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An electronic board shows Shanghai and Shenzhen stock indexes, at the Lujiazui financial district in Shanghai, China October 25, 2022. But the extent of the political and economic jitters merely mirrors other signs of a long-term China exit well beyond portfolio flows. Earlier this month, China recorded its first-ever quarterly deficit in "bricks and mortar" foreign direct investment (FDI). What's more, a multi-year aversion to China investments then risks colliding with deteriorating long-term economic growth dynamics - heightened by rising youth unemployment and dire demographics. Despite some recent upgrades of China growth forecasts, yet another business survey this week raised red flags.

Persons: Aly, Gina Raimondo, Nicholas Lardy, Xi, Lardy, What's, Morgan Stanley, Morgan Stanley's, Mike Dolan, Paul Simao Organizations: REUTERS, Official Monetary, Financial, Reuters, . Commerce, Peterson Institute for International Economics, Thomson Locations: Shanghai, Shenzhen, China, OMFIF, Europe, North America, India, Brazil, Beijing, U.S, Washington, San Francisco

☆ Tech giants lead surge in global mega-caps as inflation eases
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Apple Inc's (AAPL.O) market value jumped 11.2% to $2.95 trillion over the past month, while Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) saw a 12.1% increase in its market cap, reaching $2.8 trillion. Reuters Graphics Reuters GraphicsNvidia Corp's (NVDA.O) market cap soared 14.7% to $1.15 trillion, following its announcement of a 206% year-over-year revenue increase to $18.1 billion in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N) saw its market cap increase by 12.2% to $451 billion by the end of November. In other sectors, Tesla Inc's (TSLA.O) market value rose nearly 20% to $763.2 billion last month, following a price hike for its Model 3 and Y vehicles in China. Saudi Arabian Oil Co (2222.SE) and Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM.N) saw market caps fall by 0.3% and 2.9%, respectively.

Persons: Mike Segar, Tesla, Patturaja Murugaboopathy, Gaurav Dogra, Kim Coghill Organizations: Apple Inc, Apple, REUTERS, Microsoft Corp, Reuters Graphics Reuters, Nvidia, JPMorgan Chase &, Rho, Saudi Arabian Oil Co, Exxon Mobil Corp, Thomson Locations: Manhattan , New York, U.S, China, Saudi, Bengaluru

Vietnam has already rail connections to China, but the system is old with limited capacity on the Vietnam side. The upgraded railway would pass through the region where Vietnam has its largest deposits of rare earths, of which China is by far the world's biggest refiner. Chinese and Vietnamese rare earths industry experts discussed last week stronger cooperation on processing the minerals, according to Vietnamese state media. It is unclear how much China would contribute to the upgraded railway track in Vietnam and whether Hanoi would accept sizeable financing from Beijing on this. A strengthened railway link could also boost Vietnam's export to China, mostly of agriculture products, boost Chinese tourism to northern Vietnam and further integrate the two countries' manufacturing industries, which experts already consider as symbiotic, with factories in Vietnam largely assembling components produced in China.

Persons: Xi Jinping, Vietnam's, Wang Yi, Tran, Pham Minh Chinh, Wang Wentao, Francesco Guarascio, Khanh Vu, Phuong Nguyen, Stephen Coates Organizations: Vietnam's, China's Commerce, Initiative, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Hanoi, China, Haiphong China, Vietnam, HANOI, United States, Tran Luu Quang, Kunming, Haiphong, Beijing, China . China, Hong Kong, Washington, South

☆ Morning Bid: Powell's final shot to shape markets before December Fed meeting
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

A street sign for Wall Street is seen in the financial district in New York, U.S., November 8, 2021. Markets are now fully pricing a rate cut by the May meeting with almost a 50% chance they move in March, according to the CME's FedWatch tool. Reuters GraphicsThe 10-year yield is down around 15 basis points and on Thursday hit its lowest level in 2-1/2 months at 4.247%. On Wednesday, the dollar index , which measures the currency against six major peers, touched its lowest level since Aug. 11 and dropped over 3% last month, its worst month in a year. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

