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SYDNEY/SINGAPORE, Jan 26 (Reuters) - China's reopened borders and renewed focus on boosting the sagging economy have brightened the deals outlook, with bankers starting to field interest for mergers, acquisitions and fundraising involving the world's second-largest economy. Chinese companies' capital markets deals slipped 44% in the same period, according to Refinitiv data. That slump crimped the fees earned by Wall Street banks and forced some of them to cut jobs, mainly those linked to Chinese deals, in the past few months. Chinese private equity activity was worth $24.1 billion in 2022, down from $57.8 billion a year before, Pitchbook data showed. "Because of opening up, we expect an uptick in overseas disposal of private equity to Chinese buyers."

☆ Russia's $45 billion stash of Chinese yuan is helping Moscow weather massive plunge in energy revenues
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Jennifer Sor | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Russia has a $45 billion stash of Chinese yuan that could help it weather sanctions, per Bloomberg. Moscow has sought to deepen ties with Beijing amid a barrage of western sanctions. Selling its yuan reserves will help Russia cover its losses for the next three years, according to an analysis from Bloomberg Economics. Its flagship Urals crude blend is now trading around $50 a barrel – a third of what it was last year, Bloomberg reported. The measures have severe crimped Russia's oil revenue, which could spell trouble for the nation in the long-term, economists warn.

☆ Smartphones, used cars and bacon: 10 things with the biggest price drops in 2022, despite inflation
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Greg Iacurci | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The largest declines, on a percentage basis, were concentrated in categories like consumer electronics, beef, and cars and trucks, according to the consumer price index. watch nowUsed cars and trucks, rental vehiclesA used car dealership in New York on Jan. 19, 2022. Pablo Monsalve | View Press | Corbis News | Getty ImagesPrices for used cars and trucks were among the first to spike as inflation took hold in early 2021. The category inflated by 37.3% that year — the most of any item outside of energy commodities like gasoline and fuel oil, according to the consumer price index. "Rental car companies were buying — and now completely stopped buying — used vehicles," said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics.

☆ School lunch, eggs and airfare: Why inflation soared for 10 items in 2022
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( Greg Iacurci | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Here's a look at the 10 items with the largest price gains, as measured by the annual inflation rate in December. Food at school: 305.2%The price of a meal at elementary and secondary schools spiked the most in 2022, by a whopping 305%. Overall food prices have been pressured on many fronts, too, funneling into school meals. Oil prices retreated in the second half of the year, though, as fears mounted of a possible recession and an accompanying weakness in oil demand. Monthly milk production among major suppliers fell each month from September 2021 to June 2022, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

☆ China 2022 crude oil imports fall for second year despite Q4 pickup
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( Chen Aizhu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

With the government focused on reviving economic growth this year after dropping its tough COVID control measures, some analysts are expecting China's crude oil imports to rebound strongly in 2023. Friday's data also showed fuel exports - including gasoline, diesel, aviation fuel and marine fuel oil - reached 7.7 million tonnes in December, the highest since April 2020 and up from 6.14 million tonnes in November. Annual fuel exports, however, remained 11% below 2021 at 53.69 million tonnes, due to steep reductions in overseas shipments earlier in 2022 as the government sought then to curb excessive domestic processing. Natural gas imports last month via pipelines and as liquefied natural gas (LNG) reached 10.28 million tonnes, down 12% on the year. Annual imports fell 9.9% at 109.25 million tonnes, data showed.

☆ Analysis: Security, migration trump energy dispute at Biden Mexico summit
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( Dave Graham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The U.S. government appears reluctant to antagonize Mexico on energy lest it interfere with cooperation on the border and security, two far bigger U.S. domestic issues, analysts said. Under pressure from Republican opponents to curb record illegal crossings, the administration of Biden, a Democrat, has focused much of its dealings with Mexico on border security. Trump threatened Mexico with trade tariffs if it did not stem migrant flows, but he did little to upbraid Lopez Obrador over energy policies that U.S. firms say are unfair. And the Biden administration did contact U.S. energy companies ahead of the Mexico City summit to ask them how Mexico's policies have impacted their business operations there, according to a document seen by Reuters. Two Mexican officials said there was little advance on the energy dispute between Mexico and Washington this week.

