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☆ Nigeria's new president vows to deliver economic reboot as he inherits 'a broken country'
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( Elliot Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

ABUJA, Nigeria - May 29, 2023: Nigeria's President-elect Bola Ahmed Tinubu arrives to attend swearing-in ceremony at Eagle Square in the capital. Tinubu inherits a fractured society a crippled economy as he takes the reins of Africa's most populous nation. He succeeds Muhammadu Buhari, also of the All Progressives Congress (APC) party, who departs with a widely criticized economic record. Economic turmoilAs former governor of Lagos state between 1999 and 2007, Tinubu was credited with modernizing Nigeria's commercial hub and vastly expanding the regional economy. His predecessor Buhari deployed a series of protectionist economic policies and spooked international investors.

Persons: Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Tinubu, Muhammadu Buhari, Atiku Abubakar, Peter Obi of, Buhari Organizations: Nigeria's, Eagle, New, Progressives Congress, Peoples Democratic Party, Labour Party Locations: ABUJA, Nigeria, New Nigerian, Africa's, Lagos

☆ Unilever pivots to African suppliers as forex pressure mounts
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( Seun Sanni | Richa Naidu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

The war in Ukraine exacerbated supply chain logjams and manufacturing issues that began with the COVID-19 pandemic. Managing foreign exchange costs is largely what is driving a pivot to African suppliers, Unilever said, even though sourcing from the continent can cost more than buying from parts of Asia. “Over 95% of the brands we sell to our (African) consumers are made in African factories,” Reginaldo Ecclissato, Unilever’s chief business operations and supply chain officer, told Reuters. Today more than two-thirds of the ingredients that go into Unilever products sold in African markets come from the continent, the company said. Where is it on the scale of Unilever’s supply chain?” he said.

Persons: Kasali, ” Kasali, “, Knorr, Hellmann’s, Reginaldo, Tedd George, Nestle, ”, Pierre, André, Ecclissato, it’s, bouillon, Iranloye, Busari, Unilever’s Ecclissato Organizations: Reuters, Unilever, REUTERS, ” Unilever, Nestle, Danone, sorbitol Locations: ALAYIDE, Nigeria, Oyo, Africa, Ukraine, Asia, India, China, South Africa, Lagos, Oyo State

Average house prices as measured by the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller composite index of 20 metropolitan areas were forecast to stagnate next year. "Looking ahead, we think there is scope for prices to fall a little further. "Given supply is likely to stay tight, there is a risk house prices may not fall as much as we previously expected." The 30-year fixed mortgage rate, currently around 6.7%, was expected to average 6.2% in 2023. Those high mortgage rates are restricting housing supply, which puts upward pressure on prices, as well as demand.

Persons: Sam Hall, haven't, Sal Guatieri, Indradip Ghosh, Prerana Bhat, Aditi Verma, Maneesh Kumar, Jonathan Cable, Ross Finley, Sharon Singleton Organizations: stagnating, Reuters, U.S . Federal Reserve, Capital Economics, BMO Capital Markets, Thomson Locations: BENGALURU

☆ Analysis: Struggling China local governments find a fundraising loophole, lifeline in "pearl bonds"
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

SHANGHAI/HONG KONG, May 31 (Reuters) - China's cash-strapped local governments have suddenly rushed to an unusual corner of the debt market in Shanghai where ambiguous rules offer ways to skirt restrictions on onshore borrowing. LGFVs accounted for about two-thirds of the issuers and 60% of the debt sold this year nation-wide, according to Reuters' calculations. Among all the newly-issued FTZ bonds this year, 55, or two-thirds of all 82 issuers, were LGFVs, according to Reuters' calculations. The "pearl" or free trade zone (FTZ) bonds have been around since 2016 but are only now becoming popular as tighter central government supervision on LGFV debts starts to bite. AMBIGUOUS POSITIONING"Pearl bonds" differ from other offshore bonds as trades are cleared by the state-owned China Central Depository & Clearing Co, rather than a global clearing house.

