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☆ India leads world in cutting internet access for 5th year in a row, watchdog says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Kanishka Singh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Feb 28 (Reuters) - India imposed by far the highest number of internet shutdowns in the world in 2022, internet advocacy watchdog Access Now said on Tuesday, as the country topped the list for the fifth successive year. Out of 187 internet shutdowns globally recorded by Access Now, 84 took place in India, including 49 in Indian- administered Kashmir, the New York-based digital rights advocacy group said in a report published on Tuesday. Although India once again led the world in internet shutdowns, 2022 marked the first time since 2017 that there were fewer than 100 shutdowns in the country, the watchdog said. "During Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Russian military cut internet access at least 22 times, engaging in cyberattacks and deliberately destroying telecommunications infrastructure," the watchdog said in its report. Ukraine was followed on the list by Iran where authorities imposed 18 internet shutdowns in 2022 in response to demonstrations against the government.

☆ Turkey Cuts Rates Despite Risk of Stoking Post-Earthquake Inflation
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Caitlin Ostroff | Jared Malsin | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

ISTANBUL—Turkey’s central bank cut interest rates in an attempt to cushion the country’s struggling economy following earthquakes that killed tens of thousands and caused billions of dollars in damage. The central bank lowered its key, one-week repo rate to 8.5% from 9% Thursday—its lowest level since spring 2020. The move resumes a series of interest-rate cuts that accelerated in 2022, when officials slashed rates four consecutive times in a bid to bolster growth despite soaring inflation, as demanded by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan .

Feb 23 (Reuters) - Oil prices rose slightly in thin Asian trade on Thursday, with WTI pausing from a six-day losing streak fed by mounting concerns that more aggressive interest rate increases by central banks could pressure economic growth and fuel demand. Brent crude futures rose 2 cents to $80.62 per barrel by 0110 GMT. West Texas Intermediate crude futures (WTI) rose 9 cents, or 0.1%, to $74.04 a barrel. U.S. crude oil and fuel inventories rose by 9.9 million barrels last week, according to market sources citing American Petroleum Institute figures on Wednesday. U.S. oil inventories have climbed every week since mid-December, stoking investor worries about demand.

Feb 23 (Reuters) - Oil prices rose slightly in thin Asian trade on Thursday, pausing from a six-day losing streak fed by mounting concerns that more aggressive interest rate increases by central banks could pressure economic growth and fuel demand. Brent crude futures rose 2 cents to $80.62 per barrel by 0110 GMT. West Texas Intermediate crude futures (WTI) rose 9 cents, or 0.1%, to $74.04 a barrel. U.S. crude oil and fuel inventories rose by 9.9 million barrels last week, according to market sources citing American Petroleum Institute figures on Wednesday. U.S. oil inventories have climbed every week since mid-December, stoking investor worries about demand.

ISTANBUL, Feb 23 (Reuters) - Turkey's central bank lowered its policy rate by 50 basis points to 8.5% on Thursday, as expected, following a devastating earthquake that killed more than 43,000 people in southern Turkey this month. It said after its monthly monetary policy committee meeting that it will closely monitor earthquake driven supply-demand imbalances on inflation and stressed the importance of supporting economic growth and employment. Last year the bank cut its key rate by 500 basis points in an unorthodox easing cycle designed to counter an economic slowdown, before keeping it steady at 9% in December and January. In a Reuters poll of 17 economists, the median forecast was for a 50-basis-point cut to minimise the economic impact of the earthquake. Nine economists expected a cut in the policy rate of up to 200 basis points, while eight institutions expected the rate to be kept steady.

☆ Fed's James Bullard pushes for faster rate hikes, sees 'good shot' at beating inflation
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Jeff Cox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

St. Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard expressed confidence that the central bank can beat inflation and advocated Wednesday for stepping up the pace in the battle. "It has become popular to say, 'Let's slow down and feel our way to where we need to be.' But Bullard said the more aggressive move would be part of a strategy that he thinks ultimately will be successful. "Our risk now is inflation doesn't come down and reaccelerates, and then what do you do? Let's be sharp now, let's get inflation under control in 2023."

☆ The Fed may hike interest rates another 3 times this year, Goldman says - and that would dial up pressure on stocks
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( Zahra Tayeb | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The Federal Reserve could lift interest rates by another 75 basis points in total this year, Goldman Sachs says. The bank's chief economist suggested the Fed might raise rates at its March, May and June meetings to beat inflation. Most investors anticipate the US central bank will ease up on tight monetary policy or even start cutting interest rates this year as inflation cools. But with retail sales and payrolls surging and unemployment falling, there's a possibility the Fed may decide it has to keep ratcheting up interest rates. Higher interest rates encourage saving over spending and make borrowing more expensive, which tends to alleviate upward pressure on prices.

