The Japanese government on Thursday nominated Kazuyuki Masu, a former chief financial officer of trading house Mitsubishi Corp (MSBHF), to join the central bank's nine-member policy board. Masu would replace former Hitachi executive Toyoaki Nakamura, seen as among the most dovish members of the central bank's board.
Planned U.S. tariffs could reduce Indonesia's potential growth by 0.3% to 0.5% of GDP, but a 90-day pause in implementing the levies allows time to discuss solutions, Indonesia's finance minister told Reuters on Thursday.
* Consumer price index forecast increasing 0.1% in March. * CPI estimated to have risen 2.6% year-on-year. * Core CPI seen gaining 0.3%; climbing 3.0% year-on-year. By Lucia Mutikani.
Ray Dalio, founder of the world's largest hedge fund, called for a U.S. deal with the Chinese on tariffs and said that the next goal for U.S. President Donald Trump's administration should be to cut the country's deficit to 3% of GDP.
* CPI falls in March, missing forecasts. * PPI falls at fastest pace in four months. * Deflationary pressures to deepen in months ahead, analyst says. China's consumer prices fell for the second straight month in March while factory-gate deflation worsened, as an escalating U.S. trade war heightened worries about mounting piles of unsold exports that could drive domestic prices even lower.
The Japanese government on Thursday nominated Kazuyuki Masu, a former chief financial officer of Mitsubishi Corp (MSBHF), to join the Bank of Japan's nine-member policy board. Masu would replace former Hitachi executive Toyoaki Nakamura, seen as among the most dovish members of the central bank's board.
China's consumer prices fell for the second straight month in March while producer deflation persisted, as caution grows over the economic outlook amid mounting tariff risks. The consumer price index dropped 0.1% last month from a year earlier, a slower pace than February's 0.7% decline, National Bureau of Statistics data showed on Thursday.
FITCH: * FITCH: BAHAMAS' RATINGS REFLECT HIGH GDP PER CAPITA AND STRONG GOVERNANCE. * FITCH: BAHAMAS RATINGS CONSTRAINED BY HIGH INTEREST & DEBT BURDENS RELATIVE TO PEERS Source text:
-Federal Reserve policymakers worry U.S. President Donald Trump's trade policy could deal a blow to economic growth, but are signaling they will not be quick to ride to the rescue with interest rate cuts because they expect higher tariffs to boost inflation.
* Musalem sees US growth below 2% trend, no recession. * Kashkari says hurdle to cut or hike rates is high. * Fed policymakers at March meeting worried about hard tradeoffs, minutes show. * Trump delivers reprieve on some tariffs, underscoring uncertainty for Fed. By Howard Schneider, Ann Saphir.
Argentina's industrial output rose 5.6% in February compared to the same month last year in non-seasonally adjusted terms, data from national statistics agency INDEC showed on Wednesday. February industrial output in South America's second-largest economy increased 0.5% compared to January in seasonally adjusted terms, according to the INDEC data.
-The Federal Reserve's decision to dramatically decelerate the pace of its balance sheet drawdown last month garnered broad support from policymakers, although there was more internal opposition to the shift than first understood, minutes from the central bank's latest meeting released on Wednesday showed.
* 19 meeting shows broad sense of higher inflation, slower growth. * Some Fed officials were concerned about difficult tradeoffs for the central bank. * Policymakers in March expected two rate cuts in 2025. By Howard Schneider.
- The World Trade Organization on Wednesday estimated the U.S.- China trade tensions could cut the trade of goods between two economies by as much as 80%. "This tit-for-tat approach between the world's two largest economies, which together account for roughly 3% of global trade, carries wider implications that could severely damage the global economic outlook," it said.
- The World Trade Organization on Wednesday estimated the U.S.- China trade tensions could cut the trade of goods between two economies by as much as 80%. "This tit-for-tat approach between the world's two largest economies, which together account for roughly 3% of global trade, carries wider implications that could severely damage the global economic outlook," it said.
-Traders on Wednesday sharply trimmed their bets on Federal Reserve interest-rate cuts after U.S. President Donald Trump said he was further increasing tariffs on China but pausing for 90 days the big tariff increases he had announced last week for most other countries.
Traders on Wednesday sharply trimmed their earlier bets on a May start to Federal Reserve rate cuts after U.S. President Donald Trump said on Truth Social he was further increasing tariffs on China but pausing for 90 days the big tariff increases he had announced last week for most other countries.
* China says US tariffs destabilise global trade. * Trump's tariffs came into effect on Wednesday. * China faces duties of 104% on its exports to the US. * China runs largest trade surplus with US. By Olivia Le Poidevin.