Persons: Brendan McDermid, Samuel Indyk, Jerome Powell's, Powell, Christopher Waller, Europe's, Fed's, Fed's Cook, ECB's, Fitch, Toby Chopra Organizations: Wall, REUTERS, Federal, Fed, Spelman College, Reuters, COVID, P Global, PMI, Thomson Locations: New York, U.S, France, Greece, Ireland, DBRS, Germany, Spain

☆ Forex swings will upend lucrative yen carry trade
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-01 | by ( Francesco Guerrera | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

But as central banks start moving in the opposite direction, those “carry trades” will become a lot riskier. Notably those who bet against its government bonds in a trade so bad it became known as the “widow maker”. Foreign exchange traders beg to differ: the carry trade has been a sure-fire money maker this year. That’s due to the huge gap in short-term interest rates between Japan, where they are -0.1%, and other countries. Reuters GraphicsThe most popular carry trade with yen has been into U.S. dollars .

Persons: ”, –, Una Galani, Thomas Shum Organizations: Reuters, Federal Reserve, Deutsche Bank, LSEG, Bank of America, U.S, Thomson Locations: HONG KONG, Japan, Colombia, Mexico, Brazil, Ukraine

☆ US bond investors brace for Fed rate cuts in 2024
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-30 | by ( Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Traders' confidence was reinforced earlier this week when Fed Governor Christopher Waller, a hawkish policymaker, flagged a possible rate cut in the months ahead. SOFR FUTURESBond investors also look to the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR) futures to gauge expectations of Fed rate moves. The June 2024 SOFR futures have priced at least one Fed cut, while the probability of two 25-basis-point rate reductions was at 76%. An OIS transaction involves exchanging an overnight rate such as the federal funds rate for a fixed one. For instance, in a U.S. two-year OIS transaction, one party receives a fixed two-year rate in exchange for paying the fed funds rate daily over the next two years.

Persons: Brendan McDermid, Robert Pavlik, Pavlik, Christopher Waller, Jerome Powell's, It's, Gertrude Chavez, Dreyfuss, Saqib Iqbal Ahmed, Stephen Culp, Alden Bentley, Paul Simao Organizations: Wall, REUTERS, Bond, U.S, Dakota Wealth Management, Fed, Spelman College, Reuters, Thomson Locations: New York, U.S, Fairfield , Connecticut, Atlanta

☆ Morning Bid: Treasuries on cusp of best month since 2008
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Let's start with Treasuries because, if this were sports, we'd be calling it a comeback for the ages. Now, with some encouraging hints from Fed officials, 10-year notes are poised to celebrate their best month since the 2008 global crash, with yields down 61 basis points for November so far. Yields on two-year paper are down 31 bps just this week, the steepest drop since the U.S. mini-banking crisis in March. The European Union has inflation data of its own later on Thursday and analysts suspect the risks are for a downside surprise following subdued readings from Germany and Spain. The dollar index looks set for its worst month since November last year, with a loss so far of 3.7%.

Persons: Kevin Lamarque, Wayne Cole, Let's, we'd, Governor Waller, dovishness, Powell, Williams, Lagarde, Greene, Governor Bunge, Edmund Klamann Organizations: U.S . Treasury, REUTERS, Fed New, European Union, China PMI, BoE Monetary, CPI, PPI, Chicago PMI, Thomson Locations: Washington , U.S, Wayne, U.S, Germany, Spain, China, BoE, EU, Chicago

☆ Asia’s tech giants lean toward desperate deals
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-30 | by ( Anshuman Daga | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew arrives for a dinner, on the eve of the Paris Peace Forum at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, November 9, 2023. TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew was feted in Indonesia where it has 125 million monthly active users when he pledged in June to invest billions of dollars in the region. But the global giant failed to anticipate regulatory hurdles in its biggest market for online shopping. TikTok’s viral video app would provide Tokopedia with a powerful new growth avenue for its online shopping and payments business. Yet as tech companies from the People’s Republic to Indonesia pull out all the stops to lift growth amid waning investor support, desperate new alliances are bound to emerge.

