DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ New Zealand central bank to hold rates in July and for rest of 2023, Reuters poll shows
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-06 | by ( Devayani Sathyan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The economy is forecast to weaken further as the impact of 525 basis points of RBNZ rate rises becomes more visible. All 25 economists polled by Reuters July 3-6 expected the RBNZ to hold the official cash rate (OCR) (NZINTR=ECI) at 5.50% on July 12. It would be the first time the RBNZ has not raised rates at a policy meeting in nearly two years. The central bank raised rates last month but signalled it was done tightening. Over 90% of economists pollled, 23 of 24, did not predict any changes to rates this quarter.

Persons: Jarrod Kerr, pollled, Nick Tuffley, Devayani Sathyan, Susobhan Sarkar, Hari Kishan, Ross Finley, Kim Coghill Organizations: Reserve Bank of New Zealand, Reuters, ANZ, ASB, Bank of New, Kiwibank, Westpac, Thomson Locations: BENGALURU, Bank of New Zealand

☆ Bank of Canada to raise rates 25 basis points on July 12, possibly the last
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-06 | by ( Milounee Purohit | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

So the BoC will press ahead and hike the overnight rate by 25 basis points to 5.00% on July 12, according to 20 of 24 economists in the June 28-July 6 Reuters poll. That would amount to 475 basis points in total since March 2022, taking the overnight rate to a new 22-year high. Inflation is not expected to fall to the central bank's 2% target at least until 2025, according to the poll. The central bank was predicted to keep rates on hold at 5.00% until Q2 2024, said a majority of economists. Rates staying high for longer is expected to boost the Canadian dollar, one of the best performers among G10 currencies this year.

Persons: Priscilla Thiagamoorthy, Claire Fan, Kit Juckes, Milounee Purohit, Vijayalakshmi Srinivasan, Ross Finley, Andrea Ricci Organizations: Bank of Canada, Reuters, BoC, BMO Capital Markets, Gross, RBC Economics, Canadian, U.S, Societe Generale, Thomson Locations: BENGALURU

☆ Reserve Bank of Australia to raise rates to 4.35% on July 4, decision on a knife edge, poll shows
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-02 | by ( Devayani Sathyan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

While the latest monthly measure of consumer prices showed inflation slowed to 5.6% in May from 6.8% in April, it was still well above the RBA's 2-3% target range, suggesting more tightening may be required. "We don't think a pause in July will reduce the total number of cash rate hikes the Reserve Bank needs to do. Among major local banks, ANZ, NAB and Westpac expected a hike on Tuesday while CBA predicted no move. Just over half of economists, 16 of 30, predicted rates to peak at 4.60% or higher by end-September. Median forecasts showed rates would remain at 4.60% until end-2023.

Persons: Adelaide Timbrell, Taylor Nugent, Devayani Sathyan, Veronica Khongwir, Hari Kishan, Jonathan Cable, Kim Coghill Organizations: Reserve Bank of, ANZ, Bank, NAB, Westpac, CBA, Thomson Locations: BENGALURU, Reserve Bank of Australia, Australia

☆ RBA to raise rates to 4.35% on July 4 but decision on a knife edge: Reuters poll
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( Devayani Sathyan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

While the latest monthly measure of consumer prices showed inflation slowed to 5.6% in May from 6.8% in April, it was still well above the RBA's 2-3% target range, suggesting more tightening may be required. Just over half of economists, 16 of 30, predicted rates to peak at 4.60% or higher by end-September. Of the remaining, 13 saw rates at 4.35% and one expected no change from 4.10%. That was 25 basis points higher than the peak expected in a poll taken after the June meeting. Median forecasts showed rates would remain at 4.60% until end-2023.

☆ Bank of England to take Bank Rate to 5.50% over next two meetings: Reuters poll
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-26 | by ( Jonathan Cable | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Last week, the central bank surprised investors by raising interest rates half a percentage point, taking Bank Rate to 5.00%, and said there had been "significant" news suggesting persistently high inflation in Britain would take longer to fall. Bank Rate is now expected to peak at 5.50% next quarter following 25 basis point hikes at the BoE's August and September meetings, medians in the poll taken after the Bank's Thursday move showed. In a June 14 poll, policymakers were expected to draw a halt at 5.00% next quarter. "Are they going to be happy with just one more 25 basis points in August? Forty of 52 poll participants said the Bank would dial down the pace to 25 basis points on August 3 but gave a high median 40% chance of another 50 basis point lift.

