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☆ Italy plans 21-billion euro asset sell-off to keep debt in check
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-30 | by ( Giuseppe Fonte | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

ROME, Sept 30 (Reuters) - Italy aims to raise at least 1% of gross domestic product (GDP), or roughly 21 billion euros ($22.2 billion), through asset sales between 2024 and 2026, the Treasury said in its Economic and Financial Document (DEF) published on Saturday. The plan is part of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's efforts to keep in check the euro zone's second-largest debt pile as a proportion of GDP, while investors keep a close eye on Rome's creaking public finances. The new targets factor in the proceeds of asset disposals expected in the next three years, the DEF said, showing that without the sell-off plans the debt burden would probably rise. Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti said in the document that the stake sales would involve companies that are subject to privatisation commitments already agreed with the European Commission. This is a reference to bank Monte dei Paschi di Siena (MPS) (BMPS.MI), which was bailed-out in 2017 at a cost of 5.4 billion euros for taxpayers.

Persons: Giorgia, Giancarlo Giorgetti, Giorgetti, Giuseppe Conte, Giuseppe Fonte, Helen Popper Our Organizations: Treasury, Economy, European Commission, Monte, Thomson Locations: Italy, Siena

Meta's AI initiatives are likely to be a key aspect of how it monetizes products and services going forward, while bringing more users and customers into the AI fold. Whereas Meta's headset is priced for mass-market adoption, Apple's headset is clearly a premium device targeted to those who demand the most cutting-edge technology — such as micro-OLED lenses with eye-tracking capabilities . Similarly, JMP Securities argued that the event "highlights Meta's AI tailwinds," which could "unlock additional advertising budgets with new chat-based customer service." Meanwhile, we expect adoption of Meta's Quest 3 hardware to grow. But the integration of the Meta AI assistant into that platform should ultimately make the glasses a more valuable product over time.

Persons: Ray Ban, Jim Cramer, Bing, Ray, Meta, Jim Cramer's, Jim, Mark Zuckerberg, Josh Edelson Organizations: Meta's, Meta, EssilorLuxottica, Apple, Microsoft, JMP Securities, CNBC, AFP, Getty Locations: Menlo Park , California

☆ Analysis: China's economic woes embolden calls for deeper reforms
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-21 | by ( Kevin Yao | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Both camps argue their proposals should be treated with urgency by policymakers, ahead of the annual Central Economic Work Conference, an agenda-setting gathering of top leaders expected in December. The pro-reform camp is beating the drum for faster structural reforms, including relaxing the system of residence permits, or "hukou", to spur consumption, removing market entry barriers for private firms at the cost of state giants. Reforms are urgently needed as growth engines such as property, exports and infrastructure are stalling, he said. Structural reforms with expansionary effects can also have immediate effects." TIGHTROPEDespite the heated debate, analysts expect Chinese leaders can walk a tightrope between stimulus and reforms.

Persons: Tingshu Wang, Yu Yongding, Yu, Kristalina Georgieva, Liu Shijin, Liu, It's, Tao Wang, Deng Xiaoping, Yi Xianrong, Kevin Yao, Sam Holmes Organizations: Central Business, REUTERS, Economic Work Conference, Reuters, International Monetary Fund, Fund, UBS, Asian Development Bank, Qingdao University, Thomson Locations: Beijing, China, BEIJING, China's, United States

☆ China's economic woes embolden calls for deeper reforms
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-21 | by ( Kevin Yao | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Structural reforms with expansionary effects can also have immediate effects." TIGHTROPEDespite the heated debate, analysts expect Chinese leaders can walk a tightrope between stimulus and reforms. Rob Subbaraman, chief economist at Nomura, said short-term stimulus would spur growth but at the cost of worsening structural distortions. Meanwhile, structural reforms would bring short-term pain and take longer to boost activity, but produce higher quality, sustainable growth over time. "China needs both, whereas it is where it is now because historically it's relied more on policy stimulus than on the harder structural reforms," he said.

