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☆ Asia stocks steady as Credit Suisse buyout brings relief
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( Tom Westbrook | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Over the weekend, UBS said it will buy Credit Suisse for 3 billion francs ($3.2 billion) and assume up to $5.4 billion in losses, in a shotgun merger engineered by Swiss authorities. Central banks including the Fed, the European Central Bank and Bank of Japan pledged to deepen support for liquidity, by increasing the frequency of seven-day dollar-swap operations from weekly to daily. "The best we can say was there are certainly a lot of concerns about Credit Suisse contagion risk," said Rodrigo Catril, a senior currency strategist at National Australia Bank in Sydney. "The news overnight from Switzerland has helped," he said, though added that the central bank moves had also drawn attention to how deep troubles may run. It's great we're seeing this concerted effort from central banks, and it's positive, but it does also highlight how troubling the circumstances are and how worried central banks appear to be as well."

☆ Stock futures nudge higher on Credit Suisse buyout
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-19 | by ( Tom Westbrook | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

S&P 500 futures rose 0.5% in bumpy early trade. Over the weekend, UBS said it will buy Credit Suisse for 3 billion francs ($3.2 billion) and assume up to $5.4 billion in losses, in a shotgun merger engineered by Swiss authorities. "The news overnight from Switzerland has helped," he said, though added that the central bank moves had calmed as well as created nerves. It's great we're seeing this concerted effort from central banks, and it's positive, but it does also highlight how troubling the circumstances are and how worried central banks appear to be as well." In foreign exchange trade, the Swiss franc , which took a beating as worries about Credit Suisse grew last week, rose about 0.4% to 0.9264 to the dollar.

☆ AMERICAS Bank stress, bond volatility and disinflation
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

But the implications of this sudden bout of financial instability - and its potential economic and policy fallout - were most clearly seen in the interest rate and bond markets. Implied terminal rates for the European Central Bank and Bank of England have been dramatically scaled back too - though one or two further hikes are still priced for those central banks. But the Fed rethink has led to seismic action on the U.S. Treasury market, with the biggest drop in 2-year Treasury yields on Monday since the stock market crash of 1987. Credit spreads in the corporate bond markets have also widened sharply as investors fear an economy-wide tightening of borrowing standards and financial conditions. It would certainly think twice about tightening policy again into this level of financial stress and bond market upheaval.

☆ Morning Bid: Bank stress, bond volatility and disinflation
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

☆ Rise of 'zombie' VCs haunts tech investors as plunging valuations hammer the industry
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Startup investors are increasingly warning of an apocalyptic scenario in the VC world — namely, the emergence of "zombie" VC firms that are struggling to raise their next fund. Life becomes harder for zombie firms in a higher interest rate environment, as it increases their borrowing costs. Investors expect this gloomy economic backdrop to create a horde of zombie funds that, no longer producing returns, instead focus on managing their existing portfolios — while preparing to eventually wind down. "There are definitely zombie VC firms out there. "We're going to see a lot more zombie venture capital firms this year," Steve Saraccino, founder of VC firm Activant Capital, told CNBC.

If this continues, liquidity from Japan will continue to support global markets," he adds. The BOJ flow in January outstripped the combined liquidity drain from the Fed, European Central Bank and Bank of England, resulting in a G4 net liquidity provision of $115.3 billion. Operations from the ECB and, most notably, the PBOC, have helped pour around $1 trillion of liquidity into the global financial system in recent months. As Citi's King says, when changes in even the least significant line items on central bank balance sheets are measured in the hundreds of billions of dollars, "they should command investors' respect." Related columns:- U.S. debt ceiling saga softens Fed's QT- Bank of Japan shock raises 2023 global liquidity risksBy Jamie McGeever; Editing by Paul SimaoOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Government bonds, which typically perform well when there is a dash for safe havens, sold off under intense pressure. The dollar rose to an almost one-month high of 132.85 yen while the euro fell 0.64% to $1.0726. Chinese equities fell on Monday, while the offshore yuan touched a one-month low against the dollar. European Central Bank and Bank of England policymakers will also be making appearances. Gold edged higher, with investors banking on the precious metal's safe-haven appeal as concerns about an economic slowdown linger.

