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☆ Markets wary of intervention as yen struggles at 155 level
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-25 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Having traded in a tight range over the past few days, a buoyant dollar finally broke above the 155 yen level for the first time since 1990 in the previous session, and was last steady at 155.34 yen in early Asia trade. The breach of the 155 yen level comes as the BOJ meets to discuss monetary policy, though expectations are for the central bank to keep its short-term interest rate target unchanged following last month's landmark exit from negative rates. "We expect the BOJ meeting to deliver a marginally hawkish hold outcome," said Carl Ang, fixed income research analyst at MFS Investment Management. Continued expectations of gradual policy tightening and a low terminal policy rate make it difficult for the yen to appreciate significantly, even if at historically depressed levels." The dollar steadied at 105.79 against a basket of currencies, pulling away from a nearly two-week low hit in the previous session.

Persons: Carl Ang, Kazuo Ueda, Justin Smirk Organizations: Bank of Japan, MFS Investment Management, Reserve Bank of Australia, Westpac, New Zealand Locations: Tokyo, Asia, Australia

☆ Yen holds nerve as BOJ decision looms; dollar resurgent
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-19 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

The yen was last little changed at 149.14 per dollar, while the Australian dollar fell 0.06% $0.6556. Against the euro, the yen steadied at 162.18, with the Japanese currency likewise little changed against the Aussie at 97.78. So BOJ's decisions generally are, as far as the yen is concerned, a matter of secondary importance," said Berry. "Holding policy rates steady and policy guidance broadly unchanged seems like a reasonably straightforward decision in the presence of high uncertainty," said Carl Ang, fixed income research analyst at MFS Investment Management. The New Zealand dollar was similarly pinned near Monday's two-week low and last bought $0.6079.

Persons: Gareth Berry, It's, they're, it's, Berry, Carl Ang, Sterling, —, Goldman Sachs, David Mericle Organizations: Bank of Japan, U.S, Reserve Bank of Australia, Aussie, Nikkei, Macquarie, Federal Reserve, MFS Investment Management, U.S ., New Zealand Locations: Bath, England, Asia, Japan, United States, Down, Australia, Monday's

☆ Build a tax-efficient portfolio with these funds, Bank of America says
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-19 | by ( Darla Mercado | Cfp | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

April 15 is the deadline for taxpayers to file their income tax returns and pay sums owed for 2023. MLPs themselves aren't subject to federal income taxes, but limited partners owe taxes on the income distributed. MLPX has a total return of 7.6% in 2024, and MLPA's year-to-date total return is 9.3%, according to Morningstar. In 2024, IYK has a total return of nearly 4.7%, while XLU's total return is about 0.7%, according to Morningstar. MFM's total return this year is 3.66%, and NZF has a total return of 3.4% in 2024, according to Morningstar.

Persons: Jared Woodard, Woodard, —, MLPX, IYK, Morningstar, XLU, NZF Organizations: Bank of America, MLP & Energy Infrastructure, X MLP, Morningstar, Consumer Staples, Income Trust, Income Locations: MLPs, Indonesia, America, Nuveen

☆ Asian stocks stutter ahead of Fed, frail yen in focus
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-01 | by ( Ankur Banerjee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Passersby are reflected on an electric stock quotation board outside a brokerage in Tokyo, Japan April 18, 2023. "Once again market players have been left frustrated by the lack of urgency shown by the BOJ, and either closed yen longs or flipped into outright yen shorts." The yen strengthened 0.27% to 151.26 per dollar following the comments but remained close to one-year lows of 151.74 it touched on Tuesday. FED AWAITSOvernight, Wall Street's main indexes ended higher, with investors looking ahead to the Fed policy decision later in the day, when the central bank is expected to stand pat on interest rates. Oil prices inched higher ahead of the Fed decision, with the market keeping a close eye on the latest developments in the Israel-Hamas conflict.