Persons: Tingshu Wang, Yu Yongding, Yu, Kristalina Georgieva, Liu Shijin, Liu, It's, Rob Subbaraman, Deng Xiaoping, Yi Xianrong, Kevin Yao, Sam Holmes Organizations: Central Business, REUTERS, Economic Work Conference, Reuters, International Monetary Fund, Fund, Nomura, Asian Development Bank, Qingdao University, Thomson Locations: Beijing, China, BEIJING, China's, United States

☆ Mexico's Election Year Deficit Plan Fuels Fear Over Finances
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-11 | by ( Sept. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +3 min

By Dave Graham and Diego OréMEXICO CITY (Reuters) - The Mexican government's plan to run up the biggest budget deficit in decades during the 2024 general election year could put pressure on public finances and eventually threaten its credit rating, analysts said on Monday. Lopez Obrador last week backed former Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum as his party's candidate to succeed him. Historic data show the projected budget deficit for 2024 will be the highest since 1988 as a proportion of GDP. The government's higher spending plans should bolster Latin America's second-biggest economy, which has outpaced forecasts this year, brightening the outlook for 2024. He also noted that since Mexico's current account deficit is currently considerably lower than foreign direct investment, there was a pool of untapped demand in the economy that the government could temporarily offset via higher spending.

Persons: Dave Graham, Diego, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, Lopez, Patricia Terrazas, Lopez Obrador, Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum, Gabriela Siller, Alberto Ramos, Goldman Sachs, Ramos, Raul Feliz, Feliz, Diego Ore, Noe Torres, Jamie Freed Organizations: MEXICO CITY, Lopez Obrador's, Action Party, PAN, Mexico City Mayor, Banco Base, Bank of Locations: MEXICO, Mexico, Bank of Mexico, Mexico City

REUTERS/Raquel Cunha Acquire Licensing RightsMEXICO CITY, Sept 11 (Reuters) - The Mexican government's plan to run up the biggest budget deficit in decades during the 2024 general election year could put pressure on public finances and eventually threaten its credit rating, analysts said on Monday. Lopez Obrador last week backed former Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum as his party's candidate to succeed him. Historic data show the projected budget deficit for 2024 will be the highest since 1988 as a proportion of GDP. The government's higher spending plans should bolster Latin America's second-biggest economy, which has outpaced forecasts this year, brightening the outlook for 2024. He also noted that since Mexico's current account deficit is currently considerably lower than foreign direct investment, there was a pool of untapped demand in the economy that the government could temporarily offset via higher spending.

Persons: Mexico's Finance Ministry Rogelio Ramirez de la O, Marcela Guerra, Raquel Cunha, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, Lopez, Patricia Terrazas, Lopez Obrador, Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum, Gabriela Siller, Alberto Ramos, Goldman Sachs, Ramos, Raul Feliz, Feliz, Dave Graham, Diego Ore, Noe Torres, Jamie Freed Organizations: Mexico's Finance Ministry, Mexican, REUTERS, Lopez Obrador's, Action Party, PAN, Mexico City Mayor, Banco Base, Bank of, Thomson Locations: Mexico City, Mexico, MEXICO, Bank of Mexico

☆ Policymakers see darker days ahead in China as growth sputters
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-07 | by ( Divya Chowdhury | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

MUMBAI, Sept 6 (Reuters) - Policymakers expect persistently slower growth in China, perhaps even more sluggish than current consensus estimates, seeing its transition from an infrastructure- and investment-led economy to becoming consumption-driven as "difficult". "The inflation rate in China is around 0% - that means distortion of domestic demand and domestic supply," he said. This follows economic growth in 2022 recorded at one of its worst levels in nearly half a century. The Croatian central bank chief sees narrowing room for expansionary policies in China, adding, "We have to be careful." The RBNZ has already factored in "a pretty subdued period" for commodity prices within their projections, before they see them beginning to rise again, Hawkesby said.

