A lawsuit claims Texas Acting Comptroller Kelly Hancock illegally removed minority- and women-owned firms from a program created by the state legislature.
* Dollar rises due to safe-haven demand. * Japanese finmin puts market on notice of possible FX action. By Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss and Niket Nishant. The U.S. dollar logged 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.
New York Fed President John Williams said the monetary policy is "well positioned" to stabilize the labor market and bring inflation back down to the 2% goal but added that further reductions may eventually be warranted if inflation slows as expected.
Financial stocks were mixed in Tuesday afternoon trading, with the NYSE Financial Index dropping 1.1% and the State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF rising 0.3%. The Philadelphia Housing Index was falling 1.5%, and the State Street Real Estate Select Sector SPDR ETF was down 0.7%. Bitcoin was declining 0.8% to $68,279, and the yield for 10-year US Treasuries was rising 1.3 basis points t...
Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis President Neel Kashkari said on Tuesday that the Iran conflict has increased uncertainty about the U.S. economic outlook and made it harder to know what lies ahead for central bank interest rate policy.
* Kashkari cites Iran conflict as new economic shock. * Kashkari unsure how war impact will weigh on Fed policy. By Michael S. Derby. Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis President Neel Kashkari said on Tuesday that the Iran conflict has increased uncertainty about the U.S. economic outlook and made it harder to know what lies ahead for central bank interest rate policy.
* IMF studying direct impacts, infrastructure damage, energy, deputy Katz says. * Katz: Prolonged increase in energy prices could unanchor inflation expectations. * IMF: 2026 global GDP outlook was solid, too early to judge war's impact on growth. * By David Lawder.
Financial stocks were lower in Tuesday afternoon trading, with the NYSE Financial Index dropping 1.6% and the State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF shedding 0.4% The Philadelphia Housing Index was falling 1.5%, and the State Street Real Estate Select Sector SPDR ETF was down 0.7%. Bitcoin was declining 0.8% to $68,279, and the yield for 10-year US Treasuries was rising 1.3 basis points ...
Monday saw a more muted tone, but Tuesday munis are playing a little bit of a catch-up to the backup in rates, said Chris Brigati, managing director and CIO at SWBC.
* BRAZIL'S CENTRAL BANK ANNOUNCES DOLLAR AUCTIONS WITH REPURCHASE AGREEMENT - STATEMENT. * BRAZIL'S CENTRAL BANK OFFERING UP TO $2 BILLION IN EACH OF TWO DOLLAR AUCTIONS WITH REPURCHASE AGREEMENT. * BRAZIL'S CENTRAL BANK CANCELS THE TWO DOLLAR AUCTIONS WITH REPURCHASE AGREEMENT. * BRAZIL'S CENTRAL BANK SAYS IT ANNOUNCED DOLLAR AUCTIONS EARLIER IN THE DAY BY ERROR.
On the back of a supportive inflation outlook for the next months and potential spillovers from the elections in H2 2026, Deutsche Bank said it expects Brazil's central bank to cut interest rates by 50 basis points at its March meeting. Deutsche Bank expects BCB to maintain the same pace until Q3 2026, and reduce the rhythm of cuts to 25bps per policy meeting afterwards.
* Iran war enters fourth day. * Higher energy prices amid MidEast tensions fuel inflation woes. * Silver slips nearly 7%, platinum down over 9% By Ashitha Shivaprasad. Gold prices drifted lower on Tuesday, weighed by a stronger dollar and dimming prospects for rate cuts as inflation concerns intensified amid fears of a potentially prolonged Middle East conflict.
The BOJ is testing blockchain settlement for reserves and exploring tokenized central bank money as it prepares to decide in 2026 whether to issue a retail digital yen.
Rocket Companies Inc (RKT) stock is trading lower Tuesday morning as rising U.S. Treasury yields spark fresh concerns about mortgage costs and housing demand in the wake of the company's recent earnings report. The 10-year Treasury yield briefly touched about 4.1% early Tuesday before easing back toward the 4.05% area ahead of noon ET, extending last week's volatility.
