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Those returns would come from "great trading opportunities", including placing long and short bets on Chinese equities, said Man Group CEO Luke Ellis, without giving any details. "I think the alpha opportunities in China are very attractive," Ellis told Reuters on Thursday, referring to the potential to generate returns that are higher than market benchmark gains. "We've been able to generate good alpha in the Chinese market. With China gradually opening up its markets to foreign investors, Ellis sees the potential for Man Group to expand its operations in that country when it relaxes its stringent COVID-induced border controls. Man Group launched a Chinese domestic private fund unit in 2017 that currently runs one fund with a macro strategy.

[1/4] James Gorman, Chairman and Chief Executive of Morgan Stanley, speaks during the Global Financial Leaders Investment Summit in Hong Kong, China November 2, 2022. "It’s a painful transition, but not an unexpected transition," said Gorman, also the bank's chairman, at the Global Financial Leaders' Investment Summit. It was Hong Kong's biggest corporate event since it shut its borders in 2020 and introduced restrictions to combat COVID-19. Inflation and "very quick" monetary tightening after over a decade of relatively accommodative policies are making the world more volatile and uncertain, said Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon (GS.N). If central banks find a way to tame inflation meaningfully and in a balanced way, it will "increase the chance of a soft landing" for their economies, Solomon said.

☆ Big brands set to miss plastic sustainability targets
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( Joe Brock | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The study by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and the United Nations Environment Programme also revealed that some companies - including Coca-Cola (KO.N) and Pepsi - are using more virgin plastic despite a pledge to reduce its use. Dozens of major brands have in recent years set targets to increase plastic recycling and reduce the use of single-use packaging in partnership with the Ellen MacAurthur Foundation, as part of efforts to burnish their green credentials. The headline pledge was that 100% of plastic packaging would be reusable, recyclable or compostable by 2025, but this goal will "almost certainly be missed by most organisations", the environmental group's report said. Greenpeace said the report is evidence that voluntary corporate targets have failed and called on the U.N. to forge a treaty that forces governments and companies to use less single-use plastic packaging. "This underlines the need for governments to ensure that the global plastic treaty ... delivers major reductions in plastic production and use," said Graham Forbes, Greenpeace’s USA Global Plastics Project Leader.

☆ Dollar eases on improved risk sentiment before Fed; Aussie pares gains after RBA
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( Kevin Buckland | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

"Our general sense is that the dollar probably has peaked, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's coming down." The Aussie gained 0.3% to $0.6416, but was off earlier highs after the RBA opted for another 25-bp hike. The Fed is widely expected to raise its benchmark rate by 75 bps on Wednesday, its fourth such increase in a row. But for the December meeting, Fed funds futures are split on the odds of a 75- or 50-bps increase. read moreReporting by Kevin Buckland; Editing by Ana Nicolaci da CostaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Dollar retreats amid better risk sentiment ahead of Fed; Aussie rallies before RBA
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( Kevin Buckland | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The risk-sensitive Australian and New Zealand dollars rose from one-week lows amid a broad lift in market sentiment, even as a Reserve Bank of Australia policy decision loomed. "Our general sense is that the dollar probably has peaked, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's coming down." But for the December meeting, Fed funds futures are split on the odds of a 75- or 50-bps increase. For the RBA, another 25 basis point hike is fully priced for 0330 GMT, but markets also lay better than 1-in-4 odds for a half point increase. read moreThe Bank of England is likely to deliver a 75-basis point hike on Thursday.

"Brazil is ready to retake its leadership in the fight against the climate crisis," Lula told a crowd of supporters in Sao Paulo. Silva said that Brazil would demand rich countries provide financing to poor countries to respond to climate change and give compensation for permanent "loss and damage" from climate change. Under Lula, Brazil will also discuss expanding its national targets for cutting climate-related emissions, said Silva, his former environment minister from 2003 to 2008. The firm, with roughly 237 billion euros ($234 billion) in assets under management, only owned about 100 million euros in Brazilian sovereign bonds when the prohibition took effect. Environmental advocates also cheered Lula's proposals for the Amazon, but cautioned that his agenda would face enormous political resistance.