Persons: Takahide Kiuchi, Goushi Kataoka, Boris Vujcic, Robert Holzmann, Christian Hawkesby, Hawkesby, Divya Chowdhury, Savio Shetty, Lisa Mattackal, Mehnaz Yasmin, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: Former Bank of Japan, Reuters Global Markets, European Central Bank, ECB, Reserve Bank of New Zealand, Thomson Locations: MUMBAI, China, Europe, Croatian, Austrian, United States, Mumbai, Bengaluru

☆ A China fund from Fidelity is beating the crowd. How it plans to keep doing it
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-03 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Fidelity's China Focus Fund is setting up for another year of outperformance, after ranking first last year among China equity funds tracked by Morningstar. With minimal losses of 0.66% for the year as of Aug. 31, the China Focus Fund has held up far better than the China equity category's decline of 9.45% during that time, according to Morningstar. The China Focus Fund is a "value contrarian strategy," said Catherine Yeung, a Hong Kong-based investment director focused on equities at Fidelity International. Consumer discretionary is the largest sector within the China Focus Fund's holdings, at about one-fourth of the names. Fidelity also has a dedicated China Consumer Fund, which is down by 8.75% year-to-date, only slightly better than its peers, according to Morningstar.

Persons: outperformance, Morningstar, Catherine Yeung, Yeung, hasn't, it's Organizations: Fund, Morningstar, China Focus, China, Fidelity International, CNBC, China Focus Fund, Galaxy Entertainment, Fidelity, China Consumer Fund Locations: China, Hong Kong, expansionary, Macau

☆ Bank of America survey signals investors are overconfident and stocks' ‘strong tailwind’ is over
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-15 | by ( Jeff Cox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

"Bear positioning strong tailwind for risk assets in H1…not the case in H2," Hartnett wrote in a summary of the closely watched survey. Cash allocations have dropped to 4.8% of portfolios, below the 5% dividing line that has traditionally been a buy signal. Even if there is a recession, managers expect it to be mild, with 65% expecting a "soft landing." Allocation to stocks is the least underweight as a share of portfolios since April 2022 and up 13 percentage points from July. The survey was taken Aug. 4-10 and entailed 247 panelists with $635 billion in assets under management.

Persons: Michael Hartnett, Hartnett, REITs, Lehman Organizations: Bank of America, Survey, FMS

☆ China's July factory activity swings back to contraction - Caixin PMI
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

BEIJING, Aug 1 (Reuters) - China's factory activity swung to contraction in July, a private sector survey showed on Tuesday, with supply, demand and export orders all deteriorating as firms blamed sluggish market conditions at home and abroad. The Caixin survey showed manufacturing output shrank for the first time in six months while new orders saw the quickest reduction since December. New orders remained unchanged at makers of investment goods, but fell at producers of consumer and intermediate goods. Employment across the manufacturing sector fell for the fifth straight month in July, although the pace of job shedding eased from June. But Wang Zhe, senior economist at Caixin Insight Group, said current monetary settings would only have a limited effect on boosting supply.

Persons: Wang Zhe, Ellen Zhang, Ryan Woo, Sam Holmes Organizations: P Global, PMI, Caixin Insight, Thomson Locations: BEIJING, Beijing, Shenzhen

☆ Italy collects around $3 bln from 2023 energy windfall tax
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-10 | by ( Giuseppe Fonte | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Summary Tax take slightly above Treasury estimatesItaly phasing out expansionary fiscal policySpike in energy prices has largely reversedROME, July 10 (Reuters) - Italy has collected around 2.8 billion euros ($3.07 billion) from this year's windfall tax on energy companies, people familiar with the matter told Reuters on Monday. The Treasury in December estimated the levy would yield around 2.6 billion euros. Under the terms set in the 2023 budget, around 7,000 producers and sellers of electricity, gas and petrol products were required to pay the levy. This year's windfall tax replaced a levy in 2022 that reaped a similar amount of money but triggered criticism and refusals to pay from multiple firms. Italy has promised to gradually phase out the expansionary fiscal policy adopted since 2020 in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and the energy crisis.

