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MOSCOW, March 29 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday pointed to record low unemployment and marginally higher real wages as evidence of a gradual economic recovery, although data showed that consumer demand and industrial output dropped in February. Data from the Rosstat federal statistics service showed that unemployment dropped to 3.5% in February, a record low, while real wages, which are adjusted for inflation, rose 0.6% in January. Retail sales, a key gauge of consumer demand, fell 7.8% year-on-year in February, while industrial output dropped 1.7%. But that decline, combined with double-digit inflation meant that real disposable incomes fell 1% in 2022, according to Rosstat, with real wages only now starting to pick up again. "The population's wages and real disposable incomes have again started growing in real terms in the country as a whole," Putin said.

☆ Why some Silicon Valley CEOs don't blame SVB for its crash: 'I still fundamentally believe' nothing was 'wrong with the bank'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Megan Sauer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

SVB was a great partner to all the innovation that's happened in Silicon Valley," Varun Badhwar, CEO and co-founder of Palo Alto, California-based security software startup Endor Labs, tells CNBC Make It. "I still fundamentally believe there was nothing foundationally wrong with the bank." Before the crash, SVB counted nearly half of the country's venture-backed startups as clients, according to its website. CNBC Make It spoke with a group of startup bosses across a variety of industries, all of whom lost access to some, or all, of their company's money during the crash. But as investors' and other founders' attitudes changed throughout the afternoon, he decided to get the company's money out.

☆ TSX futures crawl higher ahead of Fed meet decision
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 22(Reuters) - Futures for Canada's main stock index edged up on Wednesday tracking gains in bullion prices, as investors awaited the U.S. Federal Reserve's verdict on further monetary tightening. The Fed is expected to deliver quarter of a percentage-point rate hike at 2 p.m. March futures on the S&P/TSX index were up 0.2% at 7:05 a.m. Gold prices added shine as investors rushed to the safe-haven asset ahead of the Fed's rate decision announcement. ET, while S&P 500 e-minis were up 2.75 points, or 0.07% and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 7.75 points, or 0.06%.

☆ U.S. bank crisis 'unlikely' to spill over to Canada, analysts say
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( Divya Rajagopal | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

"The U.S. contagion is unlikely to spill over to Canadian banks as the issues in U.S. are unique and specific to certain business models or lending activities," said James Shanahan, banking analyst with Edward Jones to Reuters. REGIONAL BANK SCRUTINYCanadian banks emerged stronger from the 2008 global financial crisis due to prudent regulations and since built a reputation for financial stability. The Canadian banks have kept their focus on domestic lending and majority of their earnings come from serving local clients. But in recent years, Royal Bank, BMO, TD Bank and CIBC (CM.TO) have expanded into the United States by buying regional lenders to benefit from strong growth in second-tier U.S. cities. However, last week the regional bank's stock was hit after the SVB collapse.

☆ Rome hopes to reverse decline and relive La Dolce Vita
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( Giselda Vagnoni | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

[1/5] General view of the Colosseum next to a subway's construction sites in Rome, Italy, February 16, 2023. However, flailing public services can make La Dolce Vita seem a remote dream, for both visitors and residents alike. "It is the biggest investment plan Rome has ever had," Gualtieri told Reuters. "Milan was turned around by the EXPO and has become a city capable of attracting capital from all over the world. Rome is an incredible place and second to none," Luca Luciani, head of BAI Communications Italia, told Reuters.

A reversal of low rates to stem rampant inflation has forced a risk rethink and exposed the vulnerability of firms such as Credit Suisse. Meanwhile, Credit Suisse still needs to push ahead with a radical restructuring it undertook in October to restore profitability. [1/2] The Credit Suisse logo adorns one of their buildings at their campus in Research Triangle Park in Morrisville, North Carolina, U.S., March 15, 2023. "Credit Suisse has been in our watch-list for a while," one senior executive told Reuters. The radical move by the Swiss central bank is aimed at banishing such doubts.

