* Tier-one cities see price rise, smaller cities and developers struggle. * Government incentives, state-backed purchases aim to stabilise market. By Liangping Gao, Yukun Zhang and Ryan Woo.
China's growth lost momentum in April, with industrial output and retail sales both sharply undershooting expectations as the world's second-biggest economy wrestled with higher energy costs from the Iran war and persistently weak domestic demand.
* China's April industrial output growth slowest since July 2023. * Consumer demand stays weak, as retail sales rise just 0.2% * Beijing unlikely to add immediate stimulus, economist says. * Trump visit to China eases trade tensions but produces few surprises.
China's industrial output grew 4.1% in April from a year earlier, slowing from the 5.7% pace in March, official data showed on Monday. The data released by the National Bureau of Statistics missed expectations for a 5.9% increase in a Reuters poll.
China's new home prices extended their decline in April, but fell at the slowest monthly pace in a year, official data showed on Monday, offering an early sign of improvement even as housing demand remained subdued despite efforts by cities across the country to boost sales and shore up sentiment.
Gold prices fell on Monday to their
lowest point in more than a month, as Middle East tensions
pushed oil prices higher, fuelling inflation fears and
reinforcing expectations of higher-for-longer ...
Japanese government bond yields surged on Monday, with the benchmark 10-year yield reaching levels last seen in October 1996, extending a global debt selloff as pressure mounts on central banks to raise rates to contain inflation. The yield on the 10-year JGB climbed 7.5 basis points to 2.775%, after earlier touching an intraday high of 2.800%, a level last seen in October 1996.
G7 finance ministers gathering in Paris on Monday will try to find common ground on tackling global economic tensions and coordinating critical raw material supplies, even as geopolitical differences threaten to test the group's cohesion.
G7 finance ministers gathering in Paris on Monday will try to find common ground on tackling global economic tensions and coordinating critical raw material supplies, even as geopolitical differences threaten to test the group's cohesion.
The Federal Reserve Board on Friday said it has named Jerome Powell as chair pro tempore until Kevin Warsh is sworn in as the new head of the U.S. central bank. * Warsh is expected to be sworn in soon by U.S. President Donald Trump but no date has been announced. * Powell's eight-year run as Fed leader formally expired on Friday.
The Federal Reserve Board on Friday said it has named Jerome Powell as chair pro tempore until Kevin Warsh is sworn in as the new head of the U.S. central bank. -- Warsh is expected to be sworn in soon by U.S. President Donald Trump but no date has been announced. -- Powell's eight-year run as Fed leader formally expired on Friday.
Fitch Ratings has changed its ratings outlook to negative for Goldman Sachs' private credit fund, Goldman Sachs BDC, the ratings agency said on Friday. In its post-market close announcement, Fitch maintained its current lower-investment grade rating of Goldman Sachs BDC but could downgrade the fund if it doesn't increase its asset cushion.
* Fund had a rise in loans that are behind on payments. * Goldman Sachs BDC (GSBD) says problems concentrated in loans made by prior management. * GS says fund represents 1.5% of the firm's overall private credit assets under management. By Matt Tracy. Fitch Ratings has changed its ratings outlook to negative for Goldman Sachs' (GS) private credit fund, Goldman Sachs BDC (GSBD), the ratings agency said on Friday.
The Federal Reserve Board on Friday said it has named Jerome Powell as chair pro tempore until Kevin Warsh is sworn in as the new head of the U.S. central bank.
The Federal Reserve Board on Friday said it has named Jerome Powell as chair pro tempore until Kevin Warsh is sworn in as the new head of the U.S. central bank.
U.S. stocks retreated from artificial-intelligence-fueled record highs on Friday, as spiking crude prices ignited global inflation fears. All three major U.S. stock indexes veered lower as a jump in benchmark Treasury yields, reflecting surging energy prices and concerns about long-term inflation, offered an attractive alternative to higher-risk equities.
* Inflationary pressures fuel rate-hike expectations. * Rising US Treasury yields and inflation fears drive dollar strength. * Fed's Williams does not see need to change rate policy. By Chuck Mikolajczak.
