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☆ Dollar shines on US economic resilience; Aussie tumbles after employment data
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-17 | by ( Rae Wee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The Australian dollar tumbled after the country's July employment unexpectedly fell while its jobless rate ticked up more than expected. The Aussie sank nearly 1% after the release of the figures, dragging the New Zealand dollar alongside it. The yen bottomed out at 146.565 per dollar in early Asia trade, its lowest level since November, having come under renewed pressure as a result of interest rate differentials between the U.S. and Japan. "We've got the U.S. staying really resilient still, under the weight of high interest rates," said Carol Kong, a currency strategist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA). "We expect 25-basis-point rate hikes in both September and November, for a peak policy rate of 5.75%," said Wells Fargo economist Nick Bennenbroek of the Bank of England's monetary policy outlook.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, homebuilding, We've, Carol Kong, Kong, Wells, Nick Bennenbroek, Matt Simpson, there's, CBA's, Rae Wee, Gerry Doyle Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, dovish Bank of Japan, Aussie, New Zealand, U.S, Federal Reserve, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Fed, FX, Bank of England, Bank, Zealand, Reserve Bank of Australia, People's Bank of China, The U.S, Thomson Locations: Asia, Japan, China, CBA's Kong, The

☆ Dollar shines on U.S. economic resilience, Aussie tumbles after employment data
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-17 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Hundred dollar bills are seen in this photo illustraiton in Warsaw, Poland on Sept. 21, 2022. The Australian dollar tumbled after the country's July employment unexpectedly fell while its jobless rate ticked up more than expected. The Aussie sank nearly 1% after the release of the figures, dragging the New Zealand dollar alongside it. "We've got the U.S. staying really resilient still, under the weight of high interest rates," said Carol Kong, a currency strategist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia, or CBA. "We expect 25-basis-point rate hikes in both September and November, for a peak policy rate of 5.75%," said Wells Fargo economist Nick Bennenbroek of the Bank of England's monetary policy outlook.

Persons: homebuilding, We've, Carol Kong, Kong, Wells, Nick Bennenbroek, Matt Simpson, there's, CBA's Organizations: dovish Bank of Japan, Aussie, New Zealand, U.S, Federal Reserve, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Fed, FX, Bank of England, Bank, Australian, Zealand, Reserve Bank of Australia, People's Bank of China, The U.S Locations: Warsaw, Poland, Asia, Japan, China, CBA's Kong, The

☆ Mother of 6-Year-Old Who Shot Teacher Pleads Guilty to Child Neglect
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-15 | by ( Livia Albeck-Ripka | More About Livia Albeck-Ripka | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

The mother of a 6-year-old who shot his first-grade teacher in a Virginia classroom pleaded guilty on Tuesday to a charge of felony child neglect, according to prosecutors and a lawyer for the mother. The mother, Deja Taylor, 26, appeared in court in Newport News, Va. Prosecutors for the commonwealth agreed to drop a second misdemeanor count of child endangerment involving a loaded weapon, they said in a statement. Ms. Taylor’s lawyer, James S. Ellenson, said that while the child neglect charge would carry a maximum sentence of five years in prison, prosecutors had agreed not to deviate from the state recommendation of one to six months imprisonment, given her lack of criminal history. “She’s upset,” Mr. Ellenson said Tuesday, noting that Ms. Taylor’s child, who was undergoing therapy, was now in the full custody of his grandfather.

Persons: Deja Taylor, James S, Ellenson, “ She’s, ” Mr, Taylor’s, “ Organizations: Prosecutors Locations: Virginia, Newport News, Va

[1/2] Russia's Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu delivers a speech at XI Moscow conference on international security in the Moscow region, Russia, August 15, 2023. Ukraine and the West have accused Russia of war crimes and cast Moscow's invasion as an imperial-style land grab. "In the special military operation, the Russian army has debunked many myths about the superiority of Western military standards," Shoigu said in a rare public speech, according to a text supplied by his ministry. Shoigu said he would share details about the weaknesses of Western weapons and that none were invulnerable. In remarks aimed at China, Shoigu said the West was intentionally stoking the situation around Taiwan, comparing the situation to the Ukraine war.