While Xiaomi remained focused on selling mobile phones under 10,000 rupees ($120), Indian consumers were willing to pay up for better looking models with richer features. According to Counterpoint, the market share of the sub-$120 phones in India fell to 26% in 2022 from 41% two years ago. And premium phones - priced above 30,000 ($360) - saw their share double to 11% in the same period. Xiaomi and Samsung both count India as a key growth market, with smartphones their top selling electronic device. And premium phones accounted for only 0%-1% of Xiaomi's total India phone shipments in the last two years, when Samsung's higher-end phones more than doubled their share to 13%, Counterpoint data showed.

☆ After Ron Desantis got testy over a reporter’s question about Ukraine, he told Tucker Carlson the war should not be a US priority, moving closer to Trump’s position
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( Kelsey Vlamis | Hannah Getahun | Erin Snodgrass | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Ron DeSantis has previously avoided taking a hard stance on the US's Ukraine policy. On Monday, DeSantis said in a statement the Ukraine war is not of "vital national interest." The US has since provided Ukraine with billions of dollars of military aid, which has had bipartisan support. For Biden and his European allies, support for Ukraine is framed as a vital part of protecting the sovereignty of the country. Prominent House Republicans Rep. Mike McCaul and Rep. Mike Turner have even called on Biden to increase existing support for Ukraine.

☆ China to set up new financial regulator in major supervisory overhaul
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BEIJING, March 7 (Reuters) - China will set up a national financial regulatory administration, according to a plan announced on Tuesday, in the biggest overhaul of the country's financial supervisory apparatus in years. China's financial sector is currently overseen by the People's Bank of China (PBOC), the CBIRC, and the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), with the cabinet's Financial Stability and Development Committee having overall purview. The new administration will "strengthen institutional supervision, supervision of behaviours and supervision of functions," according to the plan, with all kinds of financial activities to be supervised according to the law. The overall reform plan will be "targeted, intensive and wide-ranging, touching on deep-rooted interests", Xi told the party's Central Committee. Reporting by Ryan Woo and Ziyi Tang; Editing by Andrew Heavens and Muralikumar AnantharamanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Morning Bid: Powell's plan, China challenge
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Powell's semi-annual testimony to the Senate Banking Committee is widely expected to condone the recent shift in market pricing toward more aggressive Fed rate hikes and a 'higher for longer' rate horizon. The Fed's accompanying report to Congress last week said there was clearly more work to do to curb inflation. As was the case after the last Fed meeting, Powell's unlikely to push back strongly against market re-pricing - not least ahead of the critical February employment report on Friday. Markets have scrambled to push up their bets on the likely peak Fed policy rate over recent weeks as U.S. jobs, retail and inflation soundings have run hotter than most expected. World stocks and Wall St futures were in a holding pattern for the most part ahead of the testimony.

☆ Thailand offers tax breaks for companies issuing investment tokens
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BANGKOK, March 7 (Reuters) - Thailand's cabinet on Tuesday agreed to waive corporate income tax and value-added tax for companies that issue digital tokens for investment, a government spokeswoman said. Companies will have access to alternative ways of raising capital through investment tokens in addition to traditional methods like debentures, Rachada Dhnadirek told reporters at a news conference. The government estimates that there will be 128 billion baht ($3.71 billion) worth of investment token offerings over the next two years, Rachada said, and that the government would lose tax revenue worth 35 billion baht. Cryptocurrencies have gained popularity in Thailand in recent years after the country's Securities Exchange Commission began regulating digital assets. Cabinet separately also approved support measures for electricity use and import duty exemption for components of electric vehicles, including batteries.

☆ Sri Lanka's rate hike shows commitment to rapid disinflation - IMF
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-04 | by ( Uditha Jayasinghe | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

COLOMBO, March 4 (Reuters) - Sri Lanka's decision to raise interest rates shows the crisis-hit country's commitment to reducing inflation quickly towards single-digit levels, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Saturday. In a surprise move, the South Asia nation's central bank raised rates by 100 basis points on Friday to battle inflation, which is at 50.6%. The central bank raised its standing deposit facility rate to 15.50% and its standing lending facility rate to 16.50%, and said it would relax its currency band to move towards a market-determined exchange rate as it seeks to secure the bailout. The bank raised rates by 950 bps in the first half of last year to contain the country's financial crisis. Sri Lanka is pushing for finalisation of a four-year Extended Fund Facility and is expecting IMF board level approval this month, its central bank chief said on Friday.

