Britain's economy grew by a better-than-expected 0.5% in the three months to February, official figures showed on Thursday. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 0.2% growth in gross domestic product for the December-February period compared with the previous three months.
South Korean Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol will hold a meeting with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Friday, the Yonhap News Agency reported. Here are some details: * The two ministers will meet on the sidelines of the Group of 20 finance ministers and central bank governors meeting in Washington, D.C., Koo told reporters, according to Yonhap.
* US optimistic about deal with Iran. * Dollar, US Treasury yields ease. * Traders see 29% chance of US rate cut in December. By Noel John. Gold prices rose on Thursday, supported by a weaker dollar and lower U.S. Treasury yields, as investors grew optimistic about a potential end to the Middle East war, which has stoked fears of higher inflation.
The Bank of Japan will raise its benchmark rate to 1.00% by end-June, with nearly two-thirds of economists in a Reuters poll predicting the move, and a hike this month or in June seen as equally likely amid uncertainty over the fallout from the Iran war.
* Japan, U.S. finance leaders met, discussed markets including FX. * Katayama says no discussion with Bessent on BOJ policy. * Many central banks appeared to favour wait-and-see stance. By Leika Kihara. Japan and the U.S. agreed to strengthen communication on exchange rates, Japanese Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama said after her meeting with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Wednesday.
Japan and the U.S. agreed to strengthen communication on exchange rates, Japanese Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama said after her meeting with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Wednesday.
* China's Q1 GDP growth picks up to 5.0% from Q4's 4.5% * Retail sales growth and industrial output cool in March. * Iran war raises growth risks, set to test policymaking. * More fiscal stimulus expected if exports falter. By Kevin Yao and Claire Fu.
China's industrial output rose 5.7% in March from a year earlier, slowing from 6.3% growth in January-February, as the fallout from the Iran war dampened momentum in the world's second-largest economy. The output data released by the National Bureau of Statistics beat expectations for a 5.5% rise in a Reuters poll of 36 analysts.
China's economy grew 5.0% in the first quarter from a year earlier, official data showed on Thursday, beating analysts' expectations as policymakers brace for the fallout from the Iran war. Analysts polled by Reuters had forecast the January-March quarter gross domestic product would expand 4.8% from a year earlier, compared with a 3-year low of 4.5% in the fourth quarter.
Australian employment rose broadly in line with expectations in March, while the jobless rate stayed low, but a war-driven global energy shock could test the labour market's resilience soon.
China's new home prices extended their decline in March, official data showed on Thursday, although major cities showed some month-on-month improvement. Weak demand continued to weigh on the property market.
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Japan's yield curve steepened on Thursday as expectations of an imminent interest rate hike by the central bank diminished, while concerns over the Middle East crisis weighed on the economic outlook.
S&P Global Ratings on Thursday lowered its issuer credit rating for the Australian Securities Exchange to "A+/A-1" from "AA-/A-1+", two weeks after a local regulator flagged governance and risk management failures at the stock exchange operator.
* Goldman's fixed-income, currencies and commodities division posted a 10% drop in Q1 revenue. * FICC division hit by slowdown in interest rate trading, mortgages and credit products. * JPMorgan (JPM), Citigroup (C) and Morgan Stanley (MS) posted strong FICC gains. By Saeed Azhar.
Japan and the U.S. agreed to intensify communication on exchange rates, Japanese Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama said after her meeting with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Wednesday. Katayama, who is visiting Washington for the International Monetary Fund meeting as well as gatherings of the G7 and G20 finance leaders, made the remark on her X account.
Japan and the U.S. agreed to intensify communication on exchange rates, Japanese Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama said after her meeting with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Wednesday. Katayama, who is visiting Washington for the International Monetary Fund meeting as well as gatherings of the G7 and G20 finance leaders, made the remark on her X account.
The number of Japanese firms that do not want the Bank of Japan to raise interest rates has risen sharply since the start of the year as the Iran war clouds the outlook for global growth and corporate earnings, a Reuters survey showed on Thursday.
* China's Q1 GDP growth forecast at 4.8%, picking up from Q4's 4.5% * Iran war raises growth and inflation risks, set to test policymaking. * March data to show slower factory output, retail sales. * Measured stimulus expected in 2026 as China targets 4.5-5% growth. * Q1 GDP, March data due 0200 GMT on Thursday. By Kevin Yao.
* Government to include larger share of court-ordered debt in fiscal target than required. * Effective primary surplus for 2027 projected at 0.1% of GDP due to off-target payments. * Gross public debt forecast to peak at 87.8% of GDP in 2029, then decline. By Marcela Ayres.
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Fund (VFL): * ABRDN NATIONAL MUNICIPAL INCOME FUND ANNOUNCES REMOVAL OF NON-FUNDAMENTAL INVESTMENT POLICY RESTRICTING INVESTMENTS IN HIGH-YIELD MUNICIPAL SECURITIES. * abrdn National Municipal Income
Fund (VFL) - POLICY REMOVAL EFFECTIVE JUNE 1, 2026.
Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp (FMCC) : * FREDDIE MAC MULTIFAMILY ANNOUNCES LAUNCH OF INTEGRATED CONVENTIONAL SMALL PRODUCT FOR LOANS UNDER $10 MILLION. * FREDDIE MAC - CONVENTIONAL SMALL LOAN APPLICATIONS EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY; TWO-WEEK TRANSITION FOR PRIOR PROGRAM Source text: Further company coverage:
The approach currently adopted by Brazil's central bank of operating with caution amid rising uncertainties, which includes the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, has paid off, Nilton David, the bank's monetary policy director, said on Wednesday.
The European Central Bank is in a "relatively favorable" position on monetary policy after having successfully brought down inflation to 2% before the war in the Middle East started, ECB board member Isabel Schnabel said on Wednesday.