Persons: refusals, Gilberto Pichetto Fratin, Giorgia, Christina Fincher Organizations: Reuters, Treasury, Energy, Thomson Locations: Italy, ROME, Ukraine

☆ Poland wants to boost its minimum wage by 20% — and it's got economists worried
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-21 | by ( Elliot Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

The Polish government has proposed an increase to national minimum of around 20% in 2024, a move economists believe will keep inflation higher for longer. Jan Woitas/picture alliance via Getty ImagesPoland's government has proposed a record rise in the national minimum wage of more than 23%, a move economists are worried will exacerbate double-digit inflation. In an interview with state-controlled news agency PAP last month, Polish Family and Social Policy Minister Marlena Malag said the minimum wage increase was designed to help people cope with the increased cost of living. Consumer price inflation in Poland eased in May, but still increased 13% year-on-year. He highlighted that given a "notable increase" in the number of workers that receive minimum wage in Poland in recent years, the impact of the latest increase is likely to be "meaningful."

Persons: Jan Woitas, —, Donald Tusk, Marlena Malag, Adam Glapinski, Rafal Benecki, Benecki, Nicholas Farr Organizations: Justice, Getty Images, Coalition, European, Social, National Bank of Poland, Monetary, ING Poland, Capital Economics Locations: WARSAW, Poland, Warsaw, Central, Eastern Europe, Polish, Europe

☆ China's economic recovery is stalling. Here's what to expect next
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-16 | by ( Clement Tan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

watch nowA raft of weak Chinese economic data in May has raised hopes of decisive policy intervention. A slew of economic data from industrial production and fixed asset investment to retail sales and trade fell short of expectations, with China teetering on the brink of deflation as its post-pandemic economic recovery stalls. "Weak investments data suggest that authorities are unlikely to stop at the monetary easing we saw this week," Oxford Economics' lead economist Louise Loo wrote in a note after Thursday's China data release. "We therefore continue to expect announcements of further 'piecemeal' property sector easing measures to follow in the coming weeks," Loo wrote. Goldman Sachs economists said last month that getting young people back to work would give China's economic recovery a sizable boost, given that they account for almost 20% of consumption in China.

Persons: China teetering, Helen Qiao, Louise Loo, Loo, Goldman Sachs, America's Qiao Organizations: China's State Council, Communist, China's National Statistics Bureau, Bank of America's, CNBC, People's Bank of, Oxford, Afp, Getty, Bank Locations: China, People's Bank of China, Chinese, Chongqing, America's

☆ As interest rates stay higher for longer, these home improvement stocks can navigate consumer trends
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-09 | by ( Alex Harring | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +10 min

Investors are hoping that next week's Federal Reserve meeting offers more clarity about the path interest rates could take. Rising interest rates squeeze consumers, while a cut to follow should help boost economic activity. These pricey purchases are often financed, and higher rates mean higher costs. "Even if the sticker price of the thing doesn't change, the interest rate still matters a lot for their monthly budget." The "brakes were hit very hard in 2022," largely due to higher rates on the new-home construction side, he said.

Persons: Christopher Herrington, Herrington, Kurt Yinger, It's, James Hardie, Yinger, There's, Rafe Jadrosich, Jadrosich, Seth Sigman, Bank of America's Curtis Nagle, Nagle, Loop's Anthony Chukumba, Garik Shmois, Shmois, Leslie's, Julien Dumoulin, Smith, SunRun, Corinne Blanchard, Citi's Pierre Lau, SolarEdge, Lau, John Bailer, Michael Bloom Organizations: Virginia Commonwealth University, Davidson, Companies, Bank of America, Fortune Brands, UFP Industries, Barclays, Bank of America's, Williams, Pool Corp, of America, FTC, Deutsche Bank, Shoals Technologies, Caterpillar, Cummins, Newton Investment Management Locations: Louisiana, Wall, Sonoma, California

☆ U.S.-China chip war could hurt South Korea's tech giants — but not for long, Fitch says
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( Sheila Chiang | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

The U.S.-China chip war could impact South Korea's chip giants as China accounts for a large chunk of their production capacity — but there shouldn't be long-term disruptions, according to Fitch Ratings. Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix face risks as the U.S. seeks to block China's access to advanced semiconductor chip equipment, according to the June 7 report. China accounts for 40% of Samsung's total flash memory chips (NAND) production capability, said the analysts led by Matt Jamieson. The U.S. in October introduced sweeping rules to cut off China's access to obtain or manufacture high-tech semiconductor chips. Memory chips are storage devices used in computers, smartphones and tablets.