Persons: James Smith, Stefan Koopman, Jonathan Cable, Aditi Verma, Anitta Sunil, Christina Fincher Organizations: Bank of England, Reuters, ING, Bank, Rabobank, Thomson Locations: Britain

Investors now expect China markets to stage a recovery in the second half of 2023. "(China) markets have baked in a lot of the doom and gloom in the economy given the declines since January's peak," said macroeconomist Aidan Yao. If it is the case, spreads will start to tighten across the board," said Monchau, adding that China is under-represented in portfolios. Franklin Templeton expects the recovery in Chinese markets to happen in stages, with opportunities in the industrial equipment and banking sectors. "China (is) at the nadir of its business and profits cycle, but also offering what we consider compelling valuations."

Persons: Aidan Yao, Yao, Goldman Sachs, Charles, Henry Monchau, Mark Haefele, Franklin Templeton, Anisha, Divya Chowdhury, Hugh Lawson Organizations: Investors, Reuters Global Markets, Syz, UBS, Thomson Locations: COVID, U.S, Japan, Germany, China, Asia, Bengaluru

[1/5] Actors sing during a performance of To The Ocean being performed at The Greenhouse, a zero waste pop up theatre in Canary Wharf, London, Britain June 19, 2023. The Greenhouse Theatre, billed as Britain's first zero waste theatre, is staging plays in London over the summer months when long, light evenings reduce the need for electricity. Over the five years since the Gift Horse Theatre was set up as environmentally-conscious theatre, Lury senses actors and audiences have become more willing to confront the climate issue. Other industry observers say building an entire theatre from re-used materials, although exceptional, is aligned with a trend that gathered momentum in lockdown. The Theatre Green Book's co-founder architect Patrick Dillon said it has been adopted across the world and is being translated into 11 languages.

Persons: Anna Gordon LONDON, Oli Savage, Signe Lury, Green Book's, Patrick Dillon, Barbara Lewis, Sarah Mills, Ed Osmond Organizations: REUTERS, Reuters, Theatre, Research, Indigo, Thomson Locations: Canary Wharf, London, Britain

☆ 'Great Resignation' continues as quarter of workers look to change jobs - PwC
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-19 | by ( Divya Chowdhury | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MUMBAI, June 20 (Reuters) - A quarter of workers surveyed by PwC expect to change jobs in the next 12 months, up from 19% last year, as they are increasingly left cash-strapped in a cooling economy while dealing with inflationary pressures. Even as the 'Great Resignation' continues, around 42% of the employees surveyed by PwC in its new study of the global workforce said they are planning to demand payrises to cope with the higher cost of living, up from 35% last year. "With the ongoing economic uncertainty, we see a global workforce that wants more pay and more meaning from their work," said Bhushan Sethi, joint global leader of PwC's people & organization practice. Around one worker in five is doing multiple jobs, with 69% of those saying they were doing so for additional income. Among the workers surveyed who were doing better financially, more than one-third said AI will improve their productivity, while a quarter expected AI to create new job opportunities.

Persons: Bhushan Sethi, Gen, Divya Chowdhury, Jan Harvey Organizations: PwC, Survey, Workers, Reuters Global, Thomson Locations: MUMBAI, Mumbai

☆ Japan will stop yen decline beyond USD/JPY 145, most economists say: Reuters poll
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( Satoshi Sugiyama | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

TOKYO, June 15 (Reuters) - Japan's government and central bank will act to stop the yen's decline if it depreciates to the 145 per U.S. dollar level, more than half of economists polled by Reuters said. Fifteen of 28 economists (54%) said the government and the BOJ will take steps such as issuing a warning or intervening into the currency market once the yen weakens beyond 145 per greenback, the June 8-13 poll found. In a separate question on the weak yen's impact on BOJ policy, nine economists (31%) said the central bank's decisions could be swayed by a yen depreciation beyond 145 per dollar. In the poll, all but one - JP Morgan - out of 28 economists corroborated the view, citing an improved bond market functionality and Governor Kazuo Ueda's accommodative remarks so far. BOJ's Ueda has said an end to easy policy would depend on the economy achieving 2% inflation coupled with pay growth.