☆ North Korea's Kim demands more farmland to boost food production
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Hyonhee Shin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attends the 7th enlarged plenary meeting of the 8th Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) in Pyongyang, North Korea, March 1, 2023 in this photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). KCNA via REUTERS/File PhotoSEOUL, March 2 (Reuters) - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ordered improvements to infrastructure and expansion of farmland to ramp up food production, state media said on Thursday, amid warnings of an impending food crisis. South Korea has warned of an exacerbating food crisis in the isolated North, including a recent surge in deaths from hunger in some regions. North Korea's economy has been battered by floods and typhoons, sanctions over its nuclear and missile programmes, and a sharp decline in trade with China amid border closures and COVID-19 lockdowns. The Central Committee also discussed ways to improve the country's financial management, KCNA said, without elaborating.

☆ Another Stock Market Crash Coming, Wall Street's Top Investors Warn
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Linette Lopez | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

This elation has lulled Wall Street into a false sense of security, according to the investing world's elite who I've spoken with over the past few weeks. It's like all the good little boys and girls on Wall Street asked for a rally for Christmas and got it. He added that nonprofessional retail investors' strong return to the market indicated an unsustainable rally. Anytime Wall Street has forgotten that over the past year, it has gotten punished. And that means Wall Street will eventually have to open its eyes, take its fingers out of its ears, and watch this bear-market rally fall apart.

☆ Rep. Brendan Boyle: Here's why the U.S. needs to raise the debt ceiling
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailRep. Brendan Boyle: Here's why the U.S. needs to raise the debt ceilingRep. Brendan Boyle (D-Pa.) joins 'Squawk Box' to discuss why Republicans cause the country's financial problems, his solution to the debt ceiling chaos, and more.

☆ Iran's currency falls to record low as sanctions to continue
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The reimposition of U.S. sanctions in 2018 by former President Donald J. Trump have harmed Iran's economy by limiting Tehran's oil exports and access to foreign currency. Since September, nuclear talks between Iran and world powers to curb Tehran's nuclear programme in exchange for the lifting of sanctions have stalled, worsening economic expectations for Iran's future. Over the last six months, Iran's currency has slumped nearly 60% in value, according to Bonbast.com. Meanwhile, the central bank said it was opening a new foreign exchange centre to ease access to foreign exchange and increase the volume of official transactions. Farzin was appointed in December as governor with the key job of controlling the value of foreign currencies, according to IRNA.

☆ China refines capital and risk management of commercial banks
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-19 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

China's banking regulator and the central bank plan to adopt a more differentiated regulatory system for assessing commercial banks' capital adequacy and risk management, in a step to better prevent risks in the country's financial system. The China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission and the People's Bank of China on Saturday jointly released amended draft rules that they said aimed to help banks "continuously improve the precision of risk measurement and guide banks to better serve the real economy." The draft rules, which bring the banking sector closer to global standards, will divide lenders into three groups based on business scale and risk level.

☆ Lebanese depositors smash up, burn Beirut banks
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Mohamed AzakirBEIRUT, Feb 16 (Reuters) - Several dozen Lebanese protesters attacked banks in a Beirut neighbourhood on Thursday, while blocking roads protesting against informal restrictions on cash withdrawals in place for years and rapidly deteriorating economic conditions. At least six banks had been targeted as the Lebanese pound hit a new record low on Thursday, a spokesperson for Depositors Outcry, a lobby representing depositors with money stuck in the country's banking sector, said. Since 2019, Lebanese banks have imposed restrictions on withdrawals in U.S. dollars and Lebanese pounds that were never formalised by law, leading depositors to seek access to their funds through lawsuits and often by force. The Lebanese pound has lost more than 98% of its value since the country's financial sector imploded in 2019. It was changing hands at around 80,000 pounds per greenback on Thursday, dropping from 70,000 pounds just two days earlier.

