LONDON (Reuters) – European Council President Donald Tusk and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker have written a letter to British Prime Minister Theresa May setting out assurances about the so-called Northern Ireland backstop. Below is a copy to... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Global stock markets and commodities took a hit on Monday after a shock contraction in Chinese trade pointed to deepening cracks in the world’s second-largest economy and sparked fears of a sharper slowdown in global growth. Data from China ... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – The Australian dollar and kiwi dollar, gauges of global risk appetite, fell on Monday on fears of a slowdown in China’s economy prompted by a contraction in Chinese exports. Market sentiment swung negative after data showed that China’s Dece... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – France’s response to “yellow vest” protests could be a turning point for euro zone bond markets if it kicks off an era of increased public borrowing in the bloc and loads additional debt on to a market already nervous over the removal of ECB... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – World stocks extend their gains to hit a near-four week high and oil prices rose on Wednesday on optimism that the United States and China may be inching toward a trade deal, soothing fears an all-out trade war could hit a slowing global eco... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – British Prime Minister Theresa May’s government cautioned lawmakers on Wednesday that it was a delusion to think that the government would be able to negotiate a new divorce deal with the European Union if parliament voted down her deal next... More »
STOCKHOLM (Reuters) – Uncertainties about the global economy mean Sweden’s central bank needs to move cautiously in tightening policy after its first hike in more than seven years, minutes of its December meeting published on Wednesday showed. Last month, the ... More »
TOKYO (Reuters) – Worried by prospects of a pause in the U.S. interest rate hike cycle, the Bank of Japan is shifting focus towards a risk that it may be forced to deploy more stimulus this year to stop sharp yen rises from derailing an economic recovery, sour... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – The euro and commodity-linked currencies rose on Wednesday as optimism over U.S.-China trade negotiations improved investor sentiment and encouraged some selling of the dollar. Expectations of more easing in China also supported markets, wit... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Pro-European Union campaigners in Britain have set out for the first time their preferred path for how parliament could force the government to call a fresh vote on Brexit, arguing that there is still time for another referendum. The future ... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Stocks in Europe and Asia rose cautiously on Friday after Wall Street ended a volatile session with big gains, but fears of further price swings and worries about U.S. politics kept safe-haven currencies such as the yen and Swiss franc in de... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Prime Minister Theresa May’s Brexit deal can be passed by the British parliament if the European Union provides clarification that the Northern Irish “backstop” will be temporary, foreign minister Jeremy Hunt said on Friday. The backstop is ... More »
TOKYO (Reuters) – As the developed world’s cheapest equity market and home to a rising breed of more profitable companies, the Japanese market should be a safe investment bet. Yet fund managers are bypassing it on fears ebbing global growth could knock Japan’s... More »
LONDON/NEW YORK (Reuters) – After an unexpected rally that carried the dollar to 18-month peaks and saw it end 2018 as investors’ top trade, the currency faces challenges in the coming year. They include an expensive valuation, a flagging equity boom, waning c... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – The Japanese yen gained half a percent against the dollar on Friday as investors cut back positions in risky assets after a volatile week in global stock markets and as concerns grow about a trade dispute between United States and China. Tra... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The White House on Friday laid out objectives for trade talks with Japan, setting the clock for them to begin as early as Jan. 20, as the administration seeks to slash the United States’ $69 billion trade deficit with the world’s third-b... More »
TORONTO (Reuters) – The Canadian dollar fell to a 19-month low against its broadly stronger U.S. counterpart on Friday, as declines for stocks and the price of oil offset data showing stronger-than-expected growth in the domestic economy. At 4:00 p.m. (2100 GM... More »
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Speculators’ net long bets on the U.S. dollar rose in the latest week, according to calculations by Reuters and Commodity Futures Trading Commission data released on Friday. The value of the net long dollar position was $29.72 billion in t... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – British Prime Minister Theresa May is due to make a decision on Monday on whether to delay a parliamentary vote on her Brexit deal set for Tuesday, British political correspondents said. Britain’s Hunt warns of ‘real risks’ if MPs reject Bre... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – British Prime Minister Theresa May will update her cabinet team of ministers on Monday to update them on Brexit after she spoke to several other European leaders over the weekend, her spokeswoman said. Earlier, local media reported that May ... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Losses on global stocks snowballed on Monday, with European markets following Asian peers lower as fresh signs emerged of slowing growth worldwide and fears grew that simmering U.S.-China tensions would torpedo chances of a trade deal. Wall ... More »