Persons: Issei Kato, HSI, Chris Weston, Masato Kanda, Jerome Powell, Erik Weisman, Powell, Sterling, Brent, Ankur Banerjee, Shri Navaratnam Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Federal Reserve, Japan's Nikkei, China, Bank of, ING, Traders, MFS Investment Management, Treasury, Thomson Locations: Tokyo, Japan, Rights SINGAPORE, Asia, Pacific, Israel

☆ Premarket stocks: It’s a spooky Halloween for markets. Here’s why
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-31 | by ( Nicole Goodkind | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

Here’s what’s causing the market fears:High bond yieldsSurging yields have contributed to one of the worst periods for bond market performance in history and pressured equity markets. The company reported quarterly profits of $9.9 billion, also beating estimates. Shares of Meta slid last week after the Facebook parent company reported that advertising revenue had been soft this quarter. Jerominski told CNN that there have been at least 25 store closures. Fraser Engerman, a Walgreens spokesperson, told CNN that just two stores closed on Monday and no more than 12 pharmacists walked out across the entire country.

Persons: Dow, Rob Almeida, ”, Jason Pride, “, don’t, Erik Weisman, Seema Shah, JPMorgan Chase, Jamie Dimon, Wall, Shane Jerominski, Jerominski, Fraser Engerman, Max —, Tim Cook, Apple Organizations: CNN Business, Bell, New York CNN —, Traders, Nasdaq, MFS Investment Management, Federal Reserve, Asset Management, LPL Research, JPMorgan, Big Tech, Meta, Facebook, Reality Labs, Google, CVS, Walgreens, Staff, CNN, Workers, Apple Locations: New York, United States, Israel, Russia, Ukraine, China, Arizona , Washington , Massachusetts, Oregon, Southern California, Chicago, Deerfield, Apple’s Cupertino , California

☆ Treasury yields are sky high. Here's why you should care
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-20 | by ( Nicole Goodkind | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

It’s no longer “higher for longer,” said Steve Sosnick, chief strategist at Interactive Brokers, it’s just “high for long.”What’s happening: 10-year Treasury yields are flirting with 5% for the first time since 2007, before the global financial crisis. It also means more expensive mortgage rates. Mortgage rates tend to track the yield on 10-year US Treasuries. When Treasury yields go up, so do mortgage rates; when they go down, mortgage rates tend to follow. Fed officials, including Powell, have indicated that rates could be high enough to help lower inflation towards their target goal of 2%.

Persons: ”, Steve Sosnick, Rob Almeida, Powell, they’re, Jerome Powell, Paul McCartney, Darrell Cronk, Anna Bahney, —, ” Lawrence Yun, Snapchat isn’t, Snapchat, Clare Duffy, Evan Spiegel Organizations: CNN Business, Bell, New York CNN, Federal Reserve, Interactive, MFS Investment Management, US Treasury, Treasury, Economic, of New, Financial, “, National Association of Realtors, NAR, Twitter Locations: New York, Ukraine, of New York, Wells Fargo, Northeast, Midwest, South, homeownership

☆ Euro gains, yen struggles in central bank-packed week
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-19 | by ( Amanda Cooper | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

A Reuters report on Monday citing six sources said the debate over the multi-trillion-euro pool of excess liquidity sloshing around banks was likely to start next month. However, this might not be enough to give the euro a more sustained boost, according to Lee Hardman, a strategist at MUFG. "While the ECB’s reported plans to tighten excess liquidity in the euro area have helped to support the euro, they are unlikely to be sufficient on their own to turn the current weakening trend," he said. This week brings a raft of central bank meetings, including those of the Federal Reserve, the Bank of Japan, the Bank of England and the Swiss National Bank, among others, which kept currency volatility on the subdued side. In other currencies, sterling edged up 0.1% at $1.2398, ahead of an interest rate decision from the BoE on Thursday.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Lee Hardman, Kazuo Ueda, Rodrigo Catril, Erik Weisman, BoE, Rae Wee, Lincoln, Peter Graff, Hugh Lawson Organizations: REUTERS, European Central Bank, Reuters, ECB, Federal Reserve, Bank of Japan, Bank of England, Swiss National Bank, National Australia Bank, NAB, U.S, Fed, MFS Investment Management, Thomson Locations: U.S

☆ Yen flounders, dollar drifts ahead of c.bank bonanza
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-19 | by ( Rae Wee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