Fitch: * FITCH REVISES DOMINICAN REPUBLIC'S OUTLOOK TO STABLE; AFFIRMS IDR AT 'BB-' * FITCH: DOMINICAN REPUBLIC OUTLOOK REVISION REFLECTS GROWING HEADWINDS TO GROWTH, INFLATION, PUBLIC FINANCES & EXTERNAL ACCOUNTS FROM HIGHER OIL PRICES Source text: Further company coverage: [ ]
The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq both logged record closing highs on Wednesday as investors assessed developments in the U.S.-Iran conflict and turned their focus to corporate earnings. Here are a few articles I recommend to help you make sense of what happened in markets today. 1. U.S. President Donald Trump said the war on Iran was nearing its conclusion amid a diplomatic push to continue peace talks.
Brazil's government on Wednesday proposed a primary surplus target of 0.5% of gross domestic product for 2027 in its budget guidelines bill, confirming a figure previously signaled.
The approach currently adopted by Brazil's central bank of operating with cautiousness amid rising uncertainties, which includes the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, has paid off, Nilton David, the bank's monetary policy director, said on Wednesday.
* US-Iran talks could resume soon, officials say. * Adding duration to bond portfolio makes sense, analyst says. * Oil flows will not normalize anytime soon, analyst says. * US 2/10 yield curve bear steepens. By Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss.
The Bank of Japan can see through inflationary pressures from the war in the Middle East as any second-round effects on broader prices will be limited, Rahul Anand, the International Monetary Fund's mission chief for Japan, told Reuters on Wednesday.
* IMF's mission chief for Japan sees limited second-round effect on prices from Iran war. * Inflation to converge toward BOJ target by end of 2027, Rahul Anand says. * No big pass-through on inflation from weak yen was seen in 2025, he says. * Anand says weak yen absorbed tariff shock, levels must be set by markets. By Leika Kihara.
Brazilian meatpacker Minerva has raised $600 million with the issuance of dollar-denominated bonds that expire in 10 years, IFR reported on Wednesday. * The issuance of the senior unsecured notes was priced at a 7.50% coupon and a 7.625% yield, IFR said. * Minerva will use the proceeds from the sale to repay existing debt, according to IFR.
High oil prices are likely to keep underlying inflation nearly a percentage point above the Federal Reserve's 2% target for the rest of this year, with the U.S. central bank likely needing to leave interest rates unchanged, St. Louis Fed President Alberto Musalem said on Wednesday.
U.S. businesses and households still adjusting to the Trump administration's tariff policies also are reeling from a surge in energy prices due to the Iran war, a Federal Reserve report showed on Wednesday, even as it noted that economic activity in most of the country increased in recent weeks and employment was steady.
* Fed's 'Beige Book' cites war as major source of business uncertainty. * Business outlooks varied, report says. * Price growth seen as 'moderate,' but input cost pressures broaden beyond energy. By Ann Saphir.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Wednesday said he was optimistic that Kevin Warsh, President Donald Trump's nominee for Federal Reserve Chair, would assume the post on time. "He is going to have a hearing on the 21st of this month. "I am very optimistic that Kevin Warsh will be the Chair of the Fed on time," he said.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Wednesday told reporters he was optimistic that Kevin Warsh, President Donald Trump's nominee for Federal Reserve Chair, would assume the post "on time".
Thailand has not yet decided whether it will increase its internal ceiling on a key debt ratio, Finance Minister Ekniti Nitithanprapas said on Wednesday. Nitithanprapas, who is also the deputy prime minister, said the 70% for public debt-to-GDP was an internal ceiling.
Finance ministers from almost a dozen countries led by Britain called on the U.S., Israel and Iran to implement their ceasefire in full on Wednesday and said the conflict would weigh on the global economy and markets even if it was resolved soon.
The global economy is about to feel the full economic impact of the Iran war, Qatar's finance minister said on Wednesday, but headded that his country's finances would be able to ride out the problems for at least a year.
* ECB supervisors gathering information about Mythos, source says. * Mythos seen as major cybersecurity threat by experts, prompting global regulatory concern. * Trump acknowledges AI risks to banking system. * British government warns businesses about cyberattack threats. By Francesco Canepa.
Higher oil prices could lead to a rise in consumer inflation expectations, Chicago Federal Reserve Bank President ?Austan Goolsbee told the Financial Times in an interview published on Wednesday, adding that the US central bank faces a double danger from the Iran war and Donald Trump's tariffs.
European Central Bank supervisors are set to warn bankers about the risks posed by Anthropic's new artificial intelligence model that might supercharge cyberattacks, one source familiar with the situation told Reuters.
The United States needs to reduce its fiscal deficit by about four percentage points of GDP from the current level of 7% and needs a robust, credible plan to do so, International Monetary Fund Fiscal Affairs Director Rodrigo Valdes said on Wednesday.
U.S. homebuilder sentiment deteriorated in April, hitting a seven-month low as the war with Iran led to higher prices for materials and mortgage rates as well as increased economic uncertainty, a survey showed on Wednesday.
U.S. homebuilder sentiment deteriorated in April, hitting a seven-month low as the war with Iran led to higher prices for materials and mortgage rates as well as increased economic uncertainty, a survey showed on Wednesday.
U.S. homebuilder sentiment deteriorated in April, hitting a seven-month low as the war with Iran led to higher prices for materials and mortgage rates as well as increased economic uncertainty, a survey showed on Wednesday.
Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland President Beth Hammack said on Wednesday that while she sees no imminent need for the central bank to change its interest rate target setting, it's possible cuts or even hikes could lie ahead. "I think that rates are in a good place," Hammack said on CNBC.
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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