Imported baby formula will be subject to tariffs again in the new year, after the expiration of exemptions implemented amid a nationwide shortage. Congress waived tariffs, which can be as high as 17.5%, to help families struggling to find formula after supply-chain problems and the closure of a crucial factory crimped supplies. A White House spokesman said the tariff waivers doubled the number of manufacturers selling baby formula in the U.S. Congress made the tariff waivers temporary as part of a deal to pass the measures quickly, said people familiar with the matter.

☆ Asia stocks edge up despite global growth worries
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

SINGAPORE, Dec 8 (Reuters) - Asian equities edged higher on Thursday, propped up by Hong Kong and China stocks even as growing fears of an economic slowdown and worries over the pace of the Federal Reserve's interest rate hikes weighed on sentiment. Elsewhere in Asia, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index (.AXJO) lost 0.67%, while Japan's Nikkei (.N225) fell to near one-month low. Also weighing on the equities market was U.S. Treasury yields, with five-year notes to 30-year bonds hovering at three-month lows. Meanwhile, the yield on 10-year Treasury notes was up 4.3 basis points (bps) to 3.451%, while the yield on the 30-year Treasury bond was up 3.4 bps to 3.448%. The two-year U.S. Treasury yield, which typically moves in step with interest rate expectations, was up 3.9 bps at 4.296%.

☆ GameStop's third quarter disappoints on lack of hit titles, inflation pinch
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

GameStop launched a digital wallet earlier this year to enable transactions in a marketplace it is building for gamers and others to buy, sell and trade non-fungible tokens, or NFTs. However, with crypto winter setting in and the value of cryptocurrencies plummeting, GameStop's digital wallet ambitions face a bleak future. GameStop posted revenue of $1.19 billion in the third quarter, missing estimates of $1.36 billion, according to Refinitiv IBES data. On an adjusted basis, the company lost 31 cents per share, compared with analysts' estimates of a loss of 28 cents per share. GameStop's expenses as a percentage of revenue was 32.7% in the quarter, down from 34.1% in the second quarter, as the company has tried to cut costs by reducing its workforce and shutting down stores.

☆ UK construction growth ebbs away as economy falters: PMI
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Kaori Kaneko | Kantaro Komiya | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, Dec 6 (Reuters) - Growth in Britain's construction industry slowed to a crawl in November as high borrowing costs and the gloomy economic outlook crimped building work, a survey showed on Tuesday. The S&P Global/CIPS UK Construction Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) fell to a three-month low of 50.4 from 53.2 in October, barely above the 50 dividing line between growth and contraction. The survey's gauge of future activity sank to its lowest level since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, consistent with recession. With demand fading from the economy, various measures of price pressures from consumers and businesses have started to ease - including in Thursday's survey. The construction PMI's index of input prices fell in November to its lowest level since January 2021.

U.S. shale production costs are soaring and there is no sign that tight-fisted investors will change their demands for returns rather than investment in expanding drilling. At Helmerich & Payne (HP.N), one of the largest drilling contractors, its R&D budget will rise only $1 million, from 2022's $27 million. The U.S. government expects overall oil production to reach a new peak next year, but it has several times this year cut its forecasts. Shale production declines rapidly after peaking compared to conventional oil wells, falling about 50% after the first year. Lower production rates are "a longer-term prospect," said Mike Oestmann, chief executive of shale producer Tall City Exploration.

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☆ Analysis: China c.bank to offer limited, targeted growth support, no bazooka
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Kevin Yao | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Since 2020, when the world's second-largest economy was first jolted by the coronavirus, the PBOC has expanded its arsenal of structural policy tools, including relending and rediscount facilities and other low-cost loans. "The central bank is likely to expand the scope of structural policy tools and step up the use of such tools," said a person involved in policy discussions who spoke on condition of anonymity. Its outstanding loans made via structural tools amounted to nearly 5.6 trillion yuan ($781.64 billion) at the end of September, central bank data showed. A central bank adviser said last month that China should set a growth target no lower than 5% for next year. On Nov. 21, the central bank kept its benchmark lending rates unchanged for a third straight month.

