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☆ Mask-free Monday comes to Japan as government eases COVID guidelines
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Rocky Swift | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/4] Commuters make their way on the first day of the Japanese government's relaxation of official guidance on masks as it emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic, in Tokyo, Japan March 13, 2023. "Mask-wearing was part of our culture even before COVID-19," said Hitoshi Oshitani, a Tohoku University professor who was an architect of Japan's COVID response. "I think many people will be wearing masks even after the rules are relaxed." "As of today, mask wearing is at the discretion of each individual," Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike told reporters on Monday. Health experts in Japan have pointed to widespread mask use along with an embrace of hygiene and social distancing for the country's relatively lower death toll from COVID.

☆ NY Fed report shows near-term inflation expectations retreating sharply
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Michael S. Derby | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Meanwhile, the expected level of inflation three years from now held steady at 2.7%, matching the level last seen in October 2020, while expected inflation five years from now was seen hitting 2.6%, up from January's 2.5%. The New York Fed survey arrived just ahead of the Fed's March 21-22 policy meeting. The New York Fed report was conducted ahead of the SVB situation and does not reflect its impact. Households last month saw declining price pressures for gasoline, food, rent, medical care and college. But the New York Fed noted that last month's reading remains well below the 12-month average of an expected 3.4% rise in home prices.

☆ Morning Bid: Is China exporting deflation?
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Relief wasn't immediate, as the figures were tinged by doubt on the robustness of China's consumption rebound, with inflation in the country also at its slowest in a year. That's likely welcomed since analysts are making their latest upward revisions to U.S. and European interest rate expectations and do not need another inflationary shock from China's reopening. European futures steadied in Asia as markets assumed a holding pattern with the focus on U.S. data as the driver of interest rate movement. The Bank of Japan concludes a two-day meeting on Friday, though it is increasingly dancing to its own beat. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 0.3%; Japanese stocks rose 0.6% on Thursday.

☆ Premarket stocks: Jerome Powell's testimony sent markets reeling. That may be a good thing
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Nicole Goodkind | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

New York CNN —Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell on Tuesday cleared the way for larger interest rate hikes at this month’s central bank policy meeting, sending markets into a tailspin. The S&P 500 fell 1.5%, the Dow dropped 575 points, or 1.7%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite ended 1.3% lower. After Powell’s testimony, market expectations for a half-percentage point rate hike spiked. If inflation fails to continue falling, he said, the Fed will keep trying to cool things down by raising rates. Even if Powell was sure that January’s economic data was a fluke, he still wants to maintain the Fed’s credibility.

☆ Family of cop who died after Jan 6. slams Fox News for claiming rioters had nothing to do with his death
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The family of Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick criticized Fox News. Host Tucker Carlson sought to undermine claims the Jan. 6 riot helped cause Sicknick's death. In the wake of the riot, news organizations citing a Capitol Police statement reported that Sicknick died as a result of injuries sustained during the riot. A coroner in April, 2021, found that Sicknick died of natural causes, but said that "all that transpired (on January 6) played a role in his condition." Chansley was sentenced to 41 months in prison for his role in the riot in 2021.Insider has contacted Fox News for comment.

☆ India’s Economy Looks Shaky Under the Hood
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Megha Mandavia | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

India’s economy is losing steam in the one place that has been the South Asian nation’s strongest bulwark against a possible global recession: robust domestic demand. India’s economy slowed further in the December quarter, figures released this week showed, as postpandemic pent up demand ebbed and the country’s manufacturing sector continued to weaken. Asia’s third largest economy recorded year-over-year growth of 4.4% last quarter, down from 6.3% in the September quarter.

☆ Battery Metal Prices Fall Back to Earth
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Megha Mandavia | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

After a substantial stretch when battery makers were desperate for mineral supplies, the shoe is suddenly on the other foot. In the past few months, previously red hot cobalt and lithium prices have cooled dramatically. Supply bottlenecks are easing while China’s demand for electric vehicles, and global demand for many consumer electronics, have ebbed as well. Cobalt has fallen out of favor the most: prices in February were down 61% from January last year, according to Benchmark Mineral Intelligence. Lithium carbonate prices rose rapidly for most of last year, but the metal has seen a sharp correction of 21% since November.

