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☆ Asian stocks stall, dollar wallops pound and yen
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-12 | by ( Kanupriya Kapoor | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

SINGAPORE, Oct 12 (Reuters) - Asian stocks wallowed at two-year lows on Wednesday, after a strengthening dollar, instability in the U.K. bond market, and upcoming U.S. inflation data spelled a wild session on Wall Street and further volatility for investors. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) was down 0.87%, while Seoul's KOSPI index (.KS11) fell 0.41% and Australia's resources-heavy index (.AXJO) was up 0.05%. China's CSI300 index (.CSI300) was down 0.96% in early trade and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell 1.94%. The British financial turmoil combined with a burst of U.S. dollar strength that sent the sterling to a two-week low of 1.0949, while the risk-sensitive Australian dollar fell to $0.6247, the lowest since April 2020. It was the third straight dip in prices as investors worried about falling fuel demand and tightening COVID-19 curbs in China.

☆ Dollar at 24-year peak to yen as U.S. yields jump; sterling on the ropes
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-12 | by ( Kevin Buckland | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The Japanese currency is particularly sensitive to the gap between U.S. and Japanese long-term bond yields. Japanese officials staged their first yen-buying intervention since 1998 on Sept. 22, when the yen tumbled to as low as 145.90 per dollar. Sterling slipped 0.13% to $1.0947, and earlier touched $1.09385, marking a fresh low since Sept. 29, following the comments by the BoE governor. Gilt yields soared on Tuesday, lifting yields in the U.S. and elsewhere. The New Zealand dollar was 0.21% lower at $0.5570, approaching the previous day's low of $0.5536, a level not visited since March 2020.

☆ Oil prices extend decline on recession fears, China COVID curbs
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-12 | by ( Isabel Kua | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

SINGAPORE, Oct 12 (Reuters) - Oil prices fell for a third straight session on Wednesday as investors fretted about a hit to fuel demand from growing risks of a global recession and tightening COVID-19 curbs in China. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterThe International Monetary Fund on Tuesday cut its global growth forecast for 2023 and warned of increasing risk of a global recession. A stronger dollar makes dollar-denominated commodities more expensive for holders of other currencies and tends to weigh on oil and other risk assets. "Hotter-than-expected data may again tip investors’ sentiment over the edge, which will intensify the current recession fears, pressing on oil prices further," Teng said. The oil market is also being pressured by tightening COVID-19 curbs in China, the world's second-largest oil consumer.

☆ Bailey outburst blunts BoE crisis-fighting tools
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-12 | by ( Neil Unmack | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

LONDON, Oct 12 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Andrew Bailey is in danger of blunting the Bank of England’s crisis tools. The UK central bank governor on Tuesday vowed to end emergency bond-buying that has been propping up pension funds, even as investors increasingly assumed the scheme might get extended. Indeed, 30-year bond yields have risen further on Wednesday. Lastly, if Bailey is indeed forced to U-turn by extending the programme, he will have damaged the bank’s credibility. The BoE announced a 65 billion pound government bond purchase scheme on Sept. 28 to help indebted pension funds facing margin calls avoid being forced to sell gilts.

☆ Breakingviews: Bailey outburst blunts BoE crisis-fighting tools
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-12 | by ( Neil Unmack | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

LONDON, Oct 12 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Andrew Bailey is in danger of blunting the Bank of England’s crisis tools. The UK central bank governor on Tuesday vowed to end emergency bond-buying that has been propping up pension funds, even as investors increasingly assumed the scheme might get extended. Indeed, 30-year bond yields have risen further on Wednesday. CONTEXT NEWSBank of England Governor Andrew Bailey reiterated in a speech on Oct. 11 that the bank planned to its cease its emergency government bond purchases on Oct. 14. The BoE announced a 65 billion pound government bond purchase scheme on Sept. 28 to help indebted pension funds facing margin calls avoid being forced to sell gilts.