Persons: Shi Xiaoshan, Fitch, Royston Quek, Tim Fang, Pearl, Zhang Hong, Georgina Lee, Tom Westbrook, Kim Coghill Organizations: U.S, Haitong International Securities, China Central Depository, Industrial, Group, Credit Agricole CIB, Shanghai Pudong Development Bank, Bank of Communications, Pudong New, Financial, Reform Commission, Reuters, The, Administration of Foreign Exchange, Shanghai, Thomson Locations: SHANGHAI, HONG KONG, Shanghai, Beijing, U.S . Federal, Hong Kong, China, Zhejiang, Pudong, SINGAPORE

But the dollar and European stocks slipped, dented by uncertainty about whether Congress will approve the deal after a handful of hard-right Republican lawmakers said on Monday they would oppose the bill, though it is expected to pass. The pan European STOXX 600 index (.STOXX) fell 0.2% after recording on Friday its biggest weekly decline in two months. U.S. 10-year bond yields dropped 9.7 basis points to 3.72%, while 30-year yields fell 8 bps to 3.89%. The dollar index , which measures the greenback against six peers, fell 0.26% at 104.03 after rising to a two-month high in earlier trading. Elsewhere, euro zone bond yields fell after Spanish inflation data came in lower than expected, raising hopes that the European Central Bank may raise interest rates less than previously feared.

☆ Stocks and bonds are reflecting the need for tighter Fed policy, says Unlimited Funds' Bob Elliott
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-30 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailStocks and bonds are reflecting the need for tighter Fed policy, says Unlimited Funds' Bob ElliottBob Elliott, Unlimited Funds co-founder, CEO and CIO, and Thierry Wizman, Macquarie Group global interest rates and foreign exchange strategist, join 'Closing Bell Overtime' to discuss the debt ceiling agreement, market reaction, and more.

Persons: Bob Elliott Bob Elliott, Thierry Wizman Organizations: Funds, Macquarie Group

☆ Watch CNBC's full interview with Unlimited Funds' Bob Elliott and Macquarie Group's Thierry Wizman
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-30 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailWatch CNBC's full interview with Unlimited Funds' Bob Elliott and Macquarie Group's Thierry WizmanBob Elliott, Unlimited Funds co-founder, CEO and CIO, and Thierry Wizman, Macquarie Group global interest rates and foreign exchange strategist, join 'Closing Bell Overtime' to discuss the debt ceiling agreement, market reaction, and more.

Persons: Bob Elliott, Macquarie, Thierry Wizman Bob Elliott, Thierry Wizman Organizations: Funds, Macquarie Group

HANOI, May 30 (Reuters) - Samsung and other foreign companies are pushing Vietnam to introduce a multi-million-dollar reform that would compensate them for higher levies they face from next year under a global overhaul of tax rules, a source involved in the talks said. The discussions precede the introduction from January of a minimum tax rate of 15% for large multinationals under a landmark global reform led by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The global rule requires companies paying less in a low-tax jurisdiction to face a top-up levy in their home country. Samsung's tax rate varies by district, and ranged between 5.1% and 6.2% in 2019 in the two northern provinces where it produces smartphones, according to government data cited by local media. Smaller companies that are not within the scope of the new global rules may also receive handouts, the source said.

☆ Turkish lira teeters near record low as Erdogan secures victory
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] A U.S. one dollar banknote is seen next to Turkish lira banknotes in this illustration taken in Istanbul, Turkey November 23, 2021. REUTERS/Murad Sezer/IllustrationLONDON, May 29 (Reuters) - Turkey's lira wobbled near record lows against the dollar as President Tayyip Erdogan secured victory in the country's presidential election on Sunday, extending his increasingly authoritarian rule into a third decade. The currency was at 20.05 to the dollar during Asian hours, just shy of the 20.06 record low hit on Friday. "Only the most optimistic would hope that Erdogan now feels sufficiently secure politically to revert to orthodox economic policy." "Erdogan is unlikely to embrace an outright economic orthodox approach," Wolfango Piccoli, co-president at advisory firm Teneo said in emailed comments.

