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☆ Partnerships with China remain crucial, says ADB governors from Switzerland and Germany
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailPartnerships with China remain crucial, says ADB governors from Switzerland and GermanyAt the ADB Annual Meeting 2023, CNBC's Chery Kang caught up with ADB governors from Switzerland and Germany on their geopolitical strategy regarding China. Sri Mulyani Indrawati, Indonesia's finance minister, also spoke about the ASEAN+3 Finance Ministers' and Central Bank Governors' Meeting that happened on the sidelines of the ADB event.

Persons: CNBC's Chery Kang, Mulyani Organizations: ADB, ASEAN, Ministers, Central Bank Governors Locations: China, Switzerland, Germany

☆ Morning Bid: The ECB won't throw a curve ball
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

It's a given the ECB will deliver its eighth straight rate hike of 25 bps, and confirm that the pace of quantitative tightening will pick up. They might hike again in July and September, is the broad view, putting the inflation battle ahead of the growth slowdown. Macro forecasts are also due but are unlikely to change ECB President Christine Lagarde's determination and view that "there is no clear evidence that underlying inflation has peaked". Reuters GraphicsNever say never, but ING believes markets are "priced to perfection" for the ECB, with at least two rate rises, including Thursday's, in the price. In Asia, Japan's stock market (.N225) continued to scale fresh 33-year highs, while China's economy continued to underwhelm.

Persons: Vidya Ranganathan, It's, Christine Lagarde's, Jerome Powell, Hafize Gaye, Bank of England's Jon Cunliffe, Edmund Klamann Organizations: Vidya, European, ECB, ING, Fed, Bank of England's, Thomson Locations: U.S, Asia, China, Turkey, Brussels

☆ Exclusive: World Bank chief to 'push' its balance sheet, vows to protect 'AAA' rating
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-14 | by ( David Lawder | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The World Bank Group made total lending commitments of $104 billion last year. U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told Banga as he took office on June 2 that she wanted him to "get the most" from the World Bank's balance sheet. But Banga said he viewed the idea as largely unviable, because long-term project loans against liquid central bank assets could create a dangerous asset-liability maturity mismatch. Using "callable capital" -- funds pledged but not paid-in by rich countries that can be called on to back World Bank losses -- is another option, advocated in a G20 report on multilateral development bank capital adequacy. He said he hoped to be able to provide details on what the bank could do in this regard by the time of its annual meeting in October.

Persons: Ajay Banga, Banga, Janet Yellen, I'm, David Lawder, Kim Coghill Organizations: Reuters, Bank, AAA, World Bank Group, MasterCard, Treasury, World Bank, Thomson Locations: KINGSTON, Jamaica, Peru, Banga, U.S

☆ South Korea plans to discuss bilateral FX swap with Japan, finmin says
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SEOUL, June 8 (Reuters) - South Korea will discuss with Japan re-establishment of their bilateral foreign exchange swap line that expired in 2015, its finance minister said on Thursday. "Current economic issues, including bilateral and regional financial cooperation, will be discussed at the bilateral finance minister meeting on June 29," Minister Choo Kyung-ho said, adding that currency swap arrangement was also on the agenda. Choo was speaking at a discussion forum, in response to a reporter's question about the bilateral finance minister meeting between Japan and South Korea that is scheduled to be held in Tokyo. On the domestic economy, Choo said this year's economic growth would likely be "slightly lower" than the government's previous projection of 1.6%. He said the revision would be contained in the government's economic forecast due in late June or early July, when it releases its biannual policy plans.

