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Banks and corporations use the market to manage interest rate risks and traders depend on it as reference for pricing other assets. To make a swap, market participants turn to a dealer or bank to facilitate the deal. DRAINEDPart of the issue is a lack of bond market supply. Last week, the RBA's head of domestic markets, Jonathan Kearns, noted the swaps market dysfunction. Nor are other swap markets globally seeing similar pressures.

☆ 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.

☆ Australia retail sales up again in Sept as spending stays resilient
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-31 | by ( Wayne Cole | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

SYDNEY, Oct 31 (Reuters) - Australian retail sales posted another solid increase in September thanks to spending on food, clothing and eating out with consumption staying surprisingly resilient in the face of surging inflation and higher interest rates. Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) on Monday showed retail sales rose 0.6% in September from August to a record A$35.1 billion ($22.48 billion). Markets are wagering on a quarter-point hike to 2.85%, with a one-in-five chance of a return to 50 basis point moves given inflation surprised on the high side in the third quarter. He noted the hefty 250 basis points if tightening already delivered would have had little effect on inflation in the third quarter, or even this quarter, given inflation is a lagging indicator. ($1 = 1.5615 Australian dollars)Reporting by Wayne Cole; Editing by Shri NavaratnamOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Hong Kong Interbank Offered Rates - the rates at which banks in Hong Kong lend to each other - are soaring, especially at the short end of the curve. Rising credit risk could be related to Hong Kong banks' exposure to the crisis-hit Chinese property sector. It could also be related to the mounting downward pressure on the Chinese yuan. On the yen, Japan's Ministry of Finance confirmed that it spent $43 billion on FX market intervention over two days in October, which follows $20 billion spent on Sept. 22 trying to contain the currency's slide. In sum: $63 billion spent, in three days, with the respective dollar/yen trigger points apparently around 146.00, 152.00, and 149.50.

☆ Stocks may have rallied, but the bear market isn't over just yet. Here are the 5 stock market sectors where investors can still find profits amidst a global growth slowdown, says the CIO of a $13.5 bi
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-30 | by ( Lisa Kailai Han | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Despite a recent rally, RBA's Dan Suzuki says the bear market is far from over. In former market bottoms, investors who waited profited more than those who bought early, he said. Suzuki shared 5 sectors to invest in to position against slowing growth while still making returns. "There's always a chance that the bear market is over, but it seems unlikely in my view," he told Insider recently over email. But investors would be better served if they considered a more holistic view, Suzuki explained on the October 24 segment of CNBC's "Closing Bell."

☆ Morning Bid: Dancing in the dark
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Economists polled by Reuters said the central bank should not pause until inflation gets down to around half its current level. But it's also that markets "ain't nothin' but tired" of buying the dollar and selling everything else for months. China's yuan is anchored after state banks sold dollars in onshore and offshore markets during London trading hours the previous day. Europe woke up to Standard Chartered Bank's (STAN.L) surprisingly good results, just a day after HSBC disappointed. But the one bankers are watching is Credit Suisse (CSGN.S), which reports earnings but also a much-speculated strategic overhaul on Thursday.

☆ Dancing in the dark
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

☆ We read the Gab founder's how-to guide to Christian nationalism. The book is part of a new trend of conservatives openly embracing the ideology.
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-24 | by ( Kelsey Vlamis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

"Christian Nationalism: A Biblical Guide For Taking Dominion And Discipling Nations" was written by Torba and Andrew Isker, a pastor from Minnesota. Christian nationalism can generally be boiled down to the belief that Christianity should have a privileged position in American society. Torba's book demonstrates this, as his description of Christian nationalism differs in some ways from academic understandings of it. Phelan M. Ebenhack, File/Associated PressThe public embrace of a somewhat taboo conceptScholars of Christian nationalism, and Christian nationalists themselves, are quick to point out these ideas are not new. "We're now definitely well past the 'Christian nationalism doesn't exist' and the 'Christian nationalism is fringe' arguments to full-on 'Christian nationalism is the only way forward.'"

☆ Australia's jobs engine brakes in Sept, supports slower rate hikes
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( Wayne Cole | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

SYDNEY, Oct 20 (Reuters) - Australian employment posted a disappointingly small rise in September in a hint that a very tight labour market might finally be loosening, lessening pressure for faster increases in interest rates. The miss on jobs supports the Reserve Bank of Australia's (RBA) decision this month to slow the pace of rate hikes to quarter-point moves, having already lifted rates by 250 basis points since May. The jobless rate held near 48-year lows at 3.5% in September, while the participation was just off record highs at 66.6%. This is a major reason why markets fully expect another rate rise of 25 basis points in November. The RBA has argued it can afford to go slower than the Fed since wages in Australia are growing at half the pace of those in the United States, even with a very tight labour market.

☆ GOP gubernatorial nominee Doug Mastriano's new ad uses same stock footage as Russian propaganda
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-19 | by ( Charles R. Davis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

An ad posted by the Doug Mastriano campaign uses footage previously featured in Russian propaganda. The stock footage of two young girls appears to have come from a videographer in Belarus. In July, a Russian embassy used the footage in an ad encouraging people to move to Russia. Twitter/Russian Embassy in SpainIt is not the first time that the campaign appears to have used stock footage from the site. The allure of stock footage — especially, of course, the free variety — is money.

☆ Dollar tests 32-year peak to yen; Aussie, kiwi rise on rate bets
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

The New Zealand dollar surged after a hotter-than-expected consumer price report boosted expectations for further policy tightening. The U.S. currency bought 148.855 yen after pushing to 149.10 late in the overnight session for the first time since August 1990. Absent the intervention by Tokyo, Kadota said the dollar should already be above 150 yen based on interest-rate differentials and other market factors. A red-hot U.S. consumer inflation report last week boosted bets for even more aggressive U.S. policy tightening, with markets currently priced for 75 basis point hikes in November and December. New Zealand's kiwi jumped 0.57% to $0.567 after a report showed consumer inflation continued to hover near three-decade highs in the third quarter.

☆ Doug Mastriano accepts $500 donation from the founder of Gab, a self-styled Christian nationalist who says Jews are unwelcome in his far-right movement
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-27 | by ( Charles R. Davis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Pennsylvania Republican Doug Mastriano accepted $500 from Andrew Torba, the CEO of Gab. Torba is a self-styled Christian nationalist whose Gab website is favored by far-right extremists. Mastriano paid Gab $5,000 to promote his campaign but later said Torba "doesn't speak for me." Sign up for our newsletter to receive our top stories based on your reading preferences — delivered daily to your inbox. He has also said even conservative Jews are unwelcome, flatly stating, according to Media Matters: "We don't want people who are Jewish."

☆ Australia's central bank has equity wiped out by billions in bond losses
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-21 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

A man walking past the Reserve Bank of Australia in the central business district of Sydney on June 7, 2022. Australia's central bank on Friday warned inflation was heading to three-decade highs requiring further hikes in interest rates that would slow growth sharply. Australia's central bank on Wednesday said its equity had been wiped out by losses suffered on pandemic-era bond buying, but its ability to create money meant it was not insolvent and would continue as normal. The losses eclipsed underlying earnings of A$8.2 billion and left the central bank with an accounting loss of A$36.7 billion. "The negative equity position will, therefore, not affect the ability of the Reserve Bank to do its job."

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