2024-05-26 21:49
May 27 (Reuters) - A look at the day ahead in Asian markets. Trading volume and activity across Asia on Monday will be among the lightest this year owing to the U.S. and UK public holidays, but markets are open and there is no shortage of issues for investors to chew on. The economic calendar sees the release of Chinese industrial profits figures for April and trade data from Hong Kong, while South Korea hosts a trilateral meeting in Seoul with China and Japan. With the world's two biggest FX trading centers London and New York both closed, yen traders may be on intervention alert. Japan's last two suspected bouts of yen-buying action recently came in extremely illiquid hours of the global day, one of which was May 1 when many countries' markets were shut. The dollar is back up at 157.00 yen, and the latest Commodity Futures Trading Commission figures show that after three weeks of reducing short yen positions, speculators are now loading up on them again. Could Tokyo be tempted to catch the market off guard again? While trading volume will be thin in Asia on Monday, the global investment backdrop remains constructive. Although bond yields are rising and central banks' are leaning increasingly hawkish, markets remain buoyant. In large part, this is being led by U.S. developments - strong earnings, solid growth and extremely subdued volatility. Indeed, a key driver of the bullish momentum globally is the low level of volatility. The Chinese investment picture, of course, is less rosy, and perhaps not coincidentally, China-Taiwan tensions are rising. Downward pressure on the yuan's exchange rate appears to be building again. The spot yuan just had its biggest weekly fall against the dollar since mid-March, and the central bank's daily dollar/yuan fixing rate on Friday was above 7.1100 for the first time since January. Foreign direct investment into China in January-April plunged nearly 28% from the same period last year, and Goldman Sachs analysts estimate that FX outflows in April accelerated to $86 billion from a $39 billion outflow in March. While many benchmark equity indexes around the world have shot to new highs recently, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng rebounded as much as 20%, Chinese stocks have found the going much tougher. And China's economic surprises index has continued to inch lower in recent weeks too - on Friday it slipped to its lowest level since February 8. All that comes despite Beijing taking fresh steps to address the property sector crisis. The week ahead is a quiet one in terms of Chinese economic indicators, but April industrial profits on Monday is a big one for investors. Profits fell in March, complementing a slew of economic indicators for the month such as retail sales and industrial output that pointed to frail domestic demand. Here are key developments that could provide more direction to markets on Monday: - South Korea, Japan, China trilateral meeting - China industrial profits (April) - Hong Kong trade (April) Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/asia/global-markets-view-asia-graphic-pix-2024-05-26/
2024-05-26 20:31
MEXICO CITY, May 26 (Reuters) - The third heat wave suffocating dozens of states in Mexico could give way on Sunday to torrential rains, hail and even whirlwinds during the afternoon in the center of the country, meteorologists said. The warning came after the capital registered another record-breaking maximum of 34.7 Celsius (94.5 Fahrenheit) the day before. The state National Water Commission (Conagua) reported that eight Mexican states will face intense rains, but that areas such as the State of Mexico, Hidalgo, Puebla and Querétaro could receive gusts of winds and tornadoes between 50 and 70 kilometers (31 to 43 miles) per hour and the possible formation of vortices. At least a dozen cities in Mexico have already broken records for high temperatures in recent days, in a pressing heat wave that has caused at least 48 deaths from heat stroke and dehydration in two months, according to the Ministry of Health. The intense heat has caused blackouts for several hours in some areas of Mexico, mainly the north, and has led to the suspension of classes in states such as San Luis Potosi, in the center of the country, where this week thermometers reached again 50 degrees Celsius. Mexico City, located in a valley and with a population of more than 10 million inhabitants, has already broken temperature records three times so far this summer season, in the midst of a persistent drought that continues to test the country's reservoirs of water and the electrical energy network. In the colonial city of Puebla, located about 80 kilometers from the capital, an unusual hailstorm and rain was recorded this week that caused destruction, flooding, falling trees and gusts of wind of up to 50 kilometers per hour, according to local authorities. "Because the third heat wave of the season will predominate over the national territory, maximum temperatures above 45 degrees Celsius are expected in Campeche, Chiapas, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Guerrero, northern Hidalgo, Jalisco and Michoacan," Conagua predicted . This week, researchers from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) had already warned that in the next 10 to 15 days the country "will experience the highest temperatures recorded in history," which will worsen levels of pollutants in the affected areas due to the presence of ozone. The heat is also worsening the effects of the drought, which already impacts more than 70% of the country to varying extents, according to CONAGUA data, with almost a third of the country affected by extreme drought, which can be lethal. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/experts-warn-hail-whirlwinds-mexico-after-new-heat-record-capital-2024-05-26/
