A prolonged war in the Middle East could cause a substantial spike in euro zone inflation and reduce economic growth, European Central Bank Chief Economist Philip Lane told the Financial Times in an interview published on Tuesday.
* S&P: SOFTBANK GROUP CORP. OUTLOOK REVISED TO NEGATIVE ON ADDITIONAL INVESTMENT IN OPENAI; 'BB+' RATINGS AFFIRMED. * S&P: THE LIQUIDITY OF SOFTBANK GROUP'S INVESTMENT PORTFOLIO WILL WORSEN BECAUSE OPENAI NOW ACCOUNTS FOR A BIGGER SHARE OF IT. * S&P: SOFTBANK GROUP'S CREDITWORTHINESS OF INVESTMENT ASSETS WILL ALSO LIKELY DETERIORATE.
Aluminium extended gains on Tuesday as fresh Middle East tensions, including Iran's effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, fuelled shipment uncertainty and heightened supply-risk concerns. The most-active aluminium on the Shanghai Futures Exchange rose 1.37% to 24,375 yuan a metric ton as of 0255 GMT. The benchmark three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange gained 1.05% to $3,228 a ton.
* Wall Street ends stable after choppy session. * Oil prices elevated as Iran vows to close Strait of Hormuz. * Korean benchmark tumbles 4.1%, lead Asia declines. By Gregor Stuart Hunter. SINGAPORE, March 3 - A selloff in stocks deepened on Tuesday and the dollar strengthened as investors considered the implications of U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran on energy prices and the global economy.
U.S. Treasuries just clocked their best month in a year. The joint U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran on Saturday, in which Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed, marked a dramatic escalation in regional tensions. Both of these moves accelerated sharply in early trading on Monday.
The U.S. dollar posted sharp gains on Tuesday, hitting multi-month peaks against the euro, sterling and yen as tensions in the Middle East fuelled expectations of prolonged global inflation and triggered broad demand for safe-haven assets. A jump in crude prices has pushed traders to re-evaluate the likelihood and timing of interest rate cuts by major central banks.
US equity indexes closed mixed, government bond yields jumped, and volatility retreated on Monday as the US and Israel continued their hostilities against Iran. The Nasdaq Composite rose 0.4% to 22,748.86, clawing back earlier declines. Energy and technology were among the gainers, while consumer staples and consumer discretionary led the decliners.
* TSX ends up 0.6% at 34,541.27. * Energy sector adds 1.8% as oil settles 6.3% higher. * Cameco (CCJ) rises 6.5% after uranium supply deal with India. * Factory PMI rises to highest level since January 2025. By Fergal Smith. Canada's energy-linked main stock index rose to a record high on Monday, led by energy shares as oil prices rose following the weekend's attacks on Iran by the U.S. and Israel.
First thing this morning, there wasn't much action as market participants waited to see what would happen, but as the day went on, munis got progressively weaker, said Kyle Gerberding, director of trading, a portfolio manager and partner at Asset Preservation Advisors.
KBRA assigns a long-term rating of BBB+ to the following series of City of Chicago, IL General Obligation Bonds: Concurrently, KBRA affirms the BBB+ rating on the City's outstanding General Obligation Bonds. The City of Chicago?s deteriorating fund balance, narrowing liquidity, and exceptionally high and rising fixed cost burden led to its recent Feb 25, 2026 downgrade.
US equity indexes were mixed Monday as government bond yields rose amid continued conflict in the Middle East. * The Institute for Supply Management's US manufacturing index dropped to 52.4 in February from 52.6 in January, versus expectations for 51.5 according to a Bloomberg-compiled survey.
Market Intelligence analyst Jeff Lipton assesses the early impacts of Operation Epic Fury on rates, spreads, shifting inflation expectations, and flows, arguing that elevated tax-exempt income, disciplined sector allocation and a quality bias can help muni investors navigate headline-driven volatility.
Growth in the US manufacturing sector slowed in February sequentially amid demand and production softness, two separate surveys showed Monday. The Institute for Supply Management's purchasing managers' index ticked down to 52.4 last month from 52.6 in January.
* Oil prices settle up sharply on supply concerns due to US-Iran war. * Gold prices jump, Treasury yields rise. * Wall Street indexes pare losses, Europe underperforms. * Dollar gains against major currencies. By Sin?ad Carew and Alun John.
