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☆ Stocks sputter as growth fears deepen despite China COVID shift
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Tom Westbrook | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) fell 0.2% and Japan's Nikkei (.N225) fell 0.7%. The growth fears rallied longer-dated bonds and helped the safe-haven U.S. dollar to pause its recent retreat. That is more than 80 bps below the two-year yield as investors reckon on high rates hurting growth. The Australian dollar was broadly steady at $0.6680 despite Australian third-quarter growth coming in a bit below forecasts. The U.S. dollar index sat at 105.5.

☆ Stocks rally sputters as growth fears deepen
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Tom Westbrook | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

"We might be transitioning from a situation of worrying about inflation and interest rates, to one where the negatives become weakening growth and falling profits." The growth fears rallied longer-dated bonds and helped the safe-haven U.S. dollar to pause its recent retreat. That is more than 80 bps below the two-year yield as investors reckon on high rates hurting growth. The Australian dollar was broadly steady at $0.6696 despite Australian third-quarter growth coming in a bit below forecasts. The Canadian dollar hovered at 1.3644 per dollar ahead of an expected rate hike from the Bank of Canada later on Wednesday.

☆ Stocks rally sputters as growth fears resurface
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Tom Westbrook | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

SINGAPORE, Dec 7 (Reuters) - Asia's stockmarkets wobbled lower on Wednesday as reality bit on hopes for a soft economic landing in the United States, and investors curbed their enthusiasm about China's reopening. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) fell 0.4% and Japan's Nikkei (.N225) fell 0.5%. The growth fears rallied longer-dated bonds and helped the safe-haven U.S. dollar to pause its recent retreat. That is more than 80 bps below the two-year yield as investors reckon on high rates hurting growth. The Australian dollar was broadly steady at $0.6707 despite Australian third-quarter growth coming in a bit below forecasts.

☆ Morning Bid: Crude deflation?
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

With everyone on Wall St seemingly hand wringing about stagflation next year, the price of crude oil has plummeted by up to 10% this week to its lowest since early January - offering some relief in an otherwise murky outlook. Crucially for inflation worriers, year-on-year crude price gains - which were running at 50-100% between February's Ukraine invasion and midyear - have now fallen to just 4% and could soon be a disinflationary force in consumer price baskets. But, contrary to many prior energy market assumptions, the impact of Monday G7's Russian oil price cap at $60pb for seaborne crude is anchoring prices and underscoring massive discounts for Russia oil - already selling for as low as $55pb. The Bank of Canada is the latest on the list on Wednesday and expected to hike rates by another half point, as are the Federal Reserve, European Central Bank and Bank of England next week. European and Asia bourses - even Shanghai and Hong Kong despite the lifting COVID restrictions - were in negative territory too.

☆ Bank of Canada increases rates by 50 bps, says hikes may be over
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

OTTAWA, Dec 7 (Reuters) - The Bank of Canada on Wednesday hiked its benchmark overnight interest rate by 50 basis points to 4.25%, the highest level in almost 15 years, and signalled the tightening campaign was near an end. The central bank, which has raised rates at a record pace of 400 basis points in nine months, cited still-strong growth and tight labor markets as the reason for the latest increase. But it eliminated the forward guidance it has used since the start of the tightening cycle, dropping language that said rates would have to rise further. Gross domestic product growth in the third quarter, which grew at an annualized 2.9%, was stronger than expected and there is still "excess demand" in the economy, while labor markets remained tight, it said. (Reporting by Steve Scherer, editing by David Ljunggren)((Reuters Ottawa bureau, +1 647 480 7921; david.ljunggren@tr.com))Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Dollar falls against major currencies amid economy concerns; yuan strengthens
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The U.S. dollar weakened against major currencies on Wednesday amid concerns that rising interest rates could push the U.S. economy into recession, while a loosening of China's COVID restrictions boosted the yuan. The Peruvian sol fell as the country's Congress voted to oust President Pedro Castillo in an impeachment trial on Wednesday. At its session low, the sol fell more than 2% against the dollar. A U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies, was last down 0.4%. "Surging interest rates have been the primary driver for dollar strength over the last year."

