By Michael S. Derby (Reuters) – Federal Reserve meeting minutes from the June policy gathering to be released on Wednesday are likely to show an active debate among policymakers who still on balance appear inclined to support more action to tame inflation. The meeting minutes, due at 2 p.m. EDT (1800 GMT), will arrive after…
By Jason Xue and Summer Zhen SHANGHAI/HONG KONG (Reuters) -Chinese banking shares listed in Hong Kong tumbled on Wednesday after Goldman Sachs downgraded top lenders including Agricultural Bank of China (AgBank) in a report that deepened worries over a sector already suffering from a weak economy. The Hang Seng Mainland Banks Index tumbled 3.6% to…
By Nicolás Misculin BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) – Argentina’s election race is narrowing into a two-horse race, polling ahead of the Aug. 13 primary vote shows, with the ruling Peronist coalition’s choice of a centrist candidate defusing some of the threat from far-right libertarian Javier Milei. Pollsters have the main conservative opposition bloc’s top two candidates,…
By Asif Shahzad ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Wednesday that he hoped the $3 billion short-term bailout for Pakistan would be given final approval by the International Monetary Fund board when it meets on July 12. After eight months of negotiations, both sides signed a staff-level agreement on Friday, to avert…
By Orathai Sriring and Kitiphong Thaichareon BANGKOK (Reuters) – Thailand’s annual headline inflation unexpectedly rose in June but at its slowest pace in 22 months, and the commerce ministry on Wednesday lowered its forecast for consumer price rises for the whole year. The headline consumer price index (CPI) increased 0.23% in June from a year…
(Reuters) – Russia’s finance ministry said on Wednesday it would sell 1.7 billion roubles’ ($18.9 million) worth of foreign currency a day between July 7 and Aug. 4, a decrease in the volume of daily operations from the previous month. After a hiatus of several months, Russia resumed foreign currency interventions in January, selling yuan…
FRANKFURT (Reuters) -Euro zone consumers in May cut their inflation expectations again for the following 12 months, although they still saw prices growing faster than the European Central Bank (ECB) would like for years to come, a new ECB poll showed on Wednesday. The ECB’s monthly Consumer Expectations Survey, which also showed modest expectations for…
By Andrea Shalal WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Janet Yellen’s first trip to China as U.S. Treasury Secretary will focus on recalibrating ties between the world’s two largest economies as military communications remain frozen and Beijing’s new restrictions on exports of some metals spark fresh tensions. U.S. officials say they expect “candid” discussions during Yellen’s July 6-9 trip,…
(Reuters) -Britain’s new car sales jumped 25.8% year-on-year in June thanks to solid demand for electric vehicles (EV) from businesses and fleet buyers, an industry body said on Wednesday. The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said new car sales rose to 177,266 units last month, the 11th consecutive month of growth, though volumes…
By David Milliken LONDON (Reuters) – Growth in Britain’s private sector slowed sharply last month, despite businesses facing lower inflation, as higher Bank of England interest rates weighed on demand, a survey showed on Wednesday. The S&P Global/CIPS services Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for Britain dropped to 53.7 in June from May’s 55.2, in line…