Persons: Shou Zi Chew, Gonzalo Fuentes, TikTok, China’s, GoTo, Patrick Walujo, Indonesia’s GoTo, Una Galani, Thomas Shum Organizations: Paris Peace, REUTERS, Rights, Reuters, Companies, Google, Temasek, Bain &, Reuters Graphics Reuters Graphics, Tokopedia, HK, Global Digital, Djarum, Bloomberg, Thomson Locations: Paris, France, Rights SINGAPORE, Southeast Asia, Indonesia, Reuters Graphics Reuters Graphics Jakarta, Tokopedia, Lazada, Singapore, Indonesian, Thailand, People’s Republic, China

☆ ASML’s new CEO has tricky path to a 1,000% return
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

On Thursday the Dutch group said Chief Executive Peter Wennink is retiring after a decade at the helm. The Veldhoven-based group dominates the market for lithography equipment, a key tool for making microchips used to power everything from smartphones to cars. Demand for its kit has seen ASML’s revenue quadruple and its shares deliver a 1,000% total return since Wennink took over in July 2013. But ASML’s current market power makes it harder for his successor to do deals without inviting antitrust scrutiny. The next 1,000% return is likely to take longer than 10 years.

Persons: Peter Wennink, Christophe Fouquet, ASML, microchips, Wennink, Fouquet, Karen Kwok, Julius Baer’s, Neil Unmack, Oliver Taslic Organizations: Reuters, X, Barclays, Thomson Locations: U.S, China

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON/NEW YORK, Nov 30 (Reuters) - After making hay when a summer bond rout propelled the U.S. dollar to 10-month highs, hedge funds are now pondering what lies ahead for the greenback. Five funds shared their views on the fate of the dollar. This does not represent recommendations or trading positions, which some hedge funds cannot reveal for regulatory reasons. He expects the U.S. economy to slow sharply which, alongside falling inflation, will likely hurt the dollar against some emerging market currencies. The Brazilian real, trading at 4.8908 per dollar , is up roughly 8% so far this year against the dollar.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Jonathan Fader, Fader, Doug Greenig, Florin Court's, Greenig, Tara Hariharan, Hariharan, NWI, Carlos Calabresi, Michael Sager, Sager, Nell Mackenzie, Carolina Mandl, Dhara Ranasinghe, Kirsten Donovan Organizations: REUTERS, U.S, greenback, Swiss, Reuters, FLORIN, China Foreign Exchange Trade, Long, Garde, CIBC, Thomson Locations: U.S, American, Brazil, Colombia, Hungary, Poland, China, Asia, Brazilian, London, Carolina, New York

☆ Goldilocks meets Santa as global stocks power to best month in three years
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-30 | by ( Naomi Rovnick | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

MSCI's world stock index (.MIWO00000PUS) is set to close the month up around 9%, its best performance since November 2020, when markets cheered the arrival of COVID-19 vaccines. Global bond prices have soared, with an ICE BofA index of global investment-grade bonds in major markets set to return 3.4% in November, the best month on record going back to 1997. Global growth stocks in high-tech sectors are up 11% (.dMIWO0000GNUS) while value stocks, which are mainly in cyclical industries and offer high dividends, have gained 6.5% (.dMIWO0000VNUS). And a cloudier outlook for stocks suggests a divergence could open up between again between stocks and bonds. The broader global index is set to return 1.6% for the year.

Persons: Joshua Roberts, That's, bode, Altaf Kassam, Wall, We've, Guy Miller, Joost Van Leenders, Van Lanschot Kempen, Van Leenders, Kassam, Naomi Rovnick, Yoruk Bahceli, Dhara Ranasinghe, Christina Fincher Organizations: Federal Reserve, REUTERS, U.S . Federal Reserve, European Central Bank, State Street Global Advisors, Traders, Fed, Insurance Group, Equity, Reuters Graphics Reuters, Treasury, Thomson Locations: Washington , U.S, COVID, U.S

☆ Private-asset binge exposes insurance to new risks
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-30 | by ( John Foley | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

The concept is not new: Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway (BRKa.N) has used its insurance premiums to help fund everything from railways to cowboy-boot makers. The prospect of insurance companies buying risky loans or private equity investments has raised eyebrows. Many private credit assets, for example, rely on so-called private letter ratings based on confidential data. Given the private nature of private credit, it’s hard to see from the outside how big these risks are, or where they lurk. Besides, even if the share of life insurance assets that are mis-rated or undercapitalized is tiny, smaller insurers could carry more concentrated risk.