In February, the Mexican peso strengthened modestly further from 17.327 to 17.202, said Mitsubishi UFG, Mexico's central bank at its meeting in February left the key policy rate unchanged at 7.00%. Banxico cut by a total of 300 basis points last year, with cuts on seven separate occasions.
Credit rating agency Fitch Ratings downgraded Paramount Skydance (PSKY) and Paramount Global's ratings to junk status late on Monday following the media company's proposed acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery (WBD). In a Monday note, Fitch analysts said they expect Los Angeles-based Paramount to carry "materially elevated leverage" following its successful acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery.
* British, German 2-year yields set for biggest two-day jump in many months. * Jump in oil and gas prices fans inflation worries. * Traders cut bets on BoE easing this month. * Price in a small chance of ECB rate hike by year-end. By Alun John and Yoruk Bahceli.
* Iran conflict sends oil prices higher. * Fed rate cut expectations drop as inflation concerns rise. By Chuck Mikolajczak. U.S. Treasury yields rose sharply for a second straight session on Tuesday, as the Iran war entered a fourth day to continue pushing oil prices higher and fuel inflation worries.
President Donald Trump's regime of large-scale tax increases on imports as well as generalized inflation gains created headwinds for U.S. small businesses last year, a Federal Reserve report released on Tuesday said.
In February, the Canadian dollar weakened against the US dollar in terms of London closing rates from 1.3560 to 1.3637, said MUFG. The Bank of Canada did not meet in February and, as such, the key policy rate was unchanged at 2.25%, following total easing now of 275bps in the current cycle.
Kansas City Federal Reserve President Jeffrey Schmid on Tuesday signaled his continued opposition to further interest-rate cuts, saying the U.S. labor market is in balance and inflation is too hot.
New York Federal Reserve President John Williams said on Tuesday the U.S. central bank is on track for more interest rate cuts if inflation pressures moderate as he expects, but he did not address the impact of the Iran conflict on the economy.
* Iran war enters fourth day. * US dollar hits over one-month high. * Platinum down over 12% By Ashitha Shivaprasad. Gold prices drifted lower on Tuesday, weighed down by a stronger dollar and fading prospects of an interest rate cut as inflation concerns intensified against the backdrop of a potentially prolonged Middle East conflict. Spot gold was down 5.6% at $5,029.59 an ounce by 1450 GMT.
Federal Reserve officials on Tuesday began taking stock of a widening conflict in the Middle East that could pose near-term risks to both U.S. inflation and growth despite the economy's relative resilience to energy price shocks.
Rimini Support? for SAP helps French brake parts manufacturer avoid unwanted move to RISE with SAP, strengthen security and compliance readiness and reinvest freed capital into R&D and modernization initiatives Rimini Street, Inc. (RMNI), the Software Support and Agentic AI ERP Company?, and the leading third-party support provider for Oracle, SAP and VMware software, today announced Flexitech, a Fren...
Bank of Canada pricing has shifted toward half of a quarter-point hike being priced by December amid the conflict in the Middle East, said Scotiabank. The BoC usually reacts hawkishly to a sustained rise in energy prices, given that the terms of trade pass through to domestic incomes and related spending, noted the bank.
Traders are paring back their expectations on interest-rate cuts this year by the U.S. Federal Reserve, as they fear that the inflationary effects of a surge in energy prices will complicate the central bank's monetary policy path.
Major Texas cities are prepping big bond issues to finance convention center expansions, with Houston hitting the market this week with $1.425 billion of debt.
Traders are paring back their expectations on interest-rate cuts this year by the U.S. Federal Reserve, as they fear that the inflationary effects of a surge in energy prices will complicate the central bank's monetary policy path.
* GDP growth slowed from 3.4% in 2024 to weakest since 2020. * Central bank has held interest rates at 15% since July. * Services growth slowed to 1.8%, household consumption down. By Marcela Ayres.
