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☆ TSMC shares fall more than 3% after it cuts revenue outlook
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

In early trade, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd's shares underperformed a 1.65% fall in the broader index (.TWII). While the company's declining revenue and profit were disappointing, its long-term growth prospects remain encouraging," Brady Wang, associate director at Counterpoint Research, said. "Despite facing macroeconomic headwinds, TSMC's long-term outlook remains robust, supported by megatrends like 5G and high-performance computing (HPC)." Other analysts were also upbeat on TSMC, thanks in part to strong demand for artificial intelligence (AI), which currently contributes around 6% of revenue. "We expect a solid 2024 onward outlook on the back of its leading position in AI chip manufacturing," Citi Research analysts said in a note.

Persons: TSMC, Brady Wang, Goldman Sachs, Yimou Lee, Sarah Wu, Anne Marie Roantree Organizations: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, Counterpoint Research, Citi Research, Thomson Locations: TAIPEI, Arizona, 4Q23

Many investors think that will only happen if interest rates go to levels just too high for investors to pass up. "You wonder whether they have left it too late" said Mikhail Volodchenko at one of Europe's largest fund managers AXA IM. Reuters Graphics4/LOCAL PROBLEMSIn contrast to the dollar bonds, Turkey's 'local' lira-denominated bonds have had a shocker. Even if the lira is taken out of the equation the bonds are still down around 13% since Erdogan's election win. Reuters Graphics($1 = 0.8920 euros)Reporting by Marc Jones and Canan Sevgili Editing by Shri NavaratnamOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Tayyip Erdogan, Erdogan, Mehmet Şimşek, Hafize Gaye Erkan, Mikhail Volodchenko, Enver Erkan, Yatirim, Treasuries, COVID, Wednesday Erdogan, Simon Lue, Fong, Vontobel, Turkey's, Jeff, Michael Metcalfe, Metcalfe, Marc Jones, Shri Navaratnam Organizations: LONDON, AXA, Reuters, JPMorgan EMBI Global, NATO, Investment, Wednesday, United Arab Emirates, JPMorgan GBI, Street Global Markets, Reuters Graphics, Thomson Locations: Central, Turkish, Nigeria, Argentina, Turkey, U.S, Arab, Swiss, Lira

☆ China keeps lending benchmarks unchanged; economic weakness tests policymakers
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SHANGHAI/SINGAPORE, July 20 (Reuters) - China left its lending benchmarks unchanged on Thursday, after the central bank stood pat on a key policy rate earlier this week even as signs of a faltering economic recovery called for more stimulus. The one-year loan prime rate (LPR) was kept at 3.55%, while the five-year LPR was unchanged at 4.20%. The steady LPR fixings come as the People's Bank of China (PBOC) rolled over maturing medium-term policy loans and kept the interest rate unchanged earlier this week. The medium-term lending facility (MLF) rate serves as a guide to the LPR and markets mostly use the MLF rate as a precursor to any changes to the lending benchmarks. Most new and outstanding loans in China are based on the one-year LPR, while the five-year rate influences the pricing of mortgages.

Persons: Winni Zhou, Tom Westbrook, Jacqueline Wong Organizations: United, People's Bank of China, Thomson Locations: SHANGHAI, SINGAPORE, China, United States

☆ Exclusive: China's state banks seen selling dollars offshore to slow yuan declines - sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SHANGHAI, July 20 (Reuters) - China's major state-owned banks were seen selling dollars to buy yuan in the offshore spot market in early Asian trades on Thursday, two people with direct knowledge of the matter said. Such state bank dollar selling was meant to slow the pace of yuan declines, one of the sources said. China's offshore yuan strengthened more than 0.7% to a high of 7.1812 per dollar before last trading at 7.1890 as of 0249 GMT. In the onshore market , the yuan followed a similar upward bounce, but it is still down about 4% against the dollar year-to-date, making it one of the worst performing Asian currencies for 2023. Reporting by Shanghai Newsroom Editing by Shri NavaratnamOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Shri Navaratnam Organizations: Shanghai, Thomson Locations: SHANGHAI

☆ Japan exports underwhelm in June, global weakness drags on economy
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-20 | by ( Tetsushi Kajimoto | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Exports were led by U.S.-bound shipments of cars and mining machinery, while China-bound shipments of steel, chips and nonferrous metal caused a double-digit decline in overall exports to China. "Going forward, it could be hard for Japan to maintain a trade surplus in a stable manner unless exports regain strength and global commodity prices keep import costs low." The overall trade numbers produced a trade surplus of 43 billion yen ($308.11 million), confounding the median estimate for a 90.1 billion yen deficit. U.S.-bound shipments, Japan's major ally, rose 11.7% year-on-year in June, led by shipments of cars, construction and mining machinery, following a 9.4% rise in the previous month. ($1 = 139.5600 yen)Reporting by Tetsushi Kajimoto; Editing by Shri Navaratnam and Stephen CoatesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Takeshi Minami, Tetsushi Kajimoto, Shri Navaratnam, Stephen Coates Organizations: Ministry of Finance, U.S, Norinchukin Research, Thomson Locations: TOKYO, Japan, China, .

