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☆ Instant view: Incoming BOJ chief Ueda says current low rates appropriate
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Feb 24 (Reuters) - Incoming Bank of Japan (BOJ) Governor Kazuo Ueda said on Friday it was appropriate to maintain ultra-loose monetary policy as inflation has yet to sustainably and steadily meet the central bank's 2% target. "I think he's intentionally doing that, so that the market will calm down a little bit about policy change expectations." "I don't think Ueda has the same stance as (Haruhiko) Kuroda but it is not clear whether Ueda would tweak the BOJ policy as the market expected." CHARU CHANANA, MARKET STRATEGIST, SAXO MARKETS, SINGAPORE"No surprises there, we expected Ueda to take it slow and he's starting off echoing Kuroda's views. He has been out of touch with the BOJ policy making since 2005 and will take time even if he was to consider policy normalisation at some stage."

☆ Asian markets breathe sigh of relief amid Ueda hearing
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( Stella Qiu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/2] The Japanese government's nominee for the Bank of Japan (BOJ) Governor Kazuo Ueda attends a hearing session at the lower house of the parliament in Tokyo, Japan, February 24, 2023. Ueda's confirmation hearing in the lower house comes as markets renew their attack on YCC, taking bets on a near-term interest rate rise. Japan's five-year government bond yield fell a little to 0.235%, from the previous close of 0.240%. The yield on the benchmark 10-year government bonds eased as far as 3.8590%, compared with the previous close of 3.8810%. The two-year bond yield was hovering at 4.6810%, compared with the previous close of 4.6930%.

☆ Analysis: Why China's reopening isn't inflationary
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Rae Wee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

However, economists see no challenge to global inflation, pointing instead to Chinese President Xi Jinping's new blueprint for self-sufficiency, broader prosperity and a socialist ideology as checks on big-ticket shopping. The slack in China's labour markets and Beijing's growth priorities will also take the edge off inflation, they say. "I don't think China's recovery or the reopening will cause any significant global inflation," said Chi Lo, senior market strategist for Asia Pacific at BNP Paribas Asset Management. BNP's portfolio managers are positioning for China's rebound to boost regional tourism, but not export price rises for manufactured goods. "I'm very much of the view that (China's reopening) will be positive for the world in terms of either not being too inflationary, but more widely having deflation in some key new goods and services," Westpac senior economist Elliot Clarke said.

☆ RBNZ to hike rates 50bps on Feb. 22, another 50bps due by mid-year
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Devayani Sathyan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The RBNZ has already raised rates by a total of 400 basis points since October 2021. The remaining five economists expected a second successive 75-basis point move at the Feb. 22 policy meeting. But nearly half of respondents, 45%, predicted a lower peak rate. Inflation was expected to fall to 5.1% this year and 2.6% in 2024, a Reuters poll showed last month. A recent RBNZ survey expected price pressures to slow to 3.30% in the next two years.

☆ Oil climbs 3rd day on subdued dollar, U.S. crude stocks' drop
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Sonali Paul | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The dollar index was down slightly at 103.29 in early trade, extending losses after Powell's comments on Tuesday, making oil cheaper for those holding other currencies. "If we have stronger than expected growth out of the developing world, (oil) prices will be firmer and OPEC will have to step up output. Supporting the market, weekly inventory data from the American Petroleum Institute industry group showed crude stocks fell by about 2.2 million barrels in the week ended Feb. 3, according to market sources. That defied expectations from nine analysts polled by Reuters, who had estimated crude stocks grew by 2.5 million barrels. The market will be looking to see if data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, due at 1530 GMT, confirms the decline in crude stocks.

☆ Australia jobs take surprise dip in Dec, but unemployment stays low
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Wayne Cole | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) on Thursday showed net employment fell 14,600 in December from November, when it surged by a revised 58,200, and missed forecasts for an increase of 22,500. "The strong employment growth through 2022, along with high participation and low unemployment, continues to reflect a tight labour market," said Lauren Ford, head of labour statistics at the ABS. ABS data out this week showed net temporary arrivals jumped by 180,000 between July and November, the largest five-month increase on record. This includes those on skilled visas, temporary work visas and students. "It represents important progress in the alleviation of labour supply constraints which featured prominently in 2022," said Ryan Wells, an economist at Westpac.