☆ China needs $17 trillion in investments to meet climate goals, World Bank says
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-12 | by ( Andrea Shalal | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A student stands on a sports field shrouded in smog on a polluted day in Beijing, China on March 10, 2021. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins/File PhotoWASHINGTON, Oct 12 (Reuters) - China needs up to $17 trillion in additional investments for green infrastructure and technology in the power and transport sectors to reach net-zero emissions by 2060, a new World Bank report on China's climate and development challenges found. The report, one of a new series of Country Climate and Development Reports, said China - the world's second-largest economy - would need private investment to cover the immense price tag and unleash the needed innovations. It would also be impossible to reach global climate goals without China transitioning to a low-carbon economy, the report said, noting that China emits 27% of global carbon dioxide and a third of the world's greenhouse gasses. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Andrea Shalal; Editing by Paul SimaoOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register"We have announced that we will be out by the end of this week. "My message to the funds involved and all the firms involved managing those funds: You've got three days left now. Investors are nervous that Friday's halt to the BoE's bond-buying might come too soon for some pension funds. But a BoE spokesperson said it had been made "absolutely clear in contact with the banks at senior levels" that the Friday deadline would hold. On Wednesday, it said it was "closely monitoring" liability-driven investment (LDI) funds, which are key to pension funds, ahead of Friday's deadline.

☆ British pound whipsaws after mixed messages from the Bank of England
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-12 | by ( Abigail Ng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

In this photo illustration, the British pound is seen displayed. Karol Serewis | Lightrocket | Getty ImagesThe British pound on Wednesday morning recovered losses following a Financial Times report that said the Bank of England is privately signaling a willingness to extend its emergency bond-buying program. The Bank of England did not immediately respond to CNBC's request for comment on the FT's report outside of office hours. The pound fell as low as $1.0922 in Asia's morning trade before popping to $1.106 after the FT report was published. If bond purchasing is stopped, "additional measures should be put in place to manage market volatility," it added.

☆ Oil prices extend decline on recession fears, China Covid curbs
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-12 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Oil storage tanks stand at the RN-Tuapsinsky refinery, operated by Rosneft Oil Co., at night in Tuapse, Russia. Oil prices fell for a third straight session on Wednesday as investors fretted about a hit to fuel demand from growing risks of a global recession and tightening Covid-19 curbs in China. Brent crude futures fell 51 cents, or 0.5%, to $93.78 a barrel by 0033 GMT. "Hotter-than-expected data may again tip investors' sentiment over the edge, which will intensify the current recession fears, pressing on oil prices further," Teng said. The oil market is also being pressured by tightening Covid-19 curbs in China, the world's second-largest oil consumer.

That was when the BoE moved to quell bond market turmoil triggered by the plans of the new government of Prime Minister Liz Truss for big, unfunded tax cuts. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register"We have announced that we will be out by the end of this week. "My message to the funds involved and all the firms involved managing those funds: You've got three days left now. Investors are nervous that Friday's deadline for the end of the BoE's bond-buying might come too soon for some funds. The BoE press office said it had no further comment to make beyond those of Bailey on Tuesday in Washington.

☆ The pound rallies from a 2-week low after the Bank of England reportedly signals it's ready to keep buying bonds
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-12 | by ( Karen Friar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The pound is rising after a FT report the Bank of England said it may extend its emergency bond buying. The UK currency fell after the BoE chief told pension funds they had three days to sort out their investments. The bond buying aims to calm markets spooked by fears of a UK financial crisis and a hit to pension funds. On Wednesday, the Financial Times reported the Bank of England had signaled privately to several bankers that it could extend its bond buying past the deadline. Analysts said Bailey's giving pension funds just days to sort out their liquidity positions had sent new jitters through the market.

Earlier in the day the British central bank said it would continue to buy bonds this week. The pan-European STOXX 600 index (.STOXX) lost 0.56% and MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe (.MIWD00000PUS) shed 0.97%. Emerging market stocks (.MSCIEF) lost 2.28% after hitting an April 2020 low and were set for a near-30% tumble year-to-date, their biggest decline since 2008. read moreGILT RESPITEBonds globally have been sideswiped by the rout in UK government bonds, known as gilts, pushing yields on U.S. Treasuries up sharply. Bond market trading was volatile with longer-dated U.S. Treasury yields hitting multi-year highs.

