2025-08-21 11:22
GENEVA, Aug 21 (Reuters) - The head of the U.N. Palestinian refugee agency on Thursday voiced concern that children suffering from malnutrition in Gaza will die if emergency provisions are not immediately put in place during Israel's Gaza City military operation. UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said that its data showed a six-fold increase in the number of children suffering from malnutrition in Gaza City since March. Sign up here. "We have a population that is extremely weak that will be confronted with a new major military operation," he told a Geneva press club meeting. "Many will simply not have the strength to undergo a new displacement." "Many of them will not survive," he said of the children, addressing the audience in French. "It is a manufactured and fabricated famine. It is deliberate. Food has been used as an instrument of war," he said. In May, a global hunger monitor said that half a million people in the Gaza Strip faced starvation but stopped short of using the term famine. Israel's military agency that coordinates aid, COGAT, has previously said it invests considerable efforts to ensure aid reaches Gaza and has denied restricting supplies. https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/unrwa-chief-warns-many-malnourished-children-will-die-gaza-city-operation-2025-08-21/
2025-08-21 10:44
LONDON, Aug 21 (Reuters) - What matters in U.S. and global markets today By Mike Dolan , opens new tab, Editor-At-Large, Finance and Markets Sign up here. U.S. tech stocks seem to have found a level following two days of sharp pullbacks, but the Treasury market was unnerved by the latest Federal Reserve drama just as everyone awaits the central bank’s annual Wyoming jamboree. U.S. stock futures ended in the red again on Wednesday, driven by a whole host of AI and tech sector jitters ahead of Nvidia's big earnings release next week. But stock futures seemed to find a foothold ahead of today's bell, with attention turning back to the Fed following President Trump's demand for the resignation of another Fed board member - Lisa Cook - over allegations of mortgage fraud that she insists she will contest. * If Cook were forced out, Trump would then likely secure a majority of his appointees on the seven-person Fed board by next summer. If Chair Jerome Powell, who gives his keynote Jackson Hole speech on Friday, steps down as a board member when his chairmanship ends in May, then a majority of deep rate cut advocates could well emerge on the Fed's policymaking committee with the support of just one regional Fed boss. * Despite the board machinations, minutes from the Fed's last meeting showed two policymakers - Christopher Waller and Michelle Bowman - were alone in voting for a rate cut and it recounted how "almost all" favored holding the policy rate steady last month. Fed futures pricing for September's meeting slipped back to show less than an 80% chance of a rate cut and Treasury yields nudged higher, with a mixed review of the latest 20-year bond auction. The dollar was steady but gold firmed after the Cook story, giving up some of that today. * The big economic releases around the world today were early August business surveys, which came in above forecast in Europe and Japan - propping the euro, sterling and yen even though stocks in all three areas fell back. U.S. equivalent surveys are due later, with the Philadelphia Fed's August survey also released alongside closely watched jobless claims updates and existing home sales data for July. Walmart tops the earnings diary in a busy week for big retailers. In today's column, I look at the extraordinary moves by the Trump administration to propose taking stakes in big chipmaking firms, which would radically shift U.S. industrial policy and raise questions about what might next be seen as "strategic". , opens new tab Today's Market Minute * Financial markets are taking in a collective breath ahead of Jerome Powell's eighth and final keynote Jackson Hole speech as Federal Reserve Chair. If the moves following his last seven are any guide, writes ROI columnist Jamie McGeever, investors should buckle up for a bumpy ride. * China is considering allowing the usage of yuan-backed stablecoins for the first time to boost wider adoption of its currency globally, sources familiar with the matter said, in a major reversal of its stance towards digital assets. * Indian companies have seen the steepest earnings downgrades in Asia, with analysts slashing forecasts as steep U.S. tariffs heighten risks to growth even if proposed domestic tax cuts help cushion the impact. * Chinese artificial intelligence startup DeepSeek on Thursday released DeepSeek-V3.1, an upgraded model with hybrid inference structure, faster thinking speed and stronger agent capability, the company said in a statement published on WeChat. * U.S. power generation capacity is evolving at the fastest pace in decades, as utilities scramble to ensure that supplies keep up with rapidly growing electricity demand. ROI columnist Gavin Maguire lays out current expectations for the U.S. power generation mix through the next 10 years. Chart of the day The week's latest tech shakeout, with heavy losses for high flyers such as Nvidia and Palantir, comes as the sector's price-to-earnings ratio recently reached about 30 times expected earnings for the next 12 months, its highest level in a year, and tech's share of overall S&P 500 market value is close to its highest since 2000. Seeds of doubt over such heady valuations were sown over the past week by a study from researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology that found that 95% of organizations are getting no return on AI investments, and comments by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman that investors may be getting overexcited about