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☆ U.S. Senator Schumer condemns Speaker McCarthy for supplying Jan.6 videos to Fox
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( Richard Cowan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/4] U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) speaks to the news media after attending a closed Senate Democratic Caucus lunch at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., U.S., March 2, 2023. REUTERS/Leah MillisWASHINGTON, March 7 (Reuters) - U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer on Tuesday accused House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy of helping Fox News stoke conspiracy theories by providing videos that were used by the cable network to portray the Jan. 6 Capitol rioters as peaceful. On Monday, Fox's right-wing commentator Tucker Carlson used some of the security videos, showing protesters walking through the Capitol, to argue that they were merely "sightseers." In a Senate speech, Schumer condemned the broadcast and urged the cable network to cancel any follow-up segment. No such fraud has been documented and Trump, who is running for president in 2024, continues to falsely repeat the charge.

Traders drastically increased their bets of a 50-basis-point rate hike in March after Powell's comments, with money market futures pricing a more than 40% chance of such a move, from 23% before the remarks. Meanwhile, Fed fund rates were seen peaking at 5.56% in September compared to 5.47% earlier. Investors are awaiting data later this week that is expected to show nonfarm payrolls increased by 200,000 in February, compared with the much stronger-than-expected 517,000 jobs reported in January. Among individual stocks, Rivian Automotive (RIVN.O) tumbled 10.5% after the electric automaker unveiled plans to sell bonds worth $1.3 billion. The S&P index recorded 10 new 52-week highs and four new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 30 new highs and 77 new lows.

☆ Homes might be more affordable in 2024, but that doesn't mean you should wait to buy one
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( Mike Winters | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Forecasts are a mixed bag , but most expect prices to either remain flat or continue cooling by 1% to 10% from 2022's highs. However, with the economy expected to cool and possibly dip into a recession , many recent forecasts expect rates to drop to 6% or below in 2024, including a Fannie Mae projection of 5.2%. With U.S. home prices dropping and mortgage rates projected to dip sometime in 2024, homebuyers might be wondering if they should wait until next year to land a more affordable deal. "Returning to mortgage rates of 3% or 4% is not going to happen, in my view," says Yun, who points out that historically rates have been higher. Plus, if "mortgage rates go back down to that level, people can always refinance their mortgages," says Yun.

☆ Tesla cuts Model S and Model X prices in the U.S. to stoke demand
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Tesla cut prices on its two most expensive models in the U.S., the Model S and Model X, in a renewed bid to stoke demand for its cars with aggressive discounts. The Tesla Model S now starts at $89,990, according to Tesla's website, down around 5% from where they were priced previously. The Model X, meanwhile, starts at $99,990, which marks a 9% reduction. For the high-end "Plaid" versions of the Model S and Model X, car buyers can now expect to pay $109,990. That's down 4% for the Model S Plaid, and 8% for the Model X Plaid.

☆ Take Five: A manic March
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Another dose of hot job growth after January's payrolls increase of 517,000 trounced estimates could stoke fears of more hawkish Fed action. Powell has said the January jobs report showed why the battle against inflation will "take quite a bit of time". Powell's comments and the jobs data could help settle what the Fed does later this month. The RBA hinted at further tightening at its meeting last month, but data since then has pointed the other way. After a red-hot January rally, bonds and equities retreated in February as strong data sparked concerns about more rate hikes.

☆ Republicans stoke 2024 culture wars by attacking Biden's socially conscious investing rule
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Warren Rojas | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

A brewing fight over socially conscious investing appears to be a preview of 2024 attack lines. The GOP's ongoing battle against environmental, social and corporate governance issues seems to be picking up steam ahead of the next presidential election, with Senate Republicans unanimously opposed to government involvement in personal investments. "If there's some other social goals, that'd be run through government, not through investing," Johnson told Insider between Senate votes. Sen. Steve Daines of Montana, who is running Senate Republicans' reelection arm for the 2024 cycle, declined to comment on whether an anti-ESG plank would be part of that campaign. "Stay focused on investors and shareholders, not on stakeholders," Daines told Insider before being whisked away by the Senate subway.

