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☆ Here are Thursday's biggest analyst calls: Nvidia, Apple, Amazon, Splunk, Peloton, Rivian, AMC & more
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-24 | by ( Michael Bloom | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Goldman Sachs reiterates Nvidia as buy Goldman said it's standing by it's buy rating after Nvidia's strong earnings report on Wednesday. Stifel upgrades Nvidia to buy from hold Stifel upgraded the stock after its strong earnings report Wednesday. Bank of America upgrades Williams-Sonoma to neutral from underperform Bank of America said that the downside scenario is now "off the table" for Williams-Sonoma. Bank of America downgrades Vizio to underperform from buy Bank of America double downgraded the stock on concerns about a weakening consumer. Bank of America downgrades Peloton to neutral from buy Bank of America said it sees "limited visibility on growth initiatives" for Peloton .

Persons: Needham, Rivian, it's, Oppenheimer, Goldman Sachs, Goldman, Morgan Stanley, Wedbush, Johnson, Splunk, Raymond James, Piper Sandler, Piper, Wolfe, Charles Schwab, Bernstein, Estee Lauder, Snowflake, Rosenblatt, Read Organizations: Nvidia, Center, Stifel, AMC, Bank of America, underperform Bank of America, Williams, Sonoma, Vizio, Johnson, Prudential, DFS, ADI Locations: CY2024, Williams, Sonoma, Snowflake

REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsWASHINGTON, Aug 21 (Reuters) - PayPal's (PYPL.O) stablecoin is likely to succeed where Facebook's failed, thanks to the payment giant's standing in Washington and policymakers' greater understanding of the issues in the last three years. "From a policy perspective, there is a seismic difference between Facebook's Libra and PayPal's stablecoin," said Isaac Boltansky, director of policy research for brokerage BTIG. Dan Dolev, a senior analyst at Mizuho, said PayPal USD is not a game-changer for PayPal investors. When Facebook unveiled Libra, a stablecoin whose operations were based in Switzerland and which was pegged to a basket of currencies, executives made no secret of their ambitions. Facebook rebranded Libra, scaled it back and moved the project to the United States, in a bid to win U.S. regulatory approval.

Persons: Fabrizio Bensch, stablecoin, Facebook's, Christopher Giancarlo, PayPal's, Isaac Boltansky, Dan Schulman, Dan Dolev, Maxine Waters, Joe Biden's, Janet Yellen, Yellen, TerraUSD, stablecoins, There's, Jack Fletcher, Patrick McHenry, Hannah Lang, Andrea Shalal, Pete Schroeder, Niket, Michelle Price, Matthew Lewis Organizations: PayPal, REUTERS, Rights, U.S ., Facebook, U.S . Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Federal Reserve, Meta, Paxos Trust, New York State Department of Financial Services, Mizuho, Financial Services, Treasury, Congress, prudential, Republican, Thomson Locations: Berlin, Germany, Washington, U.S, Switzerland, United States, transact, stablecoins, Bengaluru

☆ Insight: Insurers poised for US break on investment losses from high rates
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-14 | by ( Koh Gui Qing | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

A negative IMR forces insurers to tap pots of money they would have otherwise spent on their business or returned to shareholders. Among those insurers are Prudential Financial (PRU.N), OneAmerica Financial Partners, Principal Financial (PFG.O) and Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company, according to Fitch. That compares to $1.8 billion in net fixed income-related losses Prudential recorded in 2022. They do not give banks the option of deferring interest rate-related losses, fearing excesses that led to the 2008 financial crisis. DEFERRING LOSSESFollowing the rule change, insurers will be allowed to amortize interest rate-related losses over time equivalent to 10% of their statutory surplus.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Fitch, Edward Stone, Stone, Ken Tanji, MassMutual, OneAmerica, Steven Zabel, Zabel, Koh Gui Qing, David French, Greg Roumeliotis, Anna Driver Organizations: Prudential Financial, REUTERS, SEATTLE, Sunday, National Association of Insurance, Reuters, Federal Reserve, OneAmerica Financial Partners, Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance, Prudential, Silicon Valley Bank, First Republic Bank, Insurance, American Council of, Equitable Holdings, MetLife, U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, SEC, MassMutual, OneAmerica, Financial, Unum, Thomson Locations: United States, U.S, Seattle, Fitch, Silicon, New York

☆ Are U.S. seniors among the developed world's poorest? It depends on your point of view
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-05 | by ( Greg Iacurci | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Peopleimages | E+ | Getty ImagesIs old-age income poverty too high? Consider this thought exercise: What is a tolerable poverty rate among American seniors? This ranks the U.S. behind 30 other countries in the 38-member bloc, which collectively has an average poverty rate of 13.1%. That old-age income poverty rate has declined by over two-thirds in the past five decades, according to the Congressional Research Service. Researchers seem to agree that a looming Social Security funding shortfall is perhaps the most pressing issue facing U.S. seniors.