☆ Three of China's largest lenders report over 6% rise in third quarter profit
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] People stand at a booth of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) during the 2022 China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS) in Beijing, China September 1, 2022. REUTERS/Tingshu WangBEIJING, Oct 28 (Reuters) - Three of China's largest lenders posted third quarter profit rises of over 6% as non-performing loan ratios shrunk. Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd (ICBC) (601398.SS), the world's largest commercial lender by assets, said net profit rose 6.8% year-on-year in the third quarter in a Friday filing. All three lenders posted slight falls in non-performing loan ratios in the third quarter. Both ICBC and AgBank posted NPL ratios of 1.4% for the end of September compared to 1.41% at the end of the quarter before.

☆ Exxon's record-smashing Q3 profit nearly matches Apple's
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-28 | by ( Sabrina Valle | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Its $19.66 billion third-quarter net profit far exceeded recently raised Wall Street forecasts as sky-rocketing natural gas and high oil prices put its earnings within reach of Apple's $20.7 billion net for the same period. Oil company profits have soared this year as rising demand and an under-supplied energy market collided with Western sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine. U.S. exports of gas and oil to Europe have jumped and promise to set all-time profit records for the industry. Investors this week pushed up Exxon shares to a record intraday high of $109.58 as oil prices traded above $96 per barrel. In the third quarter, U.S. natural gas prices averaged $7.95 per million British thermal units (mmBtu), up 10% from the second quarter.

SINGAPORE, Oct 26 (Reuters) - Standard Chartered (STAN.L) reported a 40% increase in quarterly profit as higher interest rates boosted the emerging markets-focused bank's income and gave it ammunition to upgrade its revenue outlook. The bank expects income to grow 13% this year instead of a previously forecast 10%. "We remain confident in the delivery of our 2024 financial targets," CEO Bill Winters said in a statement on Wednesday. "Our performance this year has been strong, and the pace of economic recovery in many of our footprint markets is encouraging, notwithstanding increasing recessionary pressures in certain Western markets," Winters said. StanChart's statutory credit impairment charges more than doubled to $227 million from a year earlier, reflecting weakness in key economies.

☆ In Indian village, residents take to YouTube to fulfil their Bollywood dreams
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-21 | by ( Sunil Kataria | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

TULSI, India Oct 21 (Reuters) - A man sporting a black cap and pink T-shirt sits on a bullock cart, pile of grass behind him, and busts a rhyme to a camera while riding across the dusty streets of India's Tulsi village. The hip-hop video is just one of many home-grown, Bollywood-inspired productions being created for the village's flagship YouTube channel, which boasts nearly 120,000 subscribers and has more than 200 uploaded videos. They now produce two to three videos a month, from slapstick comedy and action dramas to educational shorts and music videos. But for some, the channel is an opportunity to dream big -- well beyond the confines of the small village. "We want the entire world to know us, not just India," said Verma, 30.

Separate official data showed Britain's borrowing grew by more than expected, underscoring the challenge facing new finance minister Jeremy Hunt and whoever succeeds Liz Truss as prime minister next week. Sales volumes fell by 1.4% from August - almost three times the 0.5% fall in a Reuters poll of economists. Separate data published by the ONS showed Britain borrowed 20.01 billion pounds ($22.37 billion) in September, more than the 17.1 billion pounds expected in the Reuters poll of economists. So far in the 2022/23 financial year, which began in April, borrowing stands at 72.5 billion pounds, down about 26% from the same period last year but almost 36 billion pounds more than in the April-September period of 2019, before the pandemic. He said borrowing this year could be almost 200 billion pounds, double the Office for Budget Responsibility's forecast.

☆ Oil prices rise on possible easing in China COVID quarantine measure
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( Emily Chow | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Pump jacks operate at sunset in an oil field in Midland, Texas U.S. August 22, 2018. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude for November delivery (WTI) , which expires on Thursday, rose $1.29, or 1.5%, to $86.84 per barrel. Bloomberg news reported on Thursday that China is considering cutting the quarantine period for inbound visitors to seven days from 10 days, citing people familiar with the matter. "Short of an unlikely shale oil revival, there are few lasting policy measures the Biden administration can use to effective push oil much lower." "EU sanctions on Russian oil imports will likely become the focus of the oil market in coming weeks... We expect Brent oil futures to average $100 per barrel in Q4 2022 on the back of supply disruption from the EU sanctions," Dhar added.