☆ Japanese yen tumbles, bonds rally after BOJ keeps policy ultra easy
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Stella Qiu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The bank, however, maintained ultra-low interest rates, including its 0.5% cap for the 10-year bond yield. The dollar also gained 2.5% against the Japanese yen to 131.4 yen, in its biggest percentage daily rise since March 2020. In a Reuters poll, 97% of economists expected the BOJ to maintain its ultra-easy policy at the meeting. A survey of global fund managers by BofA Securities out on Tuesday showed that expectations of further appreciation in the Japanese yen in January were the highest in 16 years. The dollar index , which measures the safe-haven dollar against six peers, rose 0.4% at 102.84.

☆ Australia consumer mood brightens for second month in a row
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SYDNEY, Jan 17 (Reuters) - A measure of Australian consumer sentiment rose in January for the second straight month, as a break in a painful cycle of interest rate rises likely provided temporary relief for borrowers. The Westpac-Melbourne Institute index of consumer sentiment released on Tuesday rose 5.0% in January, the largest monthly gain since April 2021 and building on a gain of 3.0% in December. "If so, we should be cautious about reading the January sentiment rise as part of a continuing trend." The index of the economic outlook for the next 12 months jumped 10.2%, and the outlook for the next five years climbed 2.9%. A separate survey from ANZ also showed a small rise just last week, although the bank cautioned that spending data has turned weak in the first week of 2023.

☆ Asia markets to trade mixed ahead of Chinese economic data
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( Jihye Lee | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

People take photographs against a backdrop of the Shenzhen skyline at Lianhuashan Park in Shenzhen, China, on Friday, Nov. 20, 2020. Photographer: Yan Cong/Bloomberg via Getty ImagesAsia-Pacific markets were set for a mixed session Tuesday as investors await a slew of Chinese economic data. Economists are expecting a quarterly contraction of 0.8% in the nation's gross domestic product and 1.8% annualized growth, according to a poll by Reuters. China's industrial output is expected to expand 0.2% on an annualized basis, while retail sales are estimated to contract by 8.6%, according to economists polled by Reuters. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.2% in its first hour of trade as the nation's Westpac consumer confidence rose 5% in December from 3% in November, Refinitiv data showed.

☆ Yen rises in cautious calm after BOJ policy tweak
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( Rae Wee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The greenback, which rose 0.6% against the yen in the previous session, had failed to meaningfully recoup its 3.8% slump following Tuesday's news. "The BOJ opened the door, obviously, for further unwinding of its super-loose policies," said Sean Callow, a senior currency strategist at Westpac. Against the euro , the yen steadied at 140.27, while trading at 159.73 per pound . Sterling rose 0.14% against the dollar to $1.2102, after having slid 0.85% overnight. "In a world where risk sentiment is still very fragile, currencies whose countries have a twin deficit are at risk compared to others."

☆ Fall in New Zealand confidence raises spectre of deeper recession
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( Lucy Craymer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WELLINGTON, Dec 21 (Reuters) - Confidence in New Zealand has slumped in recent weeks, raising concerns the country might be headed toward a deeper recession than most have forecast. The December ANZ Consumer Confidence survey released earlier on Wednesday dropped to its lowest since it began in 2004 and followed on from the Westpac quarterly confidence survey on Monday which also recorded its lowest level since it began in 1988. The ANZ Business Confidence survey also reached a record low. "There can be no doubting the sombre economic mood across the nation at present," Bank of New Zealand Senior Economist Doug Steel said in a note. He said this slowdown was needed to cool inflation pressures but the business confidence survey did not show signs of cost pressures easing.

☆ Australian economy on edge as fixed-rate mortgage pain looms in 2023
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( Stella Qiu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The cost of paying your mortgage is literally going up for everyone by thousands of dollars," said the 31-year-old Lemon. Australia's big four banks - Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA.AX), Westpac (WBC.AX), National Australia Bank (NAB.AX) and ANZ (ANZ.AX) - account for 75% of the country's mortgage market. read moreThe RBA fears 15% of the borrowers on variable rates could see their cash flows turn negative, assuming that interest rates rise to 3.6% in line with market expectations. Buyers' agent Lloyd Edge says some cautious mortgage holders have been selling up before their fixed-rate loans expire. Hundreds of thousands of Australians took advantage of the ultra low rates during the COVID pandemic to enter one of the world's least affordable housing markets.