Persons: Harumi Taguchi, Morgan, Kazuo Ueda's accommodative, Hiroshi Watanabe, BOJ's Ueda, Satoshi Sugiyama, Kantaro Komiya, Veronica Khongwir, Anant Chandak, Christian Schmollinger Organizations: Reuters, Bank of Japan, P, Financial Services Agency, Sony Financial Group, Thomson Locations: TOKYO

☆ Bank of England to press on with rate hikes, peak at 5.00% in Q3
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-14 | by ( Jonathan Cable | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

In December 2021 the BoE was one of the first major central banks to draw a line under its ultra-loose pandemic-era monetary policy. It has now raised borrowing costs by 440 basis points across 12 consecutive meetings in modest-sized rate rises. All 64 economists polled June 12-14 said the BoE would add another 25 basis points to Bank Rate on June 22, taking it to 4.75%. A majority of economists surveyed, 52 of 64, said Bank Rate will have peaked by end-August with the median forecast putting it at 5.00%. Although starting later, both the Fed and the European Central Bank have largely been raising rates in greater magnitudes than the BoE.

Persons: BoE, Ellie Henderson, BoE Governor Andrew Bailey, Jonathan Haskel, Catherine Mann, Megan Greene, Silvana Tenreyro, Stefan Koopman, Investec's Henderson, Jonathan Cable, Aditi Verma, Anitta Sunil, Ross Finley, Catherine Evans Organizations: Bank of England, Monetary, Committee, Rabobank, U.S . Federal, Fed, European Central Bank, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Investec

Over 50 cryptocurrencies worth over $100 billion in total and making up about 10% of the overall market, are now viewed by the SEC watchdog as securities, according to CCData. Among major players, for example, solana , polygon and cardano have sunk between 23% and 32%. Bitcoin and ether weren't named in the SEC's lawsuit, nor were stablecoins such as tether and USC Coin. By contrast, bitcoin investors who have held their coins for more than five months appeared relatively calm and accounted for just 1.9% of deposit volume. Investment products tracking altcoins have seen positive - albeit small - net inflows this year, in contrast to bitcoin and ether, Coinshares data showed on Monday.

Persons: Vetle Lunde, Ryan Rasmussen, solana, Lucas Kiely, Alex Thorn, Noelle Acheson, James Butterfield, Lisa Mattackal, Medha Singh, Pravin Organizations: U.S, SEC, K33 Research, solana, Securities, Bitwise Asset Management, Reuters Global Markets, Cardano Foundation, Solana Foundation, Reuters, Polygon Labs, Reuters Graphics Reuters, USC, BTC, ETH, Firmwide Research, Galaxy Digital, Pravin Char, Thomson Locations: cardano, altcoins, Bengaluru

☆ BoC to raise rates once more by 25 bps in July to 5.00% - Reuters poll
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-13 | by ( Milounee Purohit | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

BENGALURU, June 13 (Reuters) - The Bank of Canada will raise interest rates again in July to 5.00% after a surprise 25 basis point increase last week, according to economists polled by Reuters, who unanimously said the main risk was the central bank might have to do more. The BoC will hike its overnight rate by 25 basis points to 5.00% at next month's meeting, according to 20 of 25 economists in a snap June 8-13 Reuters poll. "When you resume hiking, you don't resume for one 25 basis point hike. All but three of 25 economists forecast the overnight rate to peak at 5.00% or higher, 50 basis points more than was predicted in the last survey published on June 2. Only one of 25 economists expected a rate cut this year, compared with five in the last poll.

Persons: underscoring, Sebastien Lavoie, Lavoie, Doug Porter, Milounee Purohit, Sarupya Ganguly, Ross Finley, Sharon Singleton Organizations: Bank of Canada, Reuters, BoC, Laurentian Bank, BMO Capital Markets, Thomson Locations: BENGALURU

☆ ECB to hike rates in June and July to break sticky inflation - Reuters poll
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( Prerana Bhat | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Price pressures and inflation expectations have moderated, but not by enough to deter the ECB from continuing its most aggressive tightening cycle on record. The ECB slowed the pace of its rate rises to 25 basis points at its May meeting after a flurry of 75 and 50 basis point moves. About three-quarters of economists, 43 of 59, forecast another 25 basis point rate hike in July, a stance hardly changed from a May poll. "A 25 basis point rate hike looks like a done deal for next week's meeting," said Carsten Brzeski, global head of macro at ING. "The ECB might not be convinced by the September meeting inflation is declining sufficiently to pause," he said.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Price, Christine Lagarde, Carsten Brzeski, Mark Wall, Prerana Bhat, Milounee Purohit, Ross Finley, Jonathan Cable, Susan Fenton Organizations: REUTERS, European Central Bank, Reuters, ECB, ING, U.S . Federal, Deutsche Bank, Thomson Locations: BENGALURU, Germany, Europe

That hawkish change in market expectations has helped boost the U.S. dollar to its highest level since March. Just over 25% of economists in the poll, 23 of 86, forecast at least one Fed rate cut by the end of 2023, but that is down from 28% in the last poll. The U.S. Labor Department is due to release consumer price inflation data on June 13, the first day of the Fed meeting. "If most Fed officials feel at least another 25-basis-point hike will be necessary, it seems simplest to deliver that hike in June rather than 'skip'." Inflation as measured by core PCE was forecast to remain above 2% at least until 2025.