☆ European markets head for positive open with central bank decisions ahead
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

European markets are heading for a positive open as investors digested the latest move by the U.S. Federal Reserve and look ahead to more decisions by central banks in Europe. The Fed raised its benchmark interest rate by a quarter percentage point on Wednesday and gave little indication it is nearing the end of this hiking cycle. The move marked the eighth increase in a process that began in March 2022. The Fed wants the rate hikes to bring down U.S. inflation which, despite recent signs of slowing, is still running near its highest level since the early 1980s. On Thursday, investors in Europe will be focused on the latest monetary policy decisions from the European Central Bank and Bank of England.

☆ Morning Bid: Fed fillip, double trouble, triple A
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

It looks less like fighting the Fed, than a mild disagreement. Powell didn't endorse that market view - which now has just one more quarter point rise to a terminal rate under 4.9% by May and 40 basis points of cuts from there by December. But he seemed ambivalent about investors' more optimistic take on disinflation and indicated the central bank was increasingly keeping its options open about a 'couple of hikes'. Meta's stock boomed as its earnings update showed stricter cost controls and a new $40 billion share buyback. With the risk around the BoE's split monetary policy council for a smaller quarter point move, it was the euro that looks set to emerge the winner of the three big central bank events.

☆ Popular Tool to Cut Debt Costs Loses Luster as Global Central Banks Hike Rates
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Kristin Broughton | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +7 min

Corporate finance executives looking to cut their debt costs this year are likely to find one popular tool isn’t as attractive as it was when the Federal Reserve was aggressively raising interest rates in 2022. Under a cross-currency swap, a company exchanges principal and interest payments on its debt into another currency. Swaps can lose their appeal to companies when the gap between interest rates in two countries, or central banks, narrows. Corporate advisers said they expect cross-currency swap volumes to decline in the months ahead, assuming market expectations for future rate increases hold steady. That rule made it easier for companies to use cross-currency swaps and recognize the interest savings on their financial statements.

☆ Currencies take a breather as investors await Fed rate decision
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Ankur Banerjee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

SINGAPORE, Feb 1 (Reuters) - The dollar was broadly flat against major currencies on Wednesday ahead of an eagerly-awaited Federal Reserve policy decision that investors hope will signal the end of the U.S. central bank's interest rate hiking cycle. "Recent progress on inflation has encouraged market participants to expect the Fed to quickly pivot from interest rate hikes to interest rate cuts," said Carol Kong, currency strategist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia. Since signs of labour market loosening were limited, the Fed would likely pair a smaller rate hike this week with hawkish communication, she said. The Fed raised interest rates by 50 bps in December after four successive 75 bps hikes. It said then that interest rates might need to be higher for longer to tame inflation.

☆ Morning Bid: A quart and two halves
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

A look at the day ahead in U.S. and global markets from Mike Dolan. February kicked off on Wednesday without too much trepidation about how all that will pan out. Before the Fed announcement, ADP releases its January private sector employment readout for last month and markets will also scan the December JOLTS job openings report. While markets await the 'Triple-A' of Big Tech releases on Thursday, Meta (META.O) is due to report later today and the dour news from elsewhere in the tech sector kept coming. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

☆ Major central banks set to signal interest rate glide path in crucial week for monetary policy
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Elliot Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

A screen displays the Fed rate announcement as a trader works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), November 2, 2022. Brendan McDermid | ReutersThe U.S. Federal Reserve, European Central Bank and Bank of England are all expected to hike interest rates once again this week, as they make their first policy announcements of 2023. Economists will be watching policymakers' rhetoric closely for clues on the path of future rate hikes this year, as the three major central banks try to engineer a soft landing for their respective economies without allowing inflation to regain momentum. The market is now pricing in this eventuality, but the key question is what the FOMC will indicate about further rate hikes in 2023. "Fewer hikes might be needed if the recent weakening in business confidence captured by the survey data depresses hiring and investment more than we think, substituting for additional rate hikes," Mericle said.