Persons: Choo Kyung, Choo, Jihoon Lee, Shri Navaratnam, Simon Cameron, Moore Organizations: Thomson Locations: SEOUL, South Korea, Japan, Tokyo

☆ 'We are not decoupling': G-7 leaders agree on approach to 'de-risk' from China
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( Jihye Lee | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Chinese President Xi Jinping and hands with then U.S Vice President Joe Biden inside the Great Hall of the People on December 4, 2013 in Beijing, China. Leaders of the Group of Seven agreed there's a need to de-risk, not decouple from China, and acknowledged challenges posed by the mainland's practices which "distort the global economy." "We are not decoupling or turning inwards," the G-7 said in a joint statement released over the weekend as leaders met in Hiroshima, Japan. Leaders added, "We will seek to address the challenges posed by China's non-market policies and practices, which distort the global economy. Reiterating the stance, President Joe Biden said at a press conference on Sunday: "We're not looking to decouple from China, we're looking to de-risk and diversify our relationship with China.

☆ ECB eyes additional steps to tackle bank deposit risks
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The ECB said it was actively working with other global supervisors to understand which lessons could be learnt. "It may be beneficial to explore how factors such as high deposit base concentration and a predominant reliance on uninsured deposits could be dealt with in the Pillar 2 framework," the ECB said. The ECB can impose additional capital and liquidity requirements if it sees fit. It would use liquidity requirements to address liquidity risks. The Pillar 2 liquidity framework focuses on liquidity risks that are not fully addressed by Pillar 1 requirements: the Liquidity Coverage Ratio (LCR) and the Net Stable Funding Ratio (NSFR).

☆ G7 leaders gather on China's doorstep to seek unified response to Beijing
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Nectar Gan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

‘Economic coercion’Another important theme of the summit will be economic security, including how to counter China’s economic pressure tactics. As the G7 summit gets underway, Chinese officials will be closely watching from Beijing and will not hide their displeasure, experts say. In the lead-up to the summit, Beijing has already berated a statement by G7 foreign ministers. Similarly, Beijing also lashed out at accusations of its “economic coercion,” claiming it is the “victim of US economic coercion” rather than a perpetrator. And while China is not invited to Hiroshima, it is hosting its own summit with Central Asia countries, experts noted.

☆ New Zealand's finance chief denies pandering to voters' cost-of-living concerns
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Clement Tan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

New Zealand's finance minister has denied the country's new budget is aimed at placating voters ahead of the country's next general election in October. Asked if the budget was short-term thinking to spend and worry about inflation and high deficits later, Grant Robertson replied: "On no, we're absolutely doing both of those things at the same time." New Zealand is also not projected to return to surplus until 2025-2026, a year later than previously forecast. The Treasury sees inflation slowing to 3.3% by mid-2024, from the current blistering 6.7% pace. "We very much had in mind to making sure that this budget contributed to inflation coming down."

☆ Morning Bid: Europe has a data fest, and growth worries
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A look at the day ahead in European and global markets from Vidya RanganathanTuesday's a busy day for European markets. We get preliminary growth numbers for the euro zone, inflation in Italy, jobless data for Britain and, crucially, the German economic sentiment ZEW survey. No surprises are seen in euro zone GDP data - rather, analysts assume the tepid pace seen in the fourth quarter hasn't picked up. That leaves the German ZEW survey for May in the spotlight. UK labour market data is a biggie too for sterling this week, offering insight into the headline pay growth that the hawkish Bank of England is eyeing.

☆ World Leaders Warily Watch U.S. Debt-Limit Standoff
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Andrew Duehren | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

As Democrats and Republicans debate raising the debt ceiling, they both agree that a default would be disastrous for the economy. WSJ explains why U.S. debt has become the center of the economy. Photo Illustration: Madeline MarshallNIIGATA, Japan—World leaders, already struggling with inflation and rising interest rates, now face the battle over raising the U.S. debt limit as the latest risk to their economic outlook. The impasse in Washington over raising the roughly $31.4 trillion borrowing limit is looming over a series of meetings of the Group of Seven advanced democracies this month. At a gathering of G-7 finance ministers along the Sea of Japan last week, officials discussed the prospects for a debt-limit deal between President Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R., Calif.) alongside other global topics such as sanctions on Russia and ways to counter China.

