Aluminium prices hit their highest in nearly four years on Wednesday after Aluminium Bahrain stopped shipments, deepening worries about the impact of the Middle East conflict on supplies of the metal used in construction, transport and packaging. Other industrial metals recovered from recent weakness on better-than-expected private factory data from top metals consumer China.
Brazilian businessman Daniel Vorcaro, the owner of lender Banco Master, was detained on Wednesday in the latest phase of a probe after a judge cited a "strong indication" that Vorcaro attempted to bribe a former central bank director with gifts in return for preferential treatment.
Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland President Beth Hammack said it was too early to gauge the economic impact of the Iran war and backed holding interest rates steady for "quite some time", in an interview with the New York Times published on Wednesday.
* Stocks drop 3.8%, FX down 0.2% * Asian markets post significant declines on oil supply concerns. * Poland central bank rate decision awaited later in the day. * UAE bourses fall on resumption after two-day pause. * Fitch revises Indonesia's rating credit to negative from stable. By Twesha Dikshit.
* British, German, US 2-year yields rise. * 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. A sharp two-day selloff in global government bonds underscores how the U.S.-Israeli air war against Iran is straining markets already on edge over inflation.
Britain's services sector grew robustly during February, according to a survey on Wednesday that also showed job cuts and price pressures persisted, a potential worry for the Bank of England ahead of this month's interest rate decision.
Euro zone services activity expanded at a slightly faster pace in February as demand picked up, though growth remained modest and firms barely added to headcount, a survey showed on Wednesday.
Aluminium prices extended gains on Wednesday as supply worries deepened after Norway's Norsk Hydro (NHYKF) announced a controlled shutdown in its aluminium joint venture in Qatar amid a widening war in the Middle East. The region accounts for around 8% of global aluminium capacity.
* Dollar index holds gains, rising for third consecutive day. * Spike in energy prices prompts speculation ECB may take action, threatening carry trades. * Aussie dollar weakens despite GDP beat. By Gregor Stuart Hunter.
indie Semiconductor, Inc. (INDI), an automotive solutions innovator, today announced the pricing of its offering of $150.0 million aggregate principal amount of its 4.00% Convertible Senior Notes due 2031 through a private offering to persons reasonably believed to be qualified institutional buyers in reliance on Rule 144A under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. indie has also granted the initia...
* Official February PMI drops to 49.0 from 49.3 in January. * Non-manufacturing PMI edges up to 49.5 from 49.4 in prior month. * Economists forecast growth to stay weak in Q1 without stimulus. * Iran conflict poses fresh threat to China's export-driven economy, analysts say. By Joe Cash.
Aluminium prices continued to climb on Wednesday as supply worries deepened after Norway's Norsk
Hydro (NHYKF) announced a controlled shutdown in its aluminium joint venture in Qatar amid ongoing war involving the U.S., Israel and Iran. The Middle East accounts for around 8% of global aluminium capacity.
Australia's economy grew at the fastest annual pace in almost three years in the December quarter, data showed on Wednesday, a pickup that reignited inflation and required a hike in interest rates to tamp demand down.
* Q4 GDP grows +0.8% q/q, missed forecasts of around 1% * Still, annual pace lifts to 2.6%, highest in nearly 3 years. * Rate hike risk and Middle East conflict cloud the outlook. By Stella Qiu.
China's large state-owned manufacturers struggled to turn a profit in February, hampered by weak domestic demand, while private-sector firms reported a marked recovery in exports, official and private activity surveys showed on Wednesday. The official purchasing managers' index fell to 49.0 in February from 49.3 in January, a 4-month low, the National Bureau of Statistics' poll showed.
China's factory activity in February expanded at the fastest pace since December 2020, driven by robust demand that helped lift manufacturers' confidence, a private-sector survey showed on Wednesday.
* Official PMI drops to 49.0 from 49.3 in January. * Non-manufacturing PMI edges up to 49.5 from 49.4 in prior month. * Economists forecast growth to stay weak in Q1 without stimulus.
* RatingDog manufacturing PMI 52.1 in February vs 50.3 in January. * New orders at home and abroad drive up output. * Markets await new economic targets. By Ellen Zhang and Ryan Woo. China's factory activity in February expanded at the fastest pace since December 2020, driven by robust demand that helped lift manufacturers' confidence, a private-sector survey showed on Wednesday.