Persons: Matt Jamieson Organizations: U.S, Fitch, Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, SK, Micron Locations: China, U.S, Korea, Netherlands, Japan

☆ China's stimulus could focus on its 'dire' property sector. Here's what economists expect
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-07 | by ( Jihye Lee | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

China's economic recovery is losing momentum after an initial burst in consumer and business activity early in the year, prompting calls for more policy stimulus to bolster growth. // "The stimulus package could be centered on the property sector, with expansionary monetary and fiscal policies to keep up growth momentum," Citi economists led by Xiangrong Yu wrote in a Tuesday note. Don't expect a 'bazooka'Nomura's Chief China economist Ting Lu said "the situation of China's property sector appears dire." The Japanese investment bank doesn't expect a "bazooka" stimulus package but predicts it will be introduced in a cautious manner. They pointed to the latest wording from top policymakers and their emphasis on "security" – how this is an indicator for the scale of a stimulus package to come.

Persons: Qilai Shen, Xiangrong Yu, Ting Lu, Nomura Organizations: Bloomberg, Getty Images Bloomberg, Getty, Citi Locations: Wuxi, China, Beijing

☆ Hong Kong stocks enter bear market territory as China reopening optimism continues to fade
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( Jihye Lee | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Zhang Wei | China News Service | Getty ImagesStock Chart Icon Stock chart iconThe Hang Seng Tech index has already fallen by more than 25% from its January peak. That's a stark contrast to the reopening optimism that had once driven Asia-Pacific's benchmark MSCI Asia Pacific index to a bull market. watch nowMorgan Stanley analysts said in a May 17 report that a weak reading in that manufacturing measure "has been a solid precursor to policy easing." "If growth does not accelerate sufficiently to narrow the output gap, social stability risk may rise and eventually trigger more meaningful stimulus," Morgan Stanley analysts wrote in the note. The index for services activity remained in expansionary territory at 54.5, but marked a second-straight month of decline.

Persons: Zhang Wei, Morgan Stanley Organizations: China News Service, Getty, Hang, Seng China Enterprises, Analysts, China, CNBC, National Bureau, Statistics Locations: Hong, Wan Chai district, Asia, Hong Kong

☆ ECB must continue inflation fight 'with determination', Schnabel says
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, May 19 (Reuters) - The European Central Bank must continue its fight to tame inflation "with determination" because wages are rising, fiscal policy is too generous and inflation expectations remain too high, ECB board member Isabel Schnabel said on Friday. Their comments came against a backdrop of concerns about fallout on the financial system from an abrupt series of ECB rate hikes and speculation about a pause in tightening by the U.S. Federal Reserve. "This is why it's so important that we show strong determination to bring inflation back to 2%," she told an event in London. But Schnabel said the ECB should go on "raising rates to a sufficiently restrictive level and keeping them at that level for as long as necessary". At the same time it had "the tools to provide liquidity to the euro area financial system, if needed to preserve financial stability", she added.

☆ Take Five: More drama on the horizon
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

LONDON, May 19 (Reuters) - There's no shortage of events, data and high drama for markets in the days ahead. 1/ USA WATCHCritical U.S. inflation data will allow investors to gauge whether the Federal Reserve will be able to pause its interest rate hiking cycle, as many on Wall Street expect. The personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index, tracked by the Fed, is due on Friday for April. That was the smallest rise since July and, with the consumer price index slowing in April to below 5% on annual basis, hope for peak rates has grown. Yet this narrative could lose steam if Wednesday's April inflation data shows price rises are moderating.

