Analysis: Currencies

Swiss franc carry trade comes fraught with safe-haven rally risk

As investors turn to the Swiss franc as an alternative to Japan's yen to fund carry trades, the risk of the currency staging one of its rapid rallies remains ever present. The Swiss...

Asia shares steady, dollar firm before jobs test

Asian share markets got off to a quiet start on Monday as investors braced for a data-packed week culminating in a U.S. jobs report that could decide whether a rate cut expected this month will be...

US consumer spending picks up; inflation rises moderately in July

U.S. consumer spending increased solidly in July, suggesting the economy remained on firmer ground early in the third quarter and arguing against a half-percentage-point interest rate cut from the...

U.S. home prices forecast to rise modestly as Fed cuts rates - Reuters poll

U.S. home prices will rise relatively modestly this year and next despite tight supply and expected U.S. Federal Reserve interest rate cuts, according to housing analysts polled by Reuters who said...

Exclusive-Russia payment hurdles with China partners intensified in August, sources say

Some Russian companies are facing growing delays and rising costs on payments with trading partners in China, leaving transactions worth tens of billions of yuan in limbo, Russian sources with direct...

Bring on the rate cuts

A look at the day ahead in European and global markets from Rae Wee Global investors can't wait to be done and dusted with August and usher in the new month with a bang, one that's all...

French judges to decide on next step in Durov probe

French investigative judges are due to decide later on Wednesday whether to place Russian-born Telegram boss Pavel Durov under formal investigation following his arrest as part of a probe into...

Fed most likely to cut rates by quarter percentage point next month, Daly says

San Francisco Federal Reserve President Mary Daly on Monday said the time is upon us to cut interest rates, likely starting with a quarter-percentage point reduction in borrowing costs.    Asked if...

US core capital goods orders dip in July

New orders for key U.S.-manufactured capital goods unexpectedly fell in July and data for the prior month was revised lower, suggesting a loss of momentum in business spending on equipment that...

Analysis-As US rate cuts near, economic 'soft-landing' odds could dictate stock performance

With interest rate cuts virtually locked in, investors are ramping up their focus on economic data over the next few months as they game out whether the soft landing narrative that has helped drive...

Analysis-BOJ shows how action matters more than hawkish signs

For academics and policymakers gathered at the U.S. Federal Reserve's annual Jackson Hole economic conference to debate how central banks can affect market perceptions on the course of monetary...

Brazil's Campos Neto says markets perceiving less monetary intervention

Brazil's central bank chief Roberto Campos Neto said on Saturday that recent volatility may be showing the market is pricing in less room for fiscal and monetary intervention in the future. ...

Fed mortgage bond holdings play 'central' policy rule, paper says

Federal Reserve holdings of mortgage bonds play a central role in how monetary policy affects the economy's momentum, academics wrote in a paper to be presented at a central bank research conference...

Analysis-Powell's Fed not shy about election-year cuts, ready to defend job market

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell made it clear on Friday the U.S. central bank would not shy away from pivoting to interest rate cuts in the final weeks of a presidential election campaign and that...

US job market may be near tipping point, research shows

As inflation fell fast in 2023 and continued to slow this year, Federal Reserve officials were cheered that the steam seemed to come out of the U.S. economy not through rising unemployment but rather...

Key quotes from Powell's speech at Fed's Jackson Hole conference

Here are key quotes from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's speech on Friday to the Kansas City Fed's annual economic conference in Jackson Hole, Wyoming: POLICY: The time has come...

US adds 123 entities to entity list, including 63 in Russia and 42 in China, Federal Register says

The United States is adding 123 entities to its U.S. export control list known as the 'Entity List,' including 63 in Russia and 42 in China, according to a notice published in the Federal Register on...

US equity funds draw large inflows on rate cut bets, easing growth concerns

U.S. equity funds attracted significant inflows in the seven days to Aug. 21, bolstered by bets of a Federal Reserve rate cut in September and easing worries about a potential downturn in economic...

Analysis-After battle with yuan bears, China is now keen to avoid sharp currency gains

Having spent all year trying to put a floor under the tumbling yuan, China's central bank is suddenly faced with the opposite problem and is turning to subtle ways to stop the currency from...