Persons: Sergei Shoigu, Li Shangfu, Shoigu, Vladimir Putin's, Guy Faulconbridge, Conor Humphries Organizations: Russia's, XI Moscow, Russian Defence Ministry, REUTERS Acquire, Rights, Cuban Missile Crisis, Russia, Reuters, British, Thomson Locations: Moscow, Russia, Ukraine, Afghanistan, Ukrainian, Odesa, China, Taiwan

MOSCOW, Aug 15 (Reuters) - Russia on Tuesday released video footage showing an armed naval inspection unit boarding a cargo ship in the southwestern Black Sea on Sunday and questioning the captain about why the ship had not stopped when demanded to by a Russian warship. "Stop machine, stop machine," one of the armed Russians says as crew members put their hands on their heads and kneel before the Russian weapons. I am Russian naval officer - please don't shoot my group on video." The Russian officer then questions the captain through a crew translator about why the ship did not stop when asked to. "Thank you, you good day sir," the Russian officer says as he leaves.

Persons: Guy Faulconbridge, Robert Birsel Organizations: Reuters, Thomson Locations: MOSCOW, Russia, Black, Russian, Palau, Turkey, Ukraine, Izmail

☆ Aussie lender NAB's quarterly margins decline on stiff competition
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The National Australia Bank Logo is seen on a branch in central Sydney, Australia, February 8, 2018. A high interest rate environment has benefited Australian banks, but they now face headwinds from rising bad debt and increasing competition for mortgages. Last week, the country's biggest lender Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA.AX) posted record annual profit on the back of rising interest rates, but warned higher living costs were pushing up debt arrears and competition was squeezing margins. NAB's net interest margin - a key measure of profitability - slipped to 1.72% in the April-June quarter from 1.77% as at March 31. The country's second-biggest lender, however, reported a 5% increase in cash earnings from higher interest rates.

Persons: Daniel Munoz, NIM, Ross McEwan, Upasana Singh, Archishma Iyer, Shilpi Majumdar, Shinjini Organizations: National, REUTERS, National Australia Bank, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, NAB, CBA, Analysts, Thomson Locations: Sydney, Australia, 3Q23, Bengaluru

☆ Aussie lender NAB's Q3 margins decline; shares up on cash earnings beat
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-14 | by ( Archishma Iyer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The National Australia Bank Logo is seen on a branch in central Sydney, Australia, February 8, 2018. Shares of the country's second-biggest bank rose 1.3% to trade at A$28.70 at 0115 GMT. Last week, the country's biggest lender Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA.AX) posted record annual profit but warned higher living costs were pushing up debt arrears and competition was squeezing margins. "Consensus NIM expectations might need to moderate down, but the current run rate in earnings would suggest NAB is on track to deliver on fourth quarter FY23 cash earnings expectations," analysts from UBS wrote. It posted cash earnings of A$1.90 billion, compared with A$1.80 billion a year earlier and beating a Visible Alpha consensus of A$1.83 billion.

Persons: Daniel Munoz, NIM, Ross McEwan, Upasana Singh, Archishma Iyer, Shilpi Majumdar, Shinjini, Sohini Organizations: National, REUTERS, National Australia Bank, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, NAB, UBS, Thomson Locations: Sydney, Australia, 3Q23, Bengaluru

Roscosmos/Vostochny Space Centre/Handout via REUTERS/File photoMOSCOW, Aug 13 (Reuters) - Russia on Sunday switched on the scientific instruments aboard its lunar lander and scientists began processing its first data as the space craft sped towards the moon in a bid to be first to find ice on the Earth's only natural satellite. As it hurtles towards the moon, which is 384,400 km (238,855 miles) from our planet, the scientific instruments were switched on with the first data on the flight measured, Russia's space agency said. "The first measurement data on the flight to the Moon has been obtained, and the project's scientific team has begun processing it," Roscosmos said. There is much riding on the Luna-25 mission for Russia: if it succeeds, Russia is likely to say it shows that the West's sanctions over the Ukraine war cannot hold Russia back. But failure would again raise questions over Russia's space ambitions after the decades of superpower space competition with the United States during the Cold War.

Persons: Russian Luna, Roscosmos, Luna, Neil Armstrong, Guy Faulconbridge, Ros Russell Organizations: 2.1b, Vostochny, REUTERS, Sunday, India, Soyuz, Luna, Moscow, NASA, United States, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Amur, Russia, MOSCOW, Russian, Russia's, Ukraine, United States, Soviet, Moscow, Soviet Union, China

Russia in July halted participation in the Black Sea grain deal that allowed Ukraine to export agricultural produce via the Black Sea and Moscow cautioned that it deemed all ships heading to Ukrainian waters to be potentially carrying weapons. "To forcibly stop the vessel, warning fire was opened from automatic weapons," the Russian defence ministry said. BLACK SEA AT WAR? Since Russia left the Black Sea grain deal, both Moscow and Kyiv have issued warnings and carried out attacks that have sent jitters through global commodity, oil and shipping markets. Ukraine also attacked a Russian oil tanker and a warship at its Novorossiysk naval base, next door to a major grain and oil port.