2024-05-26 17:09
DUBAI, May 26 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia is planning a multi-billion-dollar share sale in energy giant Aramco (2222.SE) New Tab, opens new tab as soon as June in what would be one of the region's biggest stock deals, two people familiar with the matter said. The offering could raise around $10 billion, one of the people said. The preparations are ongoing and the details could still change, the sources said, who were speaking on condition of anonymity because the matter is private. The shares will be listed in Riyadh and it will be a fully marketed offering rather than an accelerated sale over a few days, they added. "Decisions about share sales are matters for our shareholders and are not something we are able to comment on," Aramco said. The government's communication office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Banks including Citigroup (C.N) New Tab, opens new tab, Goldman Sachs (GS.N) New Tab, opens new tab and HSBC (HSBA.L) New Tab, opens new tab had previously been lined up to manage the sale, Reuters has reported. Saudi Arabia has embarked on an economic transition known as Vision 2030, which puts an expanded private sector and non-oil growth at the center of its future development. The Saudi government remains overwhelmingly Aramco's biggest shareholder, with a 90% stake, and heavily relies on its payouts. Aramco expects to pay $31 billion in dividends, the company said earlier this month, despite reporting lower earnings for the first quarter amid lower oil prices and volumes sold. Since its initial public offering in 2019, the world's biggest IPO, Aramco shares have risen from an IPO price of 32 riyals to a high of 38.64 riyals a year ago. Its shares closed at 29.95 riyals on Thursday. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/deals/saudi-arabia-plans-aramco-share-sale-soon-june-sources-say-2024-05-24/
2024-05-26 11:47
TBILISI, May 26 (Reuters) - Flooding caused by heavy rain and rivers bursting their banks in Armenia and Georgia has killed three people, cut off villages and prompted the evacuation of hundreds of residents from their homes, media reports in the region said. Russia's Defence Ministry was sending troops to tackle the flooding in response to an Armenian request, it said in a post on the Telegram messaging app. Russia's TASS news agency quoted Armenia's Interior Ministry as saying the death toll had risen to three in villages on the Debed River near the border with Georgia. TASS quoted the ministry as saying hundreds of homes had been flooded and 230 rescue workers had been dispatched to the area. Video footage in Marneuli and Bolnisi in Georgia showed submerged streets and stranded vehicles. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan visited the flood zone on Sunday, TV footage showed. Georgia's Interpress news agency reported that at least 15 villages were cut off from the outside world due to heavy rainfall. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/one-dead-villages-cut-off-after-flooding-armenia-georgia-border-2024-05-26/
2024-05-26 11:32
ACCRA, May 26 (Reuters) - Ghana's cocoa regulator will borrow up to $1.5 billion by September to finance 2024/25 cocoa purchases and compensate for low output, two COCOBOD sources with knowledge of the arrangement said on Sunday. The world's second-largest cocoa producer after neighbouring Ivory Coast uses an annual syndicated loan to finance bean purchases from farmers. It is usually agreed at the start of the season in September. But this year's $800 million loan faced delays due to low cocoa output so far this season. COCOBOD has since withdrawn $600 million and cancelled the remainder as the season's cocoa output is seen almost 40% below forecast – unable to guarantee the full loan. "A request for proposal sent to banks indicates COCOBOD will borrow up to $1.5 billion next season. It is understood the banks are sizing it and together (with COCOBOD), they will decide an optimal amount," said one COCOBOD source. A second COCOBOD source said they were confident the syndication would go through. At least one international bank has been to Ghana to inspect cocoa farms before deciding on the offer, while another is scheduled to visit next month, the same source said. Production is expected to recover to 810,000 metric tons next season, the sources said, asking not to be named because they have not been allowed to speak to media. COCOBOD did not respond to a request for comment. Ghana's cocoa production has been affected by adverse weather, disease and cocoa smuggling. It is expected to be almost 40% below target in the 2023/24 season, according to COCOBOD. The sector regulator said it lost about 150,000 tons of cocoa beans to smuggling and illegal gold mining known locally as galamsey in the 2022/23 season. It expects even greater losses this season as a global rise in cocoa prices is an incentive for more smuggling. Swollen shoot virus wiped out around 590,000 hectares of farmland between 2018 and 2024, according to COCOBOD. One source said they were confident Ghana would still meet next season's target of 810,000 tons as the weather is expected to improve, and rehabilitated cocoa farms will boost output. Ghana's cocoa export revenue fell nearly 50% year-on-year in the first four months of the year, central bank data showed this week. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/ghanas-cocobod-borrow-up-15-bln-202425-cocoa-purchases-sources-say-2024-05-26/