☆ North Korean hackers stole $721 million in cryptocurrency from Japan - Nikkei
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

TOKYO, May 15 (Reuters) - Hacker groups affiliated with North Korea have stolen $721 million worth of cryptocurrency assets from Japan since 2017, the Nikkei business daily reported on Monday, citing a study by U.K. blockchain analysis provider Elliptic. The amount is equal to 30% of the total of such losses globally, the Nikkei reported. The report comes after Group of Seven finance ministers and central bank governors said in a statement on Saturday that they support measures to counter growing threats from illicit activities by state actors, such as the theft of crypto-assets. According to Elliptic, which conducted the analysis on behalf of the Japanese newspaper, North Korea has stolen a total of $2.3 billion in cryptocurrency from businesses between 2017 and 2022. Reporting by Satoshi Sugiyama, editing by Ed OsmondOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Canada’s Chrystia Freeland, in glasses, was among the G-7 finance ministers meeting in Niigata, Japan, last week. Photo: Shuji Kajiyama/Associated PressThe U.S. and its allies are poised to increase pressure on China at this week’s Group of Seven summit in Japan, with an expected joint statement rejecting use of economic retaliation against nations over policy disputes and other disagreements, according to people familiar with the situation. The anticipated statement isn’t expected to mention any country by name, the people said, but comes as concerns mount among the U.S. and its allies over Beijing’s increasing use of what its critics call “economic coercion” to show its displeasure with other countries.

☆ G7 plans new vaccine effort for developing nations, Yomiuri reports
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

TOKYO, May 13 (Reuters) - The Group of Seven (G7) rich nations is set to agree on establishing a new programme to distribute vaccines to developing countries at next week's summit of leaders, Japan's Yomiuri newspaper said on Saturday. In addition to the G7, G20 nations such as India and international groups such as the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Bank will participate, it added, citing Japanese government sources. However, COVAX faced setbacks in ensuring equitable access, as wealthy nations prioritised shots for their citizens while insufficient storage facilities in poorer nations caused supply delays and disposal of millions of close-to-expiry doses. The new program aims to pool rainy-day funds for vaccine production and purchases, as well as investment in low-temperature storages and training of health workers to prepare for the next global pandemic, the Yomiuri said. Saturday's meeting of G7 finance ministers agreed to offer aid to low- and middle-income countries to help increase their role in supply chains for energy-related products.

While the communique made no mention of the U.S. debt ceiling stalemate, it figured constantly in discussions. "We need to remain vigilant and stay agile and flexible in our macroeconomic policy amid heightened uncertainty about the global economic outlook," they added in the communique after the meeting. G7 central bank chiefs vowed to combat "elevated" inflation and ensure expectations on future price moves remained well-anchored, a sign many of them will not let their guard down against stubbornly high inflation. CHINA AND SUPPLY CHAINSSeeking to reassure investors after recent U.S. bank failures, the G7 finance chiefs retained an April assessment that the global financial system was "resilient". In the communique, the finance leaders set a year-end deadline for launching a new scheme to diversify global supply chains.

☆ G-7 finance chiefs warn of global uncertainty as US debt crisis looms
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-13 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Janet Yellen, US Treasury secretary, right, and Jeremy Hunt, UK finance minister, left, during a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the Group of Seven (G-7) finance ministers and central bank governors meeting in Niigata, Japan, on Saturday, May 13, 2023. Finance leaders of the Group of Seven (G-7) rich nations warned of heightening global economic uncertainty on Saturday as they wrapped up a three-day meeting overshadowed by a U.S. debt ceiling stalemate and fallout from Russia's invasion of Ukraine. G-7 central bank chiefs also vowed to combat "elevated" inflation and ensure expectations on future price moves remained well-anchored, a sign many of them will not let their guard down against stubbornly high inflation. "We need to remain vigilant and stay agile and flexible in our macroeconomic policy amid heightened uncertainty about the global economic outlook." Japanese Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki told a press conference after chairing the meeting that the debt ceiling showdown was discussed at Thursday's dinner session on the global economy.