Authorities in Mauritius arrested the former finance minister and central bank governor on Wednesday as part of an investigation into embezzlement at a state company, the Indian Ocean island nation's financial crimes commission said.
-Federal Reserve policymakers worry U.S. President Donald Trump's trade policy could deal a blow to economic growth, but are signaling they will not be quick to ride to the rescue with interest rate cuts because they expect higher tariffs to boost inflation.
-Federal Reserve policymakers worry U.S. President Donald Trump's trade policy could deal a blow to economic growth, but are signaling they will not be quick to ride to the rescue with interest rate cuts because they expect higher tariffs to boost inflation.
Phillips 66 today responded to a letter released by Gregory J. Goff to Phillips 66 Shareholders. ?Gregory Goff is clearly affiliated with Elliott Management. About Phillips 66 Phillips 66 is a leading integrated downstream energy provider that manufactures, transports and markets products that drive the global economy.
Traders of futures tied to the Federal Reserve policy rate now favor a June start to U.S. central bank interest-rate cuts, a shift from May earlier in the day, followed by three more rate cuts through the end of the year. Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari said the hurdle is high to a Fed policy response "up or down" to the effects of sweeping tariffs.
Retail sales volumes in Brazil rose 0.5% in February from the previous month, reaching the highest level since the data series began in 2000, statistics agency IBGE said on Wednesday. The result matched the 0.5% increase forecast by economists in a Reuters poll. IBGE noted the gain marked a more robust expansion after four months of near-zero changes.
Outstanding loans in Brazil rose in February despite an ongoing aggressive monetary tightening cycle, central bank data showed on Wednesday. Total bank lending increased 0.4% from the previous month to 6.487 trillion reais, with 12-month growth quickening to 11.8% from 11.7% in January.
* China raises additional duties on U.S. goods to 84% amid trade war. * Beijing imposes restrictions on 18 U.S. companies. * China's trade surplus with U.S. widened to $295.4 billion last year. * China releases white paper on U.S.-China commercial ties. * Beijing accuses U.S. of reneging on its side of 2020 trade deal. By Joe Cash, Yukun Zhang and Ethan Wang.
The interest rate for the most popular U.S. home loan dropped to 6.61% last week, the lowest rate since October, giving a boost to mortgage applications even as global stocks tumbled in the wake of President Donald Trump's decision to impose sweeping tariffs on trading partners the world over.
* Longer-dated German bonds little changed. * Benchmark US Treasury yields jump 12.5 bps. * Markets add to ECB easing bets. * Trump's tariffs come into effect, triggering more market turmoil. By Samuel Indyk.
Risks of a hit to the global economy and further sharp falls in financial markets have grown due to U.S. President Donald Trump's import tariffs and the UK is exposed to the fallout, the Bank of England said. "The probability of adverse events, and the potential severity of their impact has risen," the BoE's Financial Policy Committee said on Wednesday.
How concerned Federal Reserve officials were over stagflation risks as they met last month may become more clear on Wednesday in a readout of a gathering held before President Donald Trump's April 2 tariff announcement shook markets and made forecasts for higher inflation and slower growth more widespread.
U.S. Federal Reserve policymakers were nearly unanimous at their meeting last month that the U.S. economy faced risks of simultaneously higher inflation and slower growth, with some policymakers noting that "difficult tradeoffs" could lie ahead for the central bank, according to the minutes of the meeting.
* Operating profit down 15% but better than expected. * Tariff uncertainty has hit North American consumer confidence. * Incoming CEO says he wants to make the company less conservative. By Rocky Swift.
Downside risks have materialised since March that support the case for cutting interest rates at the European Central Bank's April meeting, ECB policymaker Olli Rehn said on Wednesday. "Since the March meeting, many of the risks identified at that time have now either materialised or are materialising," Rehn said in a speech published by the Bank of Finland, where he is the governor.
Downside risks have materialised since March that support the case for cutting interest rates at the European Central Bank's April meeting, ECB policymaker Olli Rehn said on Wednesday.
The European Central Bank is ready to preserve financial stability in case of further market turmoil but the sector, including hedge funds, appears well prepared for the recent rout, ECB policymakers said on Wednesday.
Euro zone economic growth could fall much more from the impact of U.S. trade tariffs than initially estimated by the European Central Bank and the turmoil could also drag inflation down in the near term, four sources told Reuters. That might leave the bloc's economy stagnating and dash hopes for a recovery that had been growing until recently on the back of large-scale public investment plans.
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.
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