guarantees and automatic debt-payment breaks for countries hit by climate-related disasters. "Seeing something that has a group of countries involved would be amazing," Issa said. Ecuador says it is eyeing another transaction to capitalise on the halo effect from the Galapagos deal.

Persons: Ramzi Issa, Charles Darwin's, Issa, Ilan Goldfajn, Scott Nathan, Nathan, Emmanuel Macron, Mia Mottley, Suisse's Issa, Simon Jessop, Sharon Singleton Organizations: Ecuador, Credit Suisse, Inter, American Development Bank, U.S . International Development Finance Corporation, Reuters Graphics, Thomson Locations: Ecuador, Belize, Barbados, Gabon, Paris, Sri Lanka, Indian, Colombia, Costa Rica, Panama, Kenya, Mozambique, Tanzania, Seychelles

☆ TRYing times: The slide and fall of the Turkish lira
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-07 | by ( Marc Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The central bank is however widely expected to get a new head in the coming days. Turkey's economy is no stranger to boom-and-bust cycles, oscillating between double-digit growth and contraction rates in recent years. 3/INFLATION PALPITATIONSA tumbling lira will fan fears over a fresh spike in inflation in the country which only last year saw it top 80%. "It's just so inevitable," Abrdn's head of local currency emerging market debt, Kieren Curtis, said referring to the lira's slump this week. He did add however that the compensation would be paid to depositors in lira rather than dollars or euros and that bill would be split between the Treasury and Central Bank.

Persons: Goldman Sachs, Ulrich Leuchtmann, Hasnain Malik, Erdogan, Tellimer's Malik, Kieren Curtis, Frank Gill, Tayyip Erdogan's, Karin Strohecker, David Evans Organizations: Wall, JPMorgan, FX, Reuters Graphics Reuters, International Monetary Fund, P Global, Treasury, Central Bank, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Ankara, Turkey, Commerzbank, Frankfurt, Tellimer

The S&P 500 index (.SPX) rose 0.2%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) added 0.12%, and the Nasdaq Composite Index (.IXIC) climbed 0.28%. The pan-European STOXX 600 index (.STOXX) rose 0.37%, while MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) was little changed. With major share markets all in the black, investors might think that stocks are set to rise further. Government bond yields - a proxy for borrowing rates - eased earlier after a European Central Bank (ECB) survey showed euro zone consumers had lowered their inflation expectations. Australia's central bank hiked rates by a quarter-point to 4.1% - an 11-year high - and warned that further increases might be required to ensure inflation is brought back under control.

Persons: Brendan McDermid, James Rossiter, Bitcoin, Nansen, Brent, Nell Mackenzie, Marc Jones, Dhara Ranasinghe, Mark Potter Organizations: New York Stock Exchange, REUTERS, Fed, ECB, SEC, Dow Jones, Nasdaq, Federal Reserve, Bank of America Securities, Treasury, European Central Bank, Canada, Securities Senior Global, U.S . Federal Reserve, Bank of, Aussie, Reserve Bank of, U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, U.S, Thomson Locations: New York City, U.S, Asia, Pacific, Japan, Government, Australia's, Bank of Japan, Reserve Bank of Australia, Binance, Saudi Arabia

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