☆ Oil prices mixed amid uncertain demand, supply concerns
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( Emily Chow | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Nick Oxford/File PhotoSINGAPORE, Oct 20 (Reuters) - Oil prices were mixed on Thursday as investors balanced caution over tightening supply against concerns that a global slowdown could curb demand. "Oil prices are being whipsawed by a number of drivers in Q4 2022," said Commonwealth Bank commodities analyst Vivek Dhar in a note. Upward pressure though is coming from OPEC+ supply cuts and imminent EU sanctions on seaborne imports of Russian oil and refined production." Global recession concerns and the potential for another aggressive U.S. rate hike were clouding the outlook for oil prices, said CMC Markets analyst Leon Li. "Therefore, oil prices would return to a downtrend after a short-term rebound," he said.

☆ Australia's jobs engine brakes in Sept, supports slower rate hikes
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( Wayne Cole | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

SYDNEY, Oct 20 (Reuters) - Australian employment posted a disappointingly small rise in September in a hint that a very tight labour market might finally be loosening, lessening pressure for faster increases in interest rates. The miss on jobs supports the Reserve Bank of Australia's (RBA) decision this month to slow the pace of rate hikes to quarter-point moves, having already lifted rates by 250 basis points since May. The jobless rate held near 48-year lows at 3.5% in September, while the participation was just off record highs at 66.6%. This is a major reason why markets fully expect another rate rise of 25 basis points in November. The RBA has argued it can afford to go slower than the Fed since wages in Australia are growing at half the pace of those in the United States, even with a very tight labour market.

☆ Soaring food prices push UK inflation back to 40-year high
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, Oct 19 (Reuters) - The biggest jump in food prices since 1980 pushed British inflation back into double digits last month, matching a 40-year high hit in July in a new blow for households grappling with the cost-of-living crisis. The Office for National Statistics said the consumer price index (CPI) increased by 10.1% in annual terms in September. Hotel prices also increased in September, the ONS said. "Today's release highlights the danger that underlying inflation remains strong even as the economy weakens," said Paul Dales, chief UK economist at consultancy Capital Economics. He pointed to rising core inflation, a measure that excludes volatile food and energy prices, which hit a new 30-year high of 6.5%.

☆ FOREX Dollar holds near 32-year peak vs yen despite intervention risks; sterling licks wounds
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-19 | by ( Kevin Buckland | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The dollar pushed as high as 149.395 yen overnight for the first time since August 1990, before last trading at 149.305 in the Asian session. read moreThe dollar index - which measures the currency against six peers including the yen, sterling and euro - added 0.2% to 112.19, after dropping to the lowest since Oct. 6 at 111.76 overnight. Meanwhile, sterling was little changed at $1.1318, licking its wounds after a 0.34% decline in the previous session. Economists in a Reuters poll predict another 75 basis-point rate hike from the European Central Bank on Thursday of next week. The currency last traded 0.08% higher at $0.56905, close to the previous session's two-week high of $0.5719.

☆ Oil prices rise as investors seek riskier assets and on China demand outlook
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-19 | by ( Isabel Kua | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Oil prices were also buoyed as risk sentiment was lifted by upbeat U.S. corporate earnings and rising equity markets. That is equal to about 104 million barrels. The EU's sanctions on Russian crude and oil products will take effect in December and February, respectively. read moreIn December, the administration plans to sell 15 million barrels of oil from its reserves, the final tranche of the 180 million barrels release announced earlier this year, a senior U.S. official said. Gasoline inventories declined by about 2.2 million barrels while distillate stockpiles dropped by 1.1 million, the sources said.

☆ Dollar firm near 32-peak vs yen despite intervention risks; sterling treads water
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-19 | by ( Kevin Buckland | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The euro hovered close to a two-week high. read moreThe dollar, which currently reigns as the safe-haven currency of choice, has sagged this week amid the bear rally in equities globally following some upbeat earnings. read moreThe euro was about flat at $0.9857, hanging just under Tuesday's high of $0.98755, a level last seen on Oct. 6. read moreThe New Zealand dollar remained elevated following Tuesday's blowout consumer price data, which raises expectations for continued aggressive tightening by the Reserve Bank. The currency last traded 0.19% higher at $0.5695, close to the previous session's two-week high of $0.5719.

☆ Most Asian shares extend rally, markets await UK inflation data
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-19 | by ( Stella Qiu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) edged up 0.2%, but further gains were capped by slight falls in Chinese shares. Japan's Nikkei (.N225) advanced 0.4%, Australia's resources-heavy shares (.AXJO) gained 0.4%, while South Korea (.KS11) rebounded 0.5%. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterU.S. S&P 500 futures rose 0.8% and the Nasdaq futures jumped 1.3%. Netflix Inc (NFLX.O) reversed customer losses that had hammered its stock this year and projected more growth ahead, sending shares 14% higher in after-hours trading. Chris Turner, global head of markets at ING, said a quiet week for U.S. data could also see the dollar correction extend a little.