Persons: Blackstone, Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, Fitch, Kroll, Egan, Jones, DBRS Morningstar, Banks, SVB, Jonathan Guilford, Neil Unmack, Peter Thal Larsen, Oliver Taslic Organizations: Reuters, Apollo Global Management, KKR, Global Atlantic, Investments, National Association of Insurance, England’s Everton FC, Rivals, Reuters Graphics Reuters, Federal Reserve, Federal Deposit Insurance Corp, Athene, P Global, Insurance, SVB, Thomson Locations: Global, Delaware , New York, Iowa, New York, London

A Salesforce sign is seen during the company's annual Dreamforce event, in San Francisco, California November 18, 2013. REUTERS/Robert Galbraith/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsNEW YORK, Nov 30 (Reuters) - Salesforce Inc's (CRM.N) stock jumped by about 10% on Thursday to a nearly two-year high after the U.S. cloud and business software company reported stellar third quarter results underpinned by strong demand for its services. Salesforce's revenue of $8.72 billion and adjusted profit of $2.11 per share beat Wall Street expectations, the company reported after the closing bell on Wednesday. Reuters GraphicsMultiple analysts, including from Morgan Stanley, Evercore, Wells Fargo, and Deutsche Bank, raised their price target for Salesforce's shares following the results. Reporting by Chibuike Oguh in New York; Editing by Lance Tupper and Nick ZieminskiOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Robert Galbraith, Morgan Stanley, Brad Sills, Chibuike Oguh, Lance Tupper, Nick Zieminski Organizations: REUTERS, Reuters Graphics, Deutsche Bank, Global Research, Thomson Locations: San Francisco , California, U.S, Evercore, Wells Fargo, Salesforce, New York

☆ Exclusive: World's top MDBs to launch debt-for-nature swap 'task force' - sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-30 | by ( Marc Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The task force creation is the most significant step so far in showing that the global club of multilateral lenders, which between them have trillions of dollars worth of firepower, will significantly ramp up their support for these deals. Four sources involved in the plans, which are expected to be announced at the COP summit's 'finance day' on Monday, say the group will formally be called the "Task Force on Sustainability-linked Sovereign Financing for Nature and Climate". It will initially be chaired by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and U.S. government's Development Finance Institution (DFC), said three of the sources with direct knowledge of the matter. Both lenders have been involved in all the recent swaps which have also included Barbados and Gabon. At their simplest, the swaps work by buying up a country's bonds, often at a discount, and then replacing them with cheaper eco-labelled ones that come with the special MDB guarantees.

Persons: Chico Mendes, Amanda Perobelli, MDBs, Marc Jones, Christina Fincher Organizations: Chico, Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation, Institute for, Environment, Resources, REUTERS, Reuters, Force, Sustainability, Nature, Inter, American Development Bank, government's Development Finance, World Bank, European Investment Bank, Development Bank, Asian Development Bank, ADB, Infrastructure Development Bank, Reuters Graphics, Conservancy, Thomson Locations: Pocone, Mato Grosso, Brazil, Belize, Barbados, Gabon, Beijing, U.S, Sri Lanka, Zambia, Kenya, Tanzania, Colombia, Ecuador

☆ Morning Bid: November bids adieu with inflation data, OPEC
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., September 26, 2023. With signs of turn emerging in Federal Reserve policy guidance and October PCE inflation readings set to encourage that later in the day, rate cut fever was in full flow across the Atlantic too. Headline annual inflation in the bloc fell as low as 2.4% - within arm's length of the ECB's 2% target. Later on Thursday, U.S. PCE inflation for the prior month is pencilled to fall 3.0% from 3.4% - with a core also ebbing to 3.5%. "Monetary policy is in a good place," Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester said on Wednesday, echoing comments from previously hawkish Fed governor Christopher Waller the previous day.

