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[1/2] U.S. dollars are counted out by a banker counting currency at a bank in Westminster, Colorado November 3, 2009. Markets are now focusing their attention on U.S. consumer prices data due out on Wednesday, which will provide more clarity on the progress the Fed has made in its fight against stubbornly high inflation. The pound has been rallying on a stronger economy and aggressive repricing of expectations for tighter BoE policy, according to Danske Bank FX analyst Kirstine Kundby-Nielsen. "There have been no signs of relief in the labour market data and markets continue to price in more. Given the rising inflation backdrop in Japan, the market is starting to become more wary that perhaps a policy tweak could come."

Persons: Rick Wilking, Shaun Osborne, Kirstine Kundby, That's, Kundby, Nielsen, Moh Siong Sim, Samuel Indyk, Rae Wee, Edmund Klamann, Alex Richardson, Chizu Organizations: REUTERS, Federal, Scotiabank . Markets, Sterling, Bank of England, Danske Bank, Nielsen, Swiss, greenback, Swiss National Bank, Singapore, Bank of Japan, New Zealand, Reserve Bank of New, Thomson Locations: Westminster , Colorado, U.S, Norwegian, Swedish, Swiss, Japan, Reserve Bank of New Zealand

ZURICH, July 11 (Reuters) - A rare Swiss parliamentary investigation due to start this week aims to establish what went wrong before the dramatic fall of Credit Suisse, once Switzerland's second biggest bank. It was apparent that Credit Suisse was in difficulties over the last two years after a string of scandals, with customers withdrawing money on a massive scale at the end of 2022. Could the central bank have done more, for example by promising Credit Suisse unlimited liquidity to reassure customers and stem the outflow of funds? It is unclear whether Credit Suisse and UBS executives are obliged to appear if asked, but they are expected to do so due to intense political and public pressure. POSSIBLE OUTCOMESWhile some experts have said the inquiry offers the Swiss authorities an opportunity to redeem themselves, others have warned it could simply become political theatre.

Persons: Peter V Kunz, Isabelle Chassot, Franziska Ryser, John Revill, Tomasz Janowski, Alexander Smith Organizations: Credit Suisse, UBS, Bern University, Swiss, Swiss National Bank, Suisse, Swiss People's Party, Social Democrats, Greens, Green Liberals Party, Thomson Locations: ZURICH, Swiss, Switzerland, Mitte

June 27 (Reuters) - A look at the day ahead in Asian markets from Jamie McGeever, financial markets columnist. Wall Street closed in the red on Monday - the Nasdaq shed more than 1% for the third trading day in four - and the U.S. yield curve inversion accelerated to near-historic levels. But inflation and policy concerns are driving sentiment more than geopolitical fears. The Bank for International Settlements on Sunday called for more rate hikes, warning the world economy is at a crucial juncture in the fight against inflation. The International Monetary Fund's Gita Gopinath said on Monday investors may be overly optimistic on the speed and cost of taming inflation.

Persons: Jamie McGeever, Gita Gopinath Organizations: Kremlin, Nasdaq, Swiss, Bank for International, U.S, JSR, Japan Investment Corp, ECB, Thomson, Reuters Locations: Russian, U.S, Japan, Canada, Sintra, Portugal

☆ Commerzbank to book further provision for mBank after court ruling
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

FRANKFURT, June 23 (Reuters) - Germany's Commerzbank (CBKG.DE) said on Friday that it would book another provision of 342 million euros ($372.27 million) following a court ruling on how banks treat Swiss franc loans in Poland. The new figure means that Commerzbank, which has extensive operations in Poland through its mBank (MBK.WA), has provisioned or made payouts of more than 2 billion euros to deal with the issue. The bank said the figure would impact its second-quarter earnings but that it still expects a 2023 net profit "well above that of 2022". Polish courts have been deciding how the loans can be treated, including what banks can charge in interest for the loans, creating uncertainty for banks and their bottom lines. ($1 = 0.9187 euros)Reporting by Tom Sims; editing by David EvansOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Tom Sims, David Evans Organizations: Thomson Locations: FRANKFURT, Poland

☆ Morning Bid: Business brakes in June swoon, dollar jumps
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

A look at the day ahead in U.S. and global markets from Mike DolanJust as world stock prices raced ahead this month, broader business activity appeared to be stalling again. Equivalent Japanese and British surveys also showed sub-forecast growth and markets nervously await the U.S. version later on Friday. The dollar was the big market mover - surging into the weekend against Asia and European currencies. Inflation is falling faster, real wage growth is back positive, the jobs market is loosening slightly and housing is rebounding somewhat. So even as stock prices have come off the year's highs, the VIX (.VIX) implied volatility gauge continues to fall away - closing below 13 on Thursday for the first time since January 2020.