US equity indexes traded mixed in midday trading on Monday, while government bond yields jumped as the US and Israel continued their hostilities against Iran. The Nasdaq Composite rose 0.2% to 22,721.7, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.2% to 48,880.9. The S&P 500 was little changed at 6,874.56. Energy, technology, and industrials were the only gainers.
Financial stocks were lower in Monday afternoon trading, with the NYSE Financial Index decreasing 0.5% and the State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF easing 0.1%. The Philadelphia Housing Index was falling 2.3%, and the State Street Real Estate Select Sector SPDR ETF was down 0.1%. Bitcoin was increasing 4.9% to $68,980, and the yield for 10-year US Treasuries rose 9 basis points to 4.05...
Financial stocks were lower in Monday afternoon trading, with the NYSE Financial Index decreasing 0.6% and the State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF easing 0.1%. The Philadelphia Housing Index was falling 2.3%, and the State Street Real Estate Select Sector SPDR ETF was down 0.1%. Bitcoin was increasing 4.9% to $68,980, and the yield for 10-year US Treasuries rose 9 basis points to 4.05...
* Manufacturing PMI little changed at 52.4 in February. * Steel, aluminum prices as well as tariffs drive up input costs. * Factory employment remains subdued; businesses not filling open positions. By Lucia Mutikani.
AM Best affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of A++ and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Ratings of ?aa+? of Transatlantic Reinsurance Company and its subsidiaries.
US equity indexes were mixed while government bond yields rose in midday trading on Monday amid the US- and Israel-led war on Iran. The Nasdaq Composite rose 0.3% to 22,739.1, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.2% to 48,891.65. The S&P 500 slipped less than 0.1% to 6,880.1. Energy, technology, and industrials were the only gainers.
Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem is back again for another fireside chat, this time at Toronto's Global Risk Institute on Wednesday, said Scotiabank. The governor has preached patience to date as complex supply and demand forces upon the inflation outlook are assessed, noted the bank.
Canadian real gross domestic product contracted by 0.6% quarter-over-quarter in Q4 on an annualized basis versus the consensus for 0.2% decline, said UBS. Friday's GDP report was held down by an inventory drawdown as consumption improved, wrote the bank in a note to clients.
* Oil prices up sharply on supply concerns due to US-Iran war. * Gold prices jump, Treasury yields rise. * Wall Street indexes pare losses, Europe underperforms. * Dollar gains against major currencies. By Sin?ad Carew and Alun John.
* Central bank plans likely unchanged for now despite oil price pressures, Treasury chief says. * Higher oil prices boost Brazil's revenue from royalties and Petrobras dividends. * Brazil's real has strengthened, offsetting inflation from oil price hikes. By Marcela Ayres.
The Institute for Supply Management's US manufacturing index declined to 52.4 in February from 52.6 in January, compared with expectations for a 51.5 reading in a survey compiled by Bloomberg. There were declines in the readings for new orders and production, but increase in employment, inventories, supplier deliveries, order backlogs and prices.
U.S. manufacturing activity grew steadily in February, but a gauge of prices at the factory gate raced to a near 3-1/2-year high amid tariffs, highlighting upside risks to inflation even before a U.S.-led attack on Iran sent oil prices rocketing.
U.S. manufacturing activity expanded steadily in February, but a measure of prices paid by factories for inputs rose to the highest level in nearly 3-1/2 years, highlighting upside risks to inflation amid import tariffs even before a U.S.-led attack on Iran sent oil prices higher.
New Orders Growing; Production Growing; Employment Contracting; Supplier Deliveries Slowing; Raw Materials Inventories Contracting; Customers' Inventories Too Low; Prices Increasing; Imports Growing; Exports Growing TEMPE, Ariz. The report was issued today by Susan Spence, MBA, Chair of the Institute for Supply Management?? Manufacturing Business Survey Committee.
There was both good and bad in Friday's Canadian gross domestic product data, said Rosenberg Research, adding that at the margin, however, still more of the latter and less of the former. The economy contracted at a 0.6% annual rate in Q4, slightly worse than the 0.2% consensus decline forecast, noted Rosenberg Research.
The seasonally adjusted S&P Global Canada Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index, a composite index designed to provide an overview of the health of the manufacturing sector, registered 51.0 in February, up from 50.4 in January and slightly above the crucial 50.0 no-change threshold, said S&P Global on Monday.
Canada's manufacturing sector grew for a second straight month in February as new business increased despite weak export sales and rising inflation pressures, data showed on Monday. The S&P Global Canada Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index, a measure of factory sector health, rose to 51.0 last month from 50.4 in January, posting its highest level since January 2025.