☆ Dollar pauses ahead of Fed rate decision
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The dollar index , which measures the U.S. currency against six major peers, fell 0.029% to 102.060. "Recent progress on inflation has encouraged market participants to expect the Fed to quickly pivot from interest rate hikes to interest rate cuts," said Carol Kong, currency strategist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia. Since signs of labor market loosening were limited, the Fed would likely pair a smaller rate hike this week with hawkish communication, she said. The Fed increased interest rates by 50 basis points in December after four successive 75 bps rate hikes. It said then that interest rates might need to be higher for longer to tame inflation.

☆ Morning Bid: 'Soft landing' or 'no landing'?
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

As U.S. Federal Reserve's Federal Open Market Committee kicks off its two-day policymaking meeting, the economic news from around the world brightened considerably. China's economic activity swung back to growth in January after three months of contraction, according to official business surveys released on Tuesday. The euro zone economy confounded forecasts for a quarterly contraction of gross domestic product in the final three months of 2022. Eurostat estimated GDP in the bloc rose 0.1% in Q4 despite consensus expectations for a fall of 0.1%. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

☆ Here's what the stock market is facing down this week, from Fed moves to earnings that will set the tone for the rest of 2023
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

This is a make-or-break week for the stock market. Not only that, but a slate of mega-cap earnings from Apple, Amazon, and Alphabet are also due later this week. Any negative surprises could derail the January rally, Stockton said, and negate much of the recent recovery from 2022's vicious bear market. "We believe the rally rests on the shoulders of heavyweights Apple, Amazon, and Alphabet, which are showing softness today as the market anticipates their earnings," Stockton wrote. Better-than-expected earnings and the potential for a Fed pivot have fueled a sharp rebound in the stock.

Jan 30 (Reuters) - A look at the day ahead in Asian markets from Jamie McGeever. It looks like a quiet start to the week in Asia on Monday, but don't be fooled - it may be the calm before the storm. The MSCI Asia ex-Japan index is at a nine-month high and up more than 30% from the October low. It has risen in 11 of the last 13 weeks and is on course for a monthly gain of 11%. China reopens after the Lunar New Year holiday, so trading volumes in Asia will return to something resembling normal.

☆ Dollar holds gains after U.S. data; traders eye Fed next week
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( Saqib Iqbal Ahmed | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File PhotoNEW YORK, Jan 27 (Reuters) - The dollar clung to modest gains against the euro on Friday after data showed falling U.S. consumer spending and cooling inflation, and as investors awaited a slew of central bank meetings next week. Consumer spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of U.S. economic activity, dropped 0.2% last month, the Commerce Department said on Friday. Data for November was revised lower to show spending slipping 0.1% instead of gaining 0.1% as previously reported. Data showed consumer price inflation in Japan's capital accelerated to a nearly 42-year peak this month, piling pressure on the BOJ to step away from stimulus. Attention now turns to a slew of central bank policy decisions, with the Fed, European Central Bank and Bank of England (BoE) all due to make rate decisions next week as they judge what policy adjustments may be required in their battle with rampant inflation against a tough global economic backdrop.

☆ Dollar ticks up ahead of central bank meetings next week
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( Iain Withers | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File PhotoLONDON, Jan 27 (Reuters) - The dollar edged up on Friday to pull away from multi-month lows against the euro and sterling, as investors began to train their sights on a slew of major central bank meetings next week. The U.S. Federal Reserve, European Central Bank and Bank of England are all due to make rate decisions next week as they judge what policy adjustments may be required in their battle with rampant inflation against a tough global economic backdrop. The euro was last down 0.1% versus the dollar at $1.08760 , while sterling was down 0.4% at $1.23670 . The yen, meanwhile, rose against the dollar as heated Tokyo inflation readings spurred bets that a hawkish pivot from the Bank of Japan (BOJ) could be in the offing. The bank will make its next policy decision on Thursday, and is seen increasing by a half point.