Persons: Vasily Bykov, Okan, Guy Faulconbridge, Nick Macfie Organizations: UN, Russian, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Russia, MOSCOW, Russian, Black, Ukraine, Moscow, Palau, Izmail, Bulgaria, Sulina, Turkey, Kyiv, Novorossiysk

Russia said that it would launch further lunar missions and then explore the possibility of a joint Russian-China crewed mission and even a lunar base. NASA has spoken about a "lunar gold rush" and explored the potential of moon mining. The conditions of the moon mean robots would have to do most of the hard work, though water on the moon would allow for long-term human presence. It has not been ratified by any major space power. The United States in 2020 announced the Artemis Accords, named after NASA’s Artemis moon program, to seek to build on existing international space law by establishing “safety zones" on the moon.

Persons: Guy Faulconbridge, Peter Graff Organizations: NASA, European Space Agency, 2.1b, Vostochny, REUTERS, Boeing, United Nations, RAND Corporation, Artemis Accords, Thomson Locations: MOSCOW, Russia, United States, China, India, Russian, Sun, Amur

☆ The internet just went on a wild quest that could result in floating trains and cheap EVs
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-11 | by ( Hasan Chowdhury | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

The internet went wild over claims scientists discovered a room-temperature superconductor. Here's how a room-temperature superconductor could change everything:Revolutionize the medical industryMRI machines currently depend on liquid helium coolant to keep cool enough to operate. A room-temperature superconductor would go a step further in helping create these fields under normal conditions. With room-temperature superconductors, EV makers might be able to take a closer step towards delivering cheap battery-run cars. This is where room-temperature superconductors could one day step in.

Persons: It's, gloriously, Dr Niladri Banerjee, Banerjee, Michael Fuhrer, Massoud Pedram, Eugene Hoshiko, they'd, Jason Laurea, Lawrence, Robert Knopes, Getty Images Elon, Tesla Organizations: Imperial College London, Theory, School of Physics, Monash University, University of Southern, Airport, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, MIT's, Science, Fusion Center, Fusion Systems, Getty Images, TechCrunch Locations: South Korea, Australia, University of Southern California, Shanghai, China, Pudong, levitating, Lawrence Livermore

☆ Dollar in holding pattern as US inflation test looms; PBOC supports yuan
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-10 | by ( Kevin Buckland | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Banknotes of Chinese yuan and U.S. dollar are seen in this illustration picture taken September 29, 2022. The Australian and New Zealand dollars hovered close to two-month lows amid a worsening economic outlook for key trade partner China. The dollar was little changed at 143.79 yen , after earlier drifting to the highest since July 7 at 143.90. Elsewhere, the Chinese yuan tacked on about 0.1% to 7.2235 per dollar in offshore trading after the PBOC set a stronger official mid-point than the market consensus for a second day. New Zealand's kiwi was flat at $0.6053, just above Tuesday's low of $0.6035, which was the weakest since June 8.

Persons: Florence Lo, Tony Sycamore, Sycamore, Kristina Clifton, Joe Biden, Kevin Buckland, Shri Navaratnam Organizations: REUTERS, Federal Reserve, Bank of Japan, New, People's Bank of China, Street, Fed, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, U.S, Thomson Locations: New Zealand, China, U.S, Japan

The Russian lunar mission, the first since 1976, is racing against India, which launched its Chandrayaan-3 lunar lander last month, and more broadly with the United States and China, both of which have advanced lunar exploration programs targeting the lunar south pole. The lander is expected to touch down on the moon on Aug. 21, Russia's space chief Yuri Borisov told Interfax on Friday. I hope that a highly precise soft landing on the moon will happen," Borisov told workers at the Vostochny cosmodrome after the launch, according to Interfax. A Japanese lunar landing failed last year and an Israeli mission failed in 2019. No country has made a soft landing on the south pole.