☆ Dollar jumps to six-week high on higher rate expectations
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The dollar surged on Friday to hit a six-week high against a basket of currencies as a bout of resilient economic data out of the United States raised market expectations that more interest rate hikes were in the offing. The latest data releases gave the U.S. dollar a leg up, knocking sterling to a fresh six-week low of $1.1952 on Friday. Similarly, the kiwi tumbled to a six-week trough of $0.6228, while the euro bottomed at $1.0652, its lowest since Jan. 9. Against a basket of currencies, the U.S. dollar index rose to a fresh six-week top of 104.31 and was on track for a third straight week of gains. U.S. Treasury yields have also surged on the back of further hawkish rate repricing, with the two-year yields last at 4.6762%.

☆ Meta allowed a Kremlin-linked oligarch to run Facebook ads calling for uprisings against pro-Western government in Moldova
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Joshua Zitser | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Meta allowed a Moldovan oligarch, sanctioned by the US, to run paid Facebook ads, per AP. Meta removed the ads, but only after they reached an audience of millions. The paid Facebook ads featured oligarch Ilan Shor, who now lives in Israel after being convicted of massive financial fraud. In one ad, Shor, who heads the pro-Russia Shor Party, can be heard accusing Sandu's government of corruption. Moldova was rocked by mass protests late last year, which were organized by the Shor Party, the largest of which took place shortly after the ads were placed.

☆ North Korea threatens military action as South, U.S. plan drills
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Hyonhee Shin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

SEOUL, Feb 17 (Reuters) - North Korea threatened on Friday an "unprecedentedly persistent, strong" response as South Korea and the United States gear up for annual military exercises as part of efforts to fend off the North's growing nuclear and missile threats. North Korea had "refrained from any special military action" this year except for regular activities, but the allies' scheduled drills would create a "grave vortex of escalating tension," the ministry said. "In case the U.S. and South Korea carry into practice their already-announced plan for military drills which the DPRK ... regards as preparations for an aggression war, they will face unprecedentedly persistent and strong counteractions," the statement said. The statement came less than two hours after South Korea announced joint tabletop exercises next week aimed at improving operations of American nuclear assets, and regular springtime drills next month. The springtime Freedom Shield field training will separately begin in mid-March in South Korea for a 11-day run.

☆ Japan logs record merchandise trade deficit in Jan as export growth slows
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Tetsushi Kajimoto | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Summary Jan merchandise exports +3.5% yr/yr vs forecast +0.8%Imports +17.8% yr/yr vs forecast +18.4%Trade deficit at record Y3.49 trln vs forecast Y3.87 trillionCommodity inflation peaking but trade deficit to linger -analystTOKYO, Feb 16 (Reuters) - Growth in Japan's merchandise exports slowed sharply in January amid weakening Chinese demand for cars and chipmaking machinery, stoking concern about a global slowdown and creating the country's largest trade deficit on record. Trade figures issued on Thursday followed weaker-than-expected gross domestic product data, underscoring the challenge for the Bank of Japan in achieving growth led by private demand while stably sustaining inflation above 2%. The result was a 3.49 trillion yen ($26.07 billion) deficit in merchandise trade in January, the biggest in records going back to 1979, the data showed. Data issued on Monday showed Japan's economy, the world's third largest, had grown at an annualised rate of only 0.6 in the fourth quarter as business investment slumped. Japan reports trade in services separately, in its current account data.

OTTAWA, Feb 16 (Reuters) - Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem said on Thursday that the economy remains overheated and the jobs market is too tight, as he kept the door open to future interest rate hikes. On Jan. 25, the Bank hiked its key interest rate to 4.5%, the highest level in 15 years, and became the first major central bank to say it would hold off on further increases as long as prices eased as forecast. "The Canadian economy remains overheated and clearly in excess demand and this continues to put upward pressure on many domestic prices," Macklem said. "The tightness in the labor market needs to ease, wage growth needs to moderate and service price inflation needs to cool" or else more interest rate hikes will be needed, he added. At its last policy meeting, the Fed lifted its benchmark overnight interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point to the 4.50% to 4.75% range.

