2024-11-24 21:57
Nov 25 (Reuters) - A look at the day ahead in Asian markets. Emerging market investors will be hoping the final trading week of November brings more joy than the moves they have seen in recent weeks, but it is becoming increasingly difficult for shafts of light to pierce the thickening gloom. America's divergence with the rest of the world - manifested in the strength of the U.S. dollar, the relentless rally on Wall Street and the significant rise in Treasury yields - is becoming more entrenched by the week. The dollar has risen eight weeks in a row and on Friday hit a two-year high. According to analysts at TD Securities, U.S. funds in the past 13 weeks have captured over 70% of all developed market bond fund inflows and nearly 90% of all DM equity fund inflows. While that will eventually pose issues for the incoming Trump administration in terms of how a soar-away dollar fits with President-elect Donald Trump's desire for a weaker currency and lower interest rates, Asian and emerging markets are feeling the heat right now. Dedicated EM bond and equity funds posted combined outflows for a sixth straight week, according to Barclays analysts, a trend they expect to continue in the coming weeks. TD Securities analysts note that more than half of the EM equity outflow last week was from China alone. In the current environment of heightened geopolitical tensions, any pullback in the dollar will just be seen as a better level to go long, Barclays team reckons. Sentiment towards EM assets is poor. The MSCI emerging market and Asia ex-Japan indexes have fallen in five of the past seven weeks. Time to buy the dip? If so, it would surely have happened last week as these two benchmark indexes came off the back of weekly declines of around 4.5%, their steepest losses since June 2022. But they couldn't rebound more than 0.5%, an indication that investors are in no hurry to get back in. And looking ahead to next year, strategists at SocGen have cut their emerging market exposure by five percentage points to just 6%, citing the fallout from U.S. onshoring policies as well as relative growth, rates and carry dynamics that all support the US over EM. Market liquidity next week will be lighter than usual with U.S. markets observing the Thanksgiving holiday later in the week. The local calendar is fairly light on top-tier indicators and events too. Highlights include rate decisions from the central banks of New Zealand , opens new tab and South Korea, GDP figures from India and Taiwan, and the latest Chinese purchasing managers index data. All that is later in the week. Monday's docket includes retail sales and trade figures from New Zealand, inflation from Singapore, and industrial production from Taiwan. Here are key developments that could provide more direction to markets on Monday: - New Zealand retail sales, - Investor reaction to U.S. president-elect Donald Trump's Treasury Secretary pick - Bank of England's Lombardelli, Dhingra speak Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/asia/global-markets-view-asia-graphic-2024-11-24/
2024-11-24 21:24
SYDNEY, Nov 25 (Reuters) - The Australian government on Monday will introduce legislation to implement production tax incentives for renewable hydrogen and critical minerals to help boost investment in the sector, which could play a major role in energy transition plans. The proposed law will set up a tax incentive worth 10% of relevant processing and refining costs for 31 critical minerals from the fiscal year ending June 2028 to the 2039-40 fiscal year, for up to 10 years per project, the government said. For renewable hydrogen, the planned legislation will establish a tax incentive worth A$2 ($1.31) per kilogram of renewable hydrogen produced during the same period. "The legislation will give investors clarity and certainty to invest in Australia's potential to add more value to its natural resources, and help deliver cheaper and cleaner energy," Treasurer Jim Chalmers said in a statement. The incentives will be provided once projects are up and running, producing hydrogen or processing critical minerals used in products like wind turbines, solar panels and electric cars, Chalmers said. Major economies are seeking to invest billions to support clean energy projects and compete with China in manufacturing electric vehicles and semiconductors, seen as vital for prosperity and national security. Australia's centre-left Labor government in its May budget pledged to introduce tax incentives worth A$7 billion for the processing and refining of critical minerals and A$6.7 billion for renewable hydrogen production from 2027/2028 to 2039/40. ($1 = 1.5314 Australian dollars) Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/australia-propose-tax-incentives-critical-minerals-2024-11-24/
2024-11-24 19:07
LA PAZ, Bolivia, Nov 24 (Reuters) - Heavy rainfall in Bolivia over Saturday night caused the Pasajahuira river to overflow, flooding the neighborhood of Bajo Llojeta on the outskirts of La Paz and leaving many people trapped in their homes awaiting rescue teams. "There was screaming and terrible desperation," Bajo Llojeta's municipal president, Julieta Clavijo, told Reuters. "A 4-year-old girl is missing and her parents are desperate. People had to leave their houses through the roofs because there was no other way to get out because the mud was already too deep," Clavijo said. Civil defense vice minister Juan Carlos Calvimontes confirmed that rescue teams were searching for a young girl. At least 26 people have been injured and more than 40 houses damaged by the flood, according to local authorities. Some 300 military personnel were deployed to help evacuate residents and clean up the area. President Luis Arce also visited the community and vowed to carry out "all the work necessary" the restore the area and open an investigation into the causes of the disaster. "It cannot remain like this," he said. "My house is flooded and the mud keeps rising," said local resident Andrea Quispe. "We need more help, more equipment, this help is not enough. We still have time to save my house but no one is helping me." Heavy rainfall aggravated by late-season tropical storms has also ravaged Central America, cutting off entire communities in Honduras and destroying swathes of Costa Rica's coffee crop. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/bolivias-heavy-rains-cause-river-flood-homes-near-la-paz-2024-11-24/