☆ TSMC flags 10% fall in 2023 sales, spending at low end of forecast
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] A logo of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) is seen at its headquarters in Hsinchu, Taiwan August 31, 2018. The world's largest contract chipmaker estimated investment spending for this year at the lower end of a previous estimate of $32-$36 billion amid challenges from rising inflationary costs and an uncertain global economic outlook. For the second quarter ended June, TSMC, a major Apple Inc (AAPL.O) supplier, reported a 23.3% fall in net profit - beating forecasts - although it was its first on-year drop in quarterly profit since the second quarter of 2019 when it fell 7.6%. TSMC saw April-June net profit drop to T$181.8 billion ($5.85 billion) from T$237.0 billion a year earlier. TSMC, Asia's most valuable listed company, said second-quarter revenue dropped 13.7% year-on-year to $15.68 billion, in line with the company's previous forecast.

Persons: Tyrone Siu, TSMC, Refinitiv, Yimou Lee, Sarah Wu, Ben Blanchard, Jacqueline Wong Organizations: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, REUTERS, Ltd, Apple Inc, Thomson Locations: Hsinchu, Taiwan, Arizona, TAIPEI, U.S, TSMC, China, Taipei

[1/3] Pound notes and change are seen inside a cash resgister in a coffee shop in Manchester, Britain, Septem,ber 21, 2018. REUTERS/Phil Noble/LONDON/SINGAPORE, July 19 (Reuters) - Sterling slid on Wednesday after lower-than-expected British inflation data suggested the Bank of England might not have to raise rates quite as high as expected, while the latest dovish comments from the Bank of Japan caused the yen to soften. ,That was the British currency's lowest in a week against the dollar, as it continued to roll off a 15-month high of $1.3144 hit Thursday. Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda said on Tuesday there was still some distance to sustainably achieving the central bank's 2% inflation target, signalling his resolve to maintain ultra-loose monetary policy for the time being, in contrast to the hawkishness at other major central banks. Economists polled by Reuters expect the Fed to deliver a 25-basis-point rate hike at its upcoming policy meeting this month, with a majority betting that will bring an end to the central bank's current monetary tightening cycle.

Persons: ber, Phil Noble, Sterling, “, Kenneth Broux, Kazuo Ueda, Alun John, Rae Wee, Shri Navaratnam, Sam Holmes, Sharon Singleton Organizations: REUTERS, LONDON, Bank of England, Bank of Japan, Societe Generale, New Zealand, Federal, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Manchester, Britain, SINGAPORE, British, Asia Pacific, London, Singapore

☆ Dollar tentative, kiwi jumps as NZ inflation data tempers rate doves
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-19 | by ( Rae Wee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/2] A New Zealand Dollar note is seen in this picture illustration June 2, 2017. Against a basket of currencies, the U.S. dollar rebounded from a 15-month low hit in the previous session, with its index steadying at 99.943 in early Asia trade. Sterling <GBP=D3> bought $1.3035, ahead of UK inflation data due later on Wednesday. "The stickiness of UK inflation measures has contrasted notably with price measures in both the euro zone and the U.S. which have been moving lower," said Rabobank's head of FX strategy Jane Foley. "While inflation is 'lower', it is not 'low' by any stretch of the imagination.