Persons: Jerome Powell, Powell, Philip Marey, Janet Yellen, Andrew Hollenhorst, Oscar Munoz, Prerana Bhat, Indradip Ghosh, Vijayalakshmi Srinivasan, Maneesh Kumar, Ross Finley, Mark Potter, Paul Simao Organizations: U.S . Federal, Reuters, U.S, Rabobank, Treasury, Bank of Canada, U.S . Labor Department, Citi, National Bureau of Economic Research, TD Securities, Thomson Locations: BENGALURU, U.S, Canadian

☆ RBA to hold rates at 3.85% in June, but may raise again soon: Reuters poll
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-02 | by ( Devayani Sathyan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/David GrayThe Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) raised rates last month after pausing in April, confounding financial markets and a majority of economists who were expecting the central bank to hold. The remaining eight in the poll taken between May 29 and June 1 poll expected a 25 basis point hike. Interest rate futures were pricing in a roughly one-in-three chance of a rate hike then. More than half of respondents, or 18 of 28, expected rates to reach 4.10% or higher by end-September, including four who saw rates at 4.35%. The remaining 10 expected rates to stay at 3.85%.

Persons: David Gray, Philip Lowe, “ we’ve, ”, Taylor Nugent, ” Nugent, Gareth Aird Organizations: Reserve Bank of Australia, REUTERS, David Gray The Reserve Bank of Australia, ANZ, CBA, NAB, Westpac, Economics Locations: BENGALURU, Sydney, Australia

☆ Bank of England to take Bank Rate to 5.00% next quarter as inflation proves sticky - Reuters poll
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( Jonathan Cable | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

British government bond prices tumbled in the days after the data was released as investors added to bets high inflation will force the BoE to carry on raising interest rates, while lenders have been withdrawing mortgage deals. Meanwhile, 27 of 47 saw Bank Rate at 5.00% or higher by end-September. Bank Rate was seen sitting at 5.00% until early next year, hitting the wallets of indebted consumers already feeling the pinch from a cost of living crisis. All but three of 39 common contributors to this poll and the last one lifted their year-end prediction. The Bank needs to push back against the risk high inflation proves unexpectedly sticky, and may need to raise interest rates further, Monetary Policy Committee member Jonathan Haskel said last week.

Persons: BoE, Simon Wells, Kallum Pickering, Jonathan Haskel, Jonathan Cable, Mumal Rathore, Anitta Sunil, Ross Finley, Chizu Organizations: Bank of England, of England, HSBC, Bank, Monetary, Thomson Locations: Berenberg

☆ Bank of England to take Bank Rate to 5.00% next quarter as inflation proves sticky, Reuters poll shows
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( Jonathan Cable | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

MUMBAI, May 19 (Reuters) - Investors are looking beyond the U.S. technology sector's bounceback this year for longer-term returns, as higher interest rates and an uncertain macroeconomic picture could present further headwinds, fund managers and strategists said. "The tendency is that ... the sector that leads in one cycle doesn't tend to lead in the following cycle," Yoder told the Reuters Global Markets Forum. "We are staying away from the more interest rate-sensitive sectors such as tech," said Jonathan Mondillo, head of North American fixed income at abrdn. Anticipating an economic slowdown in the second half, more cautious and selective positioning across fixed income portfolios is a better bet, said Jonathan Duensing, head of U.S. fixed income at Amundi. "We've always felt that the tech sector in general is one where you need to be very selective," Duensing said.

May 18 (Reuters) - Equity markets in North Asia will outperform the broader region this year, buoyed by China's reopening and a post-pandemic recovery-led earnings rebound, investors and strategists said. Liquidity from easing monetary and fiscal policy, along with Asian central banks' early victory on inflation, is expected to defend against an incoming downtrend, keeping North Asian equities resilient. Grace Tam, chief investment officer-Asia at BNP Paribas Wealth Management, expects North Asia to outperform this year following a strong 2022 from South Asian equities. Goldman Sachs sees the north versus south disparity in Asia as a top investment theme in 2023. "China's growth recovery and North Asia's earnings rebound in 2024 remain our key investment themes and overweight areas," it said in its second-quarter outlook.