Persons: Andrew Reilly, Reilly, Mitchell, David Blanchett, —, Zhe Li, Joseph Dalaker, hurtling, Olivia Mitchell, Blanchett Organizations: Organization for Economic Co, U.S, Employment, Labour, Social Affairs, Social Security, OECD, Security, Census, Congressional Research Service, CRS, Prudential Financial, Social, Insurance Trust Fund, Olivia Mitchell University of Pennsylvania, Pension Research, Social Security Administration Locations: U.S, Mexico, that's, PGIM, American

☆ Insurer Prudential Financial's profit rises on strong gains in U.S. unit
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Prudential Financial Inc logo is seen displayed in this illustration taken, April 10, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File PhotoAug 1 (Reuters) - Prudential Financial (PRU.N) on Tuesday reported a 21.5% rise in second-quarter adjusted profit as the insurer's U.S. unit benefited from a higher net investment spread and more favorable underwriting. Its U.S. businesses reported adjusted operating income of $956 million for the second quarter, compared with $573 million a year ago. Prudential's assets under management were roughly flat at $1.4 trillion in the second quarter. Prudential said it returned $713 million to shareholders in the second quarter, including $250 million of share repurchases and $463 million of dividends.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Charles Lowrey, Manya Saini, Devika Organizations: Prudential Financial, REUTERS, Investment, Prudential, Thomson Locations: U.S, Ukraine, Bengaluru

☆ Morning Bid: August cools Wall St stocks
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

China's factory underperformance stood out once again and underlined its struggling recovery - perhaps the main driver of stalling industrial activity everywhere. With markets increasingly impatient at the patchy and underwhelming economic stimulus plans seen from Beijing so far, China stocks fell back (.CSI300), bucking Tuesday's wider Asia stocks rally. Sterling and UK stocks (.FTMC) fell back. Ride-hailing giant Uber's stock rose more than 2% before the bell and ahead of its earnings report. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

Persons: Mike Dolan, underperformance, Austan Goolsbee, Goolbee, Stanley Black, Decker, Zimmer Biomet, Revvity, Bernadette Baum Organizations: Federal Reserve, U.S ., Chicago Fed, Bank of England, Sterling, AMD, Caterpillar, Big Pharma, Pfizer, Merck, Ride, HSBC, BP, Uber, Prudential Financial, AIG, Starbucks, Molson Coors, Boston Properties, Caesars Entertainment, Illinois Tool, Natural Resources, Energy, Devon Energy, Gartner, Allstate, Paycom Software, Electronic, WEC, Rockwell, Public Service Enterprise, P Global, Dallas Fed, Chicago Federal, Reuters Graphics Reuters, Reuters, Thomson Locations: U.S, Wall, Beijing, China, Asia, ., Marathon, Eaton, Altria, Marriott, Illinois, Progressive

☆ Factbox: China's measures to slow yuan depreciation
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Coins and banknotes of China's yuan are seen in this illustration picture taken February 24, 2022. The informal instruction, or the so-called window guidance, was meant to slow the pace of yuan depreciation, the sources said. China's yuan has lost 3.6% against the dollar to 7.16 per dollar, becoming one of the worst performing Asian currencies. ** July 20, 2023China's major state-owned banks were seen selling dollars to buy yuan in the offshore spot market in early Asian trades, sources with direct knowledge of the matter said. ** June 29, 2023China's major state-owned banks were seen selling dollars for yuan in the onshore spot foreign exchange market, sources with knowledge of the matter said.