China's factory activity contracted for the second consecutive month in February, an official survey showed on Wednesday, suggesting a need for further policy stimulus as efforts to ship goods abroad fail to offset depressed demand and investment.
Shorter-dated Japanese government bond yields fell on Wednesday, as investors scaled back expectations for an early rate hike by the Bank of Japan in the wake of U.S. and Israeli military actions against Iran.
DBS Group, Singapore's biggest bank by assets, said on Wednesday its China unit has been granted a principal underwriting licence for non-financial corporate bonds in China's interbank bond market.
Australia's economy grew at the fastest annual pace in almost three years in the December quarter, data showed on Wednesday, a pick up that reignited inflation and required a hike in interest rates to tamp things down. Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed real gross domestic product rose 0.8% in the fourth quarter, up from 0.5% the previous quarter.
Sallie Mae, formally SLM Corporation (SLM), today announced the successful pricing of the first student loan asset-backed securities transaction of the year by Sallie Mae Bank. Investor engagement throughout the marketing process validated the continued attractiveness of seasoned private education loan assets supported by Sallie Mae?s underwriting, servicing, and performance track record.
Vertiv (VRT) said late Tuesday it closed an offering of $2.1 billion of senior unsecured notes as well as entered a new $2.5 billion senior unsecured revolving credit facility. Net proceeds from the offering of $2.08 billion were used with cash on hand to repay outstandings under the company's secured term loan and cover related overheads, according to a statement.
Vertiv Holdings Co (VRT): * VERTIV ANNOUNCES COMPLETION OF $2.1 BILLION SENIOR UNSECURED BOND OFFERING AND $2.5 BILLION SENIOR UNSECURED REVOLVING CREDIT FACILITY Source text: Further company coverage:
BNY Mellon Municipal Bond
Infrastructure Fund Inc (DMB): * BNY MELLON MUNICIPAL BOND INFRASTRUCTURE FUND, INC. ANNOUNCES DISTRIBUTION Source text: Further company coverage:
Brazil's central bank has allowed financial institutions to deduct expected contributions in advance to the country's private credit guarantee fund FGC from their reserve requirements, it said on Tuesday. The central bank said in a statement that the measure could result in the release of 30 billion reais in reserve requirements this year.
COLUMBUS, Ohio, March 3, 2026 Vertiv Holdings Co (VRT), a global leader in critical digital infrastructure, announced today the successful completion of a $2.1 billion Senior Unsecured Notes offering, and closing of a new $2.5 billion Senior Unsecured Revolving Credit Facility. The Notes offering was the Company's debut offering with an investment grade credit rating.
Both Long-Term and Short-Term Deposit Ratings Raised to Investment Grade HICKSVILLE, N.Y., March 3, 2026 Flagstar Bank, N.A (FLG/PU). today announced that Fitch Ratings has upgraded several of the Banks's credit ratings, including raising the Bank's Long-Term Deposit rating to BBB- and Short-Term Deposit rating to F3, both investment grade ratings.
BNY Mellon Municipal Bond Infrastructure Fund, Inc. (DMB) today announced a distribution of $0.0420 per share of common stock, payable on April 1, 2026 to shareholders of record at the close of business on March 17, 2026. The Fund intends to make regular monthly distributions to its common shareholders at a level rate based on its projected performance.
"Once the damage is done, it takes a little longer for it to come back," said Elaine Brennan, executive director of the public finance department at Roosevelt and Cross, of the muni market.
indie Semiconductor, Inc. (INDI), an automotive solutions innovator, today announced that it plans to offer, subject to market and other conditions, $150.0 million aggregate principal amount of its Convertible Senior Notes due 2031 through a private offering to persons reasonably believed to be qualified institutional buyers in reliance on Rule 144A under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. indie ...
Financial stocks were lower in late Tuesday afternoon trading, with the NYSE Financial Index dropping 1% and the State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF down 0.1%. The Philadelphia Housing Index was shedding 1.2%, and the State Street Real Estate Select Sector SPDR ETF was down 0.4%. Bitcoin was declining 0.9% to $68,145, and the yield for 10-year US Treasuries was slightly higher at 4.06...
Federal Reserve policymakers are expected to hold short-term borrowing costs steady at their March 17-18 meeting, as they did in January. Here is a look at Fed officials' recent comments, sorting them under the labels "dove" and "hawk" as shorthand for their monetary policy leanings. A graphic is also available. The designations are based on public comments and published remarks.
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.
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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