☆ Indonesia's economy saw robust growth in the third quarter, but this could be 'as good as it gets'
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( Su-Lin Tan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

On Monday, Indonesia posted year-on-year GDP growth of 5.72% for the July to September quarter, higher than last quarter's growth of 5.44%. "Economic growth in Indonesia accelerated in the third quarter, but this is likely to be as good as it gets. We expect lower commodity prices, tighter monetary policy and elevated inflation to drag on growth over the coming quarters," Capital Economics senior economist Gareth Leather said. Leather said exports will likely struggle against falling commodity prices and slowing global growth. Indonesia, a major commodity exporter, has benefited from filling the supply gap caused by the war in Ukraine and once-steep commodity prices resulting from crimped supply chains.

☆ EV maker Lucid reports bigger quarterly loss
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] A Lucid Air electric vehicle is displayed in Scottsdale, Arizona, U.S., September 27, 2021. REUTERS/Hyunjoo Jin/File PhotoNov 8 (Reuters) - Lucid Group Inc (LCID.O) reported a bigger third-quarter loss on Tuesday, as the luxury electric vehicle maker struggled with rising costs to ramp up production. High prices for battery materials such as lithium, cobalt and nickel, exacerbated by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, have been eating into margins of electric vehicle makers, hurting their bottom line. Lucid's revenue rose to $195.5 million in the quarter ended Sept. 30 from $232,000 a year earlier. The company's net loss for the quarter ended Sept. 30 widened to $670.2 million, or 40 cents per share, from $524.4 million, or 43 cents per share, a year earlier.

☆ UK house prices fall after 'mini-budget' turmoil - Nationwide
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( David Milliken | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] An estate agent's board is displayed outside a house on a terraced street in Blackburn, Britain, January 17, 2022. REUTERS/Phil NobleLONDON, Nov 1 (Reuters) - British house prices recorded their first monthly fall since July 2021 last month, mortgage lender Nationwide said on Tuesday, after the market was hit by turmoil during Prime Minister Liz Truss's short-lived premiership. Nationwide Building Society said house prices dropped 0.9% in October after being unchanged in September, while they are 7.2% higher than a year earlier, slowing from September's annual increase of 9.5%. "The market has undoubtedly been impacted by the turmoil following the mini-Budget, which led to a sharp rise in market interest rates," Nationwide chief economist Robert Gardner said. The monthly fall in house prices was the largest since June 2020, when the market was crimped by initial COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, while the annual rise was the weakest since April 2021.

☆ Italy's economy grows stronger than expected 0.5% in Q3, easing pressure on new govt
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

* Q3 GDP 0.5% q/q, 2.6% y/y* Easily beats forecasts* Q3 growth founded on domestic demandROME, Oct 31 (Reuters) - Italy's economy grew by 0.5% in the third quarter from the previous three months, preliminary data showed on Monday, a much stronger reading than expected which takes some pressure off the new right-wing government. On a year-on-year basis, gross domestic product in the euro zone's third largest economy was up 2.6%, national statistics bureau ISTAT said. The Treasury said last month that is expected to see a GDP contraction in the third quarter. ISTAT said that assuming GDP was flat quarter-on-quarter in the fourth quarter, full-year growth would come in at 3.9% this year. ISTAT confirmed second quarter growth at 1.1% from the previous three months but revised the year-on-year rate to 4.9% from a previously reported 5.0%.

Gross domestic product grew by 0.5% in the third quarter from the second and 2.6% year on year, national statistics bureau ISTAT said. Both preliminary readings were around half a percentage point higher than expected in Reuters survey of analysts, while the Treasury had said last month it expected a third quarter contraction. The government plans to raise next year's budget deficit to 4.5% of GDP, up from the 3.4% projected last month under current trends, a senior official said. Italian inflation hit 12.8% in October, the highest level since the country's EU-harmonised index was launched in 1996. Full year growth this year will come in at 3.7%, Federico forecast, above Rome's official 3.3% target.

☆ McDonald's beats sales estimates on boost from pricier menu
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Oct 27 (Reuters) - McDonald's Corp (MCD.N) beat quarterly comparable sales estimates on Thursday, helped by higher menu prices and an increase in restaurant traffic from inflation-weary customers looking for value meals. Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc (CMG.N) on Tuesday also beat quarterly sales and profit estimates as it passed on higher prices to customers. Comparable sales for McDonald's in the United States, the company's biggest market, rose 6.1% in the reported quarter helped by higher prices. Analysts have noted that an easing in gas prices also boosted third-quarter restaurant sales in the United States in general after a slowdown in June. That still beat estimates of $5.69 billion.