* Inflationary pressures fuel rate hike expectations. * Rising US Treasury yields and inflation fears drive dollar strength. * Fed's Williams does not see need to change rate policy. By Chuck Mikolajczak.
* Indexes down: Dow 0.9%, S&P 500 1.1%, Nasdaq 1.6% * Applied Materials (AMAT) down after quarterly results. * Dexcom (DXCM) climbs after plans to revamp board panel with Elliott. By Ragini Mathur and Utkarsh Hathi. Wall Street's main indexes fell on Friday, as inflation fears triggered by the Middle East conflict drove up Treasury yields and threatened to halt an AI-fueled rally.
* Spot gold down 4% for the week. * U.S. Treasury yields rise to near one-year high. * Oil gains, Trump leaves Beijing with no major breakthroughs. By Ishaan Arora. Gold fell to a more than one-week low on Friday, as U.S. Treasury yields and the dollar climbed, while heightening inflation concerns due to the conflict in the Middle East reinforced bets for higher interest rates.
Wall Street indexes opened sharply lower on Friday, as inflation fears triggered by the Middle East conflict drove up Treasury yields and threatened to halt an AI-fueled rally.
Wall Street indexes opened sharply lower on Friday, as inflation fears triggered by the Middle East conflict drove up Treasury yields and threatened to halt an AI-fueled rally.
U.S. factory production posted its largest increase in 14 months in April, driven by motor vehicles and demand for technology goods amid an artificial intelligence spending boom, but supply disruptions from the war with Iran cast a shadow over the manufacturing sector.
* Trump's filings show $220M-$750M in trades across major US companies and municipal bonds. * Trump Org says investments managed by third parties, with no family involvement in decision. By Jarrett Renshaw, Lawrence Delevingne and Tom Bergin.
After a run of hotter-than-expected inflation data this week, investors on Friday ramped up bets that the U.S. Federal Reserve will shift into interest-rate hiking mode perhaps before the year is out, presenting a potential policy dilemma out of the starting gate for incoming central bank leader Kevin Warsh.
Interest rate futures prices fell sharply on Friday, reflecting a growing conviction among bond market investors that stiff inflation will push the U.S. Federal Reserve to raise interest rates late this year or in early 2027.
* Futures down: Dow 0.9%, S&P 500 1.2%, Nasdaq 1.7% * Applied Materials (AMAT) down after quarterly results. * Dexcom (DXCM) climbs after plans to revamp board panel with Elliott. By Ragini Mathur and Utkarsh Hathi. Wall Street indexes were headed for a sharply lower open on Friday, as inflation fears triggered by the Middle East conflict drove up Treasury yields and threatened to halt an AI-fueled rally.
Longer-dated Treasury yields climbed to their highest levels since May 2025 on Friday, as a spike in oil prices stoked fears that ongoing energy disruptions in the Middle East could further fuel inflation - which data this week showed had already surged in April.
Canadian housing starts rose more than expected in April, increasing 17% from the previous month, data from the national housing agency showed on Friday. The seasonally adjusted annualized rate of housing starts increased to 279,317 units from a revised 239,747 units in March, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation said.
* Inflationary pressures fuel rate hike expectations. * Trump-Xi summit gives markets little to cheer. * Yen struggles at 158 level; turmoil weighs on sterling. By Samuel Indyk and Rae Wee. The dollar was a touch higher and heading for its biggest weekly gain in more than two months, as mounting inflationary pressures from higher energy prices fuelled bets on a Federal Reserve rate hike this year.
Incoming Federal Reserve chief Kevin Warsh's plans to shrink the U.S. central bank's "footprint" in financial markets could be constrained by rising federal debt and the potentially lost luster of U.S. Treasuries, analysts said, with rising long-term interest rates a sign of the challenge awaiting the new Fed chair.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's immediate predecessors knew how to "go big" in a crisis, steer a committee towards an interest rate decision, and oversee changes in central bank strategy, all parts of the job that the lawyer and former private equity investor also had to learn.
U.S. stocks retreated from artificial-intelligence-fueled record highs on Friday, as spiking crude prices ignited global inflation fears. All three major U.S. stock indexes veered sharply lower, each shedding more than 1% as a jump in benchmark Treasury yields, reflecting surging energy prices and concerns about long-term inflation, offered an attractive alternative to higher-risk equities.