Persons: Florence Lo, Winni Zhou, Vidya Ranganathan, Susan Fenton Organizations: REUTERS, People's Bank of China, prudential, Reuters, Thomson Locations: China

☆ On tap this week: Jobs report plus 10 key earnings. Here's what we want to see
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-29 | by ( Zev Fima | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +18 min

All three major averages advanced for the week, powered by strong mega-cap earnings and favorable inflation data. Looking to next week, earnings season enters its second half with the last of our mega-caps — Apple (AAPL) and Amazon (AMZN) — set to report on Thursday. We'll get a better read on the employment picture on Wednesday with the ADP report and then, more importantly, on Friday's nonfarm payrolls report for July. Thursday after the close brings us to the main events of the week: Earnings from Apple and Amazon. For those looking to review first quarter performance ahead of these releases, be sure to keep our first-quarter earnings report card handy.

Persons: We'll, that's, Stanley Black, Decker, Emerson, Bausch, Leggett, Platt, SIRI, Ares, COLM, PERI, Kraft Heinz, Phillips, Ferrari N.V, Johnson, Robinson, COOK, BUD, Kellogg, Papa, Pitney Bowes, Parker, Trimble, Ziff Davis, Nonfarm, Jim Cramer's, Jim Cramer, Jim, Apple Tim Cook, Kevin Dietsch Organizations: Nasdaq, Dow, Federal Reserve, Federal, ISM Manufacturing, Services PMI, Investors, Caterpillar, Devices, Starbucks, Natural Resources, AMD, Management, Emerson Electric and, Humana, Bausch Health, Apple, Microsoft, Resource Partners, AerCap Holdings, CNA Financial Corp, CNA, Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Bank, SJW, Hutchison China MediTech, Camtek Ltd, Silvercrest Asset Management, Loews Corp, Oxford Lane Capital Corp, Banco Santander, Silicom Ltd, SuperCom Ltd, Arista Networks, Avis Budget Group, Diamondback Energy, Lattice Semiconductor Corp, Republic Services, Yum China Holdings, Western Digital Corp, Power Systems, Tenet Healthcare Corp, Vornado Realty, BioMarin Pharmaceutical, PetMed, SBA Communications Corporation, Brixmor, Snack Foods Corp, Cushman & Wakefield, Sanmina Corporation, TFI, PMI, Cruise Line Holdings Ltd, Uber Technologies, Pfizer, Enterprise Products Partners, Merck, JetBlue Airways Corporation, Allegro MicroSystems, Altria, SunPower Corp, SiriusXM Holdings, Molson Coors Beverage, Marriott International, Toyota Motor Corp, BP, SYSCO Corp, Marathon Petroleum Corp, Ares Management, Equitrans Midstream Corporation, Game Technology, Illinois Tool, IDEXX Laboratories, Rockwell Automation, Packaging International Corp, Gartner, Zebra Technologies Corp, IQVIA Holdings, Oshkosh Corporation, Leidos Holdings, Eaton Corp, yte Corp, Lear Corp, Starbucks Corp, Devon Energy Corp, SolarEdge Technologies, Lumen Technologies, Virgin Galactic Holdings, Caesars Entertainment, VF Corp, Sciences Corp, Paycom, Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Suncor Energy, Holdings, Chesapeake Energy Corp, Boston Properties, American International Group, AIG, Allstate Corp, Aspen Technology, Electronic Arts, EA, Flowserve Corporation, Denny's, Corp, Prudential Financial, Store, Ternium S.A, Vimeo, Emerson, Lomb, CVS Health, Generac Holdings, Cameco Corp, Perion Network Ltd, Builders, Carlyle Group, Scorpio, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, Ltd, Rithm Capital Corp, AeroSystems Holdings, Vertiv Holdings Co, Johnson Controls, CDW Corp, DuPont, Brands Holdings, Scotts Miracle, Gro, SMG, Brands, Allegheny Technologies, AmerisourceBergen Corporation, ABC, Real Estate Corporation, Adient plc, Editas, Garmin Ltd, WWE, Bunge Ltd, Criteo S.A, PayPal, QUALCOMM, Occidental Petroleum Corp, Apache Corp, Albemarle Corp, MGM Resorts International, MGM, Marathon Oil Corp, Joby Aviation, Industrial, CF Industries Holdings, Goodyear Tire &, Realty ome Corp, Metlife, Pacific Biosciences of, Rush Street Interactive, Zillow, JFrog Ltd, Herbalife Nutrition Ltd, Simon Property Group, McKesson Corp, Storage, Cerus Corporation, GXO Logistics, MAX Holdings, Health, Anheuser, Busch InBev, Warner Bros ., Cheniere Energy, ConocoPhillips, Hasbro, CIGNA Corp, Lantheus Holdings, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Fiverr International, Air Products & Chemicals, TopBuild Corp, EPAM Systems, Lightspeed Commerce, Aurinia Pharmaceuticals, Cummins, CMI, Slair Corporation, Starwood Property Trust, Vulcan, Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, New Energy Corp, Cedar Fair Entertainment, Intellia Therapeutics, Lending, Privia Health, Dickinson, Chimera Investment, CIM, Hyatt Hotels Corp, Lion Electric, LEV, Deluxe Corp, Murphy Oil Corp, PBF Energy, Papa John's, Targa Resources Corp, Wix.com Ltd, Apollo Global Management, LLC, Butterfly, Sempra Energy, Aptiv PLC, Brookfield Infrastructure Partners, Canada Goose Holdings, Hannifin Corporation, WESCO International, WCC, Arrow Electronics, Constellation Energy Group, Midstream Partners, Coinbase, Petroleo Brasileiro SA Petrobras, Gilead Sciences, Opendoor Technologies, Booking Holdings, Atlassian Corporation, International, Redfin Corporation, Motorola Solutions, Monster Beverage Corporation, Consolidated Edison, Rocket Companies, Apple Hospitality, Cirrus, Resources, Universal Display Corporation, Chesapeake Utilities Corp, Social, Defense, Security Solutions, Post Holdings, Tandem Diabetes Care, Nikola Corporation, Magna International, Dominion Energy, ACM Research, Frontier Communications, Brookfield Renewable Partners, inTEST Corporation, American Pipeline, TELUS International, XPO Logistics, Fluor Corp, Gray Television, Cboe, LyondellBasell Industries, Twist Bioscience, Global, Jim Cramer's Charitable, CNBC, Allen & Company Sun Valley, Getty Locations: U.S, China, India, Oxford, Chile, Illinois, Columbia, Pacific, Pacific Biosciences of California, Southern, PBI, Gilead, Sun Valley , Idaho

