2023-11-27 11:03

BEIJING, Nov 27 (Reuters) - Northeast China, which borders Russia and North Korea, was hit by unusually cold weather on Monday, with sub-freezing temperatures in some cities expected to further plummet to levels seen more typically in January. Harbin, capital of Heilongjiang province, will brace for temperatures as low as minus 25 Celsius (minus 13 Fahrenheit) on Tuesday, and the weather will remain below freezing for the rest of the week, according to national weather forecasters. So far this month, precipitation, be it snow, sleet or freezing rain, has blanketed the northeastern Chinese provinces of Heilongjiang, Jilin and Liaoning. Precipitation in most areas has been more than twice that of the same period in normal years, Chinese meteorologists say. Precipitation at many weather stations including the three provincial capitals of Harbin, Changchun and Shenyang has shattered previous records, following one of the warmest Octobers in decades under the influence of El Nino. With the successive arrivals of two cold air masses early this week, temperatures in northeast China could reach "three-nine or even four-nine levels," warned Chinese meteorologists, referring to dates on the Chinese almanac. Chinese farmers in the past divided the weeks after the Winter Solstice into nine nine-day periods ahead of spring ploughing. The first nine-day period, or "one-nine", begins on the Winter Solstice, which falls on Dec. 22 this year. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/northeast-china-unusually-cold-temperatures-dip-january-levels-2023-11-27/

2023-11-27 10:29

FRANKFURT, Nov 27 (Reuters) - Further subsidiaries of Austrian property group Signa are expected to file for insolvency as soon as this week, a person with direct knowledge of the matter said on Monday, amid a widening European property rout. Signa, which is an owner of New York's Chrysler Building as well as scores of high-profile projects and department stores across Germany, Austria and Switzerland, is controlled by Austrian magnate Rene Benko. Its difficulties make the group the biggest potential casualty of a property crash, triggered by the steepest rise in borrowing costs in the euro's 25-year history, that has hit Germany and Sweden hardest. Signa did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The group, which values its assets at 27 billion euros ($29 billion), is made up of numerous subsidiaries. It has borrowed heavily from banks, including Switzerland's Julius Baer, which revealed that it had an exposure of more than 600 million Swiss francs ($677.58 million). On Friday, Signa Real Estate Management filed for insolvency in a local court in Berlin, several people with knowledge of the matter said. The filing signaled a worsening of conditions for the group, which, according to another person with knowledge of the matter was seeking to secure fresh financing to see it through until year end. Construction has already halted at six Signa sites in Germany, including one of the country's tallest buildings, encompassing plans for nearly 200,000 square meters in space. It had been making steady progress this year on the planned 64-story Elbtower skyscraper in Hamburg, until it stopped paying the builder, who halted work. Germany, Europe's largest economy, is in the middle of a property crisis after a sharp rise in interest rates and building costs forced some developers into insolvency and put deals and construction on hold. ($1 = 0.9168 euros) ($1 = 0.8855 Swiss francs) ($1 = 0.8855 Swiss francs) https://www.reuters.com/business/signa-likely-make-further-insolvency-filings-source-2023-11-27/

2023-11-27 09:25

TOKYO, Nov 27 (Reuters) - Top finance officials from Japan and Britain exchanged views and analysis on current global and domestic economic challenges such as elevated inflation and volatile currency and financial markets, the officials said in a joint statement. The statement was issued following the fifth round of the Japan-UK financial dialogue held in Tokyo and led by Japanese vice finance minister for international affairs Masato Kanda and Lindsey Whyte, Britain's director-general of international finance. https://www.reuters.com/markets/japan-uk-discussed-global-inflation-volatile-fx-financial-markets-2023-11-27/

2023-11-27 08:44

ZURICH, Nov 27 (Reuters) - Julius Baer (BAER.S), which has been expected to write down some loans to troubled property group Signa, said on Monday it has nominal exposure totalling 606 million Swiss francs ($684.36 million) to a European conglomerate. The 606 million francs was extended over three loans to different entities within the conglomerate, the Swiss private bank said, without identifying the client. A source familiar with the matter told Reuters that the group was Signa. "The aggregate exposure towards this client group is secured by multiple collateral packages related to commercial real estate and luxury retail and is now subject to a longer-term restructuring," Julius Baer said in a statement. The exposure is the largest in the bank's private debt loan book, which amounted to 1.5 billion francs at the end of October, the bank said. "If and when appropriate, the Group will remain prudent in booking further valuation adjustments as required," Julius Baer said. A source told Reuters last week that Julius Baer has exposure to Signa and was expected to write down some of those loans. "We regret that a single exposure has led to the recent uncertainty for our stakeholders," Julius Baer CEO Philipp Rickenbacher said in Monday's statement, referring to recent speculation of Baer's exposure to Signa, which helped send the bank's shares down sharply last week. Financing is an inherent part of the wealth management proposition to Baer's clients, Rickenbacher said, but together with the board of directors, the private debt business and the framework in which it is conducted would be reviewed. Julius Baer shares were down 0.2% in Zurich as of 0837 GMT. Analysts said the disclosure should help reduce the headline risk and ease market fears of higher write-downs. Vontobel analyst Andreas Venditti said the key question is what collateral does the bank hold and how much is it still worth. Swiss newspaper SonntagsZeitung previously reported that Julius Baer gave Signa and the Central Group a credit of around 600 million francs to buy the up-market retailer Globus. Last week Baer's shares slumped to their lowest this year as the bank dampened profit expectations after loan provisions amounting to 82 million Swiss francs. Of the 82 million francs, 70 million francs were booked against its credit portfolio after Oct. 31, 2023, without identifying the loans in question. "The overall quality of the loan book and the balance sheet remains unaffected, with a consistently strong capitalisation and high liquidity providing ample capacity to absorb any risks resulting from the group's business," Julius Baer said in an interim update for the first 10 months of 2023. ($1 = 0.8855 Swiss francs) https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/julius-baer-has-606-million-francs-exposure-european-group-2023-11-27/

