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LONDON/WASHINGTON, Oct 23 (Reuters) - A failure to secure meaningful progress on a debt relief for the world's poorest nations at the International Monetary Fund and World Bank annual meeting in Washington has left policymakers, campaigners and investors frustrated. Two years ago the Group of 20 launched the Common Framework - a mechanism designed to provide a swift and comprehensive debt overhaul to nations buckling under debt burdens after COVID-19 shock that would reach beyond temporary debt payment moratoriums. The Common Framework is a good start, but you need some fixes." China's role as a lender to poorer nations and Beijing's foot-dragging on debt relief drew much ire at the Washington meeting. JPMorgan's Joyce Chang, whose bank held an investor seminar alongside the IMF World Bank gathering, said asset managers had more discussions on repayment challenges and restructurings for emerging markets than at any time since the 1990s.

☆ Wall Street ends sharply higher, dollar dips on UK U-turn, strong earnings
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-17 | by ( Stephen Culp | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Raindrops hang on a sign for Wall Street outside the New York Stock Exchange in Manhattan in New York City, New York, U.S., October 26, 2020. All three major U.S. stock indexes rallied to end the session 1.9% to 3.4% higher while and the dollar lost ground against a basket of world currencies. "The catalysts that have triggered in the markets year-to-date are well-known," said Joseph Sroka, chief investment officer at NovaPoint in Atlanta. The pan-European STOXX 600 index (.STOXX) rose 1.83% and MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe (.MIWD00000PUS) gained 2.09%. Emerging market stocks rose 0.32%.

☆ U.S. stocks surge, dollar dips on solid earnings, UK policy U-turn
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-17 | by ( Stephen Culp | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Raindrops hang on a sign for Wall Street outside the New York Stock Exchange in Manhattan in New York City, New York, U.S., October 26, 2020. A broad-based rally sent all three major U.S. stock indexes sharply higher, while Treasury yields eased and the dollar lost ground. European stocks closed sharply higher on the UK's financial policy reversal. Emerging market stocks rose 0.37%. The euro and sterling gained strength following Hunt's announced policy reversal, causing the greenback to lose ground against a basket of major world currencies.

☆ Wall Street rallies, dollar dips on solid earnings, UK policy U-turn
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-17 | by ( Stephen Culp | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Raindrops hang on a sign for Wall Street outside the New York Stock Exchange in Manhattan in New York City, New York, U.S., October 26, 2020. "More and more economists are embracing recession," said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Spartan Capital Securities in New York. "Usually when the market has discounted everything - and I believe it has - usually (the last months of the year) are positive for the stock market." Emerging market stocks rose 0.42%. Treasury prices rose, tracking similar moves in the UK bond market, pushing benchmark Treasury yields lower for the first time in three days.

People walk through the City of London financial district during rush hour in London, Britain, October 3, 2022. Asia's main markets had struggled overnight but Europe's STOXX 600 (.STOXX) made a 0.5% early gain as both the pound and UK government bonds rallied in London. Invesco's director of macro research Ben Jones said the UK's volatility would remain a key focus for global markets. In currency markets, the dollar remains king as investors price in U.S. rates peaking around 5%. The rise of the dollar and global bond yields have been a drag for gold, which was stuck at $1,648 an ounce .

"It is really not the right time to experiment with fiscal policy," AXA chief economist Gilles Moec said about the UK's moves, assessing that Monday's U-turn may have appeased "the bond vigilantes for now". The term, bond vigilantes, refers to debt investors imposing fiscal discipline on profligate governments by forcing their borrowing costs higher. Ed Yardeni, who coined the bond vigilantes term in the early 1980s, penned a blog post saying "They're Baaaack!" Even U.S. President Joe Biden was speaking the bond vigilante's language at the weekend, noting he wasn't the only one that thought the UK plan was a "mistake". "This is probably the biggest example in practice of the bond vigilantes activity," said Antonio Cavarero, head of investments at Generali Insurance Asset Management.