☆ Dollar clings to gains after U.S. data; traders eye Fed next week
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The dollar clung to modest gains against the euro on Friday after data showed falling U.S. consumer spending and cooling inflation, and as investors awaited a slew of central bank meetings next week. Consumer spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of U.S. economic activity, dropped 0.2% last month, the Commerce Department said on Friday. Data for November was revised lower to show spending slipping 0.1% instead of gaining 0.1% as previously reported. Data showed consumer price inflation in Japan's capital accelerated to a nearly 42-year peak this month, piling pressure on the BOJ to step away from stimulus. Not necessarily in terms of rates for next week, but more the forward guidance central banks will provide," Harvey said.

☆ European markets set to nudge higher after U.S. GDP beat expectations
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( Jenni Reid | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

European markets looked set to open slightly higher Friday, after U.S. economic data came in stronger than expected and with a slew of rate hike decisions due next week. Investor sentiment appeared brighter despite a mixed performance from corporate earnings released this week, and with the start of year rally having stuttered. The U.S. economy expanded by 2.9% year on year during the fourth quarter, beating expectations, though recession fears remain. All earnings and economic data will be closely watched, with central banks due to take the spotlight next week. The Federal Reserve meets Tuesday to Wednesday, while the European Central Bank and Bank of England will announce their hiking decisions Thursday.

☆ Morning Bid: Heading for a soft landing?
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Things are not as bad as some had feared, with the region's prospects boosted by China's reopening, an unexpectedly mild winter and resilient activity data. These hopes have lifted the pan-European STOXX 600 index (.STOXX), which is up 6.4% for the month and is set for its best January performance since 2015. Investors' focus is on next week's set of central bank meetings as the U.S. Federal Reserve, European Central Bank and Bank of England decide on their rate-hike paths. Share price performance, earnings and sales for TeslaKey developments that could influence markets on Thursday:Economic events: Sweden's consumer confidence data for January, U.S. GDP data. Earnings: LVMH, Nokia, STMicroelectronics, Diageo and Volvo in Europe; Blackstone, Mastercard, Southwest Airlines, Intel, and Visa among others in United States.

☆ Morning bid: Parsing the peak, sidestepping a slump
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

"We are turning the corner on inflation," BoC Governor Tiff Macklem told reporters, while dismissing any thought of policy easing for now. Just how bad the underlying economy gets before the central banks are done is the other burning question. On the activity side, the prospect of reviving growth in China and the euro zone certainly changes the international picture. In Europe, STMicroelectronics jumped 8% after the chipmaker reported a sales beat and Finnish telecom equipment maker Nokia jumped 5% after its own beat. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

☆ SAP CEO says the world is entering the 'next phase of globalization'
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The CEO of German tech giant SAP said the world is entering the next phase of globalization — and he's largely optimistic on the outlook for technology despite challenges posed by higher interest rates and supply chain disruptions. "We are entering from my perspective the next phase of globalization," SAP chief Christian Klein told CNBC's "Squawk Box Europe" at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. He added that companies are coming together to secure their supply chains and tackle corporate responsibility issues by better using data. Supply chains have been challenged by a confluence of factors, not least the Covid pandemic. That has led to upheavals of supply chains and higher prices for consumers and businesses around the world.

☆ Jim Cramer says the ‘worst of 3 worlds’ helped lead stocks lower on Thursday
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( Krystal Hur | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

CNBC's Jim Cramer outlined three reasons that markets lost a short-lived rally on Thursday. If the economy were running colder, if the stock market was lower, and if interest rates were higher before sliding, things would be different, Cramer said. Stocks fell on Thursday as Wall Street continues to worry that the Fed's interest rate hikes could tip the economy into a recession. Cramer reminded investors that charts suggest a market run could be in the works for after Thursday's trading session. "While we could still get that seasonal bounce, obviously the market's gotten tougher to game," he said.

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