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☆ Robert Hur: special counsel on Biden classified document probe
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( Kanishka Singh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Michael A. McCoyWASHINGTON, Jan 13 (Reuters) - U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland on Thursday named Robert Hur as special counsel to investigate whether President Joe Biden had improperly handled sensitive government documents. Hur was the U.S. attorney in Maryland during the Trump administration and most recently served as litigation partner at law firm Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. A graduate of Stanford Law School and Harvard College, Hur served as top aide to then-Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein before his appointment as the U.S. Attorney in Maryland. He knows what he is getting into," Rosenstein told CNN on Thursday after Hur's appointment as special counsel. "I will conduct the assigned investigation with fair, impartial, and dispassionate judgment," Hur said in a statement released after his appointment as special counsel.

Issuance of bonds tied to environmental, social and governance (ESG) themes grossed $142 billion in Asia Pacific last year, barely below the record $144 billion of 2021, according to data from Refinitiv. Major EM ESG issuance Asia, Europe and USParticipants say the 2022 issuance in Asia was fuelled on the supply side by the gargantuan task of greening Asia's energy grid and by low yuan interest rates in top issuer China, where investment from domestic institutions supported prices. Chinese entities issued 59.3% of the ESG bonds in the Asia-Pacific region in 2022, with total proceeds totaling $84 billion, up about 6% from $80 billion in 2021. "Domestic capital markets in Asia have been developing over many years, and are quite deep today," he said. Major EM ESG issuance Major EM ESG issuanceGlobally, ESG issuance fell last year as debt markets became turbulent, while investors pulled cash from funds devoted to sustainable investment for the first time in more than a decade as soaring prices for fossil fuel stocks, which they exclude, hurt their relative performance.

☆ China central bank to maintain or increase policy-loan liquidity - Reuters poll
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The PBOC manages liquidity by extending loans to banks under its one-year medium-term lending facility (MLF). Twelve analysts expected the central bank to replace that debt exactly with 700 billion yuan of new lending, and 10 expected it to go further and lend a greater amount. A great majority - 21 traders and analysts - expected the MLF interest rate to stay unchanged at 2.75% this month, while the remaining four respondents expected a small rate cut. Markets still expect some monetary policy easing measures to support economic recovery, including cuts to policy rates and the amount of cash that banks must set aside as reserves. "The PBOC will likely cut interest rates soon to aid the expected economic recovery this year."

☆ Oil trades flat amid China demand hopes, caution ahead of U.S. inflation data
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( Emily Chow | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

SINGAPORE, Jan 12 (Reuters) - Oil prices traded mostly flat on Thursday, giving up gains made earlier in the day, as optimism over China's demand outlook was tempered by caution ahead of upcoming inflation data from the United States. Both benchmarks had risen 3% in Wednesday's session, boosted by hopes for an improved global economic outlook and concern over the impact of sanctions on Russian crude output. "China is speeding up stockpiles for crude oil ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday, as the demand outlook has been improved amid a U-turn in its COVID policy," said Tina Teng, an analyst at CMC Markets. Upcoming U.S. inflation data, however, is a key risk factor for oil, CMC Market's Teng added. An international price cap imposed on sales of Russian crude took effect on Dec. 5.

Jan 12 (Reuters) - Oil prices edged up on Thursday, building on gains in the previous session as China's demand outlook improved, though gains were limited ahead of upcoming inflation data from the United States. Both benchmarks rose 3% in Wednesday's session, boosted by hopes for an improved global economic outlook and concern over the impact of sanctions on Russian crude output. Top oil importer China is reopening its economy after the end of strict COVID-19 curbs, boosting optimism that demand for fuel will grow in 2023. Upcoming U.S. inflation data however is a key risk factor for oil, CMC Market's Teng added. An international price cap imposed on sales of Russian crude took effect on Dec. 5.

☆ China consumer inflation accelerates in Dec; PPI falls with soft demand
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Lam YikBEIJING, Jan 12 (Reuters) - China's annual consumer inflation rate accelerated in December, driven by rising food prices even as domestic demand wavered amid restrained economic activity during the month. The consumer price index (CPI) was 1.8% higher than a year earlier, rising faster than the 1.6% annual gain seen in November, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed on Thursday. The producer price index (PPI) showed an annual drop for a third straight month. In December it was down 0.7% from a year earlier, falling less than an annual contraction of 1.3% seen in November. read moreReporting by Liangping Gao, Joe Cash and Liz Lee; Editing by Bradley PerrettOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Undercooked Nadal targets number 23 at Melbourne Park
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( Nick Mulvenney | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