☆ South Korea, US, Japan meet on supply-chain resilience
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Hyonhee Shin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] FILE PHOTO-South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol speaks at an interview with Reuters in Seoul, South Korea, November 28, 2022. REUTERS/Daewoung KimSEOUL, Feb 28 (Reuters) - Officials from South Korea, the United States and Japan have held their first economic security dialogue, South Korea's presidential office said on Tuesday, amid efforts to strengthen the resilience of supply chains and develop technology. Though Japan and South Korea are at time uneasy neighbours, the three countries are keen to expand cooperation in various fields in the face of increased global tensions, a more assertive China and an unpredictable North Korea. "This dialogue is meaningful in expanding bilateral economic security cooperation with the United States to the trilateral level," the office of South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol said in a statement. The United States has accused China and Russia of weaponising supply chains to disrupt the global economy and stoke geopolitical tension.

☆ With backing from business lobby, Japan PM calls for workers' pay hikes
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

"Above all, wage hikes that beat price hikes are needed," Kishida told an annual gathering of his ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), which lays out its policy agenda for this year. "The wave of wage hikes must spread to small firms and local areas to enhance competitiveness amid heated competition to attract workers" amid labour shortages, Kishida said. While achieving "structural wage hikes," Kishida pledged to continue to take steps to curb energy and food prices to ease the pain of inflation on households. Masakazu Tokura, head of Japan's biggest business lobby Keidanren, expressed support for the wage push. Moreover, the small companies that provide most of Japan's jobs generally can't increase pay, business owners, economists and officials say.

☆ Oil drops 3% as high inflation risks stoke demand worries
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Shariq Khan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Brent crude futures for April delivery were down $2.33, or 2.8%, to $80.72 a barrel at 2:20 p.m. EST (1920 GMT), while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures dropped by $2.31, or 3%, to $74.05 a barrel. "While better U.S. economic data should mean better oil demand, the concern is that this forces the Fed to overtighten monetary policy to bring inflation under control," said UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo. Other U.S. economic reports, however, showed some troubling signs for the world's biggest oil consumer. According to a preliminary Reuters poll on Tuesday, analysts forecast a rise in U.S. crude inventories, feeding demand worries. Morgan Stanley raised its global oil demand growth estimate for this year by about 36%, citing growing momentum in China's reopening and a recovery in aviation.

☆ Hotels, Booking Sites Say Americans Will Keep Traveling in 2023
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-18 | by ( Will Feuer | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Industry executives say looser restrictions on travel in Asia could add more steam to the travel rebound. Big weddings and conferences are once again taking over hotels. The long-awaited rebound of business travel is gaining steam. Travel companies, after reporting mostly strong trends in recent quarters, are predicting another bustling year amid signs that travelers are prioritizing spending on trips. Consumers are shrugging off surging prices for everything from airfares and hotel rooms to dining out, and industry executives say there is little sign of a travel slowdown coming.

☆ Breakfast giant Post is making a bet on cereal designed to put you to sleep
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Alex Bitter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The company behind Grape Nuts has a new cereal designed to be eaten before bed. Post's "Sweet Dreams" is designed to stoke your body's melatonin production. It's the latest new food or beverage product designed to help you sleep. Post Consumer Brands will start selling "Sweet Dreams" across the US, the company said on Thursday. Those ingredients make the cereal "designed to be part of a healthy sleep routine while still satisfying those nighttime food cravings," Post said in an announcement.

☆ BlackRock downgrades Japan stocks on possible monetary policy shift
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Jihye Lee | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Kazuhiro Nogi | Afp | Getty ImagesBlackRock, the world's largest asset manager, cut Japanese stocks to "underweight" – as Japan is set to appoint a new governor to lead its central bank. "We downgrade Japanese stocks on policy uncertainty and a worsening economic environment," BlackRock's research arm said Monday, before the government submitted its central bank picks to parliament. U.S. Treasury yields spiked, with the 10-year note and the 30-year note jumping 7 and 8 basis points respectively. One possibility is the Bank of Japan further widening its tolerance range beyond 50 basis points. Nikkei separately reported earlier this month that the central bank purchased 23.7 trillion yen ($182 billion) of JGBs in January, a new record high.