☆ Japan logs record merchandise trade deficit in January as export growth slows
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

A flag of Japan flies near cargo containers at Tokyo's Odaiba Waterfront on August 6, 2020. Growth in Japan's merchandise exports slowed sharply in January amid weakening Chinese demand for cars and chipmaking machinery, stoking concern about a global slowdown and creating the country's largest trade deficit on record. Trade figures issued on Thursday followed weaker-than-expected gross domestic product data, underscoring the challenge for the Bank of Japan in achieving growth led by private demand while stably sustaining inflation above 2%. "In a nutshell, exports are weakening," said Taro Saito, chief economist at NLI Research Institute. The result was a 3.49 trillion yen ($26.07 billion) deficit in merchandise trade in January, the biggest in records going back to 1979, the data showed.

☆ Republicans meet Biden's calls for unity with partisan broadside
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( David Morgan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

A day after Republican U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy called on Biden to work together toward compromise on the debt and spending, Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders delivered a partisan broadside during the party's official rebuttal to Biden's speech. Biden did pledge to work with Republicans, as during the last Congress when both chambers were controlled by Democrats. Republicans hope to exact spending cuts from Biden in exchange for raising the debt ceiling. He drew boos and shouts of "liar" by asserting that some Republicans would like to "sunset" Social Security and Medicare. The former president, facing several investigations from federal and state prosecutors, also described himself as "a victim" of Biden's Justice Department.

☆ Asian shares rise, dollar staggers after 'dovish' Powell comments
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Ankur Banerjee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) was 0.51% higher, while Japan's Nikkei (.N225) lost 0.69%. China's shares (.SSEC) was set to open 0.1% higher, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index (.HSI) was 0.22% higher. Asian shares tracked Wall Street, which ended higher in choppy trading as investors digested Powell's speech. The dollar index , which measures the U.S. currency against six major rivals, was at 103.30, having dropped to as low as 102.99 in the previous session. The Japanese yen was flat at 131.08 per dollar, after surging 1.2% in the previous session.

☆ Republicans ready partisan response to Biden's calls for unity
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( David Morgan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

A day after Republican U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy called on Biden to work together toward compromise on the debt and spending, Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders stood ready to deliver a partisan broadside during the party's official rebuttal to Biden's speech. "The Biden administration seems more interested in woke fantasies than the hard reality Americans face every day," she said. Republicans hope to exact spending cuts from Biden in exchange for raising the debt ceiling. A Reuters/Ipsos poll completed on Sunday found that just 43% of Republicans approve of McCarthy's job performance. The former president, facing several investigations from federal and state prosecutors, also described himself as "a victim" of Biden's Justice Department.

☆ Mississippi House OKs new court system — to be appointed by white state officials — for second-Blackest U.S. city, stoking racial tension
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Dan Mangan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

The Mississippi state flag (bottom) waves in front of the city skyline in Jackson, Mississippi on June 28, 2020. The change would break with the rest of the state, where judges and prosecutors are elected by voters. If approved by the state Senate and governor, the system and its judges would preside over a so-called improvement district spanning Jackson's downtown and shopping and entertainment areas. If the new Jackson system is approved by the Senate and governor, its judges and clerk would be appointed by the state Supreme Court's chief justice, who is white. And prosecutors would be named by the state attorney general, who also is white.

☆ Japan confirms record interventions to support yen
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( Tetsushi Kajimoto | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] A Japan Yen note is seen in this illustration photo taken June 1, 2017. REUTERS/Thomas White/IllustrationTOKYO, Feb 7 (Reuters) - Japan confirmed on Tuesday that it made record interventions in the foreign exchange market in October, selling the dollar worth 6.35 trillion yen ($48 billion) to support the yen currency, Ministry of Finance (MOF) data showed. Japan spent a record 5.62 trillion yen ($42.5 billion) on a single day yen-buying intervention on Oct. 21 and further 730 billion yen on Oct. 24, having spent 2.84 trillion yen on Sept. 22 to stem the yen's sharp fall, which boosted living costs for resource-deficiant Japan. It was rare for Japan to conduct yen-buying, dollar-selling interventions given the country's past battle with a strong yen making Japanese goods less competitive overseas. Japan publishes monthly intervention records at the end of each month, and it issues daily results for the prior quarter.