Persons: Brendan McDermid, Mike Dolan, policymaker Fabio Panetta, Loretta Mester, Christopher Waller, John Williams, Christine Lagarde, Megan Greene, Kroger, Bernadette Baum Organizations: New York Stock Exchange, REUTERS, Treasury, Federal, European Central Bank, Bank of Italy, policymaker, U.S ., ECB, Cleveland Fed, Wall, OPEC, Dallas Fed, PMI, York Federal, Bank of England, Academy Sports, Rock Biotech, Titan, Reuters, Thomson Locations: New York City, U.S, China, Canada, Vienna, Automotive, Duluth, BOS, Jan

For much of this year central banks have successfully pushed back against rate cut bets. "I believe the Fed will act rationally and begin to cut rates by the end of next year, but we can't rule out the scenario that the Fed is not going to cut rates and just let the ramifications of recession do what they do." Reuters GraphicsSHIFT NEARINGMarkets now fully price in a 25 basis point U.S. rate cut in May, having seen a 65% chance earlier this week. "There are now committee members in all three (banks) willing to talk about rate cuts next year," said Chris Jeffery, head of rates and inflation strategy at LGIM. "The ECB should begin to ease policy as soon as April 2024, with risks that a more sinister downturn in growth could warrant a rate cut as soon as March," he said.

Persons: Jonathan Ernst, ramping, It's, Nate Thooft, Goldman, Christopher Waller, Huw Pill, Yannis Stournaras, Chris Jeffery, we'd, Dario Perkins, Simon Harvey, Yoruk, Naomi Rovnick, Harry Roberston, Davide Barbuscia, Ira Iosebasvili, Saqib Iqbal Ahmed, Dhara Ranasinghe, Catherine Evans Organizations: . Federal, REUTERS, ECB, U.S . Federal Reserve, European Central Bank, Manulife Investment Management, Treasury, Graphics, Bank of England, Deutsche, Lombard, Traders, Yoruk Bahceli, Thomson Locations: Washington, United States, Europe, Goldman Sachs, Greek, Amsterdam, London

☆ Appetite for stocks drives VIX options as investors guard portfolios
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-30 | by ( Laura Matthews | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

VIX options contracts averaged nearly 760,000 daily, surpassing the record set in 2017, according to Cboe Global Markets (CBOE.Z), data as of Nov. 27. Such investors are "looking at trading VIX options as a way to potentially monetize their thinking", he said. Reuters GraphicsThe rise in VIX options trading is a change from 2022 when investors were reducing equities exposure and hoarding cash, according to CBOE data. With the VIX averaging 17 this year, VIX options' trading volume as a share of overall options volume is at 1.76%, the highest since 2020 - a much more volatile year when the VIX averaged 29, according to a Reuters analysis based on Trade Alert data. Timing profit-taking on VIX options in an environment where jumps in the volatility index are fleeting can be difficult, said Roni Israelov, chief investment officer at NDVR.

Persons: Carlo Allegri, Mandy Xu, That's, Joe Ferrara, JJ Kinahan, Seth Hickle, Roni Israelov, Laura Matthews, Saqib Iqbal Ahmed, Megan Davies, Chizu Organizations: New York Stock, REUTERS, . Federal, Cboe Global, Gateway Investment Advisers, Reuters, Trade, Thomson Locations: Manhattan, New York City , New York, U.S, Indiana, New York

☆ ChatGPT one year on: From viral AI bot to OpenAI's boardroom battle
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsNov 30 (Reuters) - We asked ChatGPT, OpenAI's viral chatbot, how it felt on its first birthday. The generative AI craze has disrupted several industries from cloud computing and customer service to movie editing and screenplay writing. Reuters GraphicsCHATGPT APP DOWNLOADSSix months after ChatGPT's website launch, OpenAI introduced the chatbot application to Apple's (AAPL.O) iOS in May and later on Android in July. With these applications running mostly on the cloud, vendors of cloud computing services, including Microsoft, Amazon and Alphabet, have also seen their shares surge. Microsoft (MSFT.O) and Alphabet (GOOGL.O) have invested billions to improve their cloud computing capabilities and take on more AI workloads as businesses embrace such tools.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, ChatGPT, Sam Altman, chatbots, Bard, Anthropic's Claude, Character.AI, Microsoft's, OpenAI, John Grisham, George R.R, Martin, Jonathan Franzen, Akash Sriram, Harshita Mary Varghese, Zaheer Kachwala, Jaspreet Singh, Sweta Singh, Saumyadeb Organizations: REUTERS, Microsoft, Reuters, Android, Nvidia, Nasdaq, TECH, Thomson Locations: Bengaluru