"If the debt limit is not raised or suspended before the extraordinary measures are exhausted, the government would be unable to pay its obligations fully," the CBO report said. "As a result, the government would have to delay making payments for some activities, default on its debt obligations, or both." CBO Director Phillip Swagel attributed the rise to higher interest rates that particularly are hitting the housing industry, coupled with slowing business investment. REUTERS/Elizabeth FrantzRepublicans, who control the House of Representatives, want to withhold a debt limit increase until Democrats agree to deep spending cuts. Democrats in turn say the debt limit should not be "held hostage" to Republican tactics over federal spending.

☆ Kazuo Ueda nominated to lead Japan's central bank in possible move away from ultra-easy policy
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( Laura He | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Hong Kong CNN —The Japanese government has nominated Kazuo Ueda to lead its central bank, in a surprise move that could pave the way for the country to wind down its ultra-loose monetary policy. Accommodative is a term used to describe monetary policy that adjusts to adverse market conditions and usually involves keeping interest rates low to spur growth and employment. As part of that program, the central bank targeted some short-term interest rates at an ultra-dovish minus 0.1% and aimed for 10-year government bond yields around 0%. But as prices rose and interest rates elsewhere went up, pressure has grown on the BOJ to wind down YCC. But Kuroda later dismissed a near-term exit from his ultra-loose monetary policy.

☆ Apple and Google have a symbiotic deal: ChatGPT will pressure the former to evaluate this relationship
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( Thomas Maxwell | Alistair Barr | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Google has long benefited from a costly deal to be the default search engine on Apple devices. On top of the Apple deal, Google controls Android and Chrome, with roughly 71% and 65% of the smartphone and browser markets, respectively. Based on its understanding of Google's deal with Apple, Bernstein believes that a 3-year default search deal is coming up for renewal later this year. It's unclear whether Apple would want to change the default search engine to Bing, but it's always had a contentious relationship with Google. Apple's services business, which includes the search deal, was a bright spot in the company's most recent earnings report.

☆ Brazil minister denies knowledge of plan to raise inflation target
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

His role involves presenting the government's agenda to Congress and other bodies including the central bank. Brazilian news website Metropoles and Bloomberg cited unidentified sources as saying an early review of the inflation target and an increase were under discussion. President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has criticized the 13.75% benchmark interest rate, set by the central bank, as too high. Supporters of this move argue that raising the inflation target would require less monetary tightening and sustain economic activity. Critics said that a higher target could stoke expectations for even greater inflation and hinder the central bank's achieving the new objectives.

☆ How a photo of DeSantis allegedly partying with high schoolers enflamed a bitter rivalry between Trump and the Florida governor
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Donald Trump launched a new attack on rumored 2024 rival Ron DeSantis. He shared an old picture that allegedly shows DeSantis partying with school pupils. "Here is Ron DeSanctimonious grooming high school girls with alcohol as a teacher," a caption on the user's post reads. In a New York Times article in 2022, former pupils at the school recalled DeSantis partying with seniors. The post Trump shared alludes to a far-right campaign to stoke opposition to LGBTQ education in classrooms by smearing teachers as "groomers", or pedophiles.

That prompted the central bank to pause its most aggressive tightening cycle for now, becoming the first major central bank to do so. Traders have already bid up Canadian stocks and the Canadian dollar , dubbed a 'commodity currency', since the news of China reopening surfaced in December. Doug Porter, chief economist at BMO Capital Markets, said that for Canada, China's reopening is more a "clear-cut positive" than it would be for other countries with fewer commodities exports. The U.S. Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank and the Bank of England have since laid the groundwork for a pause as well. Karl Schamotta, chief market strategist at Corpay said China's reopening will help put a floor under global price levels, potentially offsetting demand destruction as economies slow.

☆ Navas steals limelight on mixed weekend for January signings
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( Martyn Herman | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

January signings can be hit and miss and it was a mixed weekend for new recruits. "But I loved his composure and game management and decision making, I really enjoyed that part of his performance. He came close to a debut goal too, but ultimately it was a frustrating debut as Chelsea's attack misfired yet again. Leicester's Souttar, signed from Stoke City, enjoyed a winning debut as his side overcame Aston Villa 4-2, although scoring an own goal was hardly ideal. But Souttar, along with fellow new signing Victor Kristiansen, impressed, although not as much as another new recruit Tete, who marked his debut with a goal.

