SYDNEY: Asian shares fell on Monday after strong U.S. jobs data tempered expectations for a Fed rate cut, while the Turkish lira hovered near two-week lows on worries about central bank independence. Share sentiment was also dampened by U.S. investment bank Morgan Stanley's decision to reduce its exposure to global equities due to misgivings about the ability of policy easings to offset weaker economic data. Asian shares were broadly weaker on Monday, tracking Wall Street which fell from record highs last week. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan lost more than 1%, with every market in the red. Japan's Nikkei faltered 0.9%. Chinese shares started lower with the blue-chip index off 1.7% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index down 1.5%. South Korea's KOSPI was off 1.8% and Australian shares slipped about 1% to a five-week low. "We are lowering our exposure to global equities to the range we consider 'underweight'," Morgan Stanley's London-based strategist Andrew Sheets … [Read more...] about Asian shares fall as bets off on sharp U.S. rate cuts
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Hardliners target Iran’s president as US pressure grows
GENEVA: Growing US pressure on Iran has weakened pragmatic President Hassan Rouhani and made his hardline rivals more assertive at home and abroad, recent developments show.When he succeeded firebrand leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in 2013, Rouhani was seen as an establishment figure who would do little to end Iran's long standoff with the West. Two years later, his administration signed the nuclear deal with six world powers that spurred hopes for wider political change.Rouhani's authority is now waning: his brother, a key adviser on the 2015 deal, has been sentenced to jail on unspecified corruption charges, a hardline rival heads the judiciary and his government is under fire for responding too softly to US President Donald Trump's sanctions squeeze.Trump has said lifting sanctions in return for curbs on Iran's nuclear programme did not stop Tehran meddling in neighbouring states or developing ballistic missile capabilities and Rouhani's outreach to the West was a fig leaf.Yet … [Read more...] about Hardliners target Iran’s president as US pressure grows
Asian shares fall after U.S. blacklists China’s Huawei
Asian shares fell on Thursday after the United States hit Chinese telecoms giant Huawei with severe sanctions, threatening to further strain Sino-U.S. trade ties. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan slid 0.2%, hovering not far off its lowest since late January. Japan's Nikkei dropped 0.6%, with banks hurt by weak earnings, while South Korean shares also lost 0.6% and Chinese blue chips were down 0.2%. Asian shares had steadied in early trade on news that U.S. President Donald Trump was planning to delay tariffs on auto imports, providing much-needed relief to markets hit by a flare-up in trade tensions and weak U.S. and Chinese economic data. Bucking the downtrend, Australian stocks held steady as weaker-than-expected local job data supported expectations for a central bank rate cute. The U.S. Commerce Department said late on Wednesday it was adding Huawei Technologies Co Ltd and 70 affiliates to its "Entity List" - a move that bans the company from acquiring … [Read more...] about Asian shares fall after U.S. blacklists China’s Huawei
U.S.-China trade talks to resume despite Trump’s tariff threat
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By Keith Bradsher The New York Times Ana Swanson Tues., May 7, 2019 China’s top trade negotiator is heading to Washington for two days of trade talks, despite President Donald Trump’s threat to impose new tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars’ worth of Chinese goods. China’s Commerce Ministry announced Tuesday that Vice Premier Liu He, one of the country’s leading economic policy-makers, would join a delegation of Chinese officials who will hold further trade talks Thursday and Friday with the Trump administration. Liu is a close adviser and confidant of President Xi Jinping, China’s top leader, and his participation could improve the changes of striking a deal. Still, the atmosphere surrounding the trade talks has shifted dramatically since a week ago, when this week’s discussions were seen as a possible last round before the two sides halted a trade war that has made world markets shudder and thrown a damper on the … [Read more...] about U.S.-China trade talks to resume despite Trump’s tariff threat
Bank of Canada continues to prove it can adapt to changing economic conditions
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By David Olive Business Columnist Sun., April 28, 2019 The Bank of Canada (BoC), which last week left its key lending rate unchanged at 1.75 per cent, is under fire for errant forecasts, causing some to wonder about its current projections for a Canadian economic rebound in the second half of this year. GDP was expected to grow at an annual rate of 2.3 per cent in Q4 2018 and by 0.8 per cent in Q1 2019. But the actual numbers came in at 0.4 per cent and 0.3 per cent, respectively, which got some analysts worrying about a recession. The BoC was overly optimistic about growing strength in exports and business investment, neither of which picked up as expected. “We were trying to capture something that is quite ephemeral, business sentiment, which translates into investment decisions,” Stephen Poloz, the BoC governor, said last week. The second-half rebound the BoC now forecasts is based on an expected housing-market recovery, wage gains and a revival … [Read more...] about Bank of Canada continues to prove it can adapt to changing economic conditions