2024-05-26 10:48
May 26 (Reuters) - Search teams on Sunday picked through wreckage left by tornado-spawning thunderstorms that swept the U.S. Southern Plains and Ozarks, killing at least 14 people and wrecking hundreds of buildings as forecasters warned of more severe weather over the holiday weekend. In Indiana, storms delayed Sunday's scheduled start of the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, or Indy 500, the premier U.S. auto racing event traditionally held over the Memorial Day weekend. At least seven people perished and nearly 100 were injured on Saturday night when a powerful tornado struck communities in north Texas near the Oklahoma border, Governor Greg Abbott said at a news conference the next day. He said two children, aged 2 and 5 from a single family, were among the dead in and around the tiny Cooke County town of Valley View, which bore the brunt of the twister. More than 200 homes and other structures were listed as destroyed, with another 120 buildings damaged in a zone that stretched over 50 miles, Abbott said. Dozens of motorists abandoned their vehicles on a highway and fled to a nearby truck stop seeking shelter as the twister struck. According to Abbott, about 125 people took cover inside the gasoline station as the tornado shredded the facility. Everyone there survived, but it took rescue teams about an hour to free scores who were trapped in the wreckage. "I was just waiting for it to pick us up or slam something on top of us," Elizabeth Hernandez, who had huddled inside a restroom in the building, recalled in an interview with Dallas television station WFAA. "I don't know how that didn't kill us." MOBILE HOMES 'COMPLETELY GONE' A National Weather Service official said the Valley View tornado packed top winds of 135 miles per hour. Multiple twisters hit the region, but the precise number had yet to be determined, she said. As the scale of the disaster came into fuller view on Sunday, officials were wrapping up initial search-and-rescue operations, the governor said. He said authorities would make one final sweep of damaged buildings for possible additional victims but that nobody else was reported missing by day's end. Cooke County Sheriff Ray Sappington said some of the many trailer homes in the area were "completely gone" after the storm. Video footage from the aftermath of the disaster showed wide swaths of homes and other buildings in shambles or reduced to piles of rubble, with vehicles smashed and trees uprooted or stripped of limbs and foliage. A tornado also crossed into Denton County, northwest of Dallas, on Saturday night, damaging homes and other property, and knocking down power lines. Officials said that "a number of individuals" with injuries were transported to area hospitals. More than 450,000 utility customers were without electricity across a 10-state region on Sunday stretching from Texas to Michigan, according to the website poweroutages.us. Officials in Arkansas also reported at least three storm-related fatalities from late Saturday, including a 73-year-old woman in Baxter county. Responding authorities described roads closed and clogged with debris, downed trees and power lines, homes and businesses destroyed, as well as numerous injuries. Storms caused widespread damage and at least two deaths on Saturday night in parts of Oklahoma. On Sunday, as storms shifted to the northeast, unleashing more extreme weather across the U.S. heartland, a landscaper was killed by a tree toppled in winds that gusted to 80 mph in Louisville, Kentucky, police said. The Weather Service warned of additional storms moving through the Ohio and Tennessee valleys, bringing a mix of damaging winds, large hail and more tornadoes, as well as heavy downpours capable of triggering flash floods. As Texas residents struggled to regain their footing from a night of thunderstorms and tornadoes, excessive heat warnings and heat advisories were posted on Sunday across the southern tier of the state and along the Gulf Coast into most of Louisiana. The latest bout of extreme weather came just days after a powerful tornado ripped through a rural Iowa town, killing four people, and more twisters touched down in Texas last week. Meanwhile, the U.S. was preparing for what government forecasters have called a potentially "extraordinary" 2024 Atlantic hurricane season beginning June 1. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/tornadoes-hit-texas-arkansas-oklahoma-killing-least-2-texas-nyt-reports-2024-05-26/