Federal National Mortgage
Association (FNMA): * FANNIE MAE ANNOUNCES RESULTS OF TENDER OFFER FOR ANY AND ALL OF CERTAIN CAS NOTES Source text: Further company coverage:
WASHINGTON, March 2, 2026 Fannie Mae today announced the results of its fixed-price cash tender offers for any and all of certain Connecticut Avenue Securities? Notes listed in the table below upon the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in the Offer to Purchase and related Notice of Guaranteed Delivery, each dated as of February 23, 2026?. A total of $961 million in original princip...
The European Central Bank should be prepared to move its key interest rate in either direction if potential threats to the eurozone economy arising from a fresh increase in uncertainty come to pass, Austria's central bank governor Martin Kocher said in an interview to the Wall Street Journal published on Monday.
By Jamie McGeever. U.S. Treasuries just clocked their best month in a year. The joint U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran on Saturday, in which Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed, marked a dramatic escalation in regional tensions. Both of these moves accelerated sharply in early trading on Monday.
The US dollar rose sharply against its major trading partners early Monday ahead of another busy week of data releases that lead up to February nonfarm payrolls employment data to be released Friday, with military action in Iran over the weekend a key factor in the dollar's jump.
Data flow was mixed this week in Canada, said TD. Given the importance of business investment in forecasts for Canadian economic growth, the bank was "eagerly" anticipating last week's release of the survey of capital spending for 2026. Investment intentions for 2026 in the survey flagged another outperformance by the public sector.
Chile's economic activity fell 0.1% in January from a year earlier, central bank data showed on Monday, weighed down by a decline in goods production, including in the key mining sector. The IMACEC economic activity index landed way below market forecasts, as economists polled by Reuters expected a 1.1% expansion, and slowedsharply from the 1.7% increase reported in December.
* Brent up sharply on supply concerns, off early peak. * Trump says strikes on Iran could last four weeks. * S&P 500 futures slide, Europe, Asia shares down 1-2% * Dollar jumps on euro, Treasury yields rise from near 11-month low. * Dollar gains on yen, Swiss franc, SNB threatens intervention. By Alun John and Wayne Cole.
Chile's economic activity fell 0.1% in January when compared to a year earlier, central bank data showed on Monday, way below market forecasts as economists polled by Reuters expected a 1.1% expansion. The IMACEC index, which accounts for about 90% of the Andean country's gross domestic product, registered a 0.2% increase on a monthly basis, the central bank added.
* Middle East conflict disrupts Strait of Hormuz supply route. * UAE is largest aluminium producer in the region. * Prolonged conflict could affect global metals demand. By Pratima Desai. Aluminium prices rose to their highest in more than a month on Monday after U.S. and Israeli strikes in Iran fuelled concerns about prolonged conflict in the Middle East, a major producer of the metal.
U.S. Federal Reserve officials who have largely accepted that artificial intelligence will lead to dramatic shifts in the economy are now struggling to understand the pace and extent of what's to come, with a divide emerging over its potential to impact the labor market and prices.
US equity investors will mainly focus on the US- and Israel-led war on Iran and its impact across asset classes and sectors, as well as nonfarm payrolls this week. * Kuwait's Ministry of Defense said "several" US military aircraft crashed Monday and that "all crews survived," CNN reported. * West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures jumped 7.7% to $72.11 a barrel early Monday.
* Central bank makes rare verbal intervention. * Franc rises to highest level versus euro since 2015. * Analyst does not expect bank to cut rates. By John Revill. The Swiss National Bank said on Monday it was more willing to intervene in foreign currency markets after the conflict in the Middle East pushed the Swiss franc to its highest level against the euro in more than a decade.
In general the bond market is volatile, and fixed income securities carry interest rate risk. (As interest rates rise, bond prices usually fall, and vice versa. This effect is usually more pronounced for longer-term securities.) Fixed income securities also carry inflation risk and credit and default risks for both issuers and counterparties. Unlike individual bonds, most bond funds do not have a maturity date, so avoiding losses caused by price volatility by holding them until maturity is not possible.
Lower-quality debt securities generally offer higher yields, but also involve greater risk of default or price changes due to potential changes in the credit quality of the issuer. Any fixed income security sold or redeemed prior to maturity may be subject to loss.
Before investing, consider the funds' investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses. Contact Fidelity for a prospectus or, if available, a summary prospectus containing this information. Read it carefully.
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