The state stockpiling body, China's National Food and Strategic Reserves Administration, said Wednesday that it plans to release copper, aluminum, zinc and other national reserves in batches in the near future to ensure the supply and price stability of bulk commodities.
Read More ->
Turkey's Troubles Point to Emerging-Market Risks as Economies Recover
Any signal that the Federal Reserve will tighten policy on Wednesday could ripple across emerging markets that are dependent on the U.S. dollar. Prime among them is Turkey.
The Turkish lira has come under pressure in recent weeks as investors try to assess whether the country's central bank will heed the demands of its president to cut interest rates. But a rate cut could drag the lira down further at the same time that the country's high inflation rate is already diminishing the currency's buying power.
Read More ->
China's Economic Growth Moderates in May
China's economic growth moderated in May as the favorable base effect faded.
Industrial production rose 8.8% in May from a year earlier, slowing from April's 9.8% pace, according to data released Wednesday by the National Bureau of Statistics. The growth in industrial production matched the 8.8% pace expected by the economists polled by The Wall Street Journal.
Read More ->
Ifo Institute Cuts Its 2021 German Economic Growth Forecast to 3.3%
The Ifo Institute has lowered its forecast for economic growth for Germany in 2021 to 3.3% from 3.7% forecast in March, because of bottlenecks in the supply of intermediate products.
"Reopening businesses triggered a strong recovery, but this is now getting pushed back a bit further than we thought in the spring," Timo Wollmershaeuser, head of forecasts at Ifo, said.
Read More ->
UK Inflation Rose Above Bank of England's 2% Target in May
Annual inflation in the U.K. exceeded the Bank of England's target in May for the first time in almost two years.
The data add to signs of inflationary pressure worldwide, though BOE officials have said they expect any pickup in price growth to prove transitory.
Read More ->
Democratic Leaders Start Talks on Second Infrastructure Bill
WASHINGTON-Democratic leaders began to discuss the contours of a broad-ranging child care, climate and education package Tuesday in an effort to appease the concerns of the party's liberal wing over the narrower scope of a bipartisan infrastructure proposal under discussion.
Progressive Democrats in both chambers criticized the size and breadth of a more limited agreement reached late last week by a bipartisan group of 10 senators. They threatened to withhold their votes unless they received assurances that it would be accompanied by a far-reaching package that could pass with only Democratic votes.
Read More ->
Political Summits Signal International Focus on Ransomware
The attention of world leaders to ransomware in a series of high-level meetings highlights how quickly the destructive cyberattacks have climbed the political agenda as a string of recent attacks disrupted companies and critical infrastructure in the U.S. and other countries.
On Wednesday in Geneva, President Biden is expected to pressure Russian President Vladimir Putin to curb ransomware groups based in Russia. Meanwhile, at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization summit on Monday and the Group of Seven meeting last weekend, leaders committed to disrupting ransomware networks and holding attackers accountable in documents published at the end of both summits.
Read More ->
Israeli Airstrikes Hit Gaza As Nationalist March in Jerusalem Stokes Tensions
JERUSALEM-Israeli police fired rubber bullets at Palestinians trying to disrupt a right-wing nationalist march in Jerusalem, while Hamas militants launched incendiary balloons into Israel that triggered Israeli airstrikes in the Gaza Strip, raising the specter of renewed violence in the region.
The Israeli military said it carried out a limited series of airstrikes on the militant group's compounds across the Gaza Strip, marking the first time the rival forces have traded blows since the two sides agreed to a May 21 truce that brought an end to an 11-day conflict.
Read More ->
Federal Judge Stops Biden Administration From Blocking New Oil and Gas Leases
A federal judge in Louisiana issued a preliminary injunction blocking the Biden administration from pausing new oil and gas leases on federal land.
Judge Terry A. Doughty of the U.S. District Court in Monroe said the administration doesn't have the legal right to stop leasing federal territory for oil-and-gas production without approval from Congress.