2024-11-24 11:09
DUBAI, Nov 24 (Reuters) - Iran will hold talks about its disputed nuclear programme with three European powers on Nov. 29 , the Iranian foreign ministry said on Sunday, days after the U.N. atomic watchdog passed a resolution against Tehran. Iran reacted to the resolution - proposed by Britain, France, Germany and the United States - with what government officials called various measures such as activating numerous new and advanced centrifuges, machines that enrich uranium. Japan's Kyodo news agency, which first reported that the meeting would take place on Friday in Geneva, said Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian's government was seeking a solution to the nuclear impasse ahead of the inauguration in January of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump. A senior Iranian official confirmed that the meeting would go ahead next Friday, adding: "Tehran has always believed that the nuclear issue should be resolved through diplomacy. Iran has never left the talks." Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei later said the deputy foreign ministers of Iran, France, Germany and Britain would take part in the talks, which he said would cover regional issues as well as the nuclear dossier. Baghaei did not say where the talks would take place. A spokesperson for the Swiss foreign ministry directed questions to the countries named in the Kyodo report. "Views will be exchanged ... on a range of regional discussions and subjects including the issues of Palestine, Lebanon and also the nuclear subject", Baghaei said. In 2018, the then-Trump administration exited Iran's 2015 nuclear pact with six major powers and reimposed harsh sanctions on Iran, prompting Tehran to violate the pact's nuclear limits, with moves such as rebuilding stockpiles of enriched uranium, refining it to higher fissile purity and installing advanced centrifuges to speed up output. Indirect talks between President Joe Biden's administration and Tehran to try to revive the pact have failed, but Trump said during his election campaign in September: "We have to make a deal, because the consequences are impossible. We have to make a deal". Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/iran-hold-nuclear-talks-with-three-european-powers-geneva-friday-kyodo-reports-2024-11-24/
2024-11-24 10:44
DUESSELDORF, Germany, Nov 24 (Reuters) - An expert opinion on the financial needs of Thyssenkrupp's (TKAG.DE) , opens new tab crisis-hit steel division has given a positive view on its ability to continue as a going concern, the parent company said on Sunday. Thyssenkrupp said in a written response to a Reuters query that on the basis of the report, the parent company had made a financing commitment to secure the liquidity of the steel business for the next two years. "This means that there is now clarity regarding the financing situation of the steel division," said the company in its written response, confirming a report in Der Spiegel weekly. Thyssenkrupp has commissioned two external reports to take a deep look at the steel business's short- and long-term financial health and needs. The first review will feed into the second report, which will be used for future decisions on the steel division and is due next year. Earlier this month, Thyssenkrupp said it had written down the value of its steel division by another 1 billion euros ($1.04 billion), blaming the sector's worsening outlook mainly on weak demand and Asian competition. Thyssenkrupp is pursuing a 50:50 steel joint venture with Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky but is seeking talks with other steelmakers in case that falls though after previous attempts to sell the division have failed in recent years. ($1 = 0.9600 euros) Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/experts-give-positive-update-thyssenkrupp-steel-reports-spiegel-2024-11-24/
2024-11-24 09:05
Nov 24 (Reuters) - U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's pick for Commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick, is in talks to deepen his financial ties with the company operating the world's largest stablecoin, Tether, by launching a $2 billion project to lend dollars to clients against bitcoin, Bloomberg News reported on Sunday. Lutnick's financial services firm, Cantor Fitzgerald, is discussing receiving support from Tether to help fund the project, which could potentially reach tens of billions of dollars, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter. "Tether Investments is looking to use part of the profits generated in the past years for different opportunities", Tether said in an e-mailed response to Reuters. Cantor Fitzgerald did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment outside business hours. Tether uses Cantor to hold billions of dollars worth of Treasuries that support the value of its stablecoin in a relationship that helps Lutnick's firm earn tens of millions of dollars annually, Bloomberg reported. Stablecoins are digital tokens designed to keep a constant value, and are backed by traditional currencies such as the U.S. dollar or euro. Earlier this week, Trump said he would nominate Lutnick to lead his trade and tariff strategy as head of the Commerce Department. Lutnick would also have "additional direct responsibility" for the U.S. Trade Representative's office. Lutnick has been known to promote the adoption of cryptocurrency. The Commerce Department oversees a sprawling array of functions with nearly 47,000 employees, from the U.S. Census Bureau to weather forecasting, ocean navigation and investment promotion. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/trump-pick-lutnicks-firm-talks-with-tether-2-billion-bitcoin-lending-project-2024-11-24/