☆ Yen soars to 4-month peak after surprise BOJ policy tweak
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( Kevin Buckland | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The dollar tumbled as much as 2.78% to 133.11 yen , a level last seen on Aug. 16, before last trading 2.62% weaker at 133.345. It had been slightly stronger at about 137.40 yen ahead of the policy announcement. Eyes will now be trained on BOJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda's media briefing later in the day for additional hints about a pivot away from ultra-easy policy. Most BOJ watchers had expected no changes until his 10-year term finishes at the end of March. "Unease over China's haphazard COVID policy changes also seems to be keeping a lid on AUD/USD," Callow added.

☆ Yen on defensive before BOJ; NZ dollar sinks
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( Kevin Buckland | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] Banknotes of Japanese yen are seen in this illustration picture taken September 22, 2022. New Zealand's dollar dropped after a big decline in a survey of local business confidence. The Aussie, though, was little changed after shrugging off minutes from the Reserve Bank of Australia's last policy meeting. Ten-year Treasury yields held at a one-week high of 3.601% in Tokyo trading. Those minutes reinforced the "uncertain outlook" for policy, providing an additional weight on the Australian dollar, said Sean Callow, a strategist at Westpac.

☆ Factbox: Australia's indebted households critical to soft landing hopes next year
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Here are some statistics about Australia's indebted households, the strength of which would be critical to the Reserve Bank of Australia's central scenario that the economy is headed for a soft landing next year. They now face a jump in interest rates to 5-6% when their fixed-rate loans expire next year, up from 2-3% currently. More than 40% of the borrowers took out fixed-rate loans at the peak of the market last year, compared with 15% before COVID. A third of fixed-rate loans will expire in 2024 and beyond. REPAYMENTS JUMPIn its financial stability review published in October, the RBA expects almost 60% of borrowers with fixed-rate loans would face an increase in their minimum repayments of at least 40%.

☆ Tyro rejects $593 million bid from Potentia Capital
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Dec 12 (Reuters) - Australian payment terminals firm Tyro Payments (TYR.AX) on Monday rejected the revised proposal from private equity firm Potentia Capital of A$1.60 per share which values the company at A$875 million ($593.43 million). Tyro said the higher offer continues to undervalue the company. "The revised indicative proposal comes at a time of significant share market volatility and cyclical weakness in global technology and payment company valuations," the company said in a statement. Additionally, Westpac (WBC.AX) also ended its discussions with Tyro, saying that it was not in the best interests of its shareholders. The bank was among the three biggest banks in October that were considering a bid for the payment terminals firm, underscoring the importance of new revenue streams as rising interest rates batter the mortgage market.

☆ Australia's Big Four banks pass c.bank rate hike to home loan customers
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Dec 6 (Reuters) - All of Australia's "big four" banks said on Tuesday they will raise their home loan rates by a quarter-point, passing on the central bank's eighth rate hike in as many months to their customers in full. Earlier on Tuesday, the Reserve Bank of Australia lifted its cash rate by 25 basis points to a 10-year high of 3.1%, and reiterated that further policy tightening would be needed to contain inflation. The top four lenders, the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA.AX), National Australia Bank (NAB.AX) and Australia and New Zealand Banking Group's (ANZ.AX) will hike their rates from the end of next week, while Westpac Banking Corp's (WBC.AX) hike will be effective December 20, the banks said in separate statements. However, heightened borrowing costs could impact credit demand, housing market, employment and economic growth, posing as challenges to the lenders. Reporting by Rishav Chatterjee and Echha Jain in Bengaluru Editing by Vinay Dwivedi and Nivedita BhattacharjeeOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Australian banking system cushioned for imminent climate change-related risks - regulator
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Nov 30 (Reuters) - Potential economic downturns caused by climate change could pose risks to the loan books of Australia's top five banks without resulting in any severe stress to the system and the economy, a risk study conducted by the country's banking regulator showed. With global focus sharply pivoting towards climate change, banks have come under increased scrutiny for their ties with fossil fuel projects, prompting them to set goals to cut emissions and raise investments in clean energy projects. These banks have "predicted they would adjust their risk appetite and lending practices, such as cutting back on high loan-to-valuation lending and reducing exposure to higher risk regions and industries", the regulator said. APRA will now consider how the assessment could be applied to other regulated industries and climate-related challenges, it said. ($1 = 1.4948 Australian dollars)Reporting by Sameer Manekar and Tejaswi Marthi in Bengaluru; editing by Uttaresh.V and Subhranshu SahuOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Australia's fourth-largest bank also said it would reduce exposure to its largest carbon-emitting customers that do not improve their emission transition plans by 2025. ANZ also disclosed that it would lower its scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions by 85% by 2025 and 90% by 2030. "Our exposure to thermal coal will continue to decline in line with our existing commitments, which includes no longer onboarding any new business customers with material thermal coal exposures, or directly financing new thermal coal mines or power plants," ANZ said. In July, Westpac (WBC.AX) unveiled plans to reduce its lending to coal, oil and gas companies by nearly a quarter by 2030 to slash emissions. read more($1 = A$1.4786)Reporting by Tejaswi Marthi and Jaskiran Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich and Uttaresh.VOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