☆ Shares skid, bonds face worst February since 1981 as US rates set to rise
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Samuel Indyk | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The concern now is not so much over global recession, but over the prospect of there being little respite any time soon from higher interest rates. MSCI's All-World index of global shares (.MIWD00000PUS) was last roughly steady on the day, but still close to Friday's seven-week low. Since then, a slew of U.S. and euro area economic data has reinforced the view that interest rates will rise further and stay high for longer. U.S. two-year Treasury yields , the most sensitive to shifts in expectations for interest rates, have risen by 60 basis points this month to almost 5%. Fed funds futures are fully pricing in a 25-bps rate rise from the Fed next month, with around a 20% chance of a larger 50-bps hike.

☆ Tesla, tech and travel stocks have ginormous gains this year
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Paul R. La Monica | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Beaten-up travel stocks have also enjoyed solid gains this year, as investors bet that the worst-case fears of an imminent recession may turn out to be for naught and consumers catch up on missed travel. Some fear this ferocious rebound in consumer and tech stocks may be happening too quickly. “That means there are broader opportunities outside of tech and growth stocks and more in the value and small cap sectors.”Growth stocks, and tech in particular, make more sense as investments if the Fed were set to start slashing interest rates. Add all that up and it could mean that the recent rebound for Tesla, big techs and media firms and other consumer stocks could be short-lived. “Inflation and interest rate uncertainty means we continue to believe value stocks, including the global energy sector, will outperform growth stocks,” Haefele said.

[1/3] A man wearing a protective mask is seen inside the Shanghai Stock Exchange building, as the country is hit by a new coronavirus outbreak, at the Pudong financial district in Shanghai, China, February 28, 2020. REUTERS/Aly Song/File PhotoNEW YORK/SINGAPORE, Feb 24 (Reuters) - Many large money managers are steering clear of Chinese assets, missing out on the nation's post-COVID stock market rally in the latest example of strategic concerns trumping juicy returns. "For our investors who might have that concern, there are plenty of other opportunities away from China." The concern flagged by some is whether this is part of a structural downgrade for Chinese assets, said Will Malcolm, a Singapore-based portfolio manager at Aviva Investors. That could attract cash in a hurry, but the behaviour of large investors so far suggests that a large sentiment shift will be needed.

☆ Timelapse map shows how close Russia came to taking Kyiv and how Ukraine reclaimed its land over a year of war
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( Chris Panella | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A new timelapse map from AP shows how close Russia came to taking Kyiv and how Ukraine fended them off. Putin believed he could capture Kyiv in a matter of days, underestimating Ukraine's military. After a year of war, the conflict is focused on a hard fight in Ukraine's eastern Donbas region. Insider previously reported that Russian President Vladimir Putin thought Russia could capture Kyiv in about two days, but he seriously overestimated Russia's military. While the war in Ukraine has ebbed and flowed over time, the battle for Kyiv stands as one of the first testaments to Ukraine's resilience and Putin's failure.

☆ As Big Tech’s Growth and Innovation Slow, Its Market Dominance Endures
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Greg Ip | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The top U.S. technology companies were once a rare combination of big, fast-growing and ferociously innovative. Now, they’re mostly just big. Their growth has ebbed and their innovations have been underwhelming. Some now see artificial intelligence as the next catalyst for growth. But it remains to be seen whether AI produces a genuinely new product, or serves mainly to entrench these companies in markets they already dominate.

☆ Analysis: Dollar's gyrations raise hedging costs for U.S. companies
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( Laura Matthews | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Currency volatility drove the J.P. Morgan VXY G7 Index (.JPMVXYG7) in September to its highest in more than two years. Volatility, which causes wider bid-ask spreads and makes hedging more expensive, is causing companies to reassess their hedging programs. SPREADING BETSAnother way businesses are trying to minimize hedging costs is by spreading currency management around to more brokers outside of their main clearing banks, hedging advisors said. Revenue at Argentex Group, a riskless principal broker, has risen 63% from to 2021 as FX volatility elevated corporate hedging needs. While currency gyrations have ebbed and hedging costs have declined, “volatility and inflation remain a concern for many companies,” Kyriba’s Gage said.

