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☆ Morning Bid: Bank man fried
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

"We are in the best of hands," FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried said on Twitter, after announcing a bailout that has not quite soothed market jitters. Bitcoin was falling in Asia on Wednesday, so was FTX's collapsing token and Binance's token had the wobbles. As Spectra Markets' Brent Donnelly and others have previously noted, naming rights are a reasonable signal of irrational exuberance. FTX's 19-year deal for naming rights at the Miami Heat basketball team's home arena looks to face a similar fate, as does its sponsorship of the Mercedes F1 team. China's factory gate prices dropped for the first time since December 2020, and consumer inflation moderated, underlining faltering domestic demand.

The U.S. congressional elections posed a fresh test for social media companies, which for years have struggled to balance free expression against amplifying potentially harmful commentary. Voices on the right sought on social media on Tuesday to falsely blame Democrats for voting glitches reported in some places. Common Cause also noted a "big slowdown" in Twitter's response time since Friday, when layoffs gutted many of the company's teams responsible for elevating credible information. Before Tuesday, both Musk and Twitter's head of safety and integrity Yoel Roth tweeted that the company would uphold and enforce its election integrity policies through the midterms. The falsehoods appeared to originate on messaging app Telegram before spreading to more mainstream social media services, according to Common Cause.

☆ Tesla Shanghai adds to inventory at highest rate ever in October - brokerage data
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

That was the biggest gap between production and sales since Tesla opened its Shanghai Gigfactory in late 2019, CMBI data showed. Reuters GraphicsWhile Tesla's inventory numbers remain low relative to established automakers, building inventory has been a down-cycle indicator for the industry, forcing markdowns in past recessions of the kind Tesla has not yet faced. Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk said last month China, Tesla’s second largest market, was in a “recession of sorts". Tesla cut prices for its Model 3 and Model Y cars in China last month to boost sales. Unlike traditional automakers, Tesla distributes through its own stores, rather than dealers, and so is left to hold and finance any inventory that has not been delivered to buyers.

☆ Russian c.bank: No need to ease capital controls further for now
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The rouble has become the world's best-performing currency this year, boosted by capital controls that include curbs on foreign currency withdrawals. Nabiullina warned against underestimating the impact of sanctions imposed against Russia over its actions in Ukraine, but said Russia's economy and banking sector have stood up well to the challenge. "Sanctions are very powerful and their influence on the Russian and global economy should not be downplayed," Nabiullina said. As the West shuns Russia and Moscow seeks to develop trading routes, potential partners are afraid of secondary sanctions, Nabiullina said. Reporting by Elena Fabrichnaya and Alexander Marrow; Editing by Ana Nicolaci da CostaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

HONG KONG, Nov 8 (Reuters) - Asian shares rose on Tuesday as U.S. stocks increased overnight before midterm elections and investors clung on to hopes that China would eventually relax its strict pandemic curbs even after the government reaffirmed its commitment to the zero-COVID policy. Wall Street ended sharply higher Monday as investors focused on Tuesday's midterm elections that will determine control of Congress, while shares of Meta Platforms jumped on a report of job cuts at the Facebook parent. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index (.HSI) and China's benchmark CSI300 Index (.CSI300) were up 0.3% and 0.14%, respectively. Investors are hoping China will gradually ease its zero-COVID policy and reopen to the world, even after health officials reiterated their commitment to the policy on Saturday at a press conference. Analysts said U.S. mid-term elections on Tuesday could impact markets.

☆ BOJ debated impact of future exit from easy policy amid rising prices
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( Leika Kihara | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

While there is no need to immediately tweak monetary policy, the BOJ must pay attention to the side-effects of prolonged easing, according to another opinion quoted in the summary. The remarks highlight the emerging divergence between Kuroda's calls to keep monetary policy ultra-loose, and the opinions of some other board members, who are more open to the idea of debating a future exit from ultra-low interest rates. Some market players bet the BOJ will tweak its yield curve control policy when Kuroda's term ends in April next year. At the Oct. 27-28 meeting, the BOJ kept ultra-low rates and maintained its dovish guidance, cementing its status as an outlier among global central banks tightening monetary policy. Reporting by Leika Kihara; Editing by Jacqueline Wong, Christian Schmollinger and Ana Nicolaci da CostaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Elon Musk's Twitter girds for surge in U.S. midterm election misinformation
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( Katie Paul | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Nov 8 (Reuters) - Days after Twitter Inc fired half its staff and new owner Elon Musk tweeted a recommendation to vote for Republican candidates, election experts are anxiously bracing for a surge in online misinformation as Americans head to the polls on Tuesday. Researchers who study election misinformation say threats, offensive language and false rumors of election fraud have been circulating widely ahead of the U.S. midterm elections, which will determine control of Congress for the next two years. Musk tweeted last week that Twitter would uphold and enforce its election integrity policies, after meeting with activist groups that have pressured advertisers to pull their Twitter ads. Musk tweeted a link to Twitter's content rules on Monday that caused confusion because it appeared to leave out rules for misleading content. Asked if Twitter had stopped enforcing against misinformation, Roth later tweeted "no".