Persons: Roscosmos, Yuri Borisov, Borisov, Luna, Asif Siddiqi, Neil Armstrong, Maxim Litvak, Guy Faulconbridge, Joey Roulette, Leslie Adler, Gerry Doyle Organizations: India, Soyuz, Luna, Vostochny, NASA, Kremlin, Space, European Space Agency, Fordham University, Reuters, 2.1b, REUTERS U.S, European Union, Thomson Locations: MOSCOW, Russia, United States, China, Vostochny cosmodrome, Moscow, Ukraine, Russian, Amur, Handout, Soviet, Soviet Union, India, Japan, Washington

MOSCOW, Aug 10 (Reuters) - In Vladimir Putin's Russia, the Kremlin even writes the history textbooks. Kremlin aide Vladimir Medinsky has published four history textbooks for 16- to 18-year-old schoolchildren giving a completely revised interpretation of the fall of the Soviet Union, the Putin era and the causes of the Ukraine war. The final chapter of the 447-page "History of Russia 1945 - the start of 21st Century" focuses on the causes of the biggest land war in Europe since World War Two - the Ukraine war that has left several hundred thousand soldiers injured or dead. "This is propaganda - it’s not a textbook," Mikhail Kopitsa, a Russian history teacher who left Russia after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, told Reuters of the book. It ends with small biographies of some of the Russians who have fallen in the Ukraine war - which it does not call a war.

Persons: Vladimir Putin's, Vladimir Medinsky, Putin, Josef Stalin, Mikhail Kopitsa, Anatoly Torkunov, Napoleon Bonaparte, Guy Faulconbridge, Nick Macfie Organizations: KGB, Reuters, Kremlin, NATO, West, Moscow State Institute of International Relations, Continental, Britain, Thomson Locations: MOSCOW, Vladimir Putin's Russia, Soviet Union, Ukraine, Soviet, Russia, Europe, United States, Russian, Moscow, The, Georgia, Montenegro, Ukrainian, Ukraine's, Crimea

☆ Dollar in holding pattern as U.S. inflation test looms, PBOC supports yuan
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-10 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

A Chinese 100 yuan banknote, a 1 U.S. dollar bill and a 50 euro banknote are lying on a table. The Australian and New Zealand dollars hovered close to two-month lows amid a worsening economic outlook for key trade partner China. The dollar was little changed at 143.79 yen , after earlier drifting to the highest since July 7 at 143.90. Elsewhere, the Chinese yuan tacked on about 0.1% to 7.2235 per dollar in offshore trading after the PBOC set a stronger official mid-point than the market consensus for a second day. New Zealand's kiwi was flat at $0.6053, just above Tuesday's low of $0.6035, which was the weakest since June 8.

Persons: —, Tony Sycamore, Sycamore, Kristina Clifton, Joe Biden Organizations: Federal Reserve, Bank of Japan, New, People's Bank of China, Street, Fed, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, U.S Locations: U.S, New Zealand, China, Japan

☆ Asian shares hesitant on China deflation risk, bank jitters
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-09 | by ( Stella Qiu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) edged 0.4% higher after a 1.2% tumble a day earlier. Closely watched China data on Wednesday showed consumer prices fell 0.3% in July from a year ago, the first decline since February 2021, although it was slightly better than the forecast of a 0.4% drop. Producer prices fell for a 10th consecutive month. 10-year yields slipped 2 basis points to 4.004%, after falling 5 basis points overnight to as low as 3.9840%, a one-week trough. Brent crude futures eased 0.2% to $86.02 per barrel and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures also fell 0.2% to $82.73.

Persons: Issei Kato, Carol Kong, Kong, Chetan Ahya, Morgan Stanley, Dow, Stella Qiu, Jamie Freed, Edmund Klamann Organizations: REUTERS, Japan's Nikkei, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Wall, Nasdaq, U.S, Brent, . West Texas, Thomson Locations: Tokyo, Japan, China, SYDNEY, Italy, Asia, Pacific, Hong Kong, Brazil

Banks now must sacrifice profit to keep customers who are struggling to make repayments on time. Cash profit for the year ended June 30 rose 6% to A$10.16 billion, slightly ahead of analyst forecasts, but CBA put aside $A1.47 billion more in provisions due to "ongoing cost of living pressures and rising interest rates". CBA stopped offering cash payments for mortgage refinancings to lure new borrowers in June, which CEO Matt Comyn said had "weighed on our market share". CBA's mortgage book grew in line with the total market in 2023. The number of borrowers struggling to repay loans, while rising, remained below pre-pandemic levels "but these figures will rise", Comyn said.