By contrast, the median forecast for a similar poll on the U.S. Federal Reserve is exactly where futures currently price the Fed's terminal rate next year - 5.0%. Any reversion of terminal rate pricing to consensus or below could see the pound wobble again. "That said, we have been stressing downside risks to our terminal rate projection, given the constant dovish messaging from the MPC. BoE poll question on Terminal Rate Risks? Central Bank Rate Hike CampaignSterling volatilityThe opinions expressed here are those of the author, a columnist for Reuters.

☆ Canadian dollar seen higher as analysts eye peak interest rates: Reuters poll
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Fergal Smith | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The loonie has weakened over 7% against the U.S. dollar since the start of 2022, with almost all of the decline coming since mid-August. Canada's economy grew at an annualized rate of 2.9% in the third quarter, much stronger than both analysts and the Bank of Canada were expecting. The BoC has raised its benchmark interest rate by 350 basis points since March to 3.75%, its highest level since 2008, in an attempt to cool inflation. Along with a more stable path for U.S. interest rates it "should help the loonie rally closer to fair value," Zhao-Murray said. Measures of fair value include purchasing power parity (PPP), or the exchange rate that equalizes the purchasing power of separate currencies.

Investors' glass is definitely looking half empty. Import and export activity in November slumped at the fastest pace for two and a half years, resulting in the smallest surplus since April. chartBrent crude oil fell to a 2022 low below $77 a barrel, shrinking its year-on-year gain to just 2%. The U.S. 10-year Treasury yield hit a three-month low of 3.42% and is down 90 basis points from its October peak. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

☆ TSX closes below 20,000 mark as oil prices slide
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Fergal Smith | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] The Art Deco facade of the original Toronto Stock Exchange building is seen on Bay Street in Toronto, Ontario, Canada January 23, 2019. The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index (.GSPTSE) ended down 252.09 points, or 1.25%, at 19,990.17, its lowest closing level since Nov. 21. All 10 of the TSX's major sectors lost ground, including a decline of 3.5% for the energy sector. That matched the decline for U.S. crude prices , which settled at $74.25 a barrel, as global demand concerns weighed. Reporting by Fergal Smith; Additional reporting by Shashwat Chauhan in Bengaluru; Editing by Will DunhamOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Dealmakers face pressure to clinch M&A quickly in volatile markets
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Maiya Keidan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

HSBC wrapped up the deal in just eights weeks after saying it was considering selling its Canadian business in early October. From its first contact, RBC, Canada's biggest lender, told HSBC it could close the deal quickly if selected, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters. After the final bids went in around mid-November, RBC said it could turn everything around in a week, the person added. In the United States, deal timelines fell by almost 30% to 66 days this year from last year, where transactions took more than one day to close, the data shows. Deal announcements are one thing but getting all the regulatory approvals to close a deal are another matter altogether.

☆ Toronto stocks slip to near 1-week lows on rate worries
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Shashwat Chauhan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] The Art Deco facade of the original Toronto Stock Exchange building is seen on Bay Street in Toronto, Ontario, Canada January 23, 2019. ET (1532 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index (.GSPTSE) was down 90.22 points, or 0.45 percent, at 20,152.04. "This news would be received well by investors as higher interest rates have been a major source of anxiety this year," said Brandon Michael, senior analyst at ABC Funds. Among single stocks, Cenovus Energy Inc (CVE.TO) gained 2.0% after the energy company forecast higher capital expenditure for 2023. Reporting by Shashwat Chauhan in Bengaluru Editing by Vinay Dwivedi and Maju SamuelOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ TSX futures edge up as gold shines, BoC meet in focus
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SummarySummary Companies BoC rate decision due WednesdayTraders see a 71.5% chance of 25 bps hikeDec 06 (Reuters) - Futures for Canada's resources-heavy main stock index edged up on Tuesday as gold prices rose, while investors await the Bank of Canada's interest rate decision. Gold prices steadied on Tuesday after shedding more than 1% in the last session, helped by a weaker dollar. Commodity prices have a major impact on Toronto stocks, as materials and energy companies combined have a near 31% weight on the main index. The TSX, like its U.S. counterparts has rallied from October lows on hopes that the Federal Reserve and major central banks would dial down their aggressive approach on interest rates. The BoC will be one of the first major central banks to announce the interest rate decision in December, with announcements from the Fed and the European Central Bank to follow next week.