Persons: Mike Dolan, Jerome Powell, Wall, Powell's, Raphael Bostic, James Bullard, Loretta Mester, Jane Merriman Organizations: Asia, Federal Reserve, Bank of England, Swiss National Bank, Brent, Japan's, Swiss, Atlanta Federal Reserve, St Louis Fed, Cleveland Fed, Reuters Graphics Reuters Graphics, Thomson, Reuters Locations: U.S, Europe, Shanghai, Asia, United States

☆ Sterling volatile, Norwegian crown surges and Swiss franc falls on rate hikes
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-22 | by ( Joice Alves | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The BoE's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted 7-2 to raise its main interest rate to 5% from 4.5%, its highest since 2008 and its largest rate increase since February. SWISS FRANCThe Swiss franc fell after the Swiss National Bank (SNB) hiked its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to 1.75%, defying some market expectations of a bigger increase. However, economists polled by Reuters had expected the SNB to hike rates by 25 bps. The Swiss franc fell 0.15% to 0.8942 against the dollar, moving away from a six-week high it touched last week. In an attempt to curb inflation, Norges Bank raised interest rates to 3.75%, sending the crown more than 1% higher both against the euro and dollar.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, BoE, Sterling, BOE, Paul Oberschneider, Alex Livingstone, Thomas Jordan, Thomas Gitzel, POWELL, Jerome Powell, Joice Alves, Alexander Smith, Conor Humphries Organizations: U.S, REUTERS, Norges Bank, Swiss, Bank of England, Swiss National Bank, MPC, Reuters, Hilltop Credit Partners, Trading, Titan Asset Management, SWISS, ECB, European Central Bank, Fed, Federal, Bank Group, bps, Bank, Capitol, The U.S, Thomson Locations: Norwegian, London, Liechtenstein, NORWEGIAN, The, Asia, Hong Kong, China

☆ Swiss central bank signals more tightening to come after latest rate hike
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-22 | by ( John Revill | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Although Swiss inflation ebbed to 2.2% in May from 2.6% in April, there was still more work to be done to tackle rising prices, Jordan told reporters. Although modest by international standards, Swiss inflation has remained above the SNB's 0-2% target range since February 2022. Reuters GraphicsThe latest SNB hike followed an increase by the European Central Bank, which last week raised euro zone borrowing costs to their highest level in 22 years. Reuters Graphics Reuters GraphicsEven with the Thursday's rate increase, the SNB forecast Swiss inflation would remain above its 0-2% target by 2026. "Before today's meeting, I thought that this rate hike was going to be the last of the cycle," she said.

Persons: Thomas Jordan, Jordan, Gero Jung, Charlotte de, John Revill, Noele, Maria Sheahan, Tomasz Janowski Organizations: Swiss National Bank, Swiss, Reuters, European Central Bank, U.S . Federal Reserve, Reuters Graphics Reuters, Charlotte de Montpellier, ING, Thomson Locations: ZURICH, Switzerland

☆ Swiss central bank raises rates again, signals may need to do more
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-22 | by ( John Revill | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ZURICH, June 22 (Reuters) - The Swiss National Bank raised its policy interest rate by 25 basis points on Thursday as the central bank pressed ahead with its campaign to dampen stubborn inflation and left the door open for more tightening. The increase, in line with forecasts in a Reuters poll, meant Swiss interest rates were now at their highest level since April 2002. The central bank said it was tightening monetary policy further to counter inflationary pressure, which has increased again over the medium term. "It cannot be ruled out that additional rises in the SNB policy rate will be necessary to ensure price stability over the medium term," it said in a statement. The SNB said it also remained ready to intervene in currency markets to maintain price stability, which it defines as an inflation rate of 0-2%.

Persons: John Revill, Tomasz Janowski, Maria Sheahan Organizations: Swiss National Bank, Swiss, Thomson Locations: ZURICH

☆ Stock Market Today: Dow Edges Lower With Central Banks in Focus
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-22 | by ( ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

Central banks in Switzerland and Norway also raised rates Thursday, as did Turkey's central bank , for the first time in more than two years. Stock futures weakened, with contracts tied to the S&P 500, Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq-100 all edging down around 0.3%. The 10-year Treasury note’s yield rose to 3.764%, from 3.722% Wednesday. Norway’s krone rose 1.4% against the dollar after the nation’s central bank raised rates by more than expected and suggested further increases were to come. The Swiss franc briefly set a seven-week low against the euro after the Swiss National Bank raised its rates.