"I need to win matches for sure, but the preparation is going quite well, practising a lot and I think I am in good shape. "But I'm confident that if I am able to have this last week of positive practices, why not?" As world number two, Nadal will be top seed on his 18th trip to the Australian Open after the injury withdrawal of his young compatriot Carlos Alcaraz. He followed that up with a 14th French Open title and could forge even further ahead of Novak Djokovic (21) and the now retired Roger Federer (20) in the Grand Slam title race with a third triumph on Melbourne's famous blue courts. Reporting by Nick Mulvenney in Sydney, editing by Bradley PerrettOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Australia withdraw from ODI series against Afghanistan in March
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Jan 12 (Reuters) - Australia's men's team has withdrawn from their one-day international (ODI) series against Afghanistan in March following further restrictions on women's and girls' rights imposed by the Taliban, Cricket Australia (CA) said on Thursday. Australia and Afghanistan were scheduled to play three ODIs in the United Arab Emirates but CA scrapped the series after "extensive consultation" with stakeholders, including the Australian government. The series formed part of the International Cricket Council's (ICC) Super League, where the top eight teams automatically qualify for the 2023 World Cup. Australia were scheduled to play a test match against Afghanistan in November 2021 but the fixture was postponed after the Taliban seized power in August of that year. They have continued to appear at ICC events since the Taliban takeover, however, and faced Australia during last year's Twenty20 World Cup.

☆ Explainer: Why weeks of rain in California will not end historic drought
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( Daniel Trotta | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

But the state's water infrastructure, mostly built in the 20th Century when the population was barely half of today's 40 million, is ill-equipped for the new situation. On Dec. 14, the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California declared a drought emergency for all 19 million people in the region. Despite a deluge that by one estimate has been expected to dump more than 20 trillion gallons (80 trillion liters), the state's major reservoirs remain well below their historic average. INFRASTRUCTURE DEFICITThe state's infrastructure, largely a network of cement canals, lacks the capacity to capture excess stormwater. Even as the Colorado River basin faces its own drought, and the atmospheric rivers provide no relief, the Colorado River suffers more from overuse than from a lack of precipitation.

☆ India may exempt 30 GW of solar plants from equipment duty - sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( Sarita Chaganti Singh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Solar panels are seen inside the premises of the Jaisalmer Airport in desert state of Rajasthan, India, August 13, 2015. REUTERS/Anindito MukherjeeNEW DELHI, Jan 11 (Reuters) - India may exempt some solar projects from paying duties on equipment imports, according to government and industry sources, to bring renewable-energy capacity additions back on schedule and lower consumer power tariffs. Projects with 30 gigawatts of capacity will benefit, the sources said. Solar power projects with a combined capacity of at least 30 gigawatts have been either delayed or are facing an uncertain future due to the increase in module prices and also due to supply constraints, according to the National Solar Energy Federation of India. Imported solar modules cost about 40 cents per watt of capacity while domestic ones cost 37 cents per watt.

Anderson Torres, Bolsonaro's justice minister from 2021 to 2022, took a job as Brasilia security chief after leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva took office on Jan. 1. "This was a structured sabotage operation, commanded by Bolsonaro's ex-minister Anderson Torres," Ricardo Cappelli, the official leading a post-invasion federal intervention into Brasilia's public security, told CNN Brasil. "Torres took over as secretary for security (in Brasilia), dismissed the whole chain of command and then took a trip. The shakeup of capital security highlights a wider challenge facing Lula, whose new government must now deal with a sweeping criminal investigation of the Brasilia riots while establishing a fresh chain of command among police and security forces. For example, the appointment of Torres, 47, at the Justice Ministry followed years of friendly relations with Bolsonaro's family.

☆ Asian shares subdued, dollar steady, focus on U.S. CPI data
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( Ankur Banerjee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

SINGAPORE, Jan 11 (Reuters) - Asian equities edged higher on Wednesday, while the dollar steadied as investors braced for U.S. inflation data that will influence the Federal Reserve's interest rate policy. JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N) Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon said heightened economic uncertainties might encourage the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates to 5%. In the foreign exchange market, the Australian dollar was 0.3% higher after data showed the annual pace of inflation had increased to 7.3% in November. The dollar index , which measures the dollar against six major currencies, rose 0.058% to 103.31, hovering close to seven-month low. The two-year U.S. Treasury yield, which typically moves in step with interest rate expectations, was down 1.7 basis points at 4.241%.