(Reuters) – Following are five big themes likely to dominate thinking of investors and traders in the coming week and the Reuters stories related to them. 1/ CURVE-BALLS With major parts of the U.S. economy visibly slowing, the Treasury market has reacted in a... More »
NEW YORK (Reuters) – A temporary ceasefire in the U.S.-China trade war boosted global stocks to their highest in about three weeks on Monday, while sending the dollar lower and the Chinese yuan and several trade-dependent currencies higher. The rally in equiti... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Rating agency S&P Global expects the amount of bad loans on Turkish banks’ books to double over the next 12-18 months and their total credit losses to rise to as much as 2.5 percent from the recent average of 1.4 percent. In a new report pub... More »
(Reuters) – The Bank of Canada will next raise interest rates early next year, and twice again by the end of 2019, according to economists polled by Reuters who say the central bank needs to be careful with the pace of tightening. As recently as late October t... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – British Prime Minister Theresa May said she would still be in her job in two weeks time, downplaying speculation that she might resign if she loses a key Brexit vote in parliament which is scheduled for Dec. 11. “I will still have a job in t... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – British Prime Minister Theresa May said she had spoken about future trade with U.S. President Donald Trump at last week’s G20 Summit in Argentina, she told parliament on Monday. “I did speak to President Trump in the margins of the meeting, ... More »
MOSCOW (Reuters) – The Moscow Exchange (MOEX.MM) has launched five new currency trading options to boost liquidity on its currency market, the bourse said on Monday. The Moscow Exchange said it had started quoting the Japanese yen against the Russian rouble, a... More »
FRANKFURT (Reuters) – BMW (BMWG.DE) expects headwinds from rising currency and commodities prices to reach a mid to high triple-digit million euro amount in 2019, Chief Financial Officer Nicolas Peter said in a statement on Monday. BMW still aims to reach an o... More »
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Top BlackRock Inc (BLK.N) bond investor Rick Rieder halved exposure in recent months to a once-major bet in his portfolios on emerging markets on concerns including that the dollar could move higher, he told Reuters on Friday. “I still wou... More »
ROME (Reuters) – Italy should have a “plan B” to quit the euro zone with a referendum if economic conditions dictate, the founder of the co-ruling 5-Star Movement said, sending ripples through financial markets. The anti-establishment movement’s founder Beppe ... More »
NEW YORK/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday stood by a decision blocking an exchange-traded fund that would have tracked bitcoin, citing concerns about market manipulation. The securities regulator found “unpersuasiv... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Signs that the Bank of Japan (BoJ) might scale back its monetary stimulus faster than expected sent tremors through bond markets on Monday, while European stocks and U.S. futures slipped as threats of further U.S. tariffs on China drained ri... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – The yen trimmed early gains on Monday as traders consolidated positions after reports the central bank was debating moves to scale back its massive monetary stimulus ignited a brief rally in the Japanese currency. With investors wary of buyi... More »
LUXEMBOURG (Reuters) – The European Central Bank defended its 2.6 trillion-euro bond-buying program before the European Union’s top court on Tuesday from accusations it was bankrolling governments and endangering taxpayer money. The case, brought by a group of... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – British Prime Minister Theresa May moved to reassert her authority on Tuesday after two top cabinet members quit and launched broadsides against her Brexit plans, winning support from many of her ministers including a leading eurosceptic. Ma... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – The dollar strengthened broadly on Monday and neared a six-month high against the Japanese yen as investors bought riskier assets, encouraged by signs that trade tensions have yet to hurt economic momentum. As the second-quarter corporate ea... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – World shares hovered near three-week highs on Tuesday, supported by optimism about U.S. company earnings and hopes that global economic growth can withstand trade tensions, although political bickering kept British markets on the backfoot. W... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Britain’s cabinet discussed the so-called white paper Brexit policy document and stepping up preparations for a no-deal exit, Prime Minister Theresa May’s spokesman said on Tuesday. “The prime minister began by welcoming the new members of t... More »
BERLIN (Reuters) – The mood among German investors slumped in July to its lowest since August 2012, a survey showed on Tuesday, soured by concerns about escalating trade tensions with the United States. The ZEW research institute said its monthly survey showed... More »
