By Francesco Canepa and Balazs Koranyi FRANKFURT (Reuters) -European Central Bank policymakers are leaning towards a half-percentage-point rate hike on Thursday, as the banking sector turmoil is dissipating, the euro zone economy is picking up strength and inflation is set to remain too high for years. Investors had begun to doubt the ECB’s commitment to…
By Dhara Ranasinghe LONDON (Reuters) – An uneasy calm descended on world markets on Wednesday, with efforts by regulators and financial executives to ease contagion fears sparked by the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) shoring up sentiment. But in a week that has seen banking shares around the world tank – the S&P 500…
STOCKHOLM (Reuters) -H&M, the world’s second-biggest fashion retailer, reported on Wednesday a smaller-than-expected increase in sales over the period December to February, in the latest sign it is struggling to compete with Zara-owner Inditex. Shares in H&M were down 6% in early trade, underperforming the wider Swedish market. Year-to-date they are still up 12%. …
BERLIN (Reuters) -BMW forecast on Wednesday an 8% to 10% margin for its autos segment in 2023, up from last year’s 7% to 9% target, and said it planned to keep prices stable, after years of dealing with rising costs by passing them on to customers. The transition to battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) was moving faster…
By Tom Westbrook SINGAPORE (Reuters) – The dollar was attempting to steady in Asia on Wednesday, as investors dialled back bets on U.S. rate cuts and fear of a banking crisis ebbed – though a looming hike in Europe had the euro on a firm footing. The European Central Bank meets on Thursday and markets…
A look at the day ahead in European and global markets from Ankur Banerjee The relief rally in the market will be tested when British finance minister Jeremy Hunt presents the UK spring budget as he tries to speed up the world’s sixth-biggest economy, with business lobbies clamouring for sweeteners. Hunt, who was drafted in…
BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s property investment fell at a slower pace over the first two months of 2023, official data showed on Wednesday, showing signs of improvement buoyed by a slew of supportive policies though buyers and developers remain cautious. The property investment fell 5.7% year-on-year in January-February, after a 12.2% slump in December, according…
By Yuka Obayashi and Florence Tan TOKYO (Reuters) – Oil prices rebounded more than 1% on Wednesday, recovering from the previous day’s plunge, as a stronger OPEC outlook on China’s demand helped offset bearish global investor sentiment in the wake of the recent U.S. bank failures. Brent crude futures climbed 93 cents, or 1.2%, to…
SEOUL (Reuters) – Samsung Electronics Co Ltd on Wednesday said it will invest around 300 trillion won ($230 billion) by 2042 to develop what the government called the world’s largest chip-making base, in line with efforts to enhance South Korea’s chip industry. The amount makes up most of the 550 trillion won in private-sector investment…
SHANGHAI/HONG KONG (Reuters) – The collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) will not impact China’s financial system but offers an important lesson for the country’s banking industry, the official Securities Times said in an editorial on Wednesday. An SVB-style bank failure is unlikely to happen in China but the incident would have “important implications for…