Brazil's economy expanded 2.3% in 2025, statistics agency IBGE said on Tuesday, after posting 0.1% growth in the fourth quarter from the previous three months. The quarterly reading for Latin America's largest economy matched the median forecast in a Reuters poll of economists. On an annual basis, fourth-quarter gross domestic product rose 1.8%, also in line with market expectations.
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.
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.
* British, German and U.S. two-year yields set for biggest two-day jump in many months. * Oil and gas jump fans inflation worries. * Traders slash bets on BoE easing this month, see small chance of ECB rate hike by year-end. By Alun John and Yoruk Bahceli.
Societe Generale in its early Tuesday economic news summary pointed out: -- Still risk off. -- Day ahead: Eurozone flash consumer price index. -- Nikkei -3.1%, EUR 10-year IRS +3.5bps at 2.768%, Brent crude +4.4% at $81.1/barrel, Gold +0.3% at $5,323/oz. MT Newswires does not provide investment advice.
The price of aluminium rose on Tuesday after Norsk Hydro's (NHYKF) joint venture in Qatar initiateda shutdown of its aluminium production, as the U.S. and Israeli war with Iran spilled into neighbouring countries. Benchmark aluminium on the London Metal Exchange was up 2.1% at $3,259 a metric ton by 1754 GMT after hitting a one-month high of $3,315.
Greece's jobless rate stood at 7.7% in January, down from an upwardly revised 7.9% in December, data from statistics service ELSTAT showed on Tuesday. Seasonally adjusted data showed 369,146 people were officially unemployed. Unemployment impacted women more than men, at the rates of 10.5% and 5.4%, respectively.
Paramount Skydance (PSKY) corporate and long-term borrowing rates were downgraded to junk status Monday by Fitch Ratings following its agreement to deal to buy Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD). Fitch lowered the company's short-term and long-term issuer default ratings and its senior unsecured debt, and placed all the ratings on rating watch negative status.
* German two-year yields set for biggest two-day jump in 10 months. * Oil jump fans inflation worries. * Traders see small chance of ECB rate hike by year-end. By Alun John. Government bond markets from Germany to the United States and Britain sold off sharply on Tuesday as the air war in the Middle East drove oil prices higher and rekindling inflation fears.
Russia's central bank said on Tuesday that it had submitted a claim to the Luxembourg-based General Court of the European Union, challenging a move made in December 2025 to freeze its assets in Europe indefinitely. The central bank estimates that about $300 billion of Russia's sovereign funds have been frozen by Western countries.
French central bank governor Francois Villeroy de Galhau said on Tuesday France's finance industry has a little exposure to the Middle East crisis. The French economy has a rather low inflation and resilient economic growth, Villeroy told reporters on Tuesday. He added it would be a mistake for the European Central Bank to make an interest rate decision based only on energy price swings.
Aluminium pared earlier gains to close lower on Tuesday, pressured by a stronger dollar as the U.S. and Israeli air war ?against ?Iran dragged on for the fourth day, widening the Gulf region into the conflict. The most-active aluminium closed daytime trading 0.58% lower at 23,905 yuan a metric ton, having risen 2.31% to 24,600 yuan earlier.
Japanese government bond yields jumped across the board on Tuesday, as concerns that a prolonged U.S.-Israeli war against Iran would stoke inflation via higher energy prices fuelled bets of an interest rate hike.
* Wall Street ends stable after choppy session. * Oil prices elevated as Iran vows to close Strait of Hormuz. * Korean benchmark plunges 7.2%, leads Asia declines. By Gregor Stuart Hunter. A selloff in stocks deepened and the dollar strengthened on Tuesday as investors considered the implications of U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran on energy prices and the global economy.
* Yen moves remain key to BOJ's rate-hike timing. * Market volatility heightens hurdle for March rate hike. * Impact on economy, policy depends on how long conflict lasts. * Lack of hints from BOJ Himino reduces chance of imminent hike. * Markets still see good chance of BOJ hike in April. By Leika Kihara.
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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