☆ MTG, Tucker Carlson, and Donald Trump Jr are stoking a moral panic over Sam Smith dressing as Satan at the Grammys
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

They alluded that Sam Smith's Satan-themed act and Pfizer sponsorship were part of a sinister plot. "The Grammy's featured Sam Smith's demonic performance and was sponsored by Pfizer. And the Satanic Church now has an abortion clinic in NM that requires its patients to perform a satanic ritual before services. —Marjorie Taylor Greene 🇺🇸 (@mtgreenee) February 6, 2023In a video posted on the platform Donald Trump Jr., former President Donald Trump's son and a right-wing influencer, lamented the performance. And Fox News host Tucker Carlson, an influential far-right media commentator, devoted a segment of his show on Monday to criticizing the awards.

☆ India's stock market crisis isn't just the Adani Group's problem — it's a political issue for Prime Minister Modi too
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Indian tycoon Gautam Adani's companies have lost over $110 billion in market value since a US short seller attack in January. Even Modi has been dragged into the kerfuffle — since both he and Adani are from the western Indian state of Gujarat. The prime minister's political opponents say that the leader favors Adani — a claim the Modi government has rejected, per Reuters. "The Hindenburg scandal is the perfect weapon for the Indian political opposition against PM Modi. On its part, the Adani Group has been troubleshooting hard.

☆ Brazil's Jair Bolsonaro addressed right-wing activists at Trump resort in Miami amid calls for him to be ejected from the country
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-04 | by ( Charles R. Davis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro addressed right-wing activists at a Trump resort on Friday. Bolsonaro did not address how long he plans to extend his stay in Florida. Instead of going back, however, the right-wing politician has sought to extend his stay in the United States, to the chagrin of Democrats and others who want him ejected. On Friday, Bolsonaro beamed as supporters cheered him at a campaign-style event organized by Turning Point USA, a youth-oriented conservative activist group, and hosted by the Trump National Doral golf resort in Miami. "Liberty is like a great love, we must care for it every day," Bolsonaro said, addressing the crowd through a translator.

☆ Here are Thursday's biggest analyst calls: Meta, Nvidia, Tesla, FedEx, First Solar, Costco & more
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Michael Bloom | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

"We downgrade First Solar to Neutral following +50% outperformance since August based on the benefit from the Inflation Reduction Act. Bank of America upgrades FedEx to buy from neutral Bank of America said in its upgrade on cost cuts. Bank of America upgrades Meta to buy from neutral Bank of America said it sees "multiple expansion" possibilities for Meta. Bank of America reiterates Costco as buy Bank of America said the warehouse club giant has a "strong value proposition." Bank of America reiterates Nvidia as buy Bank of America said it's standing by its buy rating ahead of the company's earnings report later this month.

Ben-Gvir this week ordered a halt to Palestinian security prisoners working in bread bakeries in two Israeli jails, saying he was cancelling "benefits and indulgences". On Thursday, a state of heightened alert with reinforced staffing levels was imposed, a spokesperson for the prison service said. "He thinks that the prisoners issue is the easiest issue to show he is a serious leader," said Kadora Fares, head of the Palestinian Prisoners Society. Unless the standoff is resolved, he said, Palestinian prisoners will hold a mass hunger strike from March 22, at the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, traditionally a time of heightened tensions. BOILING POINTIsrael holds about 4,700 political prisoners, around 30 of them women, according to the Palestinian Addameer organisation that supports prisoner rights.

☆ Three years on, Britain still waits for Brexit dividend
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( Andy Bruce | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Britain exited the EU on Jan. 31, 2020, though remained in the bloc's single market and customs union for 11 more months. The government, led by Brexit-supporting Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, says Britain is prospering with new-found freedoms. "Our problems pre-date Brexit," Lyons said, pointing to chronically low rates of investment in Britain. Exports, especially in goods, have disappointed over the last three years - despite high hopes for a "Global Britain" rebalancing of the economy after Brexit. Britain still boasts higher rates of employment and lower unemployment than most EU countries but there are some signs that Brexit may have impacted the labour market too.

☆ Why a tiny American firm is taking aim at an Indian conglomerate
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( Allison Morrow | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

New York CNN —Asia’s richest man is in the crosshairs of a research firm whose very name evokes panic. Gautam Adani is a 60-year-old tycoon who founded the Adani Group over 30 years ago, building it into India’s largest port operator, with businesses spanning infrastructure and energy production. Hindenburg said Adani Group shares are massively overvalued, and it has taken a short position (more on that in a minute) on them, meaning Hindenburg wins when Adani shares fall. What is Hindenburg Research? Hindenburg is a short-seller that specializes in forensic financial research, founded in 2017 by Nathan Anderson.

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