☆ Companies Focus On Constant-Currency Metrics to Soothe Investors’ Nerves
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-24 | by ( Kristin Broughton | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +6 min

Reporting results on a constant-currency basis can be beneficial to global companies whose results have been hit by swings in foreign-exchange rates. To report on a constant-currency basis, companies must have a full understanding of their exposure to foreign-exchange rates, Mr. Koester said. Revenue was $4.43 billion, up 13% year-over-year on a reported basis and 15% on a constant-currency basis. Ralph Lauren Corp. said in August that its fiscal first-quarter revenue grew 8% on a reported basis and 13% on a constant-currency basis. Ralph Lauren said it expects, on a constant-currency basis, to report fiscal 2023 revenue growth in the high-single-digit percentages, around 8%, compared with 2022.

☆ Cuba shouldn't be on sponsor of terrorism list, former U.S. officials say
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( Ed Augustin | Ed Augustin Is A British Journalist Based In Havana Who Has Written For The New York Times | The Guardian | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +9 min

HAVANA — Along with Iran, Syria and North Korea, Cuba is listed as a “state sponsor of terrorism” by the U.S. Department of State. Cuba has called the sponsor of terrorism designation "illegitimate and immoral," arguing that it deprives it of financing and credit sources. “‘Cuba is not a state sponsor of terrorism’ was a mantra from the moment I walked into the State Department to the moment I walked out,” he said. Throughout the 1980s, Cuba shared intelligence with, trained and apparently supplied weapons to revolutionary movements fighting military dictatorships in Central America. Cuba will once again be a “guarantor state.”The Biden administration has provided no evidence that Cuba sponsors terrorism.

☆ Asia stocks slide as investors lose risk appetite, yields rise
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( Ankur Banerjee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Japan's yen crept close to the psychological barrier of 150 per dollar after earlier marking a fresh 32-year low of 149.93. The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury US10YT=RR note touched a fresh 14-year high, brushing off a weak housing report. U.S. 10-year yields were last up at 4.139%, beyond the 4.136% high it touched earlier. China's stock market (.SSEC) opened 0.5% lower as the ruling Communist Party's twice-a-decade congress remains in session this week. The rise in the dollar and yields pushed gold lower, with prices lingering at a three-week trough on Thursday.

☆ Visa, Mastercard profits expected to jump as travel rebounds
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( Niket Nishant | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

With more companies resuming business travel and people planning vacations, Visa Inc (<V.N>), Mastercard (<MA.N>) and American Express (<AXP.N>) are likely to see a jump in cross border volume, according to analysts. Cross border volumes are a measure of travel demand reflecting spending on cards outside the country they were issued. American Airlines (<AAL.O>), United Airlines Holdings (<UAL.O>) and Delta Air Lines (<DAL.N>) have also forecast strong profits for the rest of the year, in a sign that travel demand was offsetting concerns about expensive air fares. American Express will report its quarterly earnings on Friday, followed by Visa and Mastercard next week. AmEx shares have dropped 12%, while Mastercard and Visa are down 17% and 14% this year, respectively.

☆ What Cramer is watching Tuesday — J&J beat, Salesforce gets an activist, stocks surge
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( Jim Cramer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

What I am looking at Tuesday, Oct. 18, 2022 Club holding Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) reports an impressive quarter. Activist investor Starboard takes a major stake in Club holding Salesforce (CRM), sees significant opportunity. Club holding Microsoft (MSFT) cuts people, continues to invest, but calls for slowest quarterly revenue growth in more than five years. Barclays cuts price target on Charles Schwab (SCHW) to $73 per share from $81. Barclays cuts price target on Unity Software (U) to $33 per share from $49.

☆ Sunflowers, war and drought: Why the price of margarine and butter spiked 32%
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-17 | by ( Greg Iacurci | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Margarine prices swelled by about 4% in the month from August to September, meaning they've continued to trend upward in the short term. 1 producer and exporter of sunflower oil, which accounts for 9% of all vegetable oil produced globally. "Supplies of these alternatives are expected to be tight in the 2021/22 marketing year, contributing to elevated vegetable oil prices." Palm oil accounts for 35% of all vegetable oil made globally, the largest share relative to the aforementioned oil commodities. Annual oil prices — and those of its byproducts, like gasoline and diesel — skyrocketed as a result.

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