☆ Netflix to live-stream Screen Actors Guild Awards
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

REUTERS/Bing GuanJan 11 (Reuters) - Netflix Inc (NFLX.O) will live-stream the annual Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards beginning in 2024, as it explores bringing live programming to its service. The streaming giant stepped in to carry the SAG Awards, which had lost its broadcast home on cable networks TNT and TBS. Netflix will stream this year's ceremony on its YouTube Channel and, next year, stream the awards show to subscribers via Netflix's service. Nominees will be announced at 7 a.m. Pacific time on Wednesday and the 29th Annual SAG awards take place on Feb. 26. Netflix is in the early days of testing live broadcasts, as it contemplates bringing live sports to the platform.

☆ GM, Ford, Google partner to promote 'virtual' power plants
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( Valerie Volcovici | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] The GM logo is seen on the China Headquarters in Shanghai, China, August 29, 2022. REUTERS/Aly SongWASHINGTON, Jan 10 (Reuters) - Companies including GM, Ford, Google and solar energy producers said on Tuesday they would work together to establish standards for scaling up the use of virtual power plants (VPPs), systems for easing loads on electricity grids when supply is short. Energy transition nonprofit RMI will host the initiative, the Virtual Power Plant Partnership (VP3), which will also aim to shape policy for promoting the use of the systems, the companies said. Virtual power plants pool together thousands of decentralized energy resources like electric vehicles or electric heaters controlled by smart thermostats. VPPs have already improved grid reliability in such countries as Germany and Australia and in some U.S. states.

☆ Dollar stabilises near seven-month lows
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( Alun John | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The euro was at $1.0736, little changed on the day, trading just below its seven-month high of 1.07605 hit Monday. The China-sensitive Australian dollar spiked at a more than four-month peak of $0.6950 in the previous session. The offshore yuan last traded at 6.7889 per dollar, after hitting its strongest in five months of 6.7590 earlier in the session. The dollar also steadied against the yen trading up 0.2% at 132.2 yen. The Japanese currency has been broadly strengthening after the Bank of Japan's (BOJ) surprise tweak to its yield curve policy late last year.

The euro was at $1.0731, little changed on the day, trading just below its seven-month high of 1.07605 hit Monday. The China-sensitive Australian dollar spiked at a more than four-month peak of $0.6950 in the previous session. The offshore yuan last traded at 6.7878 per dollar, after hitting its strongest in five months of 6.7590 earlier in the session. The dollar also steadied against the Japanese yen at 131.7 yen. The currency has been broadly strengthening firm after the Bank of Japan's (BOJ) surprise tweak to its yield curve policy late last year.

☆ Dollar sluggish as Fed rate hike fears ebb; China reopening boosts optimism
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( Rae Wee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The euro was last 0.07% higher at $1.0739, holding near the previous session's seven-month peak of $1.07605 that came on the back of the dollar's decline. Sterling slid 0.08% to $1.21705, after similarly hitting a three-week top of $1.2209 on Monday and ending the session 0.73% higher. Against a basket of currencies, the U.S. dollar index fell 0.03% to 103.14, after tumbling 0.7% and touching a seven-month low of 102.93 in the previous session. The offshore yuan last bought 6.7755 per dollar, after hitting a near five-month top of 6.7590 earlier in the session. Brazil's real snapped its three-day winning run in the previous session and last stood at 5.2546 per dollar after supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro stormed the capital.

☆ China state media warn of two-way volatility for yuan in 2023
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

"Even if the depreciation pressure has diminished, two-way volatility in the yuan exchange rate will still be the norm in 2023," the Securities Times said. "The shrinking current account surplus and yield gap between China and the United States will keep adding depreciation pressure on the yuan," it warned. The China Securities Journal of Beijing said improvements in China's economic expectations remained the most fundamental force in deciding the yuan's value. "After a reasonable correction, the yuan will likely continue to be subject to two-way volatility, gradually converging towards a reasonable range in the long run," the newspaper said. The Shanghai Securities News said the value of yuan would be determined mainly by domestic factors this year.

☆ Dollar languishes as Fed rate hike fears recede; China reopening boosts optimism
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( Rae Wee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The dollar's decline pushed the euro to a seven-month peak of $1.07605 in the previous session. Sterling slipped 0.03% to $1.2177, after similarly hitting a three-week top of $1.2209 on Monday and ending the session 0.73% higher. Against a basket of currencies, the U.S. dollar index edged 0.04% higher to 103.21, after tumbling 0.7% and touching a seven-month low of 102.93 in the previous session. The offshore yuan last bought 6.7757 per dollar, and was edging towards the previous session's near five-month top of 6.7665 per dollar. "Hedge funds managers have turned slightly bearish USD following the full reopening in China," said Tareck Horchani, head of head of prime brokerage dealing at Maybank Securities.