(Reuters) – U.S. job growth increased more than expected in June as manufacturers stepped up hiring, but steady wage gains pointed to moderate inflation pressures that should keep the Federal Reserve on a path of gradual interest rate increases. Nonfarm payrol... More »
NEW YORK (Reuters) – The dollar fell on Friday after data showed the U.S. economy created more jobs than expected in June, but a closely-watched inflation gauge — wage growth — rose less than forecast, while the unemployment rate increased. Nonfarm payrolls ad... More »
TORONTO (Reuters) – Canada’s dollar will climb over the coming year, a Reuters poll showed, but forecasters are less bullish than they were a month ago as escalating trade uncertainty competes with expected Bank of Canada interest rate hikes. The poll of more ... More »
SHANGHAI/SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Six months of wrangling over trade tariffs with the United States has wiped out about a fifth of China’s stock market value and driven its currency down sharply. But those moves may have just been a downpayment on what is yet to ... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – The euro weakened half a percent and other high-yielding currencies such as the Australian dollar wilted on Monday as rising concerns over an escalation in the trade dispute between the United States and its partners sapped demand. The singl... More »
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Mexico’s peso whipsawed after leftist candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador won Mexico’s presidential election on Sunday with a big margin that may herald a congressional majority. The peso gained more than 1 percent when the first exit... More »
SYDNEY (Reuters) – A renewed slide in Chinese shares and a sobering set of factory surveys sucked Asian markets lower on Monday, while the euro and the Mexican peso were both jolted by political developments at home. E-Mini futures for the S&P 500 ESc1 followe... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Investors have sharply increased their use of hedging strategies, signaling concerns that the intensifying trade battle between the United States and China might hit economies from Germany to South Korea. Money managers say that mounting bar... More »
SOFIA (Reuters) – Bulgaria aims to join the EU’s banking union on the same day it enters the “waiting room” for euro zone membership, where it must spend at least two years before joining the single currency, its prime minister said on Friday. Boyko Borissov s... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Modest gains from Europe’s main bourses relieved nervy investors on Tuesday, after the latest escalation in an increasingly global trade storm pummeled Wall Street and sent China into ‘bear’ market territory. A 0.3 percent rise from the FTSE... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – The dollar held near a one-week low against a basket of currencies on Tuesday as investors retreated to the sidelines while concerns grew about an intensifying conflict between the United States and its trade partners, particularly China. Th... More »
RIGA (Reuters) – The European Central Bank’s President Mario Draghi on Thursday played down political upheavals in Italy and dismissed suggestions that the euro zone’s third-largest economy might quit the single currency. The euro EUR= and Italian government b... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Switzerland’s banking and monetary system is facing the possibility of a huge shake-up, and while the possibility looks remote, investors are buying up insurance against swings in the franc and the shares of the biggest Swiss lenders. Swiss ... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – May was a manic month for markets but brace yourself for June. An unprecedented summit between North Korea and the United States is back on the agenda, and there are other events on the radar to potentially convulse world markets — from Turk... More »
BERLIN (Reuters) – There is no threat of a new sovereign debt crisis in the euro zone despite an anti-establishment coalition government taking power in Italy, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said in remarks published on Saturday. Asked by th... More »
BERLIN (Reuters) – German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz said in a Reuters interview published on Thursday that he does not expect the next election in Italy to become a referendum on its euro zone membership. Anti-European remarks by leading Italian politicians... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Hedge funds are split on how to position billions of dollars in bets they have taken on Italian banks as the country’s political tumult takes its toll on bonds, shares and the euro. Although hedge funds have a combined 1 billion euro ($1.2 b... More »
SYDNEY (Reuters) – Asian shares fell on Tuesday and the euro hovered near 6-1/2 month lows as early elections loomed in Italy, but a revival in diplomatic talks with North Korea and a retreat in oil prices from recent highs supported sentiment. MSCI’s broadest... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – European stocks gave up early gains and bond yields recovered from lows as early elections loomed in Italy after the anti-establishment 5-Star and League parties abandoned plans to form a government. European stocks were a mixed bag, after A... More »
BEIJING (Reuters) – A publicity stunt featuring a Mao Zedong lookalike at a conference on blockchain in China on Monday sparked an uproar on social media, with some users saying the “shameful” disrespect to the founding leader could hurt the industry’s image. ... More »