☆ Indonesia president warns regulator to boost supervision after Adani rout
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] Adani logo and decreasing stock graph is seen in this illustration taken January 31, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/IllustrationJAKARTA, Feb 6 (Reuters) - Indonesian President Joko Widodo urged on Monday his country's financial regulator to strengthen supervision on capital markets in the wake of the crisis at India's Adani Group. In order to prevent these things happening in Indonesia, Jokowi, as he is widely known, warned about the negative impact of stock manipulation. "When it slips in pump and dump, things happening just like in India, please be careful," he added. Shares in Adani Group firms have been hit with a major sell off since U.S-based short-seller Hindenburg Research made allegations of stock manipulation and unsustainable debt.

Traders in Asia had the weekend to digest the U.S. market action on Friday, and the signals are mixed. Wall Street fell as implied U.S. rates rose and 2023 rate-cut expectations faded, but technical and momentum indicators are positive, market volatility remains low, and "soft landing" hopes are rising. Monday's session in Asia could also be clouded by the latest deterioration in Sino-U.S. relations and the Chinese spy balloon saga. Ratings agency Moody's warned the Adani Group may struggle to raise capital, and S&P cut the outlook on two of its businesses. Analysts reckon this will be the penultimate hike before the cash rate settles at 3.60% in March.

☆ Britain sets out plans to regulate crypto industry in wake of FTX collapse
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

In a widely-anticipated industry consultation launched Tuesday, the government proposed a number of measures aimed at bringing regulation of crypto asset businesses in line with that of traditional financial firms. A big theme that emerged in 2022 was the rise of risky loans made between multiple crypto firms and a lack of due diligence done on the counterparties involved in those transactions. The collapse of FTX has added urgency to global regulators' attempts to govern the regulation-averse crypto space. The regulatory move comes as crypto firms in both the U.K. and beyond are feeling the chill of a deep downturn known as "crypto winter." Global crypto hub ambitionsThe U.K. wants to become a leader in crypto and blockchain technology on the global stage.

☆ After spending time in Japan and briefly appearing in Thailand, Jack Ma's now resurfaced in Hong Kong, where he's reportedly meeting with finance execs
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Aditi Bharade | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

This time he's in Hong Kong, meeting financial executives. He has kept a low profile and evaded public view since he ran afoul of Chinese authorities in 2020. He has now resurfaced again, and was seen in Hong Kong, meeting with financial executives, per a Friday report by the Hong Kong Economic Times. The news of his resurfacing in Hong Kong comes just weeks after Ant Group said Ma would be giving up control of his company. The speech angered Chinese authorities, brought scrutiny to his company and eventually led to a wide regulatory crackdown on Chinese tech companies.

☆ Wall Street 2023 Predictions Already Wrong: Recession, Inflation, China
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Linette Lopez | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

Across Wall Street, finance workers of all stripes are returning to work after skiing, gallivanting around the Caribbean, or just visiting Mom for the holiday season. Of course, there's some uncertainty in all this, and Wall Street could still be proved right. Already some Wall Street economists are revising their predictions given the strong economy, even if they're not backing off their priors quite yet. It may take years to get the Chinese consumer, on which Wall Street has placed so many hopes, back to the strength of yesteryear. Don't hatchet your chickens before they countTo be fair, not every Wall Street analyst is looking sheepish right now.

Pernod Ricard India said it strongly denies the allegations of the directorate, adding that it "will continue to fully cooperate with the Indian authorities in this matter." Benoy Babu, head for international brands for Pernod India, was arrested in November and remains in jail over the case. He faces allegations of money laundering under Indian laws and violating Delhi's liquor policy rules, but has denied wrongdoing. Under the 2021 Delhi liquor policy, hundreds of store licences were awarded to private players as the city government exited the retail business in a move to liberalise trade and boost local government revenue. One Enforcement Directorate document dated Nov. 10 says: "The main motive of Pernod Ricard in cartel creation was to ensure that the retail shops of the cartel partners purchased higher quantity of Pernod Ricard brands ... in lieu of the financial assistance provided."

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