☆ Crypto hacks stole record $3.8 billion in 2022, led by North Korea groups - report
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Josh Smith | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The report by Chainalysis found hacking activity that "ebbed and flowed" throughout the year, with "huge spikes" in March and October. October was the biggest single month ever for cryptocurrency hacking, with $775.7 million stolen in 32 separate attacks, the report said. "It isn’t a stretch to say that cryptocurrency hacking is a sizable chunk of the nation’s economy," Chainalysis said. Targets in "decentralized finance" or DeFi, a thriving segment in the cryptocurrency sector, accounted for more than 82% of the cryptocurrency stolen in 2022, the report said. Last year saw a record amount of crypto transactions related to illicit activity overall, reaching $20.1 billion, Chainalysis said in January.

☆ Premarket stocks: Will the Fed end the 2023 market rally?
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Nicole Goodkind | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

So will Fed Chair Jerome Powell dampen expectations and reiterate that the fight against inflation still has a way to go, or will the Fed show signs that they’re ready to ease up on rate hikes? Wall Street analysts also expect the Fed will stop hiking altogether by the spring. This will leave the market hanging on the future of how many rate hikes we will see.”He’s preparing for a volatile market reaction. But now, investors may be a bit too eager to end treatment, even as Fed officials warn that doing so would be premature. Stocks close out a jubilant JanuaryThe greatest comebacks of all time: Rocky Balboa, JNCO jeans, Apple and now… the US stock market.

☆ Stocks sizzled in January as rate hike and inflation fears ebbed
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Paul R. La Monica | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN —New year, new attitude on Wall Street. Wall Street is also eagerly awaiting earnings from four key Nasdaq-listed giants later this week: Facebook owner Meta Platforms, Apple (AAPL), Amazon (AMZN) and Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL). Stocks have rallied this month due to hopes that inflation pressures are starting to abate. That should allow the Fed to issue smaller rate increases – and possibly even pause them later this year. Others argue that the Fed is likely to keep raising rates until it is certain inflation is no longer a problem.

Now Israel has normalised relations with more Arab states, while Palestinians have grown more isolated and divided. Most world powers consider Israel's settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem as illegal. Israel says its West Bank raids targeted militants such as the suspects behind deadly attacks carried out by Palestinians inside Israel last year. "Each area of the West Bank is witnessing some form of armed clashes, but these are not united mass-scale movements," said Tahani Mustafa of the International Crisis Group. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is visiting Israel and the West Bank this week.

☆ Visa revenue growth slows more as tough economy sobers spending
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( Mehnaz Yasmin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Philippe Wojazer/Illustration//File PhotoJan 26 (Reuters) - Visa Inc's (V.N) revenue growth continued to wind back to pre-pandemic levels in the first quarter as the post-lockdown travel craze ebbed and consumer spending slowed in a tough economy. The growth was, however, far lower than a 40% surge in cross-border volumes in the first quarter of 2021 and a 20% jump in payments volumes. The firm's exit from Russia will impact reported payments volume growth rates in the second quarter, Prabhu said on a post-earnings call. Earlier in the day, rival Mastercard Inc (MA.N) forecast current-quarter revenue growth below expectations as pent-up demand for travel was seen slowing going forward. Visa reported a profit of $2.18 a share, comfortably above the $2.01 estimated by analysts, according to Refinitiv.

☆ CDC urges people with weak immune systems to take extra precautions after Covid subvariants knock out Evusheld
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday urged people with weak immune systems to take extra precautions to avoid Covid after the dominant omicron subvariants knocked out a key antibody treatment. The guidance comes after the Food and Drug Administration on Thursday pulled its authorization of Evusheld, a combination antibody injection that people with weak immune systems took as an additional layer of protection to prevent Covid infection. The FDA pulled Evusheld because it is not effective against 95% of the omicron subvariants circulating in the U.S. People with weak immune systems include cancer patients who are on chemotherapy, organ transplant patients who are taking medication for their transplant, people with advanced HIV infection, and those born with immune deficiencies. Some 7 million adults in the U.S. have a condition, like cancer, that compromises their immune system, according to the CDC.