☆ World stocks slip to near 2-yr low ahead of U.S. CPI data
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-13 | by ( Marc Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Global markets have suffered a torrid few weeks and there was little sign of respite in either Asia or Europe as weak equities knocked MSCI's 47-country world index (.MIWD00000PUS) down for a seventh straight day. It has fallen nearly 4.3% in the last six days, with markets worried that aggressive global interest rate hikes will trigger recessions. Data had already confirmed German harmonised inflation was +10.9% y/y in September but all eyes are on U.S. CPI data due at 1230 GMT. The dollar index, which gauges the greenback against six major rivals, barely budged from around 113.25 ahead of the CPI data. "Markets still feel very dysfunctional"Meanwhile, crude oil markets remained weak following a 2% slide on Wednesday amid worries over demand.

☆ Egypt seeking to push forward critical IMF deal in Washington
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-12 | by ( Patrick Werr | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva said on Oct. 3 that Egypt and the fund were close to a deal. Egypt's newly appointed central bank governor, Hassan Abdalla, and long-servicing finance minister Mohamed Maait are leading the talks in Washington, where a number of countries squeezed by global pressures are seeking support. The central bank has been tapping into its own reserves and borrowing from local banks to support the pound against the dollar. As of the end of June, the government had a total of $155.7 billion in foreign debt. Egypt had made good progress on three likely IMF demands, said James Swanston of Capital Economics.

☆ China credit default swaps hit highest in more than five years: S&P
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

LONDON, Oct 11 (Reuters) - The cost of insuring exposure to China's sovereign debt rose to the highest level since January 2017 on Tuesday, data from S&P Global Market Intelligence showed. China's five-year credit defaults swaps added 5 basis points (bps) from Monday's close to hit 112 bps, the data showed. With the exception of its deeply indebted property sector, which has also been the target of a policy crackdown, China's external debt levels are contained. However, Prolonged COVID-19 lockdowns and long-running disputes over technology with the United States have weighed heavily on domestic consumption and growth. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Karin Strohecker; editing by Marc JonesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Serious debt crisis unfolding across developing countries - UNDP
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-11 | by ( Marc Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

LONDON, Oct 11 (Reuters) - The United Nations' Development Programme (UNDP) joined on Tuesday the chorus of institutions and charities warning that a serious debt crisis is now taking hold in the poorest parts of the world. "A serious debt crisis is unfolding across developing economies, and the likelihood of a worsening outlook is high," the report published on Tuesday said. Without effective debt restructuring, poverty will rise and desperately needed investments in climate adaptation and mitigation will not happen. Its proposal was to expand the Common Framework's eligibility so that all heavily indebted countries could utilise it rather just the 70 or so poorest countries, and for any debt payments to be automatically suspended during the process. "Not only have these countries contributed the least to, but bear the highest cost of, climate change".

☆ Dollar dishes the pain as selloff rumbles on
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-29 | by ( Marc Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

U.S. Dollar banknotes are seen in this illustration taken July 17, 2022. "The market wouldn't mind some stability, it has become a little bit unpredictable," said Barings Investment Institute's Chief European strategist, Agnes Belaisch. "We are facing difficult economic times," Truss, who only took over as UK Prime Minister this month, said on local BBC radio. U.S. GDP fell at an unrevised 0.6% annualized rate last quarter, the government said in its third estimate of GDP. read moreRecession angst combined with supply issues and the strong dollar meant oil prices see-sawed after gaining more than $3 in the prior session.

☆ Dollar dishes the pain as new selloff takes hold
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-29 | by ( Marc Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The STOXX 600 share index (.STOXX) dropped nearly 2% from the open, while both the euro and the pound , hammered over the last week by UK debt concerns, slumped 1%. /FRXGovernment bond markets were braced for German data expected to show consumer prices rising there at the fastest rate since the 1950s. Gilt selling also resumed a day after the Bank of England dramatically intervened in the UK market to try and quell the storm around the government's spending plans. Reuters GraphicsBIT OF A MESSZooming back out, it was still about the dollar which has crushed currencies virtually everywhere this year. S&P 500 futures pointed to Wall Street falling more than 1.2% later with more Fed policymakers also due to speak.