Persons: Thomas White, Tina Teng, Klaas, Jane Foley, Satish Ranchhod, Kazuo Ueda, Rae Wee, Shri Navaratnam Organizations: REUTERS, New Zealand, U.S ., U.S, CMC Markets, Reuters, Federal Reserve, European Central Bank, ECB, Sterling, Bank of, Reserve Bank of New, Westpac, Australian, Bank of Japan, Thomson Locations: SINGAPORE, Asia, U.S, Bank of England, New Zealand, Reserve Bank of New Zealand

☆ Google says court order on Disney app fee in India temporary
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Disney in India has gone to court in what is the latest and most high-profile challenge to Google's policy of imposing a "service fee" of 11-26% on in-app payments. The service charge was introduced after an antitrust directive ruled against Google's earlier 15-30% fee and forced Google to allow third-party payments. An Indian court on Tuesday said Google should receive a lower 4% fee for in-app purchases from Disney+ Hotstar, and cannot remove Disney's app from its India app store, in what is a significant challenge to Google's payments business model. Disney, which runs the popular Disney+ Hotstar streaming app in India, has challenged Google's new billing system in a court in India's Tamil Nadu state. Its lawyers had argued Google was threatening to remove the Hotstar app if it didn't comply with new payments system.

Persons: Aditya Kalra, Tanvi Mehta, Rama Venkat, Nivedita Bhattacharjee Organizations: NEW, Google, Disney, Thomson Locations: NEW DELHI, BENGALURU, India, India's Tamil Nadu, New Delhi, Bengaluru

☆ Ford's Kansas City plant evacuated after possible shooter situation, authorities say
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

July 18 (Reuters) - Ford's Kansas City assembly plant in Claycomo, Missouri was evacuated on Tuesday evening after a report of a possible active shooter in the premises, the county sheriff's office and the plant's union said. Ford has ceased all production, including for Tuesday's night shift, and has evacuated the plant, the sheriff added. The Kansas City assembly plant employs about 7,250 workers, according to Ford's website. The United Auto Workers (UAW) union said it was closely monitoring the possible active shooter situation. "It's our understanding that one individual is heavily armed inside the assembly plant, but swift action by union and plant leadership cleared the building," the union said in its statement.

Persons: Ford, Jyoti Narayan, Jacqueline Wong Organizations: Ford, United Auto Workers, UAW, Thomson Locations: Kansas City, Claycomo , Missouri, Clay County, Shubham, Bengaluru

One senior Taiwan fund manger told Reuters that third quarter profit would bounce back given expectations for AI demand and launches of new iPhones ahead of the year-end holiday shopping season. The second quarter is traditionally a slow period for sales for the tech industry with demand usually picking up in the third quarter and towards the year-end shopping season. TSMC , Asia's most valuable listed company, posted a surprise rise in net profit for the quarter ended March, up 2% from a year earlier. The company will provide guidance for the third quarter and update previous forecasts on its earnings call at 0600 GMT on Thursday. ($1 = 30.9600 Taiwan dollars)Reporting by Faith Hung and Ben Blanchard Editing by Shri NavaratnamOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: TSMC, TSMC's, Faith Hung, Ben Blanchard, Shri Navaratnam Organizations: TAIPEI, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co, Nvidia, Reuters, Investment, EV, Thomson Locations: Taiwan, China, Taipei

On a year-on-year basis, GDP expanded 6.3% in the second quarter, accelerating from 4.5% in the first three months of the year, but the rate was well below the forecast for growth of 7.3%. "The data suggests that China's post-COVID boom is clearly over," said Carol Kong, economist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia in Sydney. The latest data raises the risk of China missing its modest 5% growth target for 2023, some economists say. Authorities are likely to roll out more stimulus steps including fiscal spending to fund big-ticket infrastructure projects, more support for consumers and private firms, and some property policy easing, policy insiders and economists said. So I think this does raise greater urgency for more policy support soon."

Persons: Carol Kong, Alvin Tan, Harry Murphy Cruise, Kevin Yao, Ellen Zhang, Joe Cash, Shri Navaratnam Organizations: National Bureau, Statistics, Reuters, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Analysts, Authorities, Asia FX, RBC Capital Markets, stoke, Moody’s, Thomson Locations: BEIJING, Shanghai, Sydney, China, Asia, Singapore

"The data suggests that China's post-COVID boom is clearly over," said Carol Kong, economist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia in Sydney. Authorities are likely to roll out more stimulus steps including fiscal spending to fund big-ticket infrastructure projects, more support for consumers and private firms, and some property policy easing, policy insiders and economists said. Most analysts say policymakers are likely to dole out modest supportive measures, instead of embracing any aggressive stimulus due to limited room and worries of growing debt risks, analysts said. For June alone, China's retail sales grew 3.1%, slowing sharply from a 12.7% jump in May, the data showed. Industrial output growth unexpectedly quickened to 4.4% last month from 3.5% seen in May, but demand remains lukewarm amid a bumpy post-COVID economic recovery.