☆ 3 reasons why even China doesn't want the yuan to replace the dollar as the world's reserve currency
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-29 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

The Chinese yuan is one of the top contenders challenging the USD's dominance as a reserve currency. However, Beijing may not be fully supportive of making the yuan the reserve currency of choice. Here's why even China isn't that keen on de-dollarizing the world economy and making the yuan the top reserve currency. So, the US will need to contend with ever larger amounts of deficit, in order to maintain its pre-eminent reserve currency position. Given the issues standing in Beijing's way, it's unlikely for the yuan to take over the greenback's position as the world's reserve currency of choice, said Green.

SummarySummary Companies Tinubu succeeds former military leader BuhariNigeria divided after disputed electionAfrica's biggest economy faces headwindsInsecurity spread under BuhariABUJA, May 29 (Reuters) - Bola Tinubu was sworn in as Nigeria's president on Monday, facing mounting calls to improve economic and security conditions which many complain worsened under his predecessor Muhammadu Buhari. Tinubu, the former Lagos state governor and a member of Buhari's party, has promised to be a better steward of Africa's biggest economy and most populous nation. A raft of protectionist economic policies and foreign currency interventions have also spooked investors. Buhari defended his record on Sunday, saying new infrastructure such as roads, bridges and airports, and the protectionist policies have laid the foundations for future growth. Separatist and gang violence plague the southeast, and clashes between farmers and herders persist in hinterland states known as Nigeria's Middle Belt.

☆ Turkish lira hits record low, stocks gain after Erdogan secures re-election
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-29 | by ( Canan Sevgili Libgeorge | Canan Sevgili | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] A U.S. one dollar banknote is seen next to Turkish lira banknotes in this illustration taken in Istanbul, Turkey November 23, 2021. REUTERS/Murad Sezer/IllustrationLONDON, May 29 (Reuters) - Turkey's lira hit fresh record lows against the dollar on Monday, though stocks rallied, after President Tayyip Erdogan secured victory in Sunday's presidential election, extending his increasingly authoritarian rule into a third decade. The lira weakened to 20.077 to the dollar, breaking through the previous record low touched on Friday. The share of foreign asset managers holding Turkish stocks has dwindled in recent years and the market is chiefly driven by local investors. The nation's dollar bonds slipped to their lowest in at least six months last week, while CDS rose to a seven-month high.

☆ Turkish lira hits new record low after Erdogan election victory
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-29 | by ( ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Turkey’s lira hit fresh record lows against the US dollar on Monday after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan secured victory in Sunday’s presidential election, extending his increasingly authoritarian rule into a third decade. The lira weakened to 20.065 to the dollar in early European trade, breaking through the previous record low touched on Friday. “Erdogan’s victory has seen further pressure on the Turkish lira,” said Benjamin Picton, senior macro strategist at Rabobank. Meanwhile, Turkish stocks enjoyed gains with the benchmark BIST-100 index up 3.5% and banking index rising more than 1%. The share of foreign asset managers holding Turkish stocks has dwindled in recent years and the market is chiefly driven by local investors.

☆ Nigeria's Tinubu gets his turn as president, familiar problems await
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-29 | by ( Macdonald Dzirutwe | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Buhari, a taciturn former military ruler, leaves Africa's biggest economy and most populous nation deeply divided. But what authorities promised would be the country's freest and fairest election yet ended in frustration for many. Buhari defends his record, saying new infrastructure such as roads, bridges and airports, and the protectionist policies have laid the foundations for future growth. Separatist and gang violence plague the southeast, and clashes between farmers and herders persist in hinterland states known as Nigeria's Middle Belt. A former Lagos state governor, Tinubu has promised to be a better steward of the economy.