☆ Pound and euro need to fall further to reach "fair value" - IIF
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

LONDON, Sept 29 (Reuters) - Britain's pound is still 18% above its "fair value" and the euro 11.6% above its fair value despite the sharp falls seen by both currencies this year, the Institute of International Finance estimated on Thursday. "Although the Euro and the British Pound have already fallen substantially, we estimate that they will need to fall further in order to converge to their new fair values," the IIF's Robin Brooks said commenting on its latest FX fair value estimates. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Marc Jones; editing by Danilo MasoniOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

"There will be impacts, there’s correlations ... some market volatility, and then how it weighs in the global growth picture," said Paul Malloy, head of municipals at Vanguard. The wild swings in the pound have ricocheted across currency markets, where volatility was already climbing. According to the widely watched Deutsche Bank Currency Volatility Index , volatility across currencies on Wednesday hit its highest level since the March 2020 COVID-19- induced market meltdown, jumping more than 20% from levels last week. Closely followed indicators of financial stress remain contained. U.S. stock market volatility as measured by the "fear index," the VIX (.VIX), has also climbed in recent days but remains below its 2022 highs.

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/IllustrationLONDON, Sept 28 (Reuters) - Borrowing costs for UK firms are soaring, with sterling corporate bond prices headed for their biggest monthly fall since the 1990s as fallout from the British government's "mini-Budget" grows. That, according to Vanguard credit portfolio manager Sarang Kulkarni, in turn helped ease conditions slightly in the investment grade bond market. Yields and bond prices move inversely. The sterling corporate bond market, much smaller and less liquid than the equivalent euro or U.S. dollar markets, is driven largely by moves in UK gilts, which have slid in value in recent days. He said that liquidity in the corporate sterling market - not great at the best of times - was looking "almost non-existent" right now.

☆ New Pakistan finance minister vows to tame inflation and cut interest rates
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-28 | by ( Asif Shahzad | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Pakistan's likely new Finance Minister Ishaq Dar walks upon his arrival at the Nur Khan military airbase in Chaklala, Rawalpindi, Pakistan September 26, 2022. "We will control inflation," Dar told reporters in televised comments after he was sworn in. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register"We will bring interest rates down," he said. WRECKED ECONOMYDar, a senior politician in the ruling party of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, flew to Islamabad on Monday night after ending five years in self-exile in London. "I wasn't able to travel for the last four years," he added, describing the legal action against him as political victimisation by the previous government of Prime Minister Imran Khan.

The Bank of England is seen, in London, Britain, September 26, 2022. REUTERS/Peter Nicholls/File PhotoLONDON, Sept 27 (Reuters) - The Bank of England is likely to deliver a "significant policy response" to finance minister Kwasi Kwarteng's huge tax cuts but it should wait until its next scheduled meeting in November before making its move, BoE Chief Economist Huw Pill said. "I do want to flag clearly at this point that in my view the combination of fiscal announcements that we've seen will act as a stimulus," Pill told the Barclays-CEPR International Monetary Policy Forum in London on Tuesday. Some investors and economists have said the British central bank should hold an emergency meeting now to deliver a big interest rate hike to prop up the value of the pound and avoid further inflation pressure. The pound was higher against the dollar on Tuesday, a day after hitting a record low.

Index investors tend to favour international settlement platforms such as Euroclear but India has said it wants to settle bonds onshore, like China. GLOBAL AMBITIONIndia has sought to be included in global bond indexes since 2013, but that ambition has been held up by a number of factors over the years, and JP Morgan only began considering India's inclusion in its global bond index in 2021. If successful, India would be the last major emerging market to be added to the JP Morgan index. Its inclusion could result in additional flows of as much as $30 billion within 10 months into the Indian government bond market, Morgan Stanley estimated earlier this month. Most of JPMorgan's index investors are in favour of including India in the index, but think issues such as investor verification and settlement rules need to be ironed out first, three of the sources said.