ROME (Reuters) – The prospect of an 81-year-old economist critical of Italy’s euro zone membership becoming economy minister has brought fresh concern to Italian markets already rattled by the imminent formation of an anti-establishment government. Italian bon... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – The dollar hit a five-month high on Monday after U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin declared the U.S.-China trade war “on hold” following their agreement to suspend threatened tariffs. Against a basket of its peers, the dollar rose above... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Oil rose on Monday, lifted by a rally across stocks and other commodities, after the United States said it had put a possible trade war with China “on hold”. Brent crude futures were up 35 cents at $78.86 a barrel at 0845 GMT, having hit a h... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Stocks, oil prices and the dollar were on the rise on Monday after the U.S.-China trade war was declared “on hold” while in Europe, Italy’s borrowing costs climbed and the Milan bourse fell as two anti-establishment parties got closer to pow... More »
PRAGUE (Reuters) – Potential policy changes under a government being formed in Italy are creating a lot of nervousness but it is necessary to wait to see what is put in practice, ECB governing council member Ewald Nowotny said on Monday. “It is something that ... More »
HONG KONG (Reuters) – Two Chinese bitcoin mining equipment makers plan to raise up to $1 billion each from Hong Kong listings this year, riding on strong global interest in cryptocurrencies, IFR reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the plans. Canaa... More »
TOKYO (Reuters) – Asian stocks pulled back on Tuesday, brushing off a firmer lead from Wall Street, as investors turned cautious after soft Chinese economic data and awaited fresh developments on U.S.-China trade talks and North Korea. Crude oil prices held ne... More »
BERLIN (Reuters) – Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Monday that Germany and France agreed on most fundamental issues related to Europe but the two countries sometimes had different emphases on how to proceed with the euro zone. French President Emmanuel Macron... More »
SYDNEY (Reuters) – Most Asia markets firmed on Monday after a tame reading on U.S. wages lessened the risk of faster rate hikes by the Federal Reserve, although Sino-U.S. trade tensions and a looming deadline for an Iranian nuclear deal lurked in the backgroun... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – A resurgent dollar and higher borrowing costs are smashing through Argentina and Turkey’s currencies like a wrecking ball and raising the likelihood more broadly that emerging markets’ three-year long interest rate cutting cycle is at an end... More »
SINGAPORE (Reuters) – U.S. oil prices rose above $70 a barrel on Monday for the first time since November 2014 and Brent crude climbed to fresh highs, buoyed as a deepening economic crisis in Venezuela threatened the country’s already tumbling oil supply. The ... More »
BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) – Argentina likely stopped a run on the peso with a massive rate hike and lower fiscal deficit target on Friday, though high inflation and large amounts of debt are lingering risks, economists said. Treasury Minister Nicolas Dujovne told... More »
TOKYO (Reuters) – The dollar stayed near its 2018 peak on Monday after U.S. jobs and wages data did little to temper perceptions of strength in the U.S. economy, though renewed concerns about trade frictions could cloud its outlook. The dollar index stood at 9... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Following are five big themes likely to dominate the thinking of investors and traders in the coming week and the Reuters stories related to them. WHAT’S THE PRICE 1/The Federal Reserve has acknowledged U.S. inflation has perked up, adding t... More »
NEW DELHI/MUMBAI (Reuters) – A month after India’s central bank barred regulated lenders from facilitating cryptocurrency transactions, trading volumes have surged dramatically alongside a sharp rally in prices. Exchange operators, investors and analysts say p... More »
SINGAPORE (Reuters) – The dollar held steady against a basket of currencies on Friday, having retreated from four-month highs on profit-taking, with the focus on whether U.S. jobs data will provide the spark for another push higher. The dollar has erased all i... More »
(This version of the May 3 story was refiled to removes extraneous words in Credit Suisse title in paragraph 11) By Danilo Masoni MILAN (Reuters) – The recent recovery in the dollar has raised hopes that currency turbulence for European corporates will now sub... More »
SINGAPORE (Reuters) – To deal with a familiar combination of falling currencies and uncertainty about economic growth, Asian central banks are reverting to their classic policy playbook. They are intervening in currency markets while concurrently injecting cas... More »
SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Asian shares stepped back on Friday while the dollar ran into some profit-taking after a strong week of gains as financial markets turned their attention to looming U.S. payrolls data for fresh catalysts. Investors were cautious after a l... More »
BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s foreign exchange regulator said on Friday that it will steadily push forward with the convertibility of its capital account, and at the same time fend off risk from cross-border capital flows. The head of the State Administration of... More »
NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. stocks cut sharp early losses to end mostly down slightly on Thursday as some disappointing earnings reports offset strong economic data, while bond yields slid after a surprising drop in euro zone inflation data. Investors also were ... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – As speculation about interest rate rises and policy ‘normalization’ in the euro zone, Japan, Britain and China falls away rapidly, the U.S. Federal Reserve’s now lonely monetary tightening has suddenly supercharged the dollar. The revival of... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Prime Minister Theresa May has asked experts to look into options for a British satellite navigation system to rival the European Union’s Galileo project amid a row over attempts to restrict Britain’s access to sensitive information after Br... More »
SYDNEY (Reuters) – World stocks are set to notch up a positive month for the first time since January, as a slew of positive earnings from U.S. technology firms and marquee M&A deals help soothe memories of February tremors. A seemingly successful Korean summi... More »
SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Oil prices dipped on Monday after a rising rig count in the United States pointed to higher production there, but markets held near their highest in over three years and remained set for a second straight month of gains. Oil prices were s... More »
TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s central bank kept policy steady on Friday but ditched a timeframe it had set for hitting an inflation target, in a surprise move analysts say is aimed at keeping market expectations for more stimulus in check. The Bank of Japan at its... More »
SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Asian shares rose on Friday after U.S. equities were buoyed by a rebound in technology stocks, while markets in Seoul were underpinned by optimism as leaders of North and South Korea held their first summit in over a decade. MSCI’s broade... More »
SINGAPORE/HONG KONG (Reuters) – Asia’s most externally vulnerable economies – India, Indonesia and the Philippines – have just taken a one-two punch. U.S. 10-year Treasury bond yields US10YT=RR hit 3 percent this week, a level long touted as one to watch for p... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Britain is considering setting up a satellite navigation system to rival the European Union’s Galileo project amid a row over attempts to restrict Britain’s access to sensitive security information after Brexit, the Financial Times reported.... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – World stocks slipped on Monday ahead of a blizzard of earnings from the world’s biggest firms and as wary investors watched U.S. bond yields approach peaks that have triggered market spasms in the past. The yield on 10-year U.S. Treasuries U... More »
BEIJING (Reuters) – China will strive hard to achieve this year’s economic targets, the politburo, a top decision-making body of the ruling Communist Party said on Monday, according to state media. China still faces many difficulties in fighting what the gover... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Oil eased on Monday on rising U.S. borrowing costs and the prospect of further output rises after another increase in the weekly rig count, although the overall picture for crude remained bullish. Brent crude futures were down 49 cents at $7... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – The ECB meets on Thursday against a backdrop of concern about a global trade spat and a softening in euro zone economic data that could potentially hamper the central bank’s plans to unwind its extraordinary monetary stimulus. In March, the ... More »
DUBAI (Reuters) – Iran’s central bank has banned the country’s banks from dealing in cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, over money-laundering concerns, the state news agency IRNA reported on Sunday as the country tries to halt a currency crisis. “Banks and c... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Oil recovered some ground on Monday, but prices were still down on the day as investor concern waned about escalating tensions in the Middle East following air strikes on Syria over the weekend. The United States, France and Britain launched... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump accused Russia and China on Monday of devaluing their currencies while the United States raises interest rates. “Russia and China are playing the Currency Devaluation game as the U.S. keeps raising interest ra... More »
NEW YORK (Reuters) – The dollar remained at lower levels against a basket of currencies on Monday as domestic retail sales in March rose following three months of declines but failed to dispel some traders’ worries about economic growth cooling. At 8:35 a.m. (... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – The dollar weakened on Monday and headed towards a two-week low against a basket of rivals on growing signs of relief that a U.S.-led strike on Syria would not escalate further at a time when concerns over a trade war has rattled global mark... More »
TOKYO (Reuters) – Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe could find his oft-touted close ties with Donald Trump sorely tested at a summit this week in which Tokyo fears the U.S. leader will to try to link vital security matters with touchy trade topics. It is a fr... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Banks, index providers and dealing platforms are trying to distance themselves from a group of Russian companies targeted by the latest U.S Treasury Department sanctions. The measures give U.S. investors until May 7 to divest any stocks, bon... More »