☆ Explainer: What to expect from Nigeria's new president Bola Tinubu
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-29 | by ( Macdonald Dzirutwe | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

LAGOS, May 29 (Reuters) - Nigeria's new president Bola Tinubu faces a litany of problems, including widespread violence, double-digit inflation and industrial-scale oil theft. Tinubu says he will build on Buhari's public infrastructure programme to create jobs and remove legal limits on government spending. Tinubu says he will reduce corporate tax to attract investment and plug tax loopholes to boost revenue. Tinubu says he will set up a surveillance unit to protect the country's pipelines and attract new investors with tax incentives. Tinubu wants to recruit more soldiers and police officers, while paying and equipping them better.

☆ Turkish lira slips as Erdogan claims victory
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] A U.S. one dollar banknote is seen next to Turkish lira banknotes in this illustration taken in Istanbul, Turkey November 23, 2021. REUTERS/Murad Sezer/IllustrationLONDON, May 28 (Reuters) - Turkey's lira slipped towards a fresh record low against the dollar as President Tayyip Erdogan claimed victory in the country's presidential election on Sunday, a win that would steer his increasingly authoritarian rule into a third decade. The currency opened at 20.05 to the dollar as the new trading week got underway, not far off the 20.06 record low hit on Friday. Trading is expected to be thin on Monday, with many markets in Europe, as well as the United States closed for holidays. Reporting by Karin Strohecker and Ezgi Erkoyun, editing by Alexander Smith and Sharon SingletonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

It would see the IMF and other MDBs "cut the excessive macro-risk premia on developing countries with $100 billion per year of foreign exchange guarantees", for financing in more volatile domestic currencies rather than the dollar or euro. A report by the World Bank and other big multilateral lenders said they gave $51 billion in 2021 alongside $13 billion from private finance. Outlines of the proposals have been sent to the key groups preparing the discussions over the last couple of weeks. "This is a call to arms" the source said, referring to the document and its intention to galvanise more concrete action from the IMF and multilateral lenders. The proposals put forward in the April document, which also include redistributing other IMF money, are likely to form a key part of the negotiating position of developing countries at the next round of annual climate talks in Dubai later this year.

Tens of billions of dollars of FX and gold reserves have been used up - another sign of systematic micro-management. Depositors have put some $33 billion into depreciation-protected bank accounts in the last two months, bringing the total to $121 billion - almost a quarter of all Turkish deposits. Benchmark international market bonds have fallen back 10%-15% and key FX market volatility gauges that look a year or more ahead have hit record highs. Eyes are now on the FX reserves and the lira as it surpasses 20 to the dollar, the latest major milestone in its long descent. "These weren't seen as cheap assets, they were seen as jewels," MIT's Acemoglu said of the M&A banking boom heyday.

☆ Dollar gains on resilient U.S. economy, flight to safety
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-24 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

"If you consider global data of late, it's painting a more resilient picture of the U.S. economy than what's going on in Europe," he said. The dollar index , which tracks the U.S. currency against six major peers, hit 103.91, its highest since March 20. "The U.S. dollar has been rallying more or less for three weeks helped by stronger-than-expected data and rising U.S. interest rates," he said. The Swedish currency hit 11.541 crowns per euro, its weakest against the common currency since March 2009. The dollar strengthened 0.82% against the crown , while the New Zealand dollar slid 2.29% against the U.S. currency to 0.61050.

Persons: Joe Manimbo, Manimbo, Marc Chandler, Chandler, We're, Simon Harvey Organizations: Reserve, Bannockburn Global, U.S, Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank, European Central Bank, New, New Zealand, Bank, England, Bank of England Locations: Washington, U.S, Europe, Bannockburn, New York

☆ Nigeria to commission Dangote refinery, crude supply a concern
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( Macdonald Dzirutwe | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Despite being Africa's biggest oil producer, Nigeria imports petrol, diesel and processed petroleum products because its refineries were run down over the years. The refinery needs a constant supply of crude but Nigeria's oil production has been declining due to oil theft, vandalism of pipelines and underinvestment. Lower production would affect state-owned oil company NNPC Ltd's ability to fulfil an agreement to supply Dangote refinery with 300,000 bpd of crude, said economist Kelvin Emmanuel, who authored a report on oil theft last year. "There are risks with supply of crude oil feedstock. Energy Aspects, however, said in the long run, the Dangote refinery could end Nigeria's gasoline deficit, reshape the Atlantic basin gasoline market and export diesel that meets European Union specifications.

