WORLDWIDE : HEADLINES
BOJ’s Kuroda says economy to continue recovering from pandemic’s pain
TOKYO – Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said on Thursday the economy was starting to pick up and was likely to continue recovering thanks in part to the boost from fiscal and monetary stimulus measures.
“Once the impact of the coronavirus pandemic subsides globally, Japan’s economy is likely to continue improving further as overseas economies resume steady growth,” Kuroda said in a speech to a quarterly meeting of the BOJ’s branch managers.
Full coverage: REUTERS
Musk says Tesla to use new batteries, tech at Berlin factory; flags production risk
Tesla Inc TSLA.O Chief Executive Elon Musk said on Wednesday the company will produce Model Y with a new structural battery design and technology at its Berlin factory next year and that could result in a “significant production risk”.
The U.S. electric carmaker plans to manufacture a new version of its Model Y crossover vehicle, and possibly even battery cells at the site. Last month, Musk said that Tesla will use its Germany-based plant to demonstrate a radical overhaul of how its cars are built.
The company plans to start the production of Model Y at Gigafactory Berlin during the second half of 2021.
Full coverage: REUTERS
Fed could boost bond buys, but won’t for now, policymakers say
The Federal Reserve could ramp up its bond purchasing program to push down further on borrowing costs, but for now the U.S. economy’s most pressing need is for a new round of government spending, U.S. central bankers said on Wednesday.
“I think we have the capacity to do more asset purchases,” said Chicago Fed President Charles Evans, among the central bank’s most dovish policymakers. Even if it doesn’t buy more bonds, the Fed could ease policy by weighting its purchases to more longer-term securities, he added.
But long-term interest rates are already low, he said, and investors don’t appear to be losing faith in the Fed’s September promise to keep short-term rates near zero until the economy reaches full employment and inflation reaches 2% and looks set to rise further.
At some point the Fed will likely need to give explicit guidance on the future pace or type of asset purchases, Evans said, but “that’s not where we are, and it’s probably going to be the Spring until I have a better sense” of any next steps on the balance sheet.
Almost since the moment the Fed last month delivered its beefed-up promise to keep rates at zero for what could be years, attention has focused on whether the Fed would back up that promise by expanding its $7 trillion balance sheet at a faster pace.
Full coverage: REUTERS
WORLDWIDE : FINANCE / MARKETS
Dollar, yen sold as U.S. stimulus hopes boost sentiment
SINGAPORE – The safe-haven dollar and yen nursed losses on Thursday, after the revival of hopes for some U.S. spending improved investor sentiment and appetite for riskier currencies.
A flurry of late-Tuesday tweets from President Donald Trump, after he cancelled talks with Democrats over coronavirus relief, suggested he was open to piecemeal spending measures.
That lifted equity markets and commodity currencies and sank the safe-haven yen to a three-week low of 106.11 per dollar overnight. The dollar was weaker on most other majors.
The euro edged up 0.2% to $1.1767 and held there early in the Asia session. The risk-sensitive Australian dollar lifted off a one-week low and rose about 0.5% overnight to hold at $0.7137 in Asia. [AUD/]
With no fresh clues on stimulus, morning moves were slight and leaned in favour of the greenback. The New Zealand dollar slipped 0.4% after a central bank official said the bank was “actively working” on negative rates.
Full coverage: REUTERS
Asian shares to open higher on renewed U.S. stimulus hopes
NEW YORK – Asian shares were set to track Wall Street gains on Thursday, as renewed hopes for more U.S. stimulus helped restore investor confidence in the New York session.
U.S. President Donald Trump sent a flurry of late night tweets on Wednesday urging Congress to pass piece-meal aid packages for targeted industries, small business and consumers, backing off his earlier stance to unilaterally end negotiations.
Markets are also starting to price in a Democratic sweep during the U.S. election in November as new polls show former Vice President Joe Biden with a firm lead. Investors see such an outcome making the passage of a new stimulus bill more likely.
“Even if there was no slimmed down stimulus package, there is a greater chance of a larger stimulus package later,” National Australia Bank analyst Tapas Strickland said of a potential Biden victory.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 1.91%, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 1.74% and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added 1.88%.
MSCI’s gauge of stocks across the globe .MIWD00000PUS gained 1.05%.
Full coverage: REUTERS
Chevron tops Exxon Mobil market cap for first time
Chevron’s CVX.N market value leapfrogged that of Exxon Mobil XOM.N for the first time on Wednesday during a week in which it closed a $4.1 billion, all-stock deal for Noble Energy, a smaller oil and gas producer.
Chevron’s market cap ended the day around $142 billion, topping Exxon Mobil’s $141.65 billion market value at the end of trade, according to Refinitiv data and Chevron SEC filings pertaining to the Nobel deal.
Shares in Chevron closed up 2.047% on Wednesday and Exxon Mobile rose just 0.3%.
Chevron’s finances are stronger and its shares have performed better than its larger rival. It has shifted away from costly megaprojects favored by oil majors, and moved sooner this year to cut costs amid the coronavirus-induced sharp drop in oil and gas prices.
Full coverage: REUTERS