SYDNEY, July 28 (Reuters) - Foreign bank lending to Australian office real estate hit a record high in the first quarter as overseas lenders continued to stump up cash for a struggling corner of the property market out of favour with local banks. The data does not identify individual banks, however a separate dataset covering overall corporate lending showed European, Japanese, Singaporean and Chinese banks had led the increase in foreign lending since 2019. Loans from Australia's biggest banks fell A$2.3 billion to A$83 billion over the same period, similar to levels in late 2021, the data showed. So, as Australian lenders have retreated to the relative safety of retail mortgages, foreign banks have stepped up. Sydney was the worst-performing major Asian office market in the first quarter, according to research from global property services firm Jones Lang LaSalle.

Persons: Jonathan Kearns, Kearns, Jones Lang LaSalle, Lewis Jackson, Stephen Coates Organizations: SYDNEY, prudential, Australia's, Challenger, Reserve Bank of Australia, Reuters, Sydney, Investment, Thomson Locations: Australia, Asia, Europe

☆ Senators spar over whether CFPB has the power to root out junk fees
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( Chelsey Cox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

The committee's first hearing comes as the Biden administration takes a range of steps to root out junk fees, which the CFPB says includes credit card late fees, overdraft fees and surcharges on ticket purchases. Among other actions, the agency recently fined Bank of America $150 million for charging its customers multiple overdraft fees. In his testimony, Brian Johnson, managing director of financial regulatory consultancy Patomak Global Partners, said the CFPB "has been the most enthusiastic among regulators" in targeting junk fees. Democrats argued the power to target junk fees fits within the CFPB's core duties. "And let's not forget, these are the same banks that are bankrolling the attacks on the CFPB," Warren added.

Persons: Biden, Sen, Thom Tillis, Brian Johnson, Johnson, Donald Trump, Elizabeth Warren, JP Morgan Chase, Warren, Wells, Michelle Henry, Henry, Raphael Warnock, Warnock Organizations: WASHINGTON, Financial, Biden, Bank of America, prudential, Consumer Protection, Patomak Global Partners, CNBC, Pennsylvania, Georgia Democrat Locations: Wells Fargo, Georgia

☆ The SEC wants corporate America to tell investors more about cybersecurity breaches and what's being done to fight them
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( Bob Pisani | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

The Securities and Exchange Commission wants corporate America to tell investors more about cybersecurity breaches and what's being done to fight them. The SEC has voted 3-2 to adopt new rules on cybersecurity disclosure. It will require public companies to disclose "material" cybersecurity breaches within 4 days after a determination that an incident was material. Corporate America is pushing back, claiming that the short announcement period is unreasonable, and that it would require public disclosure that could harm corporations and be exploited by cybercriminals. Current cybersecurity rules are fuzzyCurrent rules on when a company needs to report a cybersecurity event are fuzzy.