☆ Asian stocks mixed as caution reigns ahead of U.S. midterms
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( Kane Wu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

MSCI's gauge of Asia Pacific stocks outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) narrowed gains to rise 0.12% at 0517 GMT. "The thing to watch ... will be the U.S. midterms today and the CPI data tomorrow," said Redmond Wong, Saxo Markets' market strategist for Greater China, in a note on Tuesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 (.N225) gained as much as 1.44%, hitting an eight-week high, as investors scooped up chips and other technology stocks. Analysts said U.S. mid-term elections on Tuesday could impact markets. Brent crude fell 0.32% to $97.61 a barrel by 0526 GMT, while U.S. crude fell 0.38% to $91.44 a barrel.

☆ Taiwan exports likely contracted again in October- Reuters poll
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SummarySummary Companies reuters://realtime/verb=Open/url=cpurl://apps.cp./Apps/econ-polls?RIC=TWCPIY%3DECIExports median forecast -6% y/y (prior month -5.3%)Imports median forecast -3.5% y/y (prior month -2.4%)Balance median forecast $4.905 bln (prior month $5.02 bln)CPI median forecast +2.7% y/y (prior month +2.75%)TAIPEI, Nov 7 (Reuters) - Taiwan's exports likely contracted in October for the second month in a row, amid fears of a global recession, uncertainties due to the war in Ukraine, and COVID-19 flare-ups in China, according to a Reuters poll. Taiwan, a global hub for chip production and a key supplier to Apple Inc (AAPL.O), is one of Asia's leading exporters of technology goods. Exports last month were estimated to have dropped 6% from a year earlier, a Reuters poll of 22 analysts showed on Monday, slightly faster than the 5.3% contraction in September. Taiwan's finance ministry had predicted October exports could contract in a range of 3% to 6% from a year earlier. Poll compiled by Anant Chandak and Carol Lee; Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Ana Nicolaci da CostaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ China Evergrande says Hong Kong land plot sold by receivers for $637 mln
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

HONG KONG, Nov 6 (Reuters) - China Evergrande Group (3333.HK) said on Sunday its plot of undeveloped land for residential development in Hong Kong's Yuen Long district has been sold by its receivers for $636.94 million. The land project is expected to result in a loss of about $770 million, the Chinese property developer said in a filing to the Hong Kong bourse. The sale proceeds will be used to repay the financial obligations tied to the land plot, it said. Evergrande bought the rural land plot from local developer Henderson Land for $600 million in 2019, and spent around $532 million to convert it into buildable land, according to local media. Saddled with more than $300 billion in total liabilities, the defaulted Chinese property developer has already seen many of its assets, both in mainland China and Hong Kong, seized by creditors.

☆ China coal imports slip from 10-month high in Oct as COVID curbs crimp demand
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( Muyu Xu | Clyde Russell | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SINGAPORE, Nov 7 (Reuters) - China's coal imports slipped in October after hitting a 10-month high in September, as Beijing's ultra-strict COVID-19 restrictions dampened demand for the power generation fuel. Coal arrivals in October totalled 29.18 million tonnes, up 8.3% from a year earlier, data from the General Administration of Customs showed on Monday. Coal imports hit 33.05 million tonnes in the prior month. Coal-fired power and heating plants typically start to build inventory in October. But a stronger dollar is making imported coal more expensive for Chinese buyers and eating into profit margins at power plants.