☆ NZ sees bigger deficit as economy sputters, spending boost to fan inflation
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Lucy Craymer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

FILE PHOTO: New Zealand's finance minister, Grant Robertson, speaks about the "wellbeing" budget in Wellington, New Zealand, May 30, 2019. That has heaped pressure on New Zealand’s finances, as the government has had to navigate many challenges including three-decade high inflation, sharply rising borrowing costs, a stuttering economy and falling tax revenue. However, Treasury sees inflation slowing to 3.3% by mid-2024, from the current blistering 6.7% pace, levels not seen since the early 1990s. Much of the worsening in the accounts is due to falling tax revenue as the economy slows. S&P Global Ratings retained New Zealand’s AAA ratings, but warned of pressure ahead.

☆ Analysis: Erdogan election showing cools Turkish turnaround hopes
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Marc Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

LONDON, May 15 (Reuters) - Hopes among investors of a surge in Turkish markets evaporated on Monday after long-standing President Tayyip Erdogan took a commanding position in Turkey's elections. "Hope is dead," Abrdn's head of emerging market local currency debt Kieran Curtis said of the prospects for Erdogan's main challenger Kemal Kilicdaroglu and meaningful policy change. Monday's initial market reaction had seen the Turkish lira dip to 2-month low alongside more pronounced drops in banking shares and hard currency government bonds. "A continuity of policies would argue for low FX volatility," JPMorgan added, as Erdogan's economic team would look to limit the changes and FX volatility. Reuters GraphicsAdditional reporting by Libby George and Karin Strohecker; Editing by Alexander SmithOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

LONDON, May 1 (Reuters) - Inflation in the euro area is too high for comfort, meaning markets expect the European Central Bank to deliver its seventh straight interest rate hike on Thursday. 1/ How much will the ECB hike rates by on Thursday? Most analysts expect at least one more rate move after Thursday, even as the Federal Reserve looks set to pause its rate hike campaign. Market pricing suggests ECB rates will peak around 3.6% this year, and Belgium's central bank governor Pierre Wunsch says he wouldn't be surprised to see rates rise to 4%. Tuesday's bank lending should offer some clues but it might be too early to gauge the full impact of the March banking crisis on financing conditions.

☆ On Inflation, Wages and Tough-Guy Economics - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Paul Krugman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Some economics textbooks used to define their subject as the “science of scarcity.” Maybe some still do. Still, a fair bit of economics does involve explaining limits and constraints — for example, that you can’t sustain a Denmark-style system of social benefits without something like Denmark-style tax rates. But accepting the need for hard choices can turn into a kind of trap itself. Many economists, even among progressives, use wage growth as an important indicator of “underlying” inflation (although that’s a slippery concept, as I wrote earlier this week). You need, however, to be careful not to suggest — as Andrew Bailey, the governor of the Bank of England, did — that greedy workers are the villains behind inflation.

☆ Italy set to confirm deficit targets for this year and next -sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-07 | by ( Giuseppe Fonte | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The government is also expected to keep its 3.7% deficit goal for 2024. All figures in the document are still subject to changes as talks within the Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's government continue, the sources cautioned. Italy is due to receive roughly 200 billion euros in grants and cheap loans through 2026, making it the bloc's largest beneficiary in absolute terms. However, the government is falling behind both on targets and milestones agreed with Brussels in return for the aid, and on spending money already received. ($1 = 0.9163 euros)Reporting by Giuseppe Fonte, editing by Gavin Jones and Tomasz JanowskiOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

BENGALURU, April 6(Reuters) - The Bank of Canada will keep its key interest rate steady at 4.50% through 2023, according to most economists polled by Reuters, with an even smaller minority now expecting an interest rate cut by year-end than a poll taken a month ago. In March, the BoC was the first major central bank to stop its aggressive hiking cycle and is on what it calls a conditional pause. So all 33 economists polled March 31-April 6 said it will hold its overnight rate at 4.50% on April 12. A majority of forecasters, 23 of 31, said the rate would remain unchanged for the rest of 2023. Only seven expected at least one 25-basis-point rate cut by end-year, down from 13 in a survey taken about a month ago.

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