☆ Gold holds ground ahead of US inflation test
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-30 | by ( Harshit Verma | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

An employee casts ingots of 99.99 percent pure gold at the Novosibirsk precious metals refining and manufacturing plant in the Siberian city of Novosibirsk, Russia, September 15, 2023. Spot gold was flat at $2,044.30 per ounce by 0728 GMT, trading in a range of about $6. It hit its highest since May 5 on Wednesday, and was poised for its second straight monthly gain. U.S. gold futures for December delivery fell 0.1% to $2,045.40 per ounce. Reporting by Harshit Verma in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich, Mrigank Dhaniwala and Sonia CheemaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Alexander Manzyuk, Yeap Jun Rong, Jerome Powell, Harshit Verma, Rashmi Aich, Mrigank Dhaniwala, Sonia Cheema Organizations: REUTERS, PCE, U.S, Fed, Traders, Thomson Locations: Novosibirsk, Siberian, Russia, U.S, Bengaluru

Rates futures markets are showing cuts being priced as early as May 2024, according to LSEG data. The prospects for rate cuts received a boost on Tuesday after Fed Governor Christopher Waller, deemed a hawk, hinted at lower interest rates in the months ahead if inflation continued to ease. Deutsche Bank economists on Monday projected 175 basis points in Fed rate cuts in 2024, but said that those cuts would come with a mild recession in the first half of next year. “Absent rapid Fed easing, we expect a more challenging macro backdrop for stocks next year,” they wrote in a Wednesday report. Others said investors may be overestimating how quickly the Fed might react to signs of slowing inflation.

Persons: Carlo Allegri, Jack Ablin, ” Ablin, Christopher Waller, ”, Jake Schurmeier, Schurmeier, Thomas Barkin, Charlie McElligott, Michael Green, David Randall, Lewis Krauskopf, Saqib Iqbal Ahmed, Ira Iosebashvili, Andrea Ricci Organizations: REUTERS, Federal Reserve, Treasury, Cresset, Gross, Harbor, Reuters, Richmond Fed, Nomura Securities, Deutsche Bank, JPMorgan, Management, Thomson Locations: Manhattan, New York City , New York, U.S, stoke, Carolina, New York

☆ US third-quarter growth revised higher; corporate profits rise strongly
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-29 | by ( Lucia Mutikani | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The quickest growth pace in nearly two years reported by the Commerce Department on Wednesday, however, likely exaggerated the health of the economy last quarter. Economists polled by Reuters had expected GDP growth would be revised up to a 5.0% rate. The upward revision to growth last quarter reflected upgrades to business investment on structures, mostly warehouses and healthcare facilities. Inventory investment added 1.40 percentage points to GDP growth. Profits rose at a 0.8% rate in the second quarter.

Persons: Elizabeth Frantz, Christopher Rupkey, There's, Gregory Daco, Jeffrey Roach, Lucia Mutikani, Chizu Nomiyama, Andrea Ricci Organizations: REUTERS, WASHINGTON, Commerce Department, Gross, Commerce Department's, Reuters, Federal, United Auto Workers, Treasury, Federal Reserve, Fed, LPL Financial, Thomson Locations: Arlington , Virginia, U.S, New York, EY, Charlotte , North Carolina

☆ Rakuten Group's losses, debt burden and financing efforts
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-29 | by ( Anton Bridge | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Here are some details about its deeply troubled mobile business, the group's operating losses, debt burden and its efforts to shore up its finances. It had 351 billion yen ($2.4 billion) in annual sales last year and accounts for 18% of Rakuten's overall revenue. Rakuten Group currently has total debt of more than 1.5 trillion yen, of which 800 billion yen is due to be redeemed by the end of 2025. Nov 2022 - sells 19.99% of Rakuten Securities to Mizuho Securities for 80 billion yen. Nov 2023 - sells a further 29% of Rakuten Securities to Mizuho Securities for 87 billion yen.