We think the rebalancing must be done," Bailey said at an event organised by the Institute of International Finance. "My message to the funds involved and all the firms involved managing those funds: You've got three days left now. Bailey was keen to distinguish between the temporary, financial stability nature of the latest intervention and previous quantitative easing stimulus. HEAVY LOSSESInflation-linked gilts, typically held by pension funds and known in the market as linkers, suffered a massive sell-off on Monday as the end to the BoE's programme on Friday approached. Simeon Willis, chief investment officer of pension consultants XPS, said he had seen pension funds selling "across the board" to find liquidity.

☆ U.S. dollar rises, yen not far from 24-year trough that prompted intervention
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-11 | by ( Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

"I can see it propelling the dollar higher still, even though people think it's a crowded trade. Overall, dollar sentiment remained positive as worries about rising interest rates and geopolitical tensions unsettled investors, while the yen hovered near the level that prompted last month's intervention. In afternoon trading, the U.S. dollar index rose 0.2% to 113.25, not far from a 20-year high of 114.78 it touched late last month. The dollar touched a three-week high against the yen of 145.895 , just shy of the 24-year peak of 145.90 hit before the Japanese government stepped in to prop it up three weeks ago. Meanwhile, the risk-sensitive Australian dollar hit a 2-1/2-year low of $0.6248 and was last down 0.4% at US$0.6270.

☆ S&P 500, Nasdaq end lower; BoE comments add to market jitters late
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-11 | by ( Caroline Valetkevitch | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Trading was volatile, with investors cautious ahead of key U.S. inflation data and the start of third-quarter earnings later this week. The S&P banks index (.SPXBK) was down 2.6% ahead of quarterly results from some major banks later this week. The reports are expected to kick off the third quarter reporting period for S&P 500 companies. read moreDeclining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by a 1.50-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.51-to-1 ratio favored decliners. The S&P 500 posted one new 52-week high and 104 new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 33 new highs and 590 new lows.

☆ Bank of England's Bailey tells pension funds they have 3 days to rebalance
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

WASHINGTON, Oct 11 (Reuters) - Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey told pension fund managers to finish rebalancing their positions by Friday when the British central bank is due to end its emergency support programme for the county's fragile bond market. We think the rebalancing must be done," Bailey said at an event organised by the Institute of International Finance in Washington on Tuesday. "And my message to the funds involved and all the firms involved managing those funds: You've got three days left now. But Bailey stressed that the programme was part of the BoE's financial stability operations, not a monetary policy tool, and had to be temporary. "Things seemed calmer again today," Bailey said, referring to conditions in the gilt market.

☆ Saudi Arabia and OPEC risk causing a US recession, Sen. Blumenthal says
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-11 | by ( Matt Egan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Connecticut Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal isn’t buying that argument from Saudi Arabia-led OPEC and is leading the push to punish the kingdom. Blumenthal and Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna announced legislation on Tuesday to stop all US arms sales to Saudi Arabia for one year. Blumenthal said he hopes the legislation will lead to a “rebalancing” of the “one-sided” relationship between the United States and Saudi Arabia. “Saudi Arabia gets arms, it gets paid for oil and then basically turns around and betrays us,” he said. More immediately, Blumenthal said the goal is to get OPEC+ to reverse its decision to slash oil production beginning next month.

☆ Investors are dipping a toe back into high-yield ETFs. Here's what you need to know
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-09 | by ( Jesse Pound | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Potentially, that marks the start of a reversal from this year's pattern, which has seen sharp outflows from high yield funds. High yield bond funds have been beaten down this year, like the rest of fixed income. FlexShares' offerings include the actively managed High Yield Value-Scored Bond Index Fund (HYGV) and the ESG & Climate High Yield Corporate Core Index Fund (FEHY) . To be sure, growing concerns about bankruptcies can hurt high yield investors, even if they never materialize. Because the underlying companies are also essentially investment funds, investors are paying management for both the companies and the ETFs.