WELLINGTON, Nov 22 (Reuters) - New Zealand's central bank is expected to deliver its biggest ever rate point hike this week as it continues efforts to temper inflation ahead of a three-month break. A Reuters poll found 15 of 23 economists expect the central bank to lift the cash rate by a record 75 basis points. HOME AND AWAYNew Zealand-based economists are more hawkish than their international counterparts, unanimously expecting the central bank to hike by 75 basis points. The central bank will also release new economic forecasts and potentially an updated cash rate track. "It all comes down to the language around the OCR (official cash rate) track and its shape," said Kiwibank in a note.

☆ New Zealand delivers record rate hike, flags more to come
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( Lucy Craymer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) raised the official cash rate (OCR) by 75 basis points to 4.25%, its highest since January 2009. The RBNZ also increased the projected peak for the cash rate to 5.5% in September 2023 where it expects it to remain into 2024. The RBNZ has remained more hawkish than its Australia counterpart, which has slowed its rate increases in recent months. Wednesday's ninth straight hike means the cash rate has now risen 400 basis points since October 2021 and is the most aggressive tightening by the central bank since 1999 when the cash rate was introduced. Worrying the bank is non-tradeable inflation--or prices for goods that are not exposed to global markets--which is running at a record.

☆ New Zealand's RBNZ seen raising rates by historic 75 bps
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Devayani Sathyan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Reuters Poll: RBNZ monetary policy outlookThe largest banks in the country - ANZ, ASB, Kiwi Bank, Bank of New Zealand and Westpac - expect a 75 bp hike on Wednesday, matching the recent pace of the U.S. Federal Reserve. "We are forecasting the OCR to peak at 5.0%, via another 75 bp hike in February on a 'let's just get it done' basis. If data cools more rapidly than expected the RBNZ could well slow the pace at that point." Rates were expected to peak at 4.75% and remain unchanged until the end of next year, according to the median view in the poll. According to the latest RBNZ survey, inflation is expected to ease only modestly over the coming year and will be higher than previously predicted.

☆ Dollar rebounds as Fed officials say hikes to continue; yen slumps
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( Kevin Buckland | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The dollar index , which measures the currency against six counterparts including the yen, euro and sterling, edged 0.03% higher to 107.00 early in the Asian day. The index held onto gains made on Monday when it rebounded from a three-month low of 106.27 hit on Friday. The dollar gained 0.34% to 140.40 yen , adding to its 0.84% overnight rebound from a 2 1/2-month low of 138.46. The euro was little changed at $1.03215 following its retreat from a three-month high of $1.0364. The offshore Chinese yuan was little changed at 7.0461 per dollar, after hitting a more than five-week high of 7.0200 in the previous session.

Nov 14 (Reuters) - Three of Australia's 'big four' banks settled separate class action lawsuits for A$126 million ($84.51 million) with Slater & Gordon (SGH.AX), who took the banks to court two years ago over sale of credit insurance products, the companies said on Monday. Law firm Slater & Gordon in 2020 filed class action lawsuits against Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA.AX), Westpac Banking Corp (WBC.AX), and Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ.AX) on behalf of around one million customers. ANZ, along with QBE Insurance, and OnePath Life and OnePath General Insurance, indirect units of Swiss firm Zurich Insurance Group (ZURN.S), will pay a total of A$47 million to their customers under the settlement, with ANZ contributing A$42 million, Slater & Gordon said. Westpac would pay A$29 million, subject to court's approval. ($1 = 1.4910 Australian dollars)Reporting by Sameer Manekar in Bengaluru; editing by Diane Craft and Rashmi AichOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

The banks are now less conservative in counting expected rental income when assessing loan applications, said the four sources. In September, about a third of new bank mortgage lending was for investment. On Nov. 12, NAB will also halve its discount on rental income to 10%, including for Airbnb-like short-term rentals, the sources said. NAB, Westpac and ANZ trail market leader Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA.AX), which has a quarter of the mortgage market. Commonwealth continues to apply a rental income discount of 20% on mortgage applications, a sixth source said.

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