Persons: Banks, Matt Comyn, Comyn, Australia's, Byron Kaye, Sameer Manekar, Anil D'Silva, Stephen Coates, Jamie Freed Organizations: CBA, SYDNEY, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Citi, National Australia Bank, Westpac, ANZ Group, Thomson Locations: COVID, Sydney, Bengaluru

☆ Dollar creeps higher ahead of U.S., China economic data
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-08 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The dollar inched higher on Tuesday but traded in a narrow range as investors were hesitant to take on new positions ahead of a key U.S. inflation reading this week, while focus in Asia turned to China's trade data out later in the day. The trade figures come a day ahead of the country's inflation reading, with markets on the lookout for further signs of deflation in the world's second-largest economy. Ahead of the data release, the offshore yuan was little changed at 7.2039 per dollar. The Aussie slipped 0.05% to $0.6571, while the kiwi fell 0.08% to $0.6102. "With the (Federal Reserve's) interest rate policymaking remaining data dependent, every data point has been eliciting an even higher level of vigilance," said Gary Dugan, chief investment officer at Dalma Capital.

Persons: Carol Kong, Sterling, Gary Dugan Organizations: New, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Aussie, U.S, ANZ, Dalma Locations: U.S, Asia, New Zealand

☆ Oil prices edge up as production cuts keep market supported
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-08 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

An offshore drilling platform stands in shallow waters at the Manifa offshore oilfield, operated by Saudi Aramco, in Manifa, Saudi Arabia, on Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2018. Oil prices rose in early trade on Tuesday as supply concerns arising from production cuts by Saudi Arabia and Russia supported the market. But Saudi and Russia's production cut could remain a bullish factor to oil markets," said CMC Markets analyst Tina Teng in a note. "Saudi Arabia's decision to extend production cuts into September despite Brent futures rising above $80 per barrel suggests that the kingdom may be targeting a higher price than $80 per barrel." It maintained oil output cuts of 3.66 million barrels per day for 2023, and extended and deepened cuts from January 2024 by a further 1.4 million barrels per day.

Persons: Tina Teng, Vivek Dhar, Brent Organizations: Saudi Aramco, Brent, U.S, West Texas, Saudi, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Organization of, Petroleum, OPEC Locations: Manifa, Saudi Arabia, Russia, China, United States, OPEC, Saudi

"The big thing we're watching for is any sign that rates of bad and doubtful debt are rising," Macquarie analysts said. Analysts at Citi expect cash profit to rise 3.5% to A$9.93 billion, while a Visible Alpha consensus estimate stands at A$10.11 billion. "Most banks may maintain buy-backs and lift dividends as they are still healthy on capital ratios." The heavyweight banking index, the S&P/ASX 200 Financials (.AXFJ), has gained 0.4% so far this year, as of last close. ($1 = 1.5230 Australian dollars)Reporting by Upasana Singh and Rishav Chatterjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'SilvaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: David Gray, Banks, Macquarie, Morgan Stanley, Tina Teng, Upasana Singh, Rishav Chatterjee, Anil D'Silva Organizations: REUTERS, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, National Australia Bank, Westpac, ANZ Group, Reserve Bank of Australia, Macquarie, CBA, Citi, NAB, ANZ, WBC, Thomson Locations: Melbourne, Southbank, Australia, Bengaluru

☆ Dollar creeps higher ahead of US, China economic data
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-08 | by ( Rae Wee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The trade figures come a day ahead of the country's inflation reading, with markets on the lookout for further signs of deflation in the world's second-largest economy. Ahead of the data release, the offshore yuan was little changed at 7.2039 per dollar. The Aussie slipped 0.05% to $0.6571, while the kiwi fell 0.08% to $0.6102. "This week's economic data ... will continue to paint a picture of a weak Chinese economic recovery," said Carol Kong, a currency strategist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia. "With the (Federal Reserve's) interest rate policymaking remaining data dependent, every data point has been eliciting an even higher level of vigilance," said Gary Dugan, chief investment officer at Dalma Capital.