☆ Toronto home prices fall 1% in November; down roughly 19% from peak
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

TORONTO, Dec 6 (Reuters) - Home prices in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) fell in November as rapidly rising interest rates weighed on the city's once-red-hot housing market, data from the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB) showed on Tuesday. The average price of a GTA home fell to C$1.08 million ($794,527) in November, down 1% from October and down 7.2% from a year ago. Prices were about 19% below February's peak. "Increased borrowing costs represent a short-term shock to the housing market," TRREB President Kevin Crigger said in a statement. ($1 = 1.3593 Canadian dollars)Reporting by Fergal Smith in Toronto Editing by Matthew LewisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Dollar little changed after previous day's jump; investors look to Fed next week
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Data Monday showing that U.S. services industry activity unexpectedly picked up in November prompted speculation the Fed may lift interest rates more than recently projected. "There was a lot of price action yesterday, and we're just consolidating that," with the big focus on next week's Fed meeting. The euro was flat against the dollar at $1.0492, while the dollar was down 0.1% against the Japanese yen. European Central Bank policymaker Constantinos Herodotou said on Tuesday interest rates will go up again but are now "very near" their neutral level. The dollar was up 0.6% against the Canadian dollar ahead of the Bank of Canada's rate decision Wednesday.

☆ Exclusive: Green logistics company GoBolt raises $55 million to build out a fleet of electric trucks
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Darius Rafieyan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

GoBolt raised a $55 million in funding, bringing its total capital raised to $162 million CAD. The company achieved a higher valuation compared to its Series B, despite the market "bloodbath". GoBolt seeks to build out its fleet of electric trucks and one day be "carbon negative". The 3rd party logistics company Second Closet hired had just called to say they weren't going to make it. The company raised the funds in Canadian dollars but the amounts have been converted to US dollars for this article.

"Good news on the economy is bad news for inflation, whether that's China opening up or lower gasoline prices." The 10-year's yield rose 9.3 basis points to 3.596%. The 10-year German bund , the bloc's benchmark, rose 1.3 basis points to 1.890%. The Reserve Bank of Australia meets on Tuesday, and is expected to raise rates by a mere 25 basis points. The Bank of Canada meets on Wednesday and is expected to raise rates by 50 basis points.

☆ Canada's deep yield curve inversion adds to BoC rate hike dilemma
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-04 | by ( Fergal Smith | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Canada's central bank says that the economy needs to slow from overheated levels in order to ease inflation. The yield on the Canadian 10-year government bond has fallen nearly 100 basis points below the 2-year yield, marking the biggest inversion of Canada's yield curve in Refinitiv data going back to 1994 and deeper than the U.S. Treasury yield curve inversion. The depth of Canada's curve inversion is signaling a "bad recession" not a mild one, said David Rosenberg, chief economist & strategist at Rosenberg Research. Still, 3-month measures of underlying inflation that are closely watched by the BoC - CPI-median and CPI-trim - show price pressures easing. "The yield curve would not invert to this extent unless investors also believed that inflation will drop back down toward the Bank's target," said Brown.

☆ I quit a stressful 6-figure job as a VP in finance to start a fitness business. It was scary but worth the career change.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-04 | by ( Jenna Gyimesi | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

She began teaching fitness classes on the side and eventually gave up finance altogether. I started coaching fitness classes on the sideI did both finance and fitness for two years before quitting my banking job. I coached fitness classes a couple of nights a week and on the weekends in two different studios. Having this time to focus on fitness without fully leaving finance yet allowed me to transition in the most risk-averse way possible. This actually felt really easy to me because I was spending less naturally.