☆ Tesla or Ford? Analysts name their favorite stock as the EV race heats up
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( Weizhen Tan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Ford's EV sales – currently at 3.6% of its monthly total sales – have been a major focus of Wall Street. Amid talk of an EV pricing war , who will win: Tesla, or Ford? Ford Bank of America in a Jan. 30 note called both Ford and Tesla's decision to cut prices "odd." Tesla Most analysts seem to be more optimistic on Tesla at present. For Tesla, analysts have an average price target upside of 1.8%, and 65% have a buy rating on the stock.

☆ Tesla raises Model Y prices by $1,000 after U.S. relaxes tax credit terms
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-04 | by ( Reuters Staff | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

FILE PHOTO: Visitors wearing face masks check a China-made Tesla Model Y sport utility vehicle (SUV) at the electric vehicle maker's showroom in Beijing, China January 5, 2021. Tesla increased the price of the Model Y Long Range to $54,990, and the Model Y Performance to $57,990, an increase of $1,000 each, according to current and previous prices posted on its website. It was the second increase in price for the Model Y Long Range over the past two weeks. In a reversal, the Treasury Department ruled on Friday that crossovers like the Model Y would qualify for electric vehicle tax credits as long as they were priced below $80,000. He said strong demand had prompted the company to make its first small price increase to the Model Y.

☆ Chinese Tesla rival Xpeng launches flagship EVs in Europe in international push
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( Arjun Kharpal | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The Chinese electric car start-up launched its P7 sedan and G9 SUV in Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands and Sweden. Xpeng , a Chinese electric vehicle startup, on Friday launched two of its flagship cars across a number of European countries, as it continues its aggressive international push. Tesla's Model 3 Long Range, which claims 602 kilometers on a single charge, costs 52,990 in the Netherlands. Nio , a Chinese rival to Xpeng, began delivering some cars to Norway at the end of 2021. Xpeng has accelerated its international push in the past year after opening physical stores in Europe last year and launching its mass-market P5 sedan.

☆ Exclusive: Tesla to raise Shanghai output after price cuts stoke demand -memo
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SHANGHAI, Feb 1 (Reuters) - Tesla (TSLA.O) plans to step up output at its Shanghai plant over the next two months to meet demand ignited by aggressive price cuts on its best-selling models, according to a planning memo seen by Reuters and a person with knowledge of the plan. The automaker plans to produce a weekly average of nearly 20,000 units at its Shanghai factory in February and March, according to the memo, which detailed output plans for Tesla's most productive and profitable manufacturing hub. On a conference call last week to discuss Tesla's fourth-quarter results, Chief Executive Elon Musk said orders were roughly double production in January after global price cuts. Tesla's price cuts in China have sparked what analysts have described as a price war, as Chinese automakers Xpeng and Seres' Aito have followed the company in cutting prices. Tesla's Shanghai plant produces vehicles for the China market and for export to Europe.

☆ Euro zone can afford to keep fiscal taps running
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Francesco Guerrera | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

If they don’t overdo it, governments can also ease the blow of the European Central Bank’s efforts to tame inflation. But euro zone leaders like Germany’s Olaf Scholz, France’s Emmanuel Macron and Italy’s Giorgia Meloni face pressure from economic policymakers to curb the handouts. The Commission estimates that the euro zone aggregate deficit will be 3.7% of GDP in 2023. As the ECB keeps a lid on growth to slay inflation, European governments can keep the fiscal taps open. Follow @guerreraf72 on TwitterloadingCONTEXT NEWSThe European Central Bank is putting pressure on euro zone governments to rein in fiscal spending.

☆ Wrexham offered potential dream Cup tie with Tottenham
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Jan 30 (Reuters) - Non-league Wrexham could face a dream tie at home to eight-time winners Tottenham Hotspur in the FA Cup fifth round if they can get past Sheffield United in a replay, while Manchester City will travel to Championship (second-tier) side Bristol City. Wrexham, owned by Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, played out a thrilling 3-3 draw with visiting Sheffield United on Sunday. The National League (fifth-tier) leaders were only denied a famous victory over the Championship side by a 95th-minute equaliser, forcing a replay scheduled for next month. Manchester United were handed a home tie against third-tier Derby County or fellow top-flight side West Ham United, who meet later on Monday. Brighton & Hove Albion, who knocked out holders Liverpool, will visit Championship side Stoke City.

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