☆ Japan's Honda launches new EV model in China
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

TOKYO, Nov 5 (Reuters) - Japan's Honda Motor Co (7267.T) unveiled the second model of its new China-only electric vehicle (EV) lineup on Saturday, targeting the fast-growing, battery-driven car segment in the world's largest auto market. It began selling the first model in China in April. "Honda is transforming itself into an electric brand in China with a series of unique and diverse electric mobility products that only Honda can offer," said Honda CEO Toshihiro Mibe in a statement. Honda laid out a target to roll out 30 EV models globally and produce some 2 million EVs a year by 2030 earlier this year. Last year, it said it would introduce only electrified vehicle models in China after 2030, including battery electric, hydrogen fuel-cell or petrol-electric automobiles.

☆ Honda launches new EV model in China
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

☆ Morning Bid: Laboring markets get China fillip
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

A look at the day ahead in U.S. and global markets from Mike Dolan. With one eye on the U.S. employment report at the end of a dour week of rising interest rates, world markets were spurred by another slightly mysterious Chinese stock surge. None of these reports have yet been confirmed, but some former officials appeared to encourage the speculation on Friday. The Shanghai Composite (.SSEC) rose 2.7% and was headed for a 5.6% weekly gain, the largest in more than two years. U.S. stock futures were up marginally ahead of the open, however, after another round of heavy index losses on rising interest rate fears on Thursday.

☆ Yuan jumps, dollar pauses, sterling claws back some ground
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( Rae Wee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The offshore yuan jumped more than 1% in the Asia session to a one-week peak of 7.2441 per dollar, and last traded 7.2621. But traders said the most potent boost to the yuan came from speculation that China could relax anti-COVID restrictions,which have been hobbling economic activity. And as is typically the case, this type of 'risk on' move indicated by the yuan will have a magnetic attraction across Asia markets." The Australian dollar rose 0.86% to $0.6342, further buoyed by the positive sentiment on China, as the Aussie is often used as a liquid proxy for the yuan. DOLLAR DOMINANCEFed rate futures now point to a terminal rate of about 5.15% by mid-2023, after the Federal Reserve raised interest rates by three-quarters of a percentage point this week.

☆ Dollar eyes weekly gain; sterling wobbles on lower rate bets, bleak outlook
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( Rae Wee | Michael S. Derby | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Against a basket of currencies, the U.S. dollar index fell 0.23% to 112.71, away from a near two-week peak of 113.15 hit overnight. Nonetheless, it was on track for a weekly gain of nearly 2% -- its largest since September. Fed rate futures now point to a terminal rate of about 5.15% by mid-2023, after the Federal Reserve raised interest rates by three-quarters of a percentage point this week. It was headed for a weekly loss of more than 3%, the largest since September's market turmoil triggered by an economic plan that alarmed investors. Reporting by Rae Wee; Editing by Kim Coghill and Ana Nicolaci da CostaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Those returns would come from "great trading opportunities", including placing long and short bets on Chinese equities, said Man Group CEO Luke Ellis, without giving any details. "I think the alpha opportunities in China are very attractive," Ellis told Reuters on Thursday, referring to the potential to generate returns that are higher than market benchmark gains. "We've been able to generate good alpha in the Chinese market. With China gradually opening up its markets to foreign investors, Ellis sees the potential for Man Group to expand its operations in that country when it relaxes its stringent COVID-induced border controls. Man Group launched a Chinese domestic private fund unit in 2017 that currently runs one fund with a macro strategy.

☆ Big brands set to miss plastic sustainability targets
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( Joe Brock | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The study by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and the United Nations Environment Programme also revealed that some companies - including Coca-Cola (KO.N) and Pepsi - are using more virgin plastic despite a pledge to reduce its use. Dozens of major brands have in recent years set targets to increase plastic recycling and reduce the use of single-use packaging in partnership with the Ellen MacAurthur Foundation, as part of efforts to burnish their green credentials. The headline pledge was that 100% of plastic packaging would be reusable, recyclable or compostable by 2025, but this goal will "almost certainly be missed by most organisations", the environmental group's report said. Greenpeace said the report is evidence that voluntary corporate targets have failed and called on the U.N. to forge a treaty that forces governments and companies to use less single-use plastic packaging. "This underlines the need for governments to ensure that the global plastic treaty ... delivers major reductions in plastic production and use," said Graham Forbes, Greenpeace’s USA Global Plastics Project Leader.

[1/4] James Gorman, Chairman and Chief Executive of Morgan Stanley, speaks during the Global Financial Leaders Investment Summit in Hong Kong, China November 2, 2022. "It’s a painful transition, but not an unexpected transition," said Gorman, also the bank's chairman, at the Global Financial Leaders' Investment Summit. It was Hong Kong's biggest corporate event since it shut its borders in 2020 and introduced restrictions to combat COVID-19. Inflation and "very quick" monetary tightening after over a decade of relatively accommodative policies are making the world more volatile and uncertain, said Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon (GS.N). If central banks find a way to tame inflation meaningfully and in a balanced way, it will "increase the chance of a soft landing" for their economies, Solomon said.