Persons: Jerome Powell, Powell Organizations: Federal, The Bank of England, Dow Jones Industrial, Nasdaq, Treasury, Global, Nikkei, Bank of England, krone, Swiss, Swiss National Bank Locations: Switzerland, Norway, U.S, Europe, Asia, China

☆ Swiss National Bank opts for smaller rate hike, but says more are likely
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-22 | by ( Jenni Reid | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The Swiss National Bank opted for a smaller rate hike at its quarterly monetary policy meeting Thursday, but said further rises may be needed to bring inflation to target. The SNB announced a 25 basis point hike, taking its policy rate to 1.75%, in line with expectations in a Reuters poll of economists. However, the SNB said in a statement that it was "countering inflationary pressure, which has increased again over the medium term." "After September, the SNB rate is likely to remain at 2%, with a rate cut looking unlikely between now and 2026." The SNB has been in the spotlight in recent months for its role in facilitating the emergency takeover of Credit Suisse by UBS .

Organizations: Swiss National Bank, SNB, ING, Credit Suisse, UBS Locations: Switzerland

☆ Philip Morris to launch new $30 mln production facility in western Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

KYIV, June 20 (Reuters) - Philip Morris International Inc (PM.N) will launch a new $30 million production facility in the Lviv region in western Ukraine in the first quarter of next year, the company said on Tuesday. "This investment reflects our commitment as Ukraine's long-term economic partner," Maksym Barabash, Chief Executive Officer of Philip Morris Ukraine, said in a statement. Some large multinationals that were active in Ukraine for many years have recently announced investment plans to launch production in the country's central and western regions, far from front lines. Nestlé (NESN.S) started construction in May of a 40-million Swiss franc ($42.7-million) production facility in the west of Ukraine. Philip Morris has invested over $700 million in the Ukrainian economy since the start of its operations in the country in 1994.

Persons: Philip Morris, Barabash, Philip Morris Ukraine, Olena Harmash, Timothy Heritage, Conor Humphries Organizations: Philip Morris International Inc, Gross, Unilever, Thomson Locations: Lviv, Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukrainian

☆ Credit Suisse shares close slightly higher on final trading day
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ZURICH, June 12 (Reuters) - Credit Suisse (CSGN.S) shares closed 1% higher at 0.81 Swiss francs ($0.89) on Monday, their last trading day after the stricken bank's takeover by Swiss rival UBS (UBSG.S). Under the terms of the 3 billion franc all-share transaction, Credit Suisse shareholders will receive 1 UBS share for every 22.48 Credit Suisse shares they held. Credit Suisse shares have lost 86% in value over the last 12 months after the lender was hit was a collapse in customer confidence, necessitating a state-orchestrated rescue by its larger Swiss peer. The final price underlines a massive collapse in value at Credit Suisse. In 2007 its shares had traded at 81 francs, 100 times their final price.

Persons: John Revill, Toby Chopra Organizations: Credit Suisse, UBS, UBS Group, Thomson Locations: ZURICH, Swiss, Switzerland

☆ UBS completes Credit Suisse takeover to become wealth management behemoth
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-12 | by ( Noele Illien | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

ZURICH, June 12 (Reuters) - UBS (UBSG.S) on Monday said it had completed its emergency takeover of embattled local rival Credit Suisse (CSGN.S), creating a giant Swiss bank with a balance sheet of $1.6 trillion and greater muscle in wealth management. The merger also brings to an end Credit Suisse's 167-year history, marred in recent years by scandals and losses. Credit Suisse shares were up 0.9% on their last day of trading, while UBS were up around 0.8% in early trade. UBS is set to book a massive profit in second-quarter results on Aug. 31 after buying Credit Suisse for a fraction of its so-called fair value. Ermotti has, however, warned the coming months will be "bumpy" as UBS gets on with absorbing Credit Suisse, a process UBS has said will take three to five years.

Persons: Sergio Ermotti, Colm Kelleher, Jean Dermine, Arturo Bris, Ermotti, Noele Illien, John O'Donnell, Miranda Murray, Tomasz Janowski, Edwina Gibbs Organizations: UBS, Credit Suisse, Swiss, Banking, Finance, INSEAD, IMD, Competitiveness, U.S, NEXT, Credit, Thomson Locations: ZURICH, Swiss, Switzerland

THE SWISS BANKPossibly the first hurdle is a politically fraught decision on Credit Suisse's "crown jewel", its domestic business. But UBS will have to weigh that against public pressure to keep the Credit Suisse business separate with its own brand, identity and, critically, workforce. However, insiders talk of rivals aggressively wooing Credit Suisse clients and employees. Clients who would typically bank both with UBS and Credit Suisse to spread their risk, might now take some of that business elsewhere. One potential risk stems from legal challenges to the decision by Swiss authorities to write off special AT1 bonds issued by Credit Suisse.