Persons: Gary Gensler, Hope, cybersecurity, CISA, SIFMA, Gensler, Jensen Organizations: Securities, Exchange Commission, SEC, Corporate America, Federal Register, prudential, Securities Industry, Financial Markets Association, Industry, NYSE Group, Nasdaq, FBI, Infrastructure Security Agency, Department of Homeland Security, Williams Locations: America

☆ Australia’s $2.5 trln pension stash is one to envy
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( Antony Currie | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

Sure, mining giant BHP (BHP.AX) has its headquarters in Australia’s second-most populous city, it’s a self-anointed coffee capital and boasts top-notch restaurants. Two other factors have capital-hungry institutions knocking on super funds’ doors. This is especially true of so-called industry funds that are mutually owned and initially catered to specific sectors such as higher education employees or hospitality workers. Daniel Andrews, premier of Victoria, has earmarked industry super funds as minority investors in a state-run plan to build renewable energy plants. Recent ructions in real estate have prompted some super funds to reassess whether the risk and complexity are justified.

Persons: dwarfing, AustralianSuper, California’s CalPERS, London’s, Paul Schroder, Hostplus, Anthony, Daniel Andrews, Breakingviews, outsized, Peter Thal Larsen, Thomas Shum Organizations: MELBOURNE, Reuters, Australian Stock Exchange, Association, Retirement, Canada, Plan Investment Board, Prudential Regulation Authority, APRA, Coal, IFM, Vienna Airport, KPMG, Reuters Graphics, Australian, Trust, Macquarie, Victorian State Department of, UniSuper, Sydney Airport, Victoria, Blackstone, CVC, Thomson Locations: Hong Kong, Melbourne, Australia’s, it’s, Australia, Heathrow, Edinburgh, Europe, United States, Indiana, New York, London

☆ UBS agrees to pay $388 million over Credit Suisse's Archegos failings
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ZURICH, July 24 (Reuters) - UBS (UBSG.S) has been ordered to pay $388 million to British and U.S. regulators over Credit Suisse's dealings with private investment firm Archegos Capital Management, the Swiss bank said on Monday. The settlement is the first of several that UBS could have to pay after it last month closed its takeover of Credit Suisse, which was involved in a number of legal battles. Under the agreement, UBS is to pay the U.S. Federal Reserve $268.5 million and the UK's Prudential Regulation Authority 87 million pounds ($111.6 million). Reports ahead of time had suggested the U.S. regulator would impose a penalty of up to $300 million and the UK regulator would fine UBS up to 100 million pounds over the bank's dealings with Archegos. ($1 = 0.7797 pounds)Reporting by Noele Illien and John Revill; Editing by Jan HarveyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Noele Illien, John Revill, Jan Harvey Organizations: UBS, Archegos Capital Management, Credit Suisse, U.S . Federal, Prudential, Archegos, Thomson Locations: ZURICH, U.S, Swiss

☆ Aussie surges after strong jobs data; China's yuan jumps
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-20 | by ( Rae Wee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

"Ultimately, it's another strong set of employment figures which keeps the pressure on a data-dependant (Reserve Bank of Australia) to potentially hike rates in August." The offshore yuan last bought 7.1901 per dollar, while the onshore yuan strengthened past 7.18 per dollar to a session-high of 7.1620. RATES OUTLOOKIn the broader currency market, sterling was nursing deep losses after a sharp fall in the previous session following Britain's inflation data, which undershot market expectations. "The market I think is a bit more reasonable now with its expectations for rate hikes by the BoE. "We thought (the fall) was too strong, so it looks like the dollar has regained some of those losses," said CBA's Capurso.