Instead, it may be a good time to make adjustments to your portfolio or take some tax losses. For those with a long enough time horizon of five- or 10 years, or more, the sell-off could be an opportunity to buy the right stocks at a discount. Finding shelter For those worried about risk, stability can be found in the Treasury market. You might consider putting some of your holdings in Treasury bills, Treasury notes or Series I savings bonds. You can also get exposure to the Treasury market without owning the actual securities through a mutual fund or exchange-traded fund.

☆ Pound tanking, massive tax cuts and talk of emergency hikes. Here's what's going on in the UK
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-26 | by ( Elliot Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Jim O'Neill, former Goldman Sachs Asset Management chairman and a former U.K. Treasury minister, said the pound's fall shouldn't be misinterpreted as dollar strength. The announcement Friday featured a volume of tax cuts not seen in Britain since 1972 and an unabashed return to the "trickle-down economics" promoted by the likes of Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher. The radical policy moves set the U.K. at odds with most major global economies against a backdrop of sky-high inflation and a cost-of-living crisis. Ibrahim added that this would imply further suffering for U.K. financial markets due to the "unfavorable policy mix" over the near term. The British lender expects the government to clarify its plans to balance the books through "spending cuts and reform outcomes" ahead of the November budget statement, which Montagne suggested "should help to deflect immediate concerns relating to large unfunded tax cuts."

Hedge funds and other money managers sold the equivalent of 8 million barrels in the six most important petroleum-related futures and options contracts in the week to Sept. 20. Funds have sold a total of 186 million barrels over the 16 weeks since the start of June, according to records published by ICE Futures Europe and the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission. (Chartbook: https://tmsnrt.rs/3Stv0XG)The most recent week saw purchases of Brent (+6 million barrels), NYMEX and ICE WTI (+3 million) and U.S. gasoline (+2 million) but sales of U.S. diesel (-3 million) and European gas oil (-15 million). Middle distillates such as diesel and gas oil are mostly used in freight transportation, manufacturing and mining, so they are heavily geared to the business cycle. Fund managers have cut their position in mid-distillates in each of the last three weeks by a total of 39 million barrels as fears of a recession have intensified.

☆ Goldman says buy these kinds of stocks as firm sours on overall market amid rate surge
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-23 | by ( Carmen Reinicke | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Goldman Sachs recently slashed its year-end target for the S & P 500 citing higher than expected interest rates. The dismal outlook comes after the Federal Reserve this week raised interest rates by 0.75 percentage point, its third consecutive hike of that size. The median equity duration in Goldman's short duration basket is 18.3 years, below the 21-year median of the Russell 1000. To be sure, long duration stocks have been "surprisingly resilient" in the face of higher real rates, Kostin said. Yields on the 2-year U.S. Treasury note spiked Wednesday around the Fed's interest rate hike, and continued to climb since.

☆ These are the assets investors are turning to for protection in the market's latest rout
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-18 | by ( Carmen Reinicke | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

This year's market volatility has left investors few places to hide, weighing on stocks and bonds. For those who adhere to a traditional portfolio structure of 60% stocks and 40% bonds, the year has been painful. Treasury bonds Even though bonds haven't performed well year to date, there is still reason to buy Treasurys going forward. First, short-term U.S. Treasury bonds can be used to offset interest rate risk in one's portfolio. Snapping up those longer-dated Treasury bonds may be a good idea to lock in rates while they're relatively cheap, according to Jones.

☆ The powerful motivator behind workers who want more
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-16 | by ( Christine Romans | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN Business —Rail workers, teachers, nurses, baristas. There is a powerful factor motivating these American workers to demand for more. “Railroad workers are leading the way but everyone wants more.”Those are the dollars and cents behind workers’ dissatisfaction. For workers, closing that gap between wages and consumer prices could, actually, be inflationary. The things that make us middle class — housing, health care, education — these things are going up at triple that rate.

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