Persons: Sergio Ermotti, Ermotti, Colm Kelleher, Alan Mudie, Arturo Bris, Kelleher, Lars Schweizer, John Revill, Oliver Hirt, Noele Illien, Tomasz Janowski, Elisa Martinuzzi, Alexander Smith Organizations: Credit Suisse, UBS, Suisse, Woodman Asset Management, Finance, International Institute for Management Development, Reuters Graphics, Credit, Frankfurt University, Barclays, Thomson Locations: ZURICH, Switzerland, Swiss, Lausanne

☆ Credit Suisse has paid back government-backed liquidity
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ZURICH, June 1 (Reuters) - Credit Suisse (CSGN.S) has repaid the liquidity it borrowed from a 100 billion Swiss franc ($112.50 billion) lifeline backed by government guarantees, Swiss Finance Minister Karin Keller-Sutter said in an interview published on Wednesday. "The federal guarantees, the 100 billion, have been repaid as of yesterday (Tuesday)," Keller-Sutter told Swiss broadcaster SRF. As part of its state-orchestrated rescue and takeover by rival bank UBS (UBSG.S), Credit Suisse was given access to over 200 billion francs in liquidity support, 100 billion of which was backed by the government. In its quarterly results published in April, Credit Suisse said "the net amount of borrowings under these facilities amounted to 108 billion Swiss francs." ($1 = 0.8889 Swiss francs)Reporting by Noele Illien; editing by Jason NeelyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Karin Keller, Sutter, Keller, Noele, Jason Neely Organizations: Credit Suisse, Swiss, SRF, UBS, Thomson Locations: ZURICH, Swiss

Credit Suisse bankers, worried about their future are seeking safer employment at competitors, one person said. Credit Suisse said in April that the bank's "employee attrition has been higher over the last year," and that it had just over 48,000 full-time employees at the end of the first quarter. In an example of competitors poaching Credit Suisse's staff, Santander, Spain’s biggest bank, has hired at least eight bankers from Credit Suisse and was targeting more, Bloomberg News reported this month. UBS management has also said it would set a very high bar when deciding whether to retain any of Credit Suisse's investment banking staff. A banker from Credit Suisse in Zurich told Reuters the lender was in a state of flux, with its investment bank seeing the most staff departures.

Persons: Blick, Colm Kelleher, Noele Illien, Stefania Spezzati, Tomasz Janowski Organizations: Credit Suisse, UBS, . Credit Suisse, Credit Suisse's, Santander, Bloomberg News, Reuters, Swiss Finance Ministry, Thomson Locations: ZURICH, Swiss, Spain’s, Zurich

☆ European body to review question on Credit Suisse bankruptcy event
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] A view shows the logo of Credit Suisse on a building near the Hallenstadion in Zurich, Switzerland, April 4, 2023. REUTERS/Pierre AlbouyLONDON, May 18 (Reuters) - A European body that reviews disputes in the credit default swaps market said on Thursday it will discuss whether a bankruptcy credit event occurred at Credit Suisse after regulators wiped out the bank's junior bondholders in a state-assisted merger with UBS . The EMEA Credit Derivatives Determination Committee (CDDC) said it will meet on Friday to discuss the fresh question raised by an investor on Thursday, it said on its website. A number of circumstances can constitute a credit event, which - if confirmed by the CDDC - could trigger a payout on credit default swaps which insure against losses from exposure to corporate or sovereign debt. On Wednesday, the CDDC ruled in response to another question that a Governmental Intervention credit event had not occurred, closing down one of the ways CDS holders were pursuing to secure a payout.

[1/2] British Pound and U.S. dollar banknotes are seen in this illustration taken March 10, 2023. The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against six main peers, was down 0.14% at 102.29, having reached 102.75 in early trading on Monday, its highest since April 10. "With all of that, do you really want to buy a lot of risky assets this year?" The weak Chinese data was also weighing on the Australian dollar which dropped as much as 0.5% to $0.6665. The dollar also gained on China's offshore yuan , rising to as much as 6.981, its highest since March 10.