U.S. Dollar and Euro banknotes are seen in this illustration taken July 17, 2022. The yen fell 0.1% to 147.76 per dollar and was kept pinned near last week's 10-month low of 147.95 per dollar. The euro meanwhile gave up some of its gains from the previous session and was last 0.12% lower at $1.0678. It had risen alongside euro zone government bond yields on Monday, following hawkish comments from European Central Bank (ECB) policymakers that further rate increases were on the cards. In other currencies, sterling edged 0.04% higher to $1.2390, ahead of an interest rate decision from the Bank of England (BoE) also due this week.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Kazuo Ueda, Rodrigo Catril, Erik Weisman, NAB's Catril, BoE, Rae Wee, Lincoln Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Federal, Wednesday, Bank of Japan's, National Australia Bank, NAB, Reserve Bank of Australia's, U.S, New Zealand, Fed, MFS Investment Management, European Central Bank, ECB, Reuters, Bank of England, Thomson Locations: Rights SINGAPORE, Asia

☆ Euro gains; yen flounders ahead of c.bank bonanza
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-19 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

In this photo illustration, banknotes of Euro, Japanese Yen, Chinese Yuan and US dollar bill are placed under one-ounce silver bullion coins arranged on February 20, 2021 in Katwijk, Netherlands. The euro clung to gains on Tuesday following hawkish comments from European Central Bank, or ECB, policymakers, while the yen languished near a 10-month low ahead of a key rate decision from the Bank of Japan, or BOJ, later in the week. In Asia, the yen slipped marginally to 147.64 per dollar and was kept pinned near last week's 10-month low of 147.95 per dollar. Elsewhere, the U.S. dollar edged broadly lower, though strayed not too far from a six-month peak hit against its major peers last week ahead of the Fed's interest rate decision on Wednesday. Sterling edged 0.04% higher to $1.2390, ahead of an interest rate decision from the Bank of England, or BoE, also due this week.

Persons: Yuan, Rodrigo Catril, Kazuo Ueda, Erik Weisman, BoE Organizations: European Central Bank, Bank of Japan, Federal Reserve, ECB, National Australia Bank, Reuters, U.S, New Zealand, Fed, MFS Investment Management, Bank of England Locations: Katwijk , Netherlands, Asia

Sterling initially dropped, reflecting disappointment after traders had priced in a 30% chance of another 50 bp hike. Longer-term gilt yields, more responsive to investors' perceptions about the economic growth trajectory, rose by the most in a month. Governor of the Bank of England Andrew Bailey attends a press conference for the Monetary Policy Report August 2023, at the Bank of England in London, Britain, August 3, 2023. Two-year gilt yields have risen by more than 120 basis points this year, more than double the increase of their U.S. equivalent. On Thursday, two-year gilt yields were down 5 bps in late trade, while those on 30-year debt rose 10 bps, the most in a month, to 4.66%.

Persons: BoE, Andy Burgess, Andrew Bailey, Sterling, we've, Bank of England Andrew Bailey, Alastair Grant, Jeremy Hunt, Carl Shepherd, they'll, juicier, Peter Goves, Kirsten Donovan Organizations: Bank, Bank of England, Monetary, REUTERS, Conservative, Newton Investment Management, Swiss, MFS Investment Management, Reuters Graphics, Thomson Locations: AMSTERDAM, LGIM, London, Britain, U.S

☆ The US stock market rally is unsustainable, but making these 20 international investments can lead to long-term profits, according to 3 fund managers with over $43 billion in combined assets
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( James Faris | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

International stocks have underperformed for over a decade, while US growth names took off. However, foreign companies have attractive relative valuations and earnings growth. Why foreign stocks are more than just a good dealAnyone bullish on international stocks will almost always point to their valuations relative to US companies. Investors can get downside protection in this uncertain environment by buying international stocks that are high quality and can generate their own growth, Deladerriere said. And in addition to their rising earnings growth, the fund manager noted that the two pay sizable dividends.

Persons: they've, Nick Paul, Paul, Steve Gorham, who's, Gorham, Wes Crill, Crill, isn't, Alexis Deladerriere, Deladerriere, there's, Goldman, haven't, He's, it's Organizations: MFS Investment Management, Value, Vanguard, Index, Yahoo Finance, Dimensional Fund Advisors, Fund, Goldman Sachs International Equity Income, Goldman, Asset Management, Goldman Sachs, Management, HSBC, BNP, Schneider, MFS, Hitachi Locations: Europe, Asia, BlackRock, weightings, Gorham, Japan, London, Paris, Spanish, Ukraine, France, Australia, Taiwan