Persons: Carol Kong, Alvin Tan, Kevin Yao, Ellen Zhang, Joe Cash, Shri Navaratnam Organizations: National Bureau, Statistics, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Authorities, Asia FX, RBC Capital Markets, stoke, Thomson Locations: BEIJING, Shanghai, Sydney, China, Asia, Singapore

☆ Solomon Islands PM returns from Beijing, calls Australia 'unneighbourly'
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

July 17 (Reuters) - Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manesseh Sogavare returned to Honiara on Monday after a week-long official visit to China, telling reporters Beijing would provide more budget support, and that criticism by Australia was "unneighbourly". The United States, Australia, New Zealand and Solomon Islands' opposition party have called for Sogavare to publish details of a policing deal signed in Beijing last week, amid concern it will invite further regional contest. read moreSogavare told a press conference on Monday in Honiara that Australia and the U.S. should not fear China's police support for Solomon Islands , ABC Television reported. China had agreed to provide budget support for Solomon Islands, he added. Australia has historically been Solomon Islands' largest aid donor and security partner.

Persons: Manesseh Sogavare, Sogavare, Kirsty Needham, Shri Navaratnam Organizations: Solomon Islands, ABC Television, Thomson Locations: Solomon, Honiara, China, Beijing, Australia, United States, New Zealand, Solomon Islands, U.S

☆ Son says he would rather play for Spurs than move to Saudi club
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

July 17 (Reuters) - Tottenham Hotspur forward Son Heung-min said he would have moved to Saudi Arabia to continue his career if he wanted to but opted to stay with the Premier League club to redeem himself after a disappointing 2022-23 campaign. "Probably if I wanted to go there (Saudi Arabia) I would be out there, not here," he said with a laugh. Obviously money is also important, but I dream of playing in the Premier League and still a lot of things to do. But the Premier League is still a dream for me to play (in) and I'm looking forward to this season." He's here and while he's here, he's totally committed to what we're doing."

Persons: Son Heung, Son, Sonny, Harry Kane, Ange Postecoglou, Kane, we've, Harry, he's, Stefan Haskins, Rohith Nair, Shri Navaratnam Organizations: Tottenham Hotspur, Premier League, Premier League Golden, South Korea, Spurs, West Ham United, Saudi, Bundesliga, Bayern Munich, Thomson Locations: Saudi Arabia, Perth, London, England, Sydney, Bengaluru

☆ Japan space agency rocket engine explodes during test
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

TOKYO, July 14 (Reuters) - A rocket engine exploded during a test in Japan on Friday but there were no injuries, an official at Japan's Education, Science and Technology Ministry said. The explosion of the Epsilon S engine at the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) testing site is the latest in a series of failures that have deflated Japan's space ambitions. The explosion took place about a minute into the test of the second stage engine, the official said. JAXA's new medium-lift H-3 rocket was ordered to self-destruct on its debut flight in March, when its second-stage engine did not ignite as planned. Reporting by Satoshi Sugiyama and Mariko Katsumura; Writing by Elaine Lies; Editing by Shri Navaratnam and Tom HogueOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Satoshi Sugiyama, Mariko Katsumura, Elaine Lies, Shri Navaratnam, Tom Hogue Organizations: Japan's Education, Science, Technology Ministry, Epsilon, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, JAXA, Thomson Locations: TOKYO, Japan

☆ Australia's central bank loses chief to public ire over rates
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-14 | by ( Wayne Cole | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Lowe's dedication to the bank is not in doubt, having joined straight from school in 1980. The first mainly impacted markets while the second, and more fateful, soured sentiment with the public and politicians. A later review found the event had caused the bank "reputational damage" and the policy was unlikely to be used again. Lowe's mistake in 2021 was to be too specific on timing by repeatedly saying rates were unlikely to rise until 2024. With prices rising rapidly, Lowe was forced to reverse course and hike rates in May, a whole two years earlier than forecast.

Persons: Philip Lowe it's, Lowe, I'm, we'd, Jim Chalmers, Chalmers, Lowe's, Michele Bullock, Bullock, Wayne Cole, Shri Navaratnam Organizations: SYDNEY, Reserve Bank of Australia, MIT, Reserve Bank, Thomson Locations: Australia, Lincoln

☆ China central bank to use tools such as RRR to tackle economic woes
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-14 | by ( Kevin Yao | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/2] Paramilitary police officers stand guard in front of the headquarters of the People's Bank of China, the central bank (PBOC), in Beijing, China September 30, 2022. The central bank will step up "countercyclical adjustments" to support the economic recovery, PBOC Deputy Governor Liu Guoqiang told the press conference. Analysts polled by Reuters expect the central bank to cut the RRR by 25 basis points in the third quarter. But Liu said China has not seen deflation and there were no deflationary risks for the second half. "As for the specific policy tools, we will use them reasonably according to the needs of the situation."