☆ FOREX Dollar heavy amid U.S. default risks; Aussie, yuan slip on China data miss
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Kevin Buckland | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Westpac sees the potential for the dollar index to drop to around 101.05 in the near term. The euro , which has the greatest weight in the dollar index, was little changed at $1.0873 on Tuesday, after bouncing off a five-week low overnight. The offshore Chinese yuan weakened towards a two-month low. The dollar gained 0.14% to 6.9674 yuan, after touching 6.9749 on Monday for the first time since March 10. (This story has been corrected to say the dollar index retreated from 5-week high, not 5-month high, in paragraph 3.)

☆ Dollar heavy amid U.S. default risks; Aussie, yuan slips on China data miss
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Kevin Buckland | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The U.S. dollar index - which measures the currency against a basket of six major peers - was little changed at 102.46, after sliding 0.26% overnight and retreating from a five-month high. Westpac sees the potential for the dollar index to drop to around 101.05 in the near term. The euro , which has the greatest weight in the dollar index, was little changed at $1.0873 on Tuesday, after bouncing off a five-week low overnight. The offshore Chinese yuan weakened towards a two-month low. The dollar gained 0.14% to 6.9674 yuan, after touching 6.9749 on Monday for the first time since March 10.

☆ Dollar on back foot as U.S. default risk weighs
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The U.S. dollar remained under pressure on Tuesday, weighed down by the risk of a U.S. default as a standoff between Democrats and Republicans over raising the debt ceiling showed few signs of being resolved. The dollar index — which measures the currency against a basket of six major peers — was little changed at 102.39 after sliding 0.26% overnight, retreating from a five-month high. Westpac sees the potential for the dollar index to drop to around 101.05 in the near term. The euro , which has the greatest weight in the dollar index, ticked up 0.06% on Tuesday to $1.0879, after bouncing off a five-week low overnight. The Australian and New Zealand dollars, which are not part of the dollar index, remained bid ahead of China retail sales data, despite recent macroeconomic readings from their key trading partner pointing to tepid domestic demand.

ORLANDO, Florida, May 15 (Reuters) - China's yuan faces significant long-term obstacles to becoming a global reserve currency of any great import, but the biggest challenge in the near term is the fact that nobody wants to buy Chinese bonds. Reuters ImageReuters Image"It is very hard to create a reserve currency, without attractive reserve assets. Exante Data's figures show foreign investors bought a net $558 billion of Chinese bonds between 2010 and 2021. But in a pool of $12 trillion global reserves, of which nearly 80% is denominated in dollars and euros, these are very small numbers. Reuters ImageRESERVE STATUSAny currency that has designs on attaining international reserve status must meet several criteria and fulfill several roles.

☆ Liechtenstein to allow payment for certain state services in Bitcoin - Handelsblatt
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

May 8 (Reuters) - Liechtenstein plans to allow Bitcoin payments for certain state services, Prime Minister Daniel Risch told the German business daily Handelsblatt in an interview. "A payment option with Bitcoin is coming," Risch said in the interview on Sunday, without giving a specific timeframe. Risch, who is also Liechtenstein's finance minister, said the country plans to accept deposits in Bitcoin and immediately exchange them for the Swiss franc, the national currency. The prime minister said there was no plan for any big risks with state money but added he was open to investing state reserves in Bitcoin in the future. The state's reserves, which are primarily invested in the capital market, currently amount to 2.23 billion Swiss francs, ($2.51 billion), Handelsblatt reported, citing the finance ministry.

☆ Morning Bid: German data in the rear-view mirror
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A look at the day ahead in European and global markets from Vidya Ranganathan. The euro is digesting a widely anticipated hawkish quarter-point rate rise from the European Central Bank, and is off its one-year highs. While ECB President Christine Lagarde was clear more tightening will come, markets are paring back their expectations for further rate rises . In the background, there's also evidence that travellers from a reopened China flocked to Europe during their May Day break early this week. Reuters GraphicsKey developments that could influence markets on Friday:Economic data: German March industrial orders, Swiss forex reserves, UK PMI, US non-farm payrolls.

☆ Euro falls after dovish ECB
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Alun John | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The ECB eased the pace of its interest rate hikes on Thursday with a 25-basis-point increase to its three policy rates, the smallest since it started lifting them last summer. "The ECB is clearly striking a more balanced tone and the market is pricing a bit of that, the euro is depreciating and pricing for interest rate hikes at future meetings is coming down, but just a little bit." The Fed has guided markets away from the possibility of rate cuts this year, though markets are pricing them in nonetheless. The Norwegian crown took a short trip after Norway's central bank raised interest rates by 25 basis points as expected. It initially softened sharply against the euro and dollar, but recovered.

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