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☆ Bond sell-off worst since 1949, investor sentiment plummets - BofA
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A Bank of America logo is pictured in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, U.S., January 30, 2019. REUTERS/Carlo AllegriLONDON, Sept 23 (Reuters) - Global government bond losses are on course for the worst year since 1949 and investor sentiment has plummeted to its lowest since the financial crisis, BofA Global Research said in a note on Friday. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterInvestor sentiment is the worst it has been since the 2008 global financial crash, the note said. The bond crash “threatens liquidation of (the) world's most crowded trades” including long dollar and long U.S. tech, BofA wrote. Aggressive rate hikes from major central banks to contain inflation, even as growth slows, has unnerved world markets and sparked a fresh surge in bond yields this week.

☆ Reactions: Britain's finance minister unveils "mini budget"
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Britain's blue-chip stocks (.FTSE)remained mired in the red, in line with a broader equity-market decline. FOREX: Sterling extended losses, falling 1.9% on the day to around $1.1047, having hit a new 37-year low earlier on. British homebuilders and household goods makers hit session highs, buoyed by the prospect of consumers getting tax breaks. The tax-cutting budget and ‘go for broke’ growth aims are unlikely to change the longer-term bearish GBP trend." If you get more fiscal stimulus and less monetary stimulus, that’s something that’s buoyant for the currency.

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."

☆ Morning Bid: BoJ intervention and rate hikes, say no more
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The irony for some is that super-low rates in Japan contrast with sharply rising borrowing costs in the United States. read moreAnd after Wednesday's Fed rate hike, others have followed. Norway's central bank lifted rates by 50 bps and the Swiss National Bank hiked rates by 75 bps - taking Swiss rates positive for the first time in eight years. read moreThat leaves Japan, the outlier dove, as the only major central bank with negative rates, so no surprise if the yen moves back down from here. Trade in U.S. stock futures meanwhile suggest Wall Street may be due for some calm after Wednesday's post Fed selloff.

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.

☆ Central banks unleash 350 basis points more of rate hikes in inflation fight
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Central banks in the 10 big developed economies have raised rates by a combined 1,965 basis points in this cycle to date, with Japan the holdout "dove", sticking on Thursday with its ultra-low rates policy. read moreThe Fed's new projections showed its policy rate rising to 4.4% by year-end, before peaking at 4.6% in 2023. read moreOn Sept. 7, the BoC hiked its policy rate to 3.25%, its highest level in 14 years. Canada was the first among the world's advanced economies in the current policy-tightening cycle to deliver a 100 bps rate. That implies at least one more 50 bps rate hike at upcoming meetings.

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.

U.S. One dollar banknotes are seen in front of displayed stock graph in this illustration taken, February 8, 2021. World stock markets remained on edge and the dollar maintained its firm tone, given expectations that the Fed would maintain its aggressive tightening path to contain uncomfortably high inflation. We do not think the Fed will hike 100 basis points this week, but the potential is still real," he added. The New Zealand dollar fell to its lowest level since May 2020 of US$0.5933, and was last at US$0.5937 . The Canadian dollar fell to its lowest level in almost two years at C$1.3324 per U.S. dollar .

☆ Dollar firm as Fed headlines big week for central banks
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-19 | by ( Dhara Ranasinghe | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

U.S. One dollar banknotes are seen in front of displayed stock graph in this illustration taken, February 8, 2021. Still, world stock markets remained on edge and the dollar maintained its firm tone, given expectations that the Fed would maintain its aggressive rate-hike path to contain uncomfortably high inflation. "The Fed is not close to being done and that is supportive for the dollar." Markets fully price in a 75 basis point Fed rate hike this week and a roughly 20% chance of a 100 bps increase. read moreCanada's dollar fell to its lowest in almost two years at 1.3324 per U.S. dollar .

☆ Morning Bid: Hunkering down for a new phase in the inflation fight
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Traders work on the trading floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., September 13, 2022. An action-packed week for central banks around the world has not even got underway yet and equity investors are expressing their unease that aggressive rate hikes aimed at taming sticky inflation makes a global recession more likely. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterA week, it turns out, is a long time in the world of central banks and markets these days. In addition to the Fed, a host of other central banks - including those in Britain, Switzerland, Norway and Sweden - are tipped to tighten policy this week. But no doubt, the downbeat tone in world markets remains firmly in place.

☆ Dollar robust as Fed headlines big week for central banks
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-19 | by ( Dhara Ranasinghe | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

U.S. One dollar banknotes are seen in front of displayed stock graph in this illustration taken, February 8, 2021. Still, the dollar maintained its firm tone, given expectations that the Fed would maintain its aggressive rate-hike path to contain uncomfortably high inflation. Markets fully price in a 75 basis point Fed rate hike this week and a roughly 20% chance of a 100 bps increase. read moreCanada's dollar in early European trade fell to its lowest in almost two years at 1.3311 per U.S. dollar . read moreChina's yuan kept to the weaker side of 7 per dollar as economic worries and the possibility of more benchmark interest rate cuts loomed on Tuesday.

☆ Sterling languishes near 37-year low vs dollar
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Pound and U.S. dollar banknotes are seen in this illustration taken January 6, 2020. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/IllustrationLONDON, Sept 19 (Reuters) - Sterling was weaker against a robust dollar on Monday, hovering near last week's 37-year low, with sentiment towards the British currency remaining weak given a darkening economic outlook. The Federal Reserve is also meeting this week and expectations for an even bigger hike of at least 75 bps has bolstered the dollar. The pound was last trading at $1.1381 , down about 0.5% on the day and within sight of the 37-year low hit on Friday at $1.1351. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Dhara Ranasinghe Editing by Mark HeinrichOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Italy's right-wing bloc set for election win: five questions for markets
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Giorgia Meloni, leader of the nationalist Brothers of Italy, is seen as frontrunner to become Italy's first female prime minister. read moreThe absence of anti-euro rhetoric seen in the 2018 election has reassured investors, for now. At around 225 basis points, the closely watched gap between 10-year Italian and German bond yields has been relatively stable . That would cause some angst since the constitution protects issues related to Italy's EU membership. read moreReuters Graphics2/ Could Italy's EU funding plan be modified?

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