Persons: Tingshu Wang, Zou Lan, Zou, Liu Guoqiang, Liu, Liangping Gao, Ellen Zhang, Shri Navaratnam, William Mallard Organizations: People's Bank of China, REUTERS, Reuters, Securities Times, Thomson Locations: Beijing, China, BEIJING

☆ Mitsubishi's China venture with GAC to cut staff costs after SUV sales dive
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] The logo of Mitsubishi Motors Corp is seen at a showroom of the company's headquarters in Tokyo, Japan November 26, 2018. REUTERS/Toru HanaiBEIJING/SHANGHAI, July 13 (Reuters) - Mitsubishi Motors' (7211.T) joint venture with China's Guangzhou Automobile Group (GAC) (601238.SS) on Thursday said it would cut staff costs to try to revive its fortunes after sharp sales declines for sport utility vehicles (SUV) such as the Outlander. The joint venture, known as GAC Mitsubishi Motors, was launched by GAC, Mitsubishi Motors and trading house Mitsubishi Corp (8058.T) in 2012, focusing on SUV sales in China. The announcement follows mounting pressure on the joint venture that makes Mitsubishi's Outlander model. Mitsubishi's sales in China peaked in 2018, when it recorded sales of over 141,000 vehicles, according to industry data.

Persons: Toru Hanai, Mitsubishi, AlixPartners, Kevin Krolicki, Shri Navaratnam, Mark Potter Organizations: Mitsubishi Motors Corp, REUTERS, Mitsubishi Motors, China's Guangzhou Automobile Group, GAC, GAC Mitsubishi Motors, Mitsubishi Corp, Mitsubishi, Hyundai, Beijing, Thomson Locations: Tokyo, Japan, Toru Hanai BEIJING, SHANGHAI, ., China

☆ Japan's wholesale inflation slows for 6th straight month
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-12 | by ( Leika Kihara | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Summary Wholesale prices rise at slowest annual pace since April 2021Rise in utility bills, food prices moderatesYen-based import prices fall at fastest pace since July 2020TOKYO, July 12 (Reuters) - Japan's wholesale inflation slowed for a sixth straight month in June due to sliding fuel and commodity prices, data showed on Wednesday, a sign the cost-push pressure that drove up consumer prices is steadily easing. The data underscores the central bank's view that consumer inflation will slow in coming months as global commodity prices slide from last year's peak levels. But the pace appears to be moderating," Masato Higashi, head of the Bank of Japan's price statistics division, told a briefing. The rise, which followed a 5.2% gain in May, was the slowest annual pace since April 2021, data by the BOJ showed. Food and beverage prices increased 7.4% in June, smaller than a 8.0% gain in May, the data showed.

Persons: Masato Higashi, Leika, Shri Navaratnam Organizations: Bank of, Thomson Locations: TOKYO

U.S. interest rate expectations have been a key driver of the dollar since the Fed began its tightening cycle last year. A survey from the New York Federal Reserve on Monday showed waning near-term inflation expectations among Americans, who said last month they were expecting the weakest near-term inflation gains in just over two years. Sterling , meanwhile, hit a near 15-month high of $1.2913 after British wage growth hit a joint record high, heaping pressure on the Bank of England to tighten policy further to bring inflation under control. The pound has been rallying on a stronger economy and aggressive repricing of expectations for tighter BoE policy, according to Danske Bank FX analyst Kirstine Kundby-Nielsen. Elsewhere, the euro rose 0.1% to $1.1012, the Australian dollar steadied at $0.6680, while the New Zealand dollar fell 0.2% to $0.6198.