Persons: David Gray, Matt Simpson, it's, Ken Cheung, BoE, Joseph Capurso, Yannis Stournaras, CBA's Capurso, Rae Wee, Sam Holmes, Jamie Freed Organizations: REUTERS, Australian, New Zealand, Bank of Australia, prudential, U.S ., People's Bank of, Mizuho Bank, Bank of England, Traders, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Central Bank, U.S, Thomson Locations: Sydney, Australia, SINGAPORE, China, Asia

☆ Fed banking regulator warns A.I. could lead to illegal lending practices like excluding minorities
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( Jeff Cox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Michael Barr, vice chair for supervision of the board of governors of the Federal Reserve, testifies during a House Committee on Financial Services hearing on Oversight of Prudential Regulators, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on May 16, 2023. The Federal Reserve's top banking regulator expressed caution Tuesday about the impact that artificial intelligence can have on efforts to make sure underserved communities have fair access to housing. Michael S. Barr, the Fed's vice chair for supervision, said AI technology has the potential to get credit to "people who otherwise can't access it." As an example, he said AI can be manipulated to perform "digital redlining," which can result in majority-minority communities being denied access to credit and housing opportunities. Barr said work being done by the Fed and other regulators on the Community Reinvestment Act will be focused on making sure underserved communities have equal access to credit.

Persons: Michael Barr, Michael S, Barr Organizations: Federal, Financial, Prudential Regulators, Capitol, National Fair Housing Alliance, Community Locations: Washington ,

☆ US securities regulator 'disappointed' with defeat over Ripple's XRP
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON, July 17 (Reuters) - The head of the U.S. securities regulator said Monday the agency was "disappointed" with a judge's recent ruling that Ripple Labs Inc did not violate federal securities laws in a major blow to its efforts to rein in the cryptocurrency sector. The SEC has sued a number of crypto firms in recent months, arguing that most crypto tokens are securities that should be registered with the agency. AI could also amplify the world financial system's interconnectedness, something for which current risk management models may not be prepared, Gensler said. "Many of the challenges to financial stability that AI may pose in the future ... will require new thinking on system-wide or macro-prudential policy interventions." Gensler's remarks echoed statements he has made in recent months on managing risks created by the use of AI in finance.

Persons: Gary Gensler, Gensler, Gensler's, We've, It's, Douglas Gillison, Andrea Shallal, Hannah Lang, Matthew Lewis, David Evans, Nick Zieminski Organizations: Ripple Labs, U.S . Securities, Exchange, SEC, prudential, Thomson Locations: cryptocurrency, U.S, Washington

☆ S.Korea c.bank warns of financial stability risk as debts rise
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SEOUL, July 17 (Reuters) - South Korea's central bank said on Monday there was a need to manage financial stability in addition to price risks as the country's high household debts have started to climb. "In terms of monetary policy, it should consider financial stability more actively to prevent excessive leveraging or risky asset investments when monetary policy is loose," the Bank of Korea (BOK) said in a report. "There is a need to discuss introducing a 'prudential monetary policy' with higher consideration on financial stability, in addition to price stability," the central bank said. The central bank said in the report there was limited financial stability risk from household debt, given the low loan-to-value ratio and the high percentage of high-income earners, but it flagged negative long-term implications on growth and inequality. The BOK has kept monetary policy unchanged since its last interest rate hike in January and its tightening campaign, which began in August 2021, is widely expected to be over.

Persons: BOK, Jihoon Lee, Jacqueline Wong Organizations: Bank of Korea, prudential, Bank for International Settlements, Thomson Locations: SEOUL, Switzerland, Australia

☆ Australian bank ANZ breaks from rivals by backing loan buffer
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-12 | by ( Byron Kaye | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

ANZ's three larger rivals have started considering lending without applying the 3% buffer, saying it is disadvantaging some borrowers. "Of course we should build in buffers," ANZ CEO Shayne Elliott told parliament in a regular hearing the country's main bank bosses are required to attend. Even first home buyers who bought soon before the rate hikes, the category most exposed to higher repayments, "are performing remarkably well", Elliott said. People coming off low fixed-rate mortgages, facing far higher variable rates, were "less stressed than the average customer," he added. ($1 = 1.4939 Australian dollars)Reporting by Byron Kaye; Editing by Stephen CoatesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Shayne Elliott, Elliott, They're, it's, Byron Kaye, Stephen Coates Organizations: SYDNEY, ANZ Group, Prudential Regulation Authority, APRA, ANZ, Thomson

