2026-01-20 16:14

Cboe Volatility Index hits eight-week high amid tariff threats US dollar slips 0.6% against basket of peers Euro's implied volatility up, but below 52-week average NEW YORK, Jan 20 (Reuters) - Volatility measures across asset classes rose on Tuesday as stocks, U.S. long-dated Treasuries, and the ‌U.S. dollar sold off sharply after President Donald Trump threatened to rekindle a trade war with Europe. On Monday, Trump's renewed tariff threats against European allies prompted a repeat of the so-called "Sell America" trade that emerged following last year's "Liberation Day" tariff announcement in April, with investors shying away from U.S. assets. Sign up here. Wall Street's most-watched gauge of investor anxiety, ‌the Cboe Volatility Index (.VIX) , opens new tab, jumped as much as 1.9 points to an eight-week high of 20.69. The options-based index was last up 0.28 points to 19.12. The S&P 500 Index (.SPX) , opens new tab was down 1.1% at 6,859. "We've certainly seen a meaningful reaction in the risk metrics, since Friday ... it's a very significant ‍shift," said Jim Carroll, senior wealth adviser and portfolio manager at Ballast Rock Private Wealth in Charleston, South Carolina. "But it's not, you know, hair on fire, kind of reaction at this point," he said. Some analysts had warned about a pickup in ⁠market volatility this week following the monthly equity options expiration on Friday. "It's pretty standard reaction to geopolitical ‍turmoil, take equity risk off table, buy gold, buy cash. And that's kind of what we're seeing," Alex Morris, CEO ‌and ‌CIO of F/m Investments. The VIX index has room to rise further before signaling extreme fear, Morris said. "We'd have to see (the VIX) go to 30 before anyone in the equity market would really start panicking," he said. In currency markets, the safe-haven dollar found few takers. It slipped 0.6% against a basket of peers to a more than ⁠two-week low. Even with Tuesday's ⁠surge in market volatility, investor expectations for FX fluctuations remained low by historical standards. "I suppose the moves 'feel' more severe than they might be in reality, simply since the market has been so moribund for so long now," said Michael Brown, market analyst at ‍online broker Pepperstone in London. One-month implied volatility for the euro jumped to its highest since November 24 at 6.03%, but was still well below its 52-week average reading of 7.1%, according to LSEG data. "You'd argue, on that basis, that there is hence room for volatility to continue to rise, especially if ‍this week doesn't yield much in terms of concrete progress towards Trump unwinding his latest tariff threat, and some off-ramps being found," Brown said. https://www.reuters.com/business/volatility-gauges-jump-tariff-threats-spook-investors-2026-01-20/

2026-01-20 14:21

BoE officials 'worry considerably' about market risk, Bailey says Dollar weakens, shares down and bond yields up on latest tension Bailey says investors consider if acts follow 'extreme' words LONDON, Jan 20 (Reuters) - The Bank of England must be "very alert" to geopolitical risks, Governor Andrew Bailey said on Tuesday as financial markets were thrown into fresh turmoil by U.S. President Donald Trump's stated desire to control Greenland and the risk of a trade war. Wall Street futures hit one-month lows, while the dollar entered a second day of declines and long-dated government bond yields rose sharply. Sign up here. Bailey, responding to lawmakers' questions, said geopolitical risks had risen over the past year, contributing to U.S. dollar weakness and record high gold prices, but the impact on markets and economic growth had been less than feared so far. "We worry considerably about how markets can react to those things. Market reactions have actually been more muted than we would have feared and expected," Bailey told the British parliament's Treasury Committee. Investors were having to balance "extreme" statements against their experience that such threats were generally not carried out, he said. Some investors have taken an approach of discounting Trump's public statements, known as "TACO", short for "Trump always chickens out". "I'm not saying I'm a believer in this sort of 'TACO trade' notion. But did the tariffs follow through to some of the more extreme things that were being said?" Bailey said. "After Liberation Day (tariff announcements) ... the U.S. authorities reconsidered. As a result, the market volatility that we saw ... calmed down." Asked how concerned the BoE was about Trump's pursuit of Greenland and trade tensions, Bailey said he did not want to say that specific issues could be a trigger for upheaval in the financial system. "But the level of geopolitical uncertainty and the level of geopolitical issues is obviously a big consideration," Bailey said. "We have to remain very alert to these things," he said. BoE Deputy Governor Dave Ramsden said that so far this year, yields on U.S., British and euro zone government bonds had been fairly stable, with Japanese government debt being the exception, due to domestic political factors. He rejected the suggestion from one lawmaker that any loss of confidence in U.S. government debt could boost demand for British government bonds. "Given our relative reserve currency statuses ... it would have negative consequences," he said. "Increasingly we are seeing that U.S. yields might rise and we see the consequence in our yields rising." British government bond yields rose sharply on Tuesday, mirroring a rise in U.S. borrowing costs. Thirty-year gilt yields were on course for their biggest daily jump since November 14. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/boards-policy-regulation/boes-bailey-says-geopolitics-trade-tensions-pose-financial-risks-2026-01-20/