Persons: Rick Wilking, Shaun Osborne, Sterling, Kirstine Kundby, That's, Kundby, Nielsen, Moh Siong Sim, Samuel Indyk, Rae Wee, Shri Navaratnam, Edmund Klamann, Alex Richardson Organizations: REUTERS, Federal, Fed, Scotiabank . Markets, New York Federal Reserve, Bank of England, Danske Bank, Nielsen, Singapore, Bank of Japan, New Zealand, Thomson Locations: Westminster , Colorado, U.S, . U.S, Japan, China's

☆ Australia court approves $300m money laundering fine for Blackstone's Crown Resorts
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SYDNEY, July 11 (Reuters) - An Australian court signed off on a A$450 million ($300 million) fine for Blackstone-owned (BX.N) casino operator Crown Resorts for breaking anti-money laundering laws, ending the darkest chapter in the company's history. read moreBut the fine needed the sign-off of the federal court, which approved the penalty, Australia's third-largest corporate fine, on Tuesday. Crown, which was bought by Blackstone after the events at the centre of the scandal took place, said in a statement that the court approval brings an end to the historical anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing "failures at Crown". The fine takes Crown's total penalties to A$680 million since it was rocked by accusations of ignoring organised crime and employee safety in hearings since 2020. ($1 = 1.4959 Australian dollars)Reporting by Byron Kaye Editing by Shri NavaratnamOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: James Packer, Michael Lee, Lee, Blackstone, Byron Kaye, Shri Navaratnam Organizations: SYDNEY, Blackstone, Crown Resorts, Crown, Thomson

☆ Dollar slips as Fed hike cycle nears end; focus on US inflation
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-11 | by ( Rae Wee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Several Fed officials said on Monday the central bank will likely need to raise interest rates further to bring down still-high inflation, but that the end to its current monetary policy tightening cycle is getting close. U.S. interest rate expectations have been a key driver of the dollar since the Fed began its tightening cycle last year. A survey from the New York Federal Reserve showed on Monday waning near-term inflation expectations among Americans, who said last month they were expecting the weakest near-term inflation gains in just over two years. The dollar/yen pair is particularly sensitive to U.S. yields as interest rates in Japan are anchored near zero. Elsewhere, the Australian dollar gained 0.16% to $0.6687, while the New Zealand dollar added 0.06% to $0.6216.

Persons: Sterling, Carol Kong, Rae Wee, Shri Navaratnam Organizations: Federal, Fed, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, New York Federal, Treasury, Australian, New Zealand, Macquarie, Thomson Locations: SINGAPORE, U.S, Asia, . U.S, Japan, China

☆ South Korean zoo welcomes giant panda twins
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] Giant Panda Ai Bao holds her baby panda with mouth after giving birth to twin at Everland amusement park in Yongin, South Korea, July 11, 2023. Samsung C&T/Yonhap via REUTERSSEOUL, July 11 (Reuters) - A South Korean zoo said on Tuesday it had recently welcomed the first giant panda twins to be born in the country. The first twin weighed 180 grams (6.35 oz) and the second, which arrived nearly two hours later, weighed 140 grams. The birth of the twins comes nearly three years after Fu Bao, the first panda to be born in South Korea, came into the world with the same parents Ai Bao and Le Bao. Fu Bao is due to be returned to China by July next year at the latest, the zoo said.

Persons: Ai Bao, Donghee Chung, Chung, Fu Bao, Le Bao, Cherwon Kang, Ai Bao's, Kang, Hyunsu Yim, Ed Davies Organizations: Samsung, REUTERS, YouTube, Thomson Locations: Yongin, South Korea, REUTERS SEOUL, Korean, Seoul, China

That represents a steep 75% discount to the $315 billion valuation in 2020 for what was set to be the world's largest IPO had it not been derailed at the last minute by Chinese regulators. "China needs to resolve the Ant IPO to restore investor confidence," said Wang Qi, chief executive of China-focused asset manager MegaTrust Investment. For the broader technology sector, Ant's fine marks a key step towards the conclusion of China's bruising crackdown on private enterprises, which began with the scrapping of Ant's IPO in late 2020 and subsequently wiped billions off the market value of several companies. "At the same time, initiating a stock buyback also indirectly informs investors that the possibility of a short-term IPO recovery is unlikely." On Friday, Chinese authorities also announced fines against two Chinese banks, an insurer, and Tencent Holdings' (0700.HK) online payment platform Tenpay.

Persons: Ant, Zhang Zihua, Wang Qi, Jack Ma, Hanyang Wang, Julie Zhu, Josh Ye, Brenda Goh, Zhang Yan, Scott Murdoch, Shri Navaratnam, Kim Coghill Organizations: Saturday, Ant, Hangzhou Junhan Equity Investment Partnership, Hangzhou Junao Equity Investment Partnership, Beijing Yunyi, MegaTrust Investment, Fidelity, Reuters, Tencent Holdings, HK, People's Bank of China, Thomson Locations: HONG KONG, Hangzhou, Hangzhou Junhan, Beijing, China

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