☆ World Bank names CEOs to help bring private funds to climate, development finance
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-10 | by ( David Lawder | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, July 10 (Reuters) - The World Bank on Monday named 15 chief executive officers including financiers and asset managers to a group launched by the lender's president, Ajay Banga, aiming to marshal more private capital to combat climate change and boost investment in developing countries. Banga announced the initiative at a global finance summit in Paris last month alongside Mark Carney, the U.N. special envoy on climate action, and Shriti Vadera, chair of Prudential Plc (PRU.L). The World Bank and the CEOs will work "to develop, test, implement and ultimately scale financing structures that can most effectively mobilize private capital," Carney said in a statement. He said in a statement that the Private Investment Lab CEOs were a "crucial piece of the puzzle" to devise ways to pull more private sector investment into the intertwined challenges of poverty, climate and fragility. Reporting by David Lawder; Editing by Will Dunham and David GregorioOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Ajay Banga, Joe Biden, King Charles . Banga, Mark Carney, Shriti Vadera, Carney, Thomas Buberl, Larry Fink, BlackRock, Noel Quinn, Hendrik du Toit, Jessica Tan, Sim Tshabalala, Bill Winters, Dilhan, Mark Gallogly, Banga, David Lawder, Will Dunham, David Gregorio Our Organizations: Bank, Investment, U.S, Prudential Plc, World Bank, AXA, HSBC, Shemara, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial, Ping An, Royal Philips, Standard Bank, Standard Chartered, Sustainable Energy, Tata Sons, Temasek, Cairns, Mastercard, Private Investment, Thomson Locations: Britain, Paris, Macquarie, Banga

☆ UK's FTSE 100 flat as energy gains offset mining losses; real estate stocks tumble
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SummaryCompanies FTSE 100 flat, FTSE 250 off 0.4%July 10 (Reuters) - UK's FTSE 100 was subdued on Monday, as gains in energy firms outpaced losses in mining stocks, after weak Chinese economic data rekindled slowing demand concerns, while real estate stocks slumped on a bearish call from HSBC. By 0718 GMT, the blue-chip FTSE 100 (.FTSE) was flat, while the more domestically-focussed FTSE 250 midcap index (.FTMC) fell 0.4%. Industrial metal miners (.FTNMX551020) lost 0.8%, tracking a fall in most base metal prices. A bearish note from HSBC on UK real estate weighed on the sector, pushing down the real estate investment trusts (REITs) (.FTNMX351020) 1.2% and real estate (.FTUB3510) 1.1%. Heavyweight energy stocks (.FTNMX601010) added 0.8%.

Persons: Shashwat Chauhan, Dhanya Ann Thoppil Organizations: HSBC, Prudential, Thomson Locations: China, Bengaluru

☆ JPMorgan names 'cheap' global sectors set to outperform — here are some of its stock picks
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-07 | by ( Lucy Handley | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

JPMorgan listed a number of global sectors it says have cheap valuations and "overweight" ratings — referring to the industries it expects to outperform over the next six to 12 months. In a July 3 research note to investors, it picked European telecoms as a "cheap" sector that it is overweight on. In its European "value" basket, telecoms companies included Vodafone and Nokia , while its European "growth" basket included Dutch firm KPN . Energy stocks in JPMorgan's European value basket included Repsol and Siemens Energy , and it included Finnish oil refiner Neste and Norway-based Equinor in its European growth basket. Staples in its European value basket included British grocer Tesco and Swiss chocolate company Lindt & Spruengli .

Persons: Mislav Matejka, Nephew, — CNBC's Michael Bloom Organizations: JPMorgan, Vodafone, Nokia, Energy, Siemens Energy, Staples, Tesco, Banks, WPP, Diageo, GSK, Smith, Prudential, Standard Chartered Locations: Norway, Swiss

☆ National Australia Bank to change home loan refinancing criteria
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

July 7 (Reuters) - National Australia Bank (NAB) (NAB.AX) on Friday said it would refresh its approach to like-for-like refinancing criteria to help customers who would otherwise fail to meet an industry standard that assesses their ability to repay loans. Last month, top lender Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA.AX) cut its buffer rate for some borrowers refinancing their existing home loan to 1% from the industry standard of 3%. After NAB, ANZ Group Holdings (ANZ.AX) is the only bank left among the top four to ease refinancing loans criteria for customers unable to meet APRA standard. NAB said the changes to its refinancing criteria will apply from July 21, but added that it will take a "case-by-case" approach when assessing appropriate serviceability. Reporting by Himanshi Akhand and Sameer Manekar in Bengaluru; Editing by Varun H KOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Himanshi Akhand, Sameer Manekar, Varun Organizations: National Australia Bank, NAB, Reuters, The, Prudential Regulation Authority, APRA, Reserve Bank, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Westpac Banking Corp, ANZ Group Holdings, ANZ, Thomson Locations: Bengaluru