Read More ->
Write to sarka.halas@wsj.com
TODAY IN CANADA
Earnings:
Nothing major scheduled
Economic Indicators (ET):
0830 May CPI
0830 Apr Wholesale trade
1830 Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem appears before the Standing Senate Committee on Banking, Trade and Commerce via video conference
Stocks to Watch:
No items published
Other News:
When Will the Canada-U.S. Border Reopen? What We Know
For the past 15 months, the U.S. and Canada have turned away tourists at entry points across the 5,500-mile land border in an effort to contain further spread of Covid-19. In light of progress in both countries on the Covid-19 vaccination front, business groups are now pushing Washington and Ottawa to reopen border crossings -- to the fully vaccinated, at least at the start.
Such a move "would sustain jobs, boost business confidence and allow more families to reunite," according to a joint statement issued by six U.S. and Canadian business lobbies, among them the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. "It would help facilitate a safe and gradual return to a more normal life."
The U.S. and the U.K. have agreed to open up travel between the two trans-Atlantic allies as soon as possible. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he spoke with President Biden at the margins of the Group of Seven leaders' summit in England about reopening the border.
When will the Canadian border reopen?
Theoretically, it could open as soon as June 22, or at the end of the current monthly ban on nonessential travel. U.S. and Canadian officials have mutually agreed to renew the 30-day ban around the 21st of each month since it was first imposed in March 2020.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention earlier in June downgraded its warning about travel to Canada by one level, from "very high" to "high," coinciding with a steep drop in Covid-19 cases in Canada after a destabilizing third wave of infections.
The third wave prompted authorities in Canada to impose strict economic and social-distancing restrictions. However, nearly all regions across Canada have started to relax some of the restrictions, based on vaccination rates -- nearly two-thirds of the population has received one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine -- and a sharp drop in infections.
Market Talk:
No items published
Expected Major Events for Wednesday
06:00/UK: May UK producer prices
06:00/UK: May UK monthly inflation figures
08:00/GER: Ifo Economic Forecast
08:30/UK: Mar Card Spending statistics
08:30/UK: Apr UK House Price Index
11:00/US: 06/11 MBA Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey
12:30/US: May Import & Export Price Indexes
12:30/US: May New Residential Construction - Housing Starts and Building Permits
12:30/CAN: May CPI
12:30/CAN: Apr Wholesale trade
14:30/US: 06/11 EIA Weekly Petroleum Status Report
18:00/US: Federal Reserve economic projections
18:00/US: U.S. interest rate decision
All times in GMT. Powered by Kantar Media and Dow Jones.
Expected Earnings for Wednesday
AEterna Zentaris Inc (AEZS,AEZS.T) is expected to report for 1Q.
Andrew Peller (ADW.A.T,ADW.B.T) is expected to report for 4Q.
Ashford Inc (AINC) is expected to report $-5.92 for 1Q.
BeyondSpring Inc (BYSI) is expected to report $-0.54 for 1Q.
Culp Inc (CULP) is expected to report $0.08 for 4Q.
Genesis Healthcare Inc (GENN) is expected to report $-0.33 for 1Q.
Lennar Corp - A Share (LEN,LENB) is expected to report $2.38 for 2Q.
Neptune Wellness Solutions Inc (NEPT,NEPT.T) is expected to report for 4Q.
Oatly Group AB - ADR (OTLY) is expected to report for 1Q.
Progressive Corp (PGR) is expected to report.
Simply Inc (SIMP) is expected to report for 1Q.
Powered by Kantar Media and Dow Jones.
ANALYST RATINGS ACTIONS
Broadstone Net Lease Cut to Neutral From Overweight by JP Morgan
Bruker Corp Raised to Buy From Neutral by Cleveland Research
Ceridian HCM Cut to Hold From Buy by Needham
Cimarex Cut to Neutral From Buy by UBS
Crane Co Raised to Buy From Neutral by DA Davidson
Fastenal Cut to Underweight From Equal-Weight by Morgan Stanley
Finance of America Raised to Strong Buy From Outperform by Raymond James
Olin Corp Raised to Buy From Neutral by UBS
Principal Financial Cut to Neutral From Overweight by Piper Sandler
Spirit Airlines Raised to Buy From Neutral by Citigroup
W. P. Carey Raised to Overweight From Neutral by JP Morgan
Welltower Raised to Strong Buy From Market Perform by Raymond James
This article is a text version of a Wall Street Journal newsletter published earlier today
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
06-16-21 0603ET