☆ Bitcoin's 2023 rally gathers steam as cryptocurrency briefly tops $23,000
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

1 token briefly topped $23,000 for the first time since Aug. 19, 2022, according to data from CoinGecko. The Fed and other central banks began cutting interest rates in 2022, shocking holders of risky asset classes, like stocks and digital tokens. Economists previously told CNBC they predict a Fed rate cut could happen as soon as this year. The Fed is likely to keep interest rates high for the time being. Bitcoin short sellers have been squeezed by sudden upward moves in prices, according to Ayyar.

☆ 'M3gan' is setting the stage for a big year for horror movies at the box office
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-21 | by ( Sarah Whitten | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

UniversalA fashion-forward, murderous doll is ringing up big bucks at the box office. It's the latest success in a string of lucrative theatrical runs for the horror genre. Additionally, fewer theatrical releases have resulted in a smaller overall box office in the last year. The domestic box office reached $7.5 billion in 2022, better than $4.58 billion collected in 2021, but down around 34% compared to 2019. Its newest installment in the Scream franchise took in $81 million in the U.S. and Canada and $137 million worldwide.

☆ Federal government investigating possible human trafficking of children who cleaned slaughterhouses
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Laura Strickler | Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Julia-Ainsley-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +12 min

There is no indication DHS is investigating the company that hired the children, Packers Sanitation Services Inc., or PSSI, for human trafficking. The Labor Department’s Child Labor Regulations designate many roles in slaughterhouse and meatpacking facilities as hazardous for minors. The Labor Department says its investigation, which began in August, is ongoing as it scours company records from 50 locations. I don’t anticipate unless there are severe ramifications for this that it will actually change policies.”The Labor Department has issued no penalties or fines to date. Labor DepartmentQuestions about child labor at PSSI in Grand Island and Worthington are not new.

[1/2] Crude oil storage tanks are seen from above at the Cushing oil hub, in Cushing, Oklahoma, U.S., March 24, 2016. Hedge funds and other money managers sold the equivalent of 17 million barrels in the six most important petroleum-related futures and options contracts over the seven days ending on Jan. 10. Investors sold a total of 29 million barrels in the two most recent weeks, after purchasing 103 million barrels in the two weeks before, according to position records published by regulators and exchanges. The net position in middle distillates is 60 million barrels (48th percentile) but the net position in crude is just 301 million (9th percentile). Sluggish output growth from U.S. shale producers, sanctions on Russia's oil exports, China's eventual emergence from the coronavirus pandemic and depleted diesel stocks are all contributing to eventual bullishness about prices.

☆ Daughter of Thailand's exiled former PM Thaksin to seek premiership
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BANGKOK, Jan 16 (Reuters) - The daughter of Thailand's self-exiled former leader Thaksin Shinawatra has declared her readiness to run for prime minister in an election this year, as the main opposition seeks to regain power after being ousted in a coup eight years ago. Paetongtarn Shinawatra, whose father Thaksin and aunt Yingluck Shinawatra both led governments toppled by the army, will run under the Pheu Thai Party, the latest incarnation of a populist movement founded by her billionaire family two decades ago. "We want the party to win the election by a landslide so the promises we made to the people can be realised," she said. Both Yingluck and Thaksin are living overseas to avoid jail terms handed down under military rule. Prayuth, 68, joined the new United Thai Nation Party last week, hinting at a bid to remain premier.

How Bots Pushing Adult Content Drowned Out Chinese Protest TweetsTwitter and its new owner, Elon Musk, have recently vowed to crack down on bots. When contacted, two businesses that appeared in spam tweets said that they had purchased the tweets using advertising services. The bots posting content during the protest did not focus on related hashtags; instead they included broader terms like the names of Chinese cities alongside adult content. BOT n BOT BOT BOT Searching for “北京” A search on Twitter for “Beijing” in simplified Chinese brought up tweet after tweet of spam ... BOT BOT BOT BOT Searching for “Beijing” ... but searching for “Beijing” in English showed no bot or spam activity among the top tweets. Bot advertising on Twitter A company listed on some spam tweets confirmed it ran an advertising business using bots.

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