☆ Oil prices rise on supply woes
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-19 | by ( Isabel Kua | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

read moreThe OPEC+ production cut, which comes ahead of a European Union embargo on Russian oil, will squeeze supply in an already tight market. The European Union's sanctions on Russian crude and oil products will take effect in December and February, respectively. To plug the gap, the Biden administration is planning to release more oil from the SPR to dampen fuel prices before next month's congressional elections. read moreIn December, the administration plans to sell 15 million barrels of oil from its reserves, the remainder of the 180 million barrels release announced earlier this year, a senior U.S. official said. In Europe, EU's emergency oil stocks, including crude oil and petroleum products, recovered slightly in July after two coordinated releases drained the levels to a record low in June, but were still 3.7% lower than in July 2021, the bloc's statistic office said on Tuesday.

☆ UK house prices rise 13.6% y/y in August
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Oct 19 (Reuters) - British house prices increased by 13.6% year-on-year in August, the Office for National Statistics said on Wednesday. House price growth slowed from a 16% surge in July which reflected how prices in the same month last year were hit by the end of a tax break for home-buyers. A Reuters poll published in August showed the surge in British house prices is expected to end next year as the cost-of-living crisis and rising interest rates put the brakes on the market. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Ana Nicolaci da Costa; Editing by William SchombergOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Column: Wet, windy & mild weather wanted this winter in Europe
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-19 | by ( Gavin Maguire | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterBut helping to offset that has been increased pollution across Europe, where power producers and industry have scrambled to replace reduced Russian natural gas supplies with high-emitting coal and liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports. European natural gas imports by main sourceImporters have managed to replenish natural gas stockpiles to try to prepare for greater heating demand later this year, but power producers will be relieved by the curtailed demand for warmth so far. Weather forecasts deteriorate in accuracy farther out, but historically it is clear that the winter months tend to generate more wind power than other seasons. So power producers will also be hoping for blustery conditions to kick in, especially in wind-heavy economies like Germany, which in 2021 got roughly 20% of its electricity from wind power, according to data from BP. For European citizens, wet and windy weather may not sound like the ideal conditions for a comfortable winter.

☆ New Zealand Q3 inflation smashes expectations, boosts case for hawkish hikes
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( Lucy Craymer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Annual inflation ran at 7.2% in the third quarter, sitting just below a three-decade high, Statistics New Zealand said in a statement on Tuesday. Inflation slowed slightly from 7.3% in the second quarter but far outpaced expectations in a Reuters poll for a 6.6% annual rise. "With the RBNZ having the inflation bit between its teeth, all options are likely to remain on the table." Smith said they had changed their OCR forecast and were now expecting a 75-basis-point rate hike in November, and two further 50 bp rate hikes in February and April 2023. Statistics New Zealand added that annual non-tradable inflation - products made in New Zealand for domestic consumption - rose 6.6%, the highest since it began tracking that data in June 2002.

☆ EXCLUSIVE China's state banks seen acquiring dollars in swaps market to stabilise yuan - sources
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Six banking sources told Reuters the country's major state-owned banks were spotted swapping yuan for U.S. dollars in the forwards market and selling those dollars in the spot market, a playbook move used by China in 2018 and 2019 as well. One of the sources noted the size of the dollar selling operation was "rather huge". "The big banks want to acquire dollar positions from the swap market to stabilise the spot market," said another source. State banks usually trade on behalf of the central bank in China's FX market, but they can also trade for their own purposes or execute orders for their corporate clients. At the same time, the move helps state banks to procure dollars at a time when rising U.S. yields have made dollars scarce and expensive.

☆ Asia shares ease, major test looms for UK bonds
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-17 | by ( Wayne Cole | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Concerns about financial stability added to the corrosive mix with all eyes on UK bonds, now that the Bank of England's (BoE's) emergency buying spree is over. "Monday's market action will provide a test, not only for the survival of Truss' low-tax vision, but also her political future." Sterling was quoted up 0.4% at $1.1219 , but off the early high with trading sparse in Asia. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) eased 1.2% and back toward last week's 2-1/2 year low. In currency markets, the dollar remains king as investors price in U.S. rates peaking around 5%.

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