* Futures down: Dow 0.7%, S&P 500 1.1%, Nasdaq 1.6% Futures tracking the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 tumbled more than 1% on Friday, with an AI-driven rally in U.S. stocks poised to stall, as Treasury yields jumped on concerns about higher inflation driven by the Middle East conflict.
* MSCI EM FX, stocks eye sharpest weekly falls since early March. * Rising US Treasury yields pressure stocks, KOSPI falls 6% * Romania interest rate decision awaited. By Purvi Agarwal. Emerging market equities fell on Friday, led by declines in heavyweight Asian stocks, while currencies weakened against the dollar, setting them on track for losses in a week marked by the U.S.-China summit.
* Bond market selloff gathers pace. * US Treasury yields at one-year highs. * Euro zone bond yields rise, JGB yields hit record peaks. By Amanda Cooper. The global bond market limped to the end of a bruising week on Friday, as growing evidence of economic damage from the Iran war prompts investors to assume interest rates will rise faster than expected and growth will suffer.
Japanese government bond yields climbed across the curve on Friday, with several tenors reaching record highs on rising bets for Bank of Japan interest rate hikes amid building inflationary pressures. The benchmark 10-year JGB yield rose as much as 10 basis points to 2.73%, the highest level since May 1997.
The carry trade, where investors buy high-yielding major currencies and sell low-yielding ones, is having its best run in years, even with major risk-driven moves in global markets. This reflects a combination of low currency volatility, large gaps between interest rates in developed economies and the yen not getting a safe-haven lift from the Iran war.
The Bank of Japan will raise its key interest rate to 1.0% in June, nearly two-thirds of economists said in a Reuters poll, as it presses ahead with efforts to normalise monetary policy amid rising inflation concerns from the war in Iran.
Alphabet has sold 576.5 billion yen in yen-denominated bonds, a term sheet showed on Friday, the largest-ever issue by a foreign company. It is the first yen-denominated debt issue for Alphabet, which like other tech giants is in the midst of a huge investment programme in artificial intelligence and has sought to diversify?sources of funding.
Alphabet has sold 576.5 billion yen in yen-denominated bonds, a term sheet showed on Friday, the largest-ever issue by a foreign company. It is the first yen-denominated debt issue for Alphabet, which like other tech giants is in the midst of a huge investment programme in artificial intelligence and has sought to diversify sources of funding.
Japan may face another round of broad-based price increases around summer, as firms ranging from food makers to hot spring facilities consider passing on soaring energy costs from the Middle East conflict, the central bank said on Friday.
Japan's economy is expected to have grown for a second quarter in January-March, supported by recovering exports and solid domestic demand, although the full impact of the Iran war had yet to be felt, a Reuters poll showed on Friday.
Global equity indexes fell on Friday while bond yields soared as investor euphoria over technology stocks gave way to inflation fears and traders raised bets that the Federal Reserve will hike interest rates this year. U.S. President Donald Trump left China on Friday with no major breakthroughs on trade or tangible help from Beijing to end the Iran war.
The dollar strengthened for a fifth straight day on Friday and was set for its largest weekly percentage rise in two months, as market expectations for the Federal Reserve's monetary policy path tilt further toward possible rate hikes. The dollar's advance comes as U.S. Treasury yields continue to ascend, with the benchmark 10-year Treasury note reaching 4.599%, its highest in a year.
* Dollar up more than 1% this week, sharpest increase since early March. * Trump-Xi summit enters second day as investors await more details. * Yen struggles at 158 level; sterling weighed down by UK political turmoil. By Rae Wee.
* Fed's Barr says misguided to ease bank liquidity rules to lower Fed holdings. * Barr says efforts to cut Fed balance sheet via rule changes could increase risk. * Barr says current Fed policy system has worked well. By Michael S. Derby.
Federal Reserve Governor Michael Barr said Thursday that lowering banks' liquidity rules to reduce the size of the central bank's balance sheet is a bad idea and could undermine the safety of the financial system.
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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