☆ Factbox: A history of UK currency crises and crashes
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The currency fell as low $1.0327 at one point. read more It has fallen almost 8% since Thursday and 21% since the start of the year, a pace drawing comparisons with the currency crises that have marked Britain’s post-war history. Britain also used some creative accounting to hide the extent of its foreign exchange reserves losses, such as in a 12.5 billion pound "secret negative forward book". Against a soaring U.S. currency swelled by global trade imbalances, parity with the dollar - once unthinkable - became a real possibility. A briefing to the media in January 1985 from Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher’s press secretary, intended to reassure financial markets, backfired badly.

☆ Turkey's lira at fresh record low after surprise rate cut
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Turkish lira banknote is displayed on U.S. Dollar banknotes in this illustration taken, February 14, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/IllustrationLONDON, Sept 22 (Reuters) - The Turkish lira sank to a fresh record low on Thursday after the central bank delivered yet another surprise interest rate cut, this time of 100 basis points. IPEK OZKARDESKAYA, SENIOR ANALYST, SWISSQUOTE BANK"The CBRT cut the policy rates by 100 bps for the second month. As an economist, it's hard to comment on this decision, because normally, higher inflation requires higher interest rates. Every rate cut gets the Turkish rates away from the fair value, and weigh on the country risks and the FX rates.

Few think another G7 central bank would be bold enough to intervene directly as Japan did on Thursday. But they say markets should prepare for more verbal intervention and more aggressive rate hikes as policymakers try to thwart the U.S. currency's ascent. The dollar surge follows aggressive Federal Reserve interest rate hikes, recession fears and geopolitical uncertainty following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The yen, its central bank sticking to ultra-loose policy even as others raise rates, has been the biggest loser. Richard Benson, co-chief investment officer at Millennium Global Investments, said aside from the SNB, which intervenes regularly, another central bank intervention was unlikely.

With interest rates back then already close to zero, they had run out of conventional ammunition to ward off the threat of outright deflation they feared would choke off the economic recovery. As one Danish bank vaunted the world's first negative rate mortgage, it is likely that cheap borrowing added steam to house price spikes across the region. "It's the central bankers who have taken interest rates to a level where we attach no value to the future," he said. As the negative rate era closes, the global pool of assets with negative yield has shrunk to less than $2 trillion from a 2020 peak of some $18 trillion. "I am very doubtful anyone here is ready to say never again for negative rates."

☆ Barbados issues world's first pandemic-protected bond
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-21 | by ( Marc Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Barbados' new bond - finalised in a deal with bankers on Wednesday - is likely to leave an even bigger imprint, especially with smaller, tourism-dependent countries that were pushed to the brink of economic collapse during the COVID-19 pandemic. "And hence we would not be facing the kind of debt crises that many countries are about to face". Credit Suisse banker Ramzi Issa, who led on some of the key financing aspects on the bond deal which involved a buyback, said it was "hugely significant". "It is like a dose of vaccine for your debt," said Sui-Jim Ho, a partner at Cleary Gottlieb - the law firm that helped craft the clause for Barbados. The bond deal has an ecological feature too.

Sputnik/Grigory Sysoev/Pool via REUTERSLONDON, Sept 21 (Reuters) - Earlier this year, markets were complacent as Russia massed troops on the Ukraine border. Now, they're once again largely shrugging off Vladimir Putin's signal that he could be prepared to use nuclear weapons. read moreIt was Russia's first such mobilisation since World War Two and signified a major escalation of the war, now in its seventh month. Germany's and Italy's reliance on Russia has made their stock markets among the world's worst performers this year. Those close to the fighting, including Poland and Hungary, have also seen their local markets pummeled.

☆ Exclusive: Ukraine calls for bespoke IMF and World Bank programmes
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-20 | by ( Marc Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

U.S. dollar, euro and Ukrainian hryvnia banknotes are seen in this picture illustration taken in Kiev, Ukraine, October 31, 2016. read moreKyiv's goal though is a full-fledged IMF programme that would provide enough money and security to see it through the coming years. "I'm not sure whether standard tools of the IMF are really designed for this type of situation," he added. But its biggest single financing source is its own central bank, which has already had to print over $10 billion worth Hryvnia. Butsa said it is talking to the World Bank about a special facility for that money, where others, including private donors, could also contribute.

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