2023-11-27 07:01

Dollar index on track for worst monthly loss in a year Dollar set for biggest monthly fall versus yen since February U.S. new home sales fall more than expected in October U.S. rate futures price in 23% chance of rate cut in March ECB's Lagarde says too early to declare victory on inflation NEW YORK, Nov 27 (Reuters) - The U.S. dollar slid on Monday, on pace for its biggest monthly drop in a year, weighed down by expectations that the Federal Reserve is done hiking interest rates and could start cutting them by the first half of next year. The dollar index , which measures the currency against six major peers, slipped 0.2% to 103.20 and was headed for a monthly loss of more than 3%, its worst performance since November 2022. "Technically, the dollar index did enough damage over the last two weeks to really suggest a breakdown. So the dollar's heyday is done and we're now looking at a softer dollar," said Amo Sahota, director at FX consulting firm Klarity FX in San Francisco. "But we have to be careful here. If you get too aggressive on the softer dollar outlook primarily because you think U.S. rates are going to be cut, the Fed will have something to say about that." U.S. rate futures on Monday showed a roughly 23% chance that the Fed may begin easing monetary policy as early as March, according to the CME Group's FedWatch Tool. That probability rises to about 50% in May. Investors are also looking to a slew of events and data this week that could determine the future path of interest rates globally. A postponed OPEC+ meeting, the release of the Fed's preferred gauge of inflation - the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index - as well as consumer price data in the euro zone and Australia fill this week's calendar. The market is also eyeing a rate decision from the Reserve Bank of New Zealand and Chinese purchasing managers' index (PMI) data. In other currencies, the euro was up 0.2% against the dollar at $1.0953 . On the month, the euro has gained about 3.6%, on pace for its largest monthly rise in a year. Europe's single currency showed little reaction to ECB President Christine Lagarde's remarks saying that euro zone inflation pressures are easing but wage growth is still strong, so the ECB's fight to contain price growth is not yet done. Against the yen, the dollar fell 0.6% to 148.59 yen . For the month of November, the U.S. currency has fallen about 2%, set for its biggest monthly fall since February. The dollar extended losses after data showed U.S. new home sales fell more than expected in October, dropping 5.6% to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 679,000 units. September's sales pace was revised lower to 719,000 units from the previously reported 759,000 units. "I don't see much potential for a turnaround until later this week when Q3 GDP (gross domestic product) numbers are released Wednesday morning," said Helen Given, FX trader, at Monex USA in Washington. "If the U.S. economy can show sustained growth, rather than a sudden sharp downturn as some major economists have predicted, we could see a reversal and some dollar strength to end the month." Elsewhere, sterling rose to a more than two-month high of $1.2644, extending its gains from last week following data showing British companies unexpectedly reported a marginal return to growth in November after three months of contraction. The pound was last up 0.2% at $1.2628. The Australian dollar climbed to a more than a three-month high against the greenback of US$0.6614, while the New Zealand currency was up 0.3% at US$0.61 before the RBNZ interest rate decision on Wednesday. The RBNZ is expected to keep its official cash rate unchanged at 5.5%. In China, the yuan slipped after the official midpoint snapped five straight sessions of strengthening, with the onshore yuan last at 7.1528 per dollar. Its offshore counterpart fell 0.1% to 7.160 per dollar. In cryptocurrencies, bitcoin fell 1.6% to $36,881 . ======================================================== Currency bid prices at 3:37PM (2037 GMT) https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/sterling-steady-dollar-wobbles-markets-brace-post-thanksgiving-buzz-2023-11-27/

2023-11-27 06:59

TOKYO, Nov 27 (Reuters) - BP (BP.L) said on Monday it has entered Japan's power market after receiving approval from the industry ministry to operate as a retail electricity provider. BP, focused on transforming itself into an integrated energy company, said in a statement the move was part of its plan to expand its investment in several areas of growth, including renewable energy and electricity. The oil major, which has been a supplier of liquefied natural gas (LNG), oil, petroleum products and lubricants to Japan for more than 60 years, plans to expand into low-carbon energy in the coming decades as it seeks a business model that can survive the global transition from fossil fuels. BP Energy Japan (BPEJ), part of BP's trading and shipping division, will operate the new business, according to the statement. Further details of the company's business plan were not immediately available. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/bp-enters-japans-power-retail-market-2023-11-27/