☆ UK's Sunak to seek more Ukraine support in summits next week
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, May 13 (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will push other global leaders to pledge more support for Ukraine in its defence against the Russian invasion when he attends international summits next week, his office said on Saturday. Sunak, looking to bounce back after heavy losses for his Conservative Party in local elections last week, will travel to Iceland on Tuesday to meet other European leaders attending a Council of Europe summit. In addition to the war in Ukraine, efforts to strengthen Europe's borders will also form part of Sunak's discussions in Reykjavik. At the G7 summit, Sunak will again push for more assistance for Ukraine as it prepares for escalating military action against Russia, Downing Street said. Sunak will also press allies to counter hostile states using "economic coercion" - an oblique reference to China.

☆ G-7 central banks see need to weigh effects of past rate hikes, BOJ's Ueda says
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-13 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Governor of the Bank of Japan Kazuo Ueda speaks during the presidency press conference at the G7 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors' Meeting in Niigata on May 13, 2023. Many central bank governors from the Group of Seven (G-7) rich nations appeared to feel the impact of past interest rate hikes has yet to show fully as they look to guide future monetary policy, Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda said on Saturday. "Many said they wanted to guide monetary policy, taking that point in mind," he added. "I told the G7 meeting that Japan is maintaining ultra-loose monetary policy to sustainably and stably achieve the BOJ's 2% inflation target," he said. Ueda and Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki spoke at the news conference as Japan is the chair of this year's G7 finance leaders' gathering in Niigata, which concluded on Saturday.

☆ Yellen expects US regulators to be open to mergers among midsize banks
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-13 | by ( Andrea Shalal | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

... Read moreNIIGATA, Japan, May 13 (Reuters) - The current banking environment and pressures on earnings of some U.S. regional banks may lead to some concentration in the sector, and regulators will likely be open to such mergers, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Saturday. Yellen told Reuters she was not seeing evidence of pressure on smaller community banks, which had a large percentage of insured deposits. She expressed confidence that nearly all banks had access to sufficient liquidity to guard against unexpected deposit outflows from uninsured depositors. However, she said a certain degree of consolidation in the regional and midsize banking sector could occur. Yellen noted that pressure on a bank's stock could unsettle uninsured depositors.

☆ G7 agreed global financial system resilient but needs vigilance, Japan finmin says
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] Japan's Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki, Germany's Finance Minister Christian Lindner, Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt, Joachim Nagel, President of Germany's federal reserve... Read moreNIIGATA, Japan, May 13 (Reuters) - Finance ministers and central banks from the Group of Seven rich nations agreed the global financial system is resilient but the need for vigilance remains, Japan's finance minister Shunichi Suzuki said on Saturday. "We reaffirm that our financial system is resilient, supported by the financial regulatory reforms implemented after the 2008 global financial crisis, including considerable increases in the levels of bank capital and liquidity, an international framework for effectively resolving failing institutions, and strengthened cross-border regulatory and supervisory cooperation," it said. British finance minister Jeremy Hunt told reporters at a separate event that G7 finance chiefs in Japan had "very frank and open discussions" about the challenges they face, including banking regulation. The ministers have wrapped up a three-day meeting in the Japanese city of Niigata. Reporting by Tetsushi Kajimoto and Leika Kihara; Writing by David Dolan Editing by Shri NavaratnamOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ AMERICAS Debt cap tick-tock leaves eerie calm
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The issue dominated much of the G7 finance chiefs meeting in Japan. Dimon claimed any technical default could cause financial panic and JPMorgan had convened a 'war room' internally to deal with the issue. "It's very unfortunate, it's time-consuming, hopefully it won't happen, but it affects contracts, collateral, clearing houses, clients," Dimon said. Chinese stocks underperformed, with the G7 meeting mulling restrictions on investment to the world's second-biggest economy. Bank of England chief economist Huw Pill speaksReuters GraphicsJobless claimsReuters GraphicsReuters GraphicsBy Mike Dolan, editing by Christina Fincher, <a href="mailto:mike.dolan@thomsonreuters.com" target="_blank">mike.dolan@thomsonreuters.com</a>.