Vadym Boychenko, mayor of Mariupol, at his office in the city hall of Mariupol, Ukraine, on Wednesday, Jan. 12, 2022. Russian service members work on demining the territory of Azovstal steel plant during Ukraine-Russia conflict in the southern port city of Mariupol, Ukraine May 22, 2022. A view shows the building of a theatre destroyed in the course of Ukraine-Russia conflict in the southern port city of Mariupol, Ukraine April 10, 2022. Before Russia's invasion last February, Mariupol was affectionately known as the mighty Ukrainian city with a fierce, steel heart. A local resident reacts while speaking outside a block of flats heavily damaged during Ukraine-Russia conflict in the southern port city of Mariupol, Ukraine April 18, 2022.

☆ A husband hid $500,000 in bitcoin during a divorce — and got busted by a crypto hunter
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-20 | by ( Mackenzie Sigalos | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +23 min

Thumb drive-size devices, such as a Trezor or Ledger, offer another way to secure crypto tokens cold by safeguarding both the crypto itself and the keys to access it. Transfers of digital assets between chains has helped to expand the crypto market by giving people more ways to pay and transact. With crypto staking, investors typically vault their crypto assets with a blockchain validator, which verifies the accuracy of transactions on the blockchain. The tax implications are another major consideration when choosing how to divide crypto assets. I think the people that are interested in digital assets are going to continue to be interested in digital assets," she said.

☆ Erdogan's election lead leaves Turkey's opposition reeling and an economy on the brink
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Natasha Turak | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

Since neither candidate won more than 50% of the vote, however, the election will go to a runoff on May 28. They also reveal that despite Turkey's current economic turmoil, tens of millions of Turks still see Erdogan as their only viable leader. Supporters of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan celebrate at the AK Party headquarters garden on May 15, 2023 in Ankara, Turkey. Still, Kilicdaroglu's 44.9% of the vote is notable as the highest any opposition candidate ever received, said Orcun Selcuk, an assistant professor of political science at Luther College in Iowa, on Twitter. "The opposition clearly did not meet the expectations but it would be a misjudgment to say that opposition coordination failed.

☆ India's forex reserves edge towards $600 billion, hit near 1-year high
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Changes in forex reserves also stem from valuation gains or losses. For the week to which the forex reserves data pertains, the rupee fell by 0.4%, dragged down by a broader strength in the dollar index. The local unit had traded in a range of 81.6900 to 82.2250. The rupee fell further by 0.6% this week, its worst fall in two months. The local unit ended at 82.66 against the dollar on Friday.

JOHANNESBURG, May 18 (Reuters) - Ghana is targeting $10.5 billion of external debt service relief from 2023-2026, the IMF said, giving an early indication of how large a hit investors might face in an impending debt overhaul. "Our back-of-the-envelope calculations suggest that this translates to a 40%-50% haircut on external debt, if there is not further restructuring of domestic debt," Bojosi Morule, an economist at Goldman Sachs, said in emailed reaction to the DSA. Ghana's already strained finances buckled under the fallout of COVID-19 and Russia's invasion of Ukraine and it is now seeking to restructure $20 billion of its roughly $30 billion external debt, including about $13 billion of Eurobonds, under the Group of 20's Common Framework platform. Earlier this year it completed a domestic debt exchange. Other risks include Ghana not regaining market access to issue debt and the domestic debt exchange posing dangers to financial sector stability, the IMF said.

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