☆ Municipal bonds can offer your portfolio tax-free income and stability as recession fears loom
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-21 | by ( Darla Mercado | Cfp | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

"People see [municipal bonds] as a defensive position for two reasons," said Shannon Saccocia, chief investment officer at NB Private Wealth. "Historically, municipal bonds have had low default rates," wrote Jared Woodard, investment and exchange-traded fund strategist at Bank of America, in a June 12 report. For instance, there's the Vanguard California Intermediate-Term Tax-Exempt Fund Investor Shares (VCAIX) and the Nuveen New York Quality Municipal Income Fund (NAN) . In select situations, some advisors are recommending closed-end municipal bond funds. Closed-end muni bond funds trading at a deep discount include the BNY Mellon Municipal Income (DMF) and the MFS High Income Municipal (CXE) .

Persons: Shannon Saccocia, Jerome Powell, Jared Woodard, Nisha Patel, Patel, Paul Winter Organizations: Bank of America, Bond, Muni Bond ETF, Vanguard, Income Fund, Five, BNY, Income Locations: York, BNY Mellon

HONG KONG, March 17 (Reuters) - Chinese private equity firm DCP Capital aims to sell its Singaporean portfolio firm MFS Technology, which makes flexible printed circuit boards, for at least $550 million, two people with knowledge of the matter told Reuters. The sale is targeting primarily financial sponsors, but also strategic buyers, according to the two sources and a separate person with knowledge of the transaction. BDA Partners and Jefferies are advising DCP on the sale, the sources said. The Chinese firm bought a controlling stake in MFS in 2018 from Navis Capital Partners and Novo Tellus Capital Partners for an undisclosed amount. Reporting by Kane Wu in Hong Kong and Yantoultra Ngui in Singapore; Additional reporting by Julie Zhu in Hong Kong; Editing by Kenneth MaxwellOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ The Tax Play That Saves Some Couples Big Bucks
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( Laura Saunders | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Spencer Phillips, a 39-year-old orchestral musician who plays the bass violin, loves and trusts his wife of 10 years—but he refuses to file a joint income-tax return with her. Instead, Mr. Phillips and his wife opt into the “married, filing separately” status, called MFS, and each spouse reports only his or her income to the Internal Revenue Service. This saves them a lot of money: By filing separately, and so reducing his stated income, Mr. Phillips’s student-loan payments on about $200,000 of debt from the prestigious Eastman School of Music and other programs come to about $240 monthly instead of more than $1,000.

☆ Wall St Week Ahead Last year's laggards lead U.S. stocks' 2023 rebound, for now
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-11 | by ( Lewis Krauskopf | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

NEW YORK, Feb 10 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks that took a beating last year are surging in the early weeks of 2023, leading markets higher. A range of factors are driving the moves, including the attractiveness of beaten-up shares, a tailwind from falling bond yields and market participants unwinding bearish bets against stocks. “When interest rates fall, lower quality, longer duration assets do well," said Rob Almeida, global investment strategist at MFS Investment Management. That's weighed on stocks in the latest week, which saw the S&P 500 lose 1.1% after two straight weeks of gains. David Kotok, chief investment officer at Cumberland Advisors, is skeptical of the latest rally and some of the stocks leading the current run.

☆ Stocks are jumping as investors bet on a 'pivot' away from interest rate hikes. Here's why experts think the path might be much more complicated.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Marley Jay | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Investors hope the Federal Reserve will soon "pause" interest rate hikes and cut them before long. Stocks have been on a roll in early 2023, and one reason is that investors think the Federal Reserve is very close to changing course on interest rates. The more interest rates rise, the more the economy will slow and the more likely a recession becomes. Along similar lines, Bank of America interest rate strategist Ralph Axel told Morningstar in December that he expects "multiple pivots" from the Fed. "A Fed pause is undoubtedly worth some lift to stocks but once again we want to remind readers that both bonds and stocks have rallied already on that conclusion."

This would take the rate the ECB pays on bank deposits to the highest level since November 2008, after a steady climb from a record low of -0.5% in July. Reuters GraphicsThe ECB said in December that rates would be increased "at a steady pace" until it is happy inflation is heading back down to its 2% target. BNP Paribas also thought the ECB might take out the reference to a "steady pace" of rate hikes or offset it so that a 50-basis-point increase would be "not predetermined (but) still a possible outcome". And an ECB survey showed banks were tightening access to credit by the most since the 2011 debt crisis - usually the harbinger of lower growth and slowing inflation. To some observers, this meant the ECB would be wise not to commit to any future policy move.