☆ Dollar eases on improved risk sentiment before Fed; Aussie pares gains after RBA
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( Kevin Buckland | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

"Our general sense is that the dollar probably has peaked, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's coming down." The Aussie gained 0.3% to $0.6416, but was off earlier highs after the RBA opted for another 25-bp hike. The Fed is widely expected to raise its benchmark rate by 75 bps on Wednesday, its fourth such increase in a row. But for the December meeting, Fed funds futures are split on the odds of a 75- or 50-bps increase. read moreReporting by Kevin Buckland; Editing by Ana Nicolaci da CostaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Dollar retreats amid better risk sentiment ahead of Fed; Aussie rallies before RBA
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( Kevin Buckland | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The risk-sensitive Australian and New Zealand dollars rose from one-week lows amid a broad lift in market sentiment, even as a Reserve Bank of Australia policy decision loomed. "Our general sense is that the dollar probably has peaked, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's coming down." But for the December meeting, Fed funds futures are split on the odds of a 75- or 50-bps increase. For the RBA, another 25 basis point hike is fully priced for 0330 GMT, but markets also lay better than 1-in-4 odds for a half point increase. read moreThe Bank of England is likely to deliver a 75-basis point hike on Thursday.

☆ Exxon's record-smashing Q3 profit nearly matches Apple's
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-28 | by ( Sabrina Valle | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Its $19.66 billion third-quarter net profit far exceeded recently raised Wall Street forecasts as sky-rocketing natural gas and high oil prices put its earnings within reach of Apple's $20.7 billion net for the same period. Oil company profits have soared this year as rising demand and an under-supplied energy market collided with Western sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine. U.S. exports of gas and oil to Europe have jumped and promise to set all-time profit records for the industry. Investors this week pushed up Exxon shares to a record intraday high of $109.58 as oil prices traded above $96 per barrel. In the third quarter, U.S. natural gas prices averaged $7.95 per million British thermal units (mmBtu), up 10% from the second quarter.

☆ Three of China's largest lenders report over 6% rise in third quarter profit
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] People stand at a booth of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) during the 2022 China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS) in Beijing, China September 1, 2022. REUTERS/Tingshu WangBEIJING, Oct 28 (Reuters) - Three of China's largest lenders posted third quarter profit rises of over 6% as non-performing loan ratios shrunk. Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd (ICBC) (601398.SS), the world's largest commercial lender by assets, said net profit rose 6.8% year-on-year in the third quarter in a Friday filing. All three lenders posted slight falls in non-performing loan ratios in the third quarter. Both ICBC and AgBank posted NPL ratios of 1.4% for the end of September compared to 1.41% at the end of the quarter before.

SINGAPORE, Oct 26 (Reuters) - Standard Chartered (STAN.L) reported a 40% increase in quarterly profit as higher interest rates boosted the emerging markets-focused bank's income and gave it ammunition to upgrade its revenue outlook. The bank expects income to grow 13% this year instead of a previously forecast 10%. "We remain confident in the delivery of our 2024 financial targets," CEO Bill Winters said in a statement on Wednesday. "Our performance this year has been strong, and the pace of economic recovery in many of our footprint markets is encouraging, notwithstanding increasing recessionary pressures in certain Western markets," Winters said. StanChart's statutory credit impairment charges more than doubled to $227 million from a year earlier, reflecting weakness in key economies.

Separate official data showed Britain's borrowing grew by more than expected, underscoring the challenge facing new finance minister Jeremy Hunt and whoever succeeds Liz Truss as prime minister next week. Sales volumes fell by 1.4% from August - almost three times the 0.5% fall in a Reuters poll of economists. Separate data published by the ONS showed Britain borrowed 20.01 billion pounds ($22.37 billion) in September, more than the 17.1 billion pounds expected in the Reuters poll of economists. So far in the 2022/23 financial year, which began in April, borrowing stands at 72.5 billion pounds, down about 26% from the same period last year but almost 36 billion pounds more than in the April-September period of 2019, before the pandemic. He said borrowing this year could be almost 200 billion pounds, double the Office for Budget Responsibility's forecast.

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