Persons: Jo Yong, Carol Kong, Sterling, Gary Dugan, Rae Wee, Sam Holmes Organizations: Korea Exchange Bank, REUTERS, New, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Aussie, U.S, ANZ, Dalma, Thomson Locations: Seoul, SINGAPORE, U.S, Asia, New Zealand

But the future of the Games was thrown into doubt on Thursday when the province of Alberta withdrew its support for a bid, dealing another blow to the embattled Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF). Victoria withdrew due to projected cost overruns, with Commonwealth Sport Canada saying it believed the Australian state's decision had prompted Alberta's pullout. The expense to host a Commonwealth Games in any country is significant," Cary Kaplan, president of Canadian marketing firm Cosmos Sports & Entertainment, told Reuters. MARKET DISPARITYDespite the disparity, Payne said the Commonwealth Games could not be written off. "That will in turn erode the relevance of the Games unless the Commonwealth Games steps up its marketing and branding efforts in the years ahead.

Persons: Matthew Klugman, Victoria, Alberta's pullout, Cary Kaplan, Klugman, Michael Payne, Payne, Kaplan, Queen Elizabeth, Rich, Karolos Grohmann, Aadi Nair, Ed Osmond Organizations: Commonwealth, Commonwealth Games Federation, Victoria, Games, Reuters, Commonwealth Sport Canada, Commonwealth Games, Cosmos Sports & Entertainment, European, Birmingham Commonwealth Games, Paris Olympics, Olympic Committee, Olympic, Birmingham, Thomson Locations: Canada, Alberta, Hamilton , Ontario, COVID, Australia, Great Britain, Britain

Sterling traded higher after recovering knee-jerk losses following the Bank of England's decision to downshift to a quarter point rate hike on Thursday. The U.S. dollar index , which gauges the currency against a basket of six counterparts, edged 0.06% lower to 102.39 in Asia. On Thursday, it had pushed to the highest since July 7 at 102.84 at one point, but lost steam later in the day with the monthly nonfarm payrolls report looming on Friday. The dollar slipped slightly to 142.40 yen , as long-term Treasury yields - which the currency pair tends to track closely - retreated from Thursday's nearly nine-month high at 4.198% in Tokyo trading. At the same time, "unless or until what's been happening with Treasury yields reverses, there's no meaningful prospect of dollar-yen coming down here, unless we see a very dramatic deterioration in risk sentiment," he added.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Sterling, Kristina Clifton, BoE, Ray Attrill, Attrill, Kevin Buckland, Brigid Riley, Jacqueline Wong Organizations: REUTERS, Bank of, of, U.S, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, National Australia Bank, European Central Bank, Thomson Locations: China, Asia, Thursday's, Tokyo, U.S

☆ What this week's U.S. credit rating downgrade means for your money
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-03 | by ( Ryan Ermey | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Markets hit the skids on Wednesday after Fitch Ratings downgraded its rating on U.S. debt to AA+ on Tuesday evening — one notch below the agency's highest rating of AAA. "The repeated debt-limit political standoffs and last-minute resolutions have eroded confidence in fiscal management," the rating firm said in a press release. In historical context, though, this week's downgrade is less of a big deal than it seems, experts say. the rating agency dinged Uncle Sam's once perfect credit rating. "In some ways, the S&P downgrade echoes the current downgrade from Fitch," Sam Millette, fixed income strategist for the Commonwealth Financial Network, wrote in a recent note.

Persons: Fitch, Ryan Detrick, — Fitch, —, Bonds, Uncle Sam's, Jon Maier, hasn't, Sam Millette, Maier Organizations: Fitch, AAA, Nasdaq, Dow, Carson Group, Moody's, Global, Commonwealth Financial Network Locations: Washington, creditworthiness, Fitch

☆ Australia holds rates steady, might be done tightening
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-01 | by ( Stella Qiu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Markets had leaned toward a steady outcome given recent data showed inflation had eased for a second quarter and consumer spending was softening. However, economists were more split on the outcome, with 20 out of 36 polled by Reuters expecting a hike. Swaps now implied a risk of around 13 basis points of tightening by year end. In a relief for policymakers, headline inflation slowed more than expected in the second quarter while retail sales posted their biggest fall this year in June. "While the RBA retains a tightening bias, we expect the hurdle to another rate hike is high.

Persons: Philip Lowe, Lowe, Michele Bullock, Belinda Allen, Goldman Sachs, Hebe Chen, Stella Qiu, Wayne Cole, Anisha Sircar, Sam Holmes Organizations: SYDNEY, Reserve Bank of Australia, Reuters, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, CBA, National Australia Bank, IG, Reuters Global Markets, Thomson

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