Consumer sentiment in the US weakened in early March with the University of Michigan’s (UoM) Consumer Confidence Index declining to 63.4 from 67 in February. This reading came in worse than the market expectation of 67. “Year-ahead inflation expectations receded from 4.1% in February to 3.8%, the lowest reading since …
Read More »SVB Financial seeks bankruptcy protection for reorganization
SVB Financial Group filed for a court-supervised restructuring under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Friday to seek purchasers for its assets, only days after its former affiliate Silicon Valley Bank was taken over by US regulators. The decision to seek bankruptcy protection comes after the company announced on March 13 …
Read More »China cuts reserve requirement ratio by 25 basis points amid lacklustre rebound
The Chinese central bank eased a key monetary policy instrument on Friday, attempting to boost an economy facing hurdles from a slowdown in its largest export markets. The People’s Bank of China announced a 25 basis point reduction in the reserve requirement ratio for major banks, which specifies how much …
Read More »The Kremlin: Russia decided to extend the grain agreement across the Black Sea by 60 days
The Kremlin said on Friday that Russia had decided to extend the grain deal across the Black Sea for 60 days, echoing earlier statements by the Foreign Ministry. Ukraine stated that the agreement, which will expire soon, must be fully renewed under the current terms, which provide for an extension …
Read More »European stocks rose after the decline of investor concerns about the banking sector
European stocks continued to recover for the second consecutive session on Friday, as measures taken by the United States and Europe to support banks calmed fears of an imminent collapse, but the European index was on track to record a decline for the second week in a row. The Stoxx …
Read More »Gold is heading for its best weekly performance since mid-November
Gold prices rose on Friday, supported by the weakness of the dollar, and are preparing for the largest weekly gains since mid-November, as the global banking crisis prompted investors to turn to the metal, which is considered a safe haven. And by 0313 GMT, gold in instant transactions rose 0.5 …
Read More »USD is falling as risk appetite improves
The dollar fell on Friday as risk appetite improved after authorities and banks in key markets moved to ease pressure on the financial system, calming other major currencies that had fallen earlier in the week in the wake of banking turmoil. On Thursday, large US banks pumped $30 billion in …
Read More »Oil rises 1% as investors reflect on the banking crisis
Oil prices rose nearly 1 percent on Friday after a meeting between Saudi Arabia and Russia calmed markets amid expectations of strong demand in China, after a banking crisis led to heavy selling in global financial and oil markets this week. By 0400 GMT, Brent crude futures rose 81 cents …
Read More »ECB hikes key rates by 50 basis points in March as expected
The European Central Bank (ECB) announced on Thursday that it raised its key rates by 50 basis points (bps) following the March policy meeting, as expected. With this decision, the interest rate on the main refinancing operations and the interest rates on the marginal lending facility and the deposit facility …
Read More »Weekly Initial Jobless Claims decline to 192K
There were 192,000 initial jobless claims in the week ending March 11, the weekly data published by the US Department of Labor (DOL) showed on Thursday. This print followed the previous week’s print of 212,000 and came in better than the market expectation of 205,000. Further details of the publication …
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