The loonie was trading 0.2% lower at 1.3455 to the greenback, or 74.32 U.S. cents, after trading in a range of 1.3421 to 1.3520. For the week, it was on track to decline 0.6%. Canada added 10,100 jobs in November, broadly in line with the forecast gain of 5,000, while the jobless rate fell to 5.1%, Statistics Canada said. The U.S. dollar rallied against a basket of major currencies and equity markets globally fell. Canadian government bond yields climbed across the curve, tracking the move in U.S. Treasuries.

☆ TSX pares weekly gain as investors brace for further rate hikes
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( Fergal Smith | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

TORONTO (Reuters) - Canada’s main stock index fell on Friday, including declines for financials and technology, as investors weighed U.S. and Canadian jobs data that could help determine the pace of central bank interest rate hikes. FILE PHOTO: The Art Deco facade of the original Toronto Stock Exchange building is seen on Bay Street in Toronto, Ontario, Canada January 23, 2019. REUTERS/Chris Helgren/File PhotoThe Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index ended down 39.79 points, or 0.2%, at 20,485.66, after posting on Thursday its highest closing level in nearly six months. U.S. stocks fell, although recovering from their lowest levels, as the November payrolls report fueled expectations the Federal Reserve would maintain its path of interest rate hikes. Canada added 10,100 jobs in November, broadly in line with forecasts, while the jobless rate fell to 5.1%.

Canada added 10,100 jobs in November, broadly in line with the forecast gain of 5,000, while the jobless rate fell to 5.1%, Statistics Canada said. Analysts had forecast the jobless rate would tick up to 5.3%. The November report follows a monster gain of 108,300 jobs in October and comes just days ahead of a Bank of Canada policy-setting meeting on Wednesday. The central bank has raised rates by 350 basis points since March, one of its steepest tightening cycles ever. The small jobs gain was entirely for full-time work and mostly in the services sector, while the participation rate edged down to 64.8% from 64.9% in October.

☆ TSX falls after better-than-expected domestic jobs data, materials weigh
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( Johann M Cherian | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Traders see a 75% chance of a 25-basis-point rate hike by the BoC next week, down from 84% before the data was published. The materials sector (.GSPTTMT) fell 1.2% tracking bullion prices that dipped after a strong U.S. jobs data rekindled worries of an aggressive Federal Reserve. This week was a cocktail of economic data iced with mixed bank earnings, as markets enter into the holiday season. The big fear and debate is all about whether the economic data is starting to point to a recession coming in 2023," Taylor added. Reporting by Johann M Cherian in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh KuberOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

SummarySummary Companies G10 central banks deliver 350 bps of rate hikes last monthEmerging central banks tightened policy by 400 bpsHiking cycle coming to an end in many developing economiesLONDON, Dec 2 (Reuters) - The pace and scale of rate hikes delivered by central banks in November picked up speed again as policy makers around the globe battle decade high inflation. Central banks overseeing six of the 10 most heavily traded currencies delivered 350 basis points (bps) of rate hikes between them last month. The European Central Bank, the Bank of Canada, the Swiss National Bank and the Bank of Japan did not hold rate setting meetings in November. The latest moves have brought total rate hikes in 2022 from G10 central banks to 2,400 bps. "Central banks' determination to bring down inflation suggests that policy rates need to go higher still."

☆ C$ posts weekly decline as U.S. jobs data rattles investors
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( Fergal Smith | Asif Shahzad | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The loonie was trading 0.4% lower at 1.3485 to the greenback, or 74.16 U.S. cents, after trading in a range of 1.3421 to 1.3520. U.S. stock indexes fell as the U.S. jobs data reignited investor concerns about the Federal Reserve continuing on its path of aggressive monetary policy tightening. Canada added 10,100 jobs in November, broadly in line with the forecast gain of 5,000, while the jobless rate fell to 5.1%. The 2-year dipped nearly one basis point to 3.786%, while the 10-year was down 3.8 basis points at 2.796%. Reporting by Fergal Smith; Editing by Andrea Ricci and Deepa BabingtonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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