☆ India Budget 2023: Here's what the experts say
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +13 min

"This budget, therefore, has rewritten the rules for financilisation of savings in India, which will induce expenditures rather incentivise savings. LAKSHMI IYER, CEO-INVESTMENT ADVISORY, KOTAK INVESTMENT ADVISORS LTD"India budget 2023 has offered a multi-dimensional view. The 3 Cs which stand out are - Capex increase - consumption boost - capital gains tax status quo. Additionally, the budget has provided significant direct tax benefits to individuals which will help increase disposable income and support spending. The budget keeps in mind the needs of future India while focusing on Artificial Intelligence and machine learning.

"On Tuesday, all of a sudden I'm hearing the interest rates are going up," said the 48-year-old father of two. Like Nakamura, many Japanese fear they may eventually start paying more for mortgages. "Even a small increase would have a big impact on consumer incomes," said Masaaki Kanno, chief economist at Sony Financial Group and a former central bank official. Fixed-rates are seen rising first, because the central bank allowed 10-year yields to creep up. The company is telling them that floating-rate loans won't be affected as long as the central bank keeps short-term rates negative, he said.

Your filing status, along with your income, is a key element that determines your tax liability. Single, head of household, married filing separately, married filing jointly, and qualifying widow(er) are the five filing statuses. What is my tax filing status? You can file taxes as single, married filing jointly, married filing separately, head of household, or qualifying widow(er). Below are the guidelines for choosing a tax filing status.

The ECB, which bought 5 trillion euros of bonds ($4.9 trillion) over the past decade to lift low inflation, now finds itself battling record high inflation at 10%. "This consideration also makes the practical implementation of ECB QT significantly harder," BofA said. That would reduce its balance sheet by a "manageable" 155 billion euros in 2023 and 300 billion euros in 2024, ING reckons. An eventual wind-down of PEPP holdings could add to balance sheet reductions in 2025 worth a total 388 billion euros, ING said. AllianceBernstein portfolio manager Nick Sanders said he was "sceptical" how the ECB could achieve QT with those protections in place.

☆ This Y Combinator-backed fintech provides loans to small businesses in Africa. Check out the 10-slide pitch deck Numida used to raise $12.3 million.
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-28 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Numida, a Ugandan fintech that offers credit to small businesses, has raised $12.3 million in new funding. The startup, which was founded by three Canadian Y Combinator graduates in 2015, wants to expand access to working capital for businesses across Africa. Numida believes there are 20 million small and micro businesses lacking working capital, an opportunity it values at around $5 billion. "Our initial process was simple: How do we provide the best form of working capital to excluded people?" Serena Williams' fund Serena Ventures is leading a $7.3 million portion of equity funding alongside Breega, 4Di Capital, Launch Africa, Soma Capital, Y Combinator, and MFS Africa.

☆ Africa's next big thing will be its tech startups, says prolific investor
▼ + stars: | 2022-07-08 | by ( Paul Adepoju | For Cnn | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Between 2015 and 2021, total annual funding flowing into African tech startups has grown by 1,000 per cent according to the African Tech Startups Funding Report 2021According to the report, 125 tech startups in Africa raised $185 million in funding in 2015 but in 2021, 564 startups raised $2.1 billion. In countries like Nigeria, which is home to five of the continent's seven tech unicorns, these success stories are still largely seen as Nigerian and African and not truly global tech companies. Akindele noted that taking African tech companies global would also require efforts similar to how Afrobeats became known around the world. Akindele noted that Africa's burgeoning fintech ecosystem is only about a decade old but he has high hopes for its growth in the global marketplace. Akindele noted that tech can be an avenue for Africa to quickly solve its problems, catch up with and overtake the rest of the world.

But it can make more sense to file separately in a few cases, such as when you have excessive medical expenses. For married couples, choosing to file taxes jointly or separately can have a significant impact on the amount of income tax owed. Still, there are special circumstances where it makes sense to file separately. If you got married on or before December 31, you're considered married for the entire year for tax purposes. Filing separately would allow both spouses to begin deducting qualified medical expenses after they exceed 7.5% of their own AGI.

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