"Put simply, inflation is more than double the Fed's target rate and the unemployment rate is below every FOMC participant's estimate of the natural rate. "In our view, rather than lean against a mild recession, the Fed would view it as an acceptable price for bringing inflation back down to target." A slight majority, 22 of 41 respondents, said the risk of a default was higher this time compared to prior episodes of debt ceiling brinkmanship. Elevated worries about a default will push U.S. Treasury yields higher over the coming weeks, a separate Reuters poll showed. The macroeconomic consequences of a short default would be somewhat more severe."

But Michelin, Continental and Pirelli (PIRC.MI) told Reuters they are pursuing alternatives to 6PPD, with Michelin and Continental adding collective industry action may be necessary to find solutions. Continental said its dandelion tyres were developed to find a sustainable form of natural rubber, and addressing 6PPD was a separate focus. The worst-performing rival tyres Michelin has tested so far emit around 8 kg per year. Michelin and Continental said they are already focused on making their tyres more durable - Michelin cut its tyre emissions 5% between 2015 and 2020, Roget said. "The advent of the EV is the time to make this change," to improve tyres," Enso's Erlendsson said.

☆ Private-credit firms see opportunity as banks tighten lending
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Lisa Pauline Mattackal | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

May 10 (Reuters) - Private-credit firms are eyeing fresh opportunities from a potential borrowing squeeze in the United States as battered regional banks tighten lending after the turmoil in the sector, according to fund managers and investment strategists. Such lenders see commercial and residential real estate as particularly attractive, given the prominence of regional banks in these sectors. Regional U.S. banks accounted for about 70% of outstanding loans to the commercial real estate (CRE) sector alone, according to Capital Economics. "Signature was one of the biggest providers of real estate lending in the New York area, commercial real estate is very vulnerable ... as a lender you want to be on the other side of that," Handa said. Many private credit funds have plenty of excess funds, or "dry powder" to invest, said Matt Malone, head of investment management at private investment management firm Opto Investments.

☆ BOJ unlikely to move in April, most economists say: Reuters poll
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( Kantaro Komiya | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The BOJ will likely keep YCC unchanged at next week's meeting as it awaits more evidence of sustained wage growth, sources have told Reuters. Only three of 27 economists, or 11%, said the BOJ will start to scale-back its monetary stimulus next week, whereas 11 (41%) opted for the June meeting, the April 12-19 poll showed. He added the lowered U.S. and Japanese yields after the financial turmoil also decreased the urgency to tweak YCC, which has previously faced market attacks to break the upper limit. Compared with the March poll, fewer economists expect a sudden abolition of YCC to come without warning. Half of the 24 respondents anticipated another YCC tweak, if not an outright end, in April-June.

Nearly 90% - 94 of 105 - of the economists who participated in the latest Reuters poll, predicted the U.S. central bank would hike its key policy rate by 25 basis points to the 5.00%-5.25% range at a May 2-3 meeting, in line with market pricing. Beyond that, 59 of 100 economists expected the Fed to keep its policy rate unchanged through at least this year. Only 26 respondents with an end-2023 view forecast a cut, similar to market expectations. "We maintain the first rate cut in March 2024. In an exclusive interview with Reuters this week, St. Louis Fed President James Bullard called for a much higher peak policy rate than currently expected, as inflation remains stubbornly high.

☆ TSX futures gain on oil boost; big US banks jump
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

April 14 (Reuters) - Futures for Canada's commodity-heavy stock index edged up on Friday, tracking a rise in crude prices, while upbeat earnings from big U.S. banks supported optimistic investor mood. June futures on the S&P/TSX index were up 0.2% at 7:00 a.m. Wall Street futures slipped as most growth and technology stocks were down in premarket trading, while robust earnings from big U.S. banks, including JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N) and Wells Fargo & Co (WFC.N), limited losses for futures tracking S&P 500 (.SPX). The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index (.GSPTSE) rose on Thursday to its highest closing level in nearly six weeks, buoyed by strength in gold miners. In company news, Scotiabank downgraded oil and gas company Cenovus Energy Inc (CVE.TO) to "sector perform" from "sector outperform."

Search resuls for: "REUTERS Global"

25 mentions found