☆ UK FTSE 100 at three-month low as rate hike worries grip; Currys slumps
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-06 | by ( Shashwat Chauhan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The blue-chip FTSE 100 (.FTSE) fell 1.2%, hitting its lowest level since March 24. Currys (CURY.L) tumbled 13.3% to its lowest level in more than 20 years after the electricals retailer reported a 38% slump in full-year profit. The commodity-heavy UK benchmark has been underperforming its peers this year amid volatility in resource prices over an uncertain global outlook. Among individual stocks, United Utilities (UU.L) climbed 1.8% after Morgan Stanley raised the water utility firm's rating to "overweight" from "equal-weight." Reporting by Shashwat Chauhan in Bengaluru; Editing by Dhanya Ann ThoppilOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: tanked, Chris Beauchamp, Beauchamp, Morgan Stanley, Shashwat Chauhan, Dhanya Ann Thoppil Organizations: United Utilities, P, FTSE, U.S, U.S . Federal, IG Group, HSBC, Standard Chartered, Prudential, CAB, Thomson Locations: China, U.S, U.S ., Bengaluru

☆ Chinese rush to buy Hong Kong insurance, dollars as confidence cracks, yuan weakens
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

SHANGHAI/HONG KONG, July 6 (Reuters) - Chinese investors are rushing offshore to make dollar deposits and buy Hong Kong insurance in a signal domestic confidence is languishing and that the ailing yuan faces more pressure. New premiums collected on Hong Kong insurance policies leapt a staggering 2,686% to $9.6 billion in the first quarter of 2023. "The burst of insurance buying in Hong Kong reflects a gloomy domestic outlook, and worries about an uncertain future." "Offshore demand for policies denominated in Hong Kong dollars is low – U.S. dollar-denominated policies are more prevalent, to provide access to global asset allocation," said Lawrence Lam, chief executive officer at Prudential Hong Kong. The wealth manager at Noah fears that a sustained rush into Hong Kong insurance risks inviting Beijing's policy tightening.

Persons: Helen Zhao, lurch, Noah Holdings, Lawrence Lam, Hao Hong, Tan Xiaofen, We've, Sami Abouzahr, Samuel Shen, Winni Zhou, Georgina Lee, Summer Zhen, Tom Westbrook, Kim Coghill Organizations: Hong, AIA, HK, Prudential, Manulife, Noah Holdings, Savings, Bank of China, U.S, Prudential Hong Kong, Investment, School of Economics, Management, Beihang University, HSBC, Thomson Locations: SHANGHAI, HONG KONG, Hong Kong, Macau, COVID, U.S, Beijing

☆ China's choice of PBOC party chief signals financial stability worries
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-04 | by ( Kevin Yao | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The central bank did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment. Pan, central bank deputy governor since 2012 who turns 60 this month, is not expected to deviate from China's measured pace of policy easing to support the recovery, analysts said. "His professional ability will help safeguard the bottom line of systemic financial risks, especially as the property sector is slowing, and fend off a big systemic crisis." In an unexpected move, the ruling Communist Party appointed Pan as the central bank's party secretary on Saturday, taking over from Guo Shuqing. China has taken a series of steps this year to tighten party control over the country's vast, but largely closed, financial system, including plans to set up the Central Financial Commission to oversee the PBOC and other financial regulators.

Persons: Gongsheng, Jason Lee, Pan, Yi Gang, Gu Tianyong, Guo Shuqing, Yi, Yi's, Zhou Xiaochuan, Zhou, Xu Hongcai, Marius Zaharia, Jacqueline Wong Organizations: People's Bank of China, National People's Congress, REUTERS, outflows, Reuters, cryptocurrencies, prudential, Central University of Finance, Economics, Communist Party, Pan, Street, Cambridge University, Harvard University, Central Financial Commission, China Association of Policy, Thomson Locations: Beijing, China, BEIJING

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