2026-01-20 12:53

WASHINGTON, Jan 20 (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Tuesday it was not unreasonable to have a discussion on the practices of credit card companies and a number of things can be considered. "I think that there are a lot of things that we can look at with the credit cards in terms of their practices, in terms of their behaviors, and we'll see where that goes," Bessent said in an interview with CNBC from the World Economic Forum in Davos. Sign up here. President Donald Trump last week called for a one-year cap on credit card interest rates and Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren, a longtime consumer financial protection advocate, said the Republican president reached out to discuss the idea. "I would say that in terms of direction, that the president the administration, agree with many of Senator Warren's policies that the poorest members of society shouldn't pay the most," Bessent said. "But she wants to control credit. She wants to put in more regulation" that he said led to the failure of small and community banks. That has led to the opposite result, Bessent said. "But again, I think it is not unreasonable to have a discussion on the practices of these credit card companies," Bessent added. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/boards-policy-regulation/bessent-not-unreasonable-have-discussion-practices-credit-card-companies-2026-01-20/

2026-01-20 12:52

Jan 20 (Reuters) - Major shipping companies are devising strategies for a return to the Suez Canal after more than two years of disruptions due to security risks in the Red Sea. They have been rerouting vessels via longer, costlier routes around Africa since November 2023, following attacks on commercial ships by Yemen's Houthi forces, reportedly in solidarity with Palestinians during warfare in Gaza. Sign up here. A ceasefire agreement reached in October 2025 led some companies to explore resumption plans, though U.S. President Donald Trump's warnings of possible U.S. action in Iran have renewed some worries since December. Below are the latest updates: MAERSK (MAERSKb.CO) , opens new tab The Danish shipping company said in January it would resume sailings via the Red Sea and Suez Canal for one of its services this month, after two vessels tested the route in December and earlier in January. Maersk said its weekly service connecting the Middle East and India with the U.S. east coast will be first in the group's staggered return to the Suez route, starting on January 26 with a sailing departing Oman's port of Salalah. CMA CGM The world's third-largest container shipping line said on Tuesday it would re-route vessels on three of its services away from the Suez Canal due to global uncertainties, cutting back plans to expand transits. After a few sailings using naval escorts, CMA CGM had been preparing to expand its use of the route, sending two large container ships through the canal last month while aiming to start regular India-U.S. transits in January. HAPAG-LLOYD (HLAG.DE) , opens new tab German shipping company Hapag-Lloyd will not adjust its operations in the Red Sea for now, a spokesperson said in January shortly after Maersk said it would resume sailings there. The group's CEO said in December that the return of the shipping industry to the Suez Canal would be gradual and there would be a transition period of 60-90 days to adjust logistics and avoid sudden port congestion. WALLENIUS WILHELMSEN (WAWI.OL) , opens new tab The Norwegian car shipping group is still assessing the situation and will not resume sailing until certain conditions are met, a company spokesperson said in December. https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/what-are-shipping-companies-plans-return-suez-canal-2025-12-19/

2026-01-20 12:52

DUBAI, Jan 20 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia's 90-year-old King Salman chaired in person a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Saudi state TV reported, days after he left hospital where he was undergoing medical tests. King Salman, whose country is the world's largest oil exporter and a major U.S. ally in the Middle East, went to a hospital in Riyadh on Friday for medical tests and left on the same day. Sign up here. Saudi TV published a video dated January 20, showing the king chairing the cabinet and reading files with his ministers. Reuters could not independently verify the video. In the meeting, King Salman welcomed U.S. President Donald Trump's establishment of the Board of Peace, the state news agency reported. The Saudi king had received medical care for lung inflammation in 2024. https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/saudi-state-tv-says-king-salman-chairs-cabinet-days-after-leaving-hospital-2026-01-20/

2026-01-20 12:48

JAKARTA, Jan 20 (Reuters) - Indonesia has revoked permits of 28 companies for violations of environmental rules which led to floods in Northern Sumatra, a presidential spokesperson told a press conference on Tuesday. The permits were for forestry, plantation, and mining concessions covering 1 million hectares (2.47 million acres), presidential spokesperson Prasetyo Hadi said. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/indonesia-revokes-28-firms-permits-says-violations-led-floods-2026-01-20/