☆ Teacher shot by 6-year-old hailed as a hero for evacuating kids
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( Daniel Trotta | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Jan 9 (Reuters) - Police on Monday hailed a 25-year-old Virginia teacher as a hero for evacuating students from her classroom even after she was shot by a 6-year-old student. Meanwhile the 6-year-old boy was in temporary custody at a medical facility, and a judge had until Tuesday to determine whether to extend a temporary order keeping him in custody, Drew said. "She made sure that every one of those kids were out of that room, that she was the last one to leave. And she took it upon herself in that situation, after suffering a gunshot wound, to make sure that her students ... were safe," Drew said. Zwerner, who took a defensive posture, was shot through the hand and into the chest.

☆ Jefferies profit slides as Wall Street dealmaking falters
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Jan 9 (Reuters) - Investment bank Jefferies Financial Group (JEF.N) reported a 52.5% decline in fourth-quarter profit on Monday, hit by lower underwriting fees and volatile markets that dented income from its trading desks. Still, the firm posted its second-best year for investment banking revenue, which was substantially above 2019 levels, chief executive officer Richard Handler and president Brian Friedman said. Friedman said the profit decline looked more stark compared with an "extraordinary" bonanza for dealmaking in 2021. Jefferies' total net revenue was down 18% at $1.44 billion, dragged lower by a 35% decline in investment banking and capital markets revenue. The bank reported a profit of 57 cents a share in the three months ended Nov. 30, compared with $1.20 a year earlier.

☆ Oil rises on demand optimism as China borders reopen
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( Jeslyn Lerh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Companies Baker Hughes Co FollowSINGAPORE, Jan 9 (Reuters) - Oil prices climbed on Monday as the borders reopened in China, the world's top crude importer, boosting the outlook for fuel demand growth and offsetting global recession concerns. Brent crude futures were up $1.49, or 1.9%, at $80.06 a barrel as of 0745 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude rose $1.43, or 1.9%, to $75.20. Those concerns are reflected in the market structure for the benchmark oil futures. ,"Oil prices have likely ticked up on increased confidence on China's reopening, but fears of recession in the wider global market remains. This uncertainty will likely lead to swings in oil prices in the near-term," said Serena Huang, Vortexa's head of APAC analysis.

Companies Baker Hughes Co FollowSINGAPORE, Jan 9 (Reuters) - Oil prices climbed on Monday as the borders reopened in China, the world's top crude importer, boosting the outlook for fuel demand growth and offsetting global recession concerns. Brent crude futures rose 90 cents, or 1.2%, to $79.47 a barrel at 0520 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was up 90 cents, or 1.2%, at $74.67. Despite the gains in oil on Monday, concerns remain that the massive flow of Chinese travellers may cause another surge in COVID infections. Those concerns are reflected in the market structure for the benchmark oil futures. Energy futures for crude oil, refined products and natural gas have plummeted in the New Year as traders have reconsidered near-term worries over cold weather and fears of supply shortages and dumped contracts.

☆ Asia shares up on Fed rate wagers, China reopening lifts yuan
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( Wayne Cole | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) rose 2.0% to a five-month top, with South Korean shares (.KS11) gaining 2.2%. Japan's Nikkei (.N225) was closed for a holiday but futures were trading at 26,215, compared with a cash close on Friday of 25,973. Earnings season kicks off this week with the major U.S. banks, with the Street fearing no year-on-year growth at all in overall earnings. "China reopening is one upside risk to 2023 EPS, but margin pressures, taxes, and recession present greater downside risks." Fed fund futures now imply around a 25% chance of a half-point hike in February, down from around 50% a month ago.

Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) data show that speculators closed 2022 with one of the smallest three-month SOFR rate futures short positions of the year, a light short dollar position, and substantial short positions cross the U.S. Treasuries curve. A short position is essentially a wager that an asset's price will fall, and a long position is a bet it will rise. chartFunds' U.S. interest rate expectations reached fever pitch around August and September last year when their net short position exceeded 1 million contracts. chartIn the 10-year space, funds ended 2022 with their third largest net short position of the year, at 383,602 contracts. But funds have retained their substantial net short position.

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