Persons: Miho Uranaka, Rakuten, Hiroshi, Mickey, Mikitani, Anton Bridge, Edwina Gibbs Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Rakuten, Reuters Graphics Reuters, Reuters Graphics, Japan Post Holdings, HK, Walmart, Rakuten Securities, Mizuho Securities, Rakuten Bank, Thomson Locations: Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan, Japanese

☆ US economy grows 5.2% in third quarter; higher interest rates eroding momentum
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-29 | by ( Lucia Mutikani | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

The growth pace, which was the quickest in nearly two years, however, likely exaggerated the health of the economy last quarter. Economists polled by Reuters had expected GDP growth would be revised up to a 5.0% rate. Inventory investment added 1.40 percentage points to GDP growth, instead of the 1.32 percentage points estimated last month. Higher wages contributed to the economy growing at a 1.5% rate last quarter, the fastest in a year, when measured from the income side. That suggested trade could be a drag on GDP growth this quarter after being a neutral factor in the April-June period.

Persons: Elizabeth Frantz, Christopher Rupkey, There's, Conrad DeQuadros, Jeffrey Roach, Lucia Mutikani, Chizu Nomiyama, Paul Simao, Andrea Ricci Organizations: REUTERS, Commerce Department, Gross, Commerce Department's, Analysis, Reuters, Federal, United Auto Workers, Treasury, Brean, BEA, Fed, LPL Financial, Thomson Locations: Arlington , Virginia, U.S, WASHINGTON, New York, Charlotte , North Carolina

☆ As global rates turn, banks in India and Indonesia set to win
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-29 | by ( Ankur Banerjee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Loan growth at Asian banks is estimated to rise from 4.5% this year to 10% next year, LSEG data shows, with banks in India and Indonesia leading with 15% and 11% growth, respectively. Ng likes banks in India and Indonesia, given the better economic growth in those economies and ability of banks to sustain margins. LSEG data shows profits at banks in India and Indonesia will grow 13% and 11% respectively next year, nearly double the 6% average rise across Asia-Pacific banks. That compares to price-to-book ratio for MSCI's index for all-country Asian banks (.dMIAS0CB00PUS) of 0.9. Banks in Australia are estimated to see a drop of 5% in profit in 2024 while profits at Singapore banks will be flat.

Persons: Frederic Neumann, Neumann, Morgan, Yao Ng, abrdn, Ng, Vinay Agarwal, Agarwal, Morgan Stanley, Ankur Banerjee, Gaurav Dogra, Patturaja, Vidya Ranganathan, Simon Cameron, Moore Organizations: U.S . Federal, Fed, HSBC, ICICI, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Axis Bank, FSSA Investment Management, Indonesia's Bank Central Asia, BCA, Reuters, Thomson Locations: SINGAPORE, India, Indonesia, Thailand, Asia, Japan, J.P, Pacific, Singapore, Hong Kong, South Korea, Banks, Australia, China, Bengaluru

As technology titans jockey to back hot new startups, they are extracting explicit or implicit promises of revenue in return. loadingMicrosoft’s injection of $10 billion into OpenAI in January helped kick off the craze. As part of their deal, the ChatGPT operator agreed to exclusively use its new investor’s cloud computing services. Much of the invested capital should be returned relatively quickly as AI firms buy back-end services. Nvidia (NVDA.O) has at least 80% and as much as 95% of the AI market, according to estimates by analysts.

Persons: Sam Altman, Satya Nadella, OpenAI, Optimists, cynics, Jeffrey Goldfarb, Sharon Lam, Aditya Sriwatsav, Streisand Neto Organizations: Reuters, Microsoft, Financial Times, Apple, Nasdaq, Big Tech, OpenAI, Wall Street, Google, Reuters Graphics Reuters, Cisco Systems, Lucent Technologies, Nortel Technologies, Company, Global, Telecom, Nortel, Network, Nvidia, Thomson Locations: OpenAI, Silicon Valley

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