(Reuters) – The U.S. Federal Reserve on Wednesday raised interest rates by a widely expected 25 basis points and dropped from its policy statement language saying that it “anticipates” further rate increases would be needed. The Fed Funds target rate now stands in the 5%-5.25% range, following 500 bps of hikes since March 2022. Money…
By Marwa Rashad LONDON (Reuters) – Global gas markets are gradually rebalancing but are expected to remain tight in 2023 amid lower Russian pipeline gas deliveries to Europe, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Thursday. The European and global gas markets suffered a major supply shock in 2022 when Russia reduced its pipeline gas…
HANOI (Reuters) – Vietnam on Thursday raised its average retail electricity price by 3%, the government said, in a move that could put upward pressure on inflation. Annual inflation in the Southeast Asian country has been easing since the beginning of the year, with April consumer prices rising 2.81% from a year earlier. The government…
(Reuters) -PacWest Bancorp said on Thursday that it has been approached by several potential partners and investors, and that those talks are ongoing as it continues to evaluate all options to maximize shareholder value. The Los Angeles-based lender said it has explored strategic asset sales, including moving its $2.7 billion lender finance loan portfolio to…
(Reuters) – PacWest Bancorp said on Thursday that it is exploring strategic asset sales, including moving the $2.7 billion lender finance loan portfolio to held-for-sale in the first quarter. The bank has not experienced out-of-the-ordinary deposit flows following the sale of First Republic Bank to JPMorgan Chase & Co, PacWest added. (Reporting by Shivani Tanna…
A look at the day ahead in European and global markets from Vidya Ranganathan. The spotlight moves swiftly from the Fed’s “possible pause or pivot” message overnight to the European Central Bank, where the direction of rates is not in question. It will be a seventh rate rise for the ECB, the central bank for…
HONG KONG (Reuters) – HSBC will raise its Hong Kong dollar best lending rate from 5.625% to 5.75% with effect from Friday, the bank said in a statement on Thursday, following the territory’s central bank hiking its base rate by 25 basis points. (Reporting by Selena Li; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)
By Leika Kihara (Reuters) -The International Monetary Fund on Thursday warned of “uncertainty” around the direction of Japan’s monetary policy, saying a possible shift from ultra-low interest rates could have a significant impact on global financial markets. Krishna Srinivasan, director of the IMF’s Asia and Pacific Department, also pointed to risks surrounding Asia’s economic outlook…
By Ellen Zhang and Ryan Woo BEIJING (Reuters) -China’s factory activity unexpectedly contracted in April as orders fell and poor domestic demand dragged on the sprawling manufacturing sector, a private survey showed on Thursday, imperilling the broader economic outlook for the second quarter. The Caixin/S&P Global manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) fell to 49.5 in…