☆ UK economy grows by 0.1% in the first quarter but inflation continues to weigh
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-12 | by ( Jenni Reid | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON — The U.K. economy grew by 0.1% in the first quarter, following an unexpected contraction in March, official figures showed on Friday. The construction sector expanded by 0.7%, while manufacturing performance went up by 0.5% in the first quarter, with 0.1% growth logged in services and production. The national statistics agency said there was no growth in real household expenditure, as incomes remained under the squeeze of higher prices. We still have inflation that is too high, growth is still not as high as we would like it to be, and when I talk to my fellow finance ministers we all talk about the same thing. Labor supply, productivity, how we are going to increase our long-term growth rates so that we can pay for the increasing number of things that tax payers want governments to do," Hunt continued.

☆ Debt in advanced economies is piling on to global challenges, says World Bank president
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-12 | by ( Jihye Lee | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Developed economies across the world are facing a debt problem, and that's piling onto other headaches in the global economy as central banks continue to grapple with persistent inflation, according to World Bank President David Malpass. Speaking to CNBC's Martin Soong at the G-7 finance ministers and central bank governors' meeting in Japan, Malpass emphasized that record-high global debt levels need to be addressed for stability. "The debt-to-GDP ratios for the advanced economies are higher than ever before," he said, adding that developing countries are also facing a similar issue. The World Bank has emphasized the need for transparency in addressing rising debt in the face of a number of global economic issues, including stress in the banking sector and sticky inflation. The organization last month chaired the Global Sovereign Debt Roundtable in Washington D.C. and highlighted its call for information sharing to speed up the process of debt restructuring in the world.

☆ G7 to vow diversifying of supply chains, filling bank regulatory gaps -draft
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

In the draft communique, the G7 central banks said they remained "strongly committed" to achieving price stability and ensuring inflation expectations stayed well-anchored. "Diversification of supply chains can contribute to safeguarding energy security and help us to maintain macroeconomic stability," the draft communique said. But it said G7 countries will work to ensure foreign investment in critical infrastructure "does not undermine the economic sovereignty of host countries." On banking-system woes, the draft communique said the financial system was resilient due to regulatory reforms implemented after the 2008 global financial crisis. "We will address data, supervisory, and regulatory gaps in the banking system," the draft communique said.

☆ Morning Bid: US debt drama crashes Japan's G7 party
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

A look at the day ahead in European and global markets from Kevin Buckland. But almost everyone also wants to hear from her that the United States can sort out its own debt ceiling conundrum and avoid a potentially disastrous default. The United States isn't the only concern either. Chinese inflation data showed consumer prices almost flat-lining in April, while factory gate deflation deepened. Ten-year Treasury yields continued to tick lower in Tokyo, putting the U.S. dollar under pressure against the yen.

Summary Biden warns of U.S. recession unless ceiling raised quicklyChina's slowing inflation adds to global recession fearsG7 finance leaders kick off meeting in Niigata, JapanNIIGATA, Japan, May 11 (Reuters) - A standoff over raising the U.S. debt ceiling overshadowed a meeting of Group of Seven (G7) finance leaders set to begin on Thursday, heightening U.S. recession fears as central banks seek a soft landing for the global economy. The U.S. debt crisis is a headache for Japan, which is this year's G7 chair and the world's biggest holder of U.S. debt. Japan's top financial diplomat, Masato Kanda, said on Tuesday the G7 finance leaders might discuss the U.S. debt ceiling but likely would not explicitly mention it in a joint statement at the end of the meeting on Saturday. Past U.S. debt ceiling fights have typically ended with a hastily arranged agreement in the final hours of negotiations, avoiding an unprecedented default. Back then, the G7 finance leaders said in a statement that they were "committed to addressing the tensions stemming from the current challenges on our fiscal deficits, debt and growth."

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