AI and some bubbles would emerge and pop. Today's events to watch * Philadelphia Federal Reserve's August business survey (8:30 AM EDT), U.S. weekly jobless claims (8:30 AM EDT), S&P Global flash U.S. business surveys for August (9:45 AM EDT) U.S. July existing home sales (10:00 AM EDT); Canada July producer prices (8:30 AM EDT); Euro zone August consumer confidence (10:00 AM EDT) * Fed's annual Jackson Hole symposium gets underway; Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic speaks * U.S. corporate earnings: Walmart, Ross Stores, Workday, Intuit * U.S. Treasury sells $8 billion of 30-year inflation protected securities Want to receive the Morning Bid in your inbox every weekday morning? Sign up for the newsletter here. You can find ROI on the Reuters website , opens new tab, and you can follow us on LinkedIn , opens new tab and X. , opens new tab Opinions expressed are those of the author. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles , opens new tab, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias. https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/global-markets-view-usa-2025-08-21/
2025-08-21 10:34
August 21(Reuters) - Sterling gained against the dollar on Thursday after a survey showed that British businesses are having their best month in a year due to a rebound in the services sector, while investors also kept their focus on the Fed's Jackson Hole symposium. Sterling rose 0.2% against the dollar to $1.3483 and was marginally higher on the euro at 86.57 pence to the common currency . Sign up here. The services data trails a hot inflation print from Wednesday, which had spurred only fleeting gains for sterling. The currency's rise didn't prove sticky, as analysts pinned the upside surprise on services inflation largely due to higher airfares as opposed to indications of broad-based price pressures. The inflation numbers are unlikely to have a major impact on the Bank of England's policy trajectory as "the composition of the data was less bad than the headline number," said Samy Chaar, chief economist at Lombard Odier. Money markets are currently pricing in a less than 50% chance of rate cut by the BoE before the end of 2025 while a cut is only priced in by March 2026. The benchmark two-year gilt yield, meanwhile, rose 6 basis points to 3.97% on Thursday, reversing a drop the previous day. Sterling stands out as a leading carry trade candidate among the currencies of the Group of 10, comparable to the high-yielding U.S. dollar, analysts at UBS said in a note. Carry trades involve borrowing in currencies with low interest rates and then using those funds to buy currencies with better yields. "We expected a temporary consolidation of the strong GBP/USD rally. This has now played out, and we see more upside from here with a year-end target of 1.39," the UBS note said. Sterling is up nearly 8% against the dollar over 2025. The focus now turns to the Federal Reserve's Jackson Hole symposium where Fed Chair Jerome Powell is slated to speak on Friday. The event takes place in the shadow of renewed investor concerns over U.S. President Donald Trump's attempts to gain influence over the central bank. Trump called on Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook to resign on Wednesday on the basis of allegations made by one of his political allies concerning mortgages she holds in Michigan and Georgia. Against a basket of peers, the dollar was little changed at 98.2. https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/sterling-firms-against-dollar-after-strong-business-activity-data-2025-08-21/
2025-08-21 10:32
European stock indexes down, Wall Street futures mixed Euro zone business activity expanded in August, PMIs show Markets wait for Fed's Jackson Hole comments PARIS, Aug 21 (Reuters) - European stock markets fell slightly in early trading on Thursday, hovering just below recent highs, as traders avoided making big moves and waited for the Federal Reserve's three-day annual Jackson Hole symposium. Jackson Hole starts on Thursday and focus will be on Fed Chair Jerome Powell's speech on Friday, which could move markets as traders look for hints about the likelihood of a September rate cut. Sign up here. “People are sitting on their hands. You have a couple of big known unknowns coming, with Jackson Hole tomorrow and the Fed in September," said Tim Graf, head of macro strategy for EMEA at State Street Markets. “This is the time to send the message, if you’re going to ease, that it’s coming," he said. "But I can also see them saying, we don’t know the full effect of tariffs and inflation pressure is still not quite out of the economy and being a bit more balanced." Traders had ramped up bets for a September cut following a surprisingly weak payrolls report at the start of this month, and were further encouraged after consumer price data showed limited upward pressure from tariffs. But they lowered their expectations slightly following the release of minutes from the Fed's July meeting. Stock markets stayed near recent highs during Asian trading, and Australia's benchmark (.AXJO) , opens new tab hit a new record. At 0946 GMT, the pan-European STOXX 600 was down by 0.2%, just below the five-month high it hit in the previous session (.STOXX) , opens new tab. London's FTSE 100 was down 0.1% (.FSTE) , opens new tab, Germany's DAX was down 0.1% (.GDAXI) , opens new tab and France's CAC 40 was down 0.4% . The MSCI World Equity Index was down 0.1% on the day (.MIWD00000PUS) , opens new tab. U.S. stock futures were mixed, with Nasdaq e-minis steady but S&P 500 e-minis down by 0.1% , . A U.S. tech selloff had continued for a second day on Wednesday, in a move analysts attributed to concerns about high valuations, profit-taking and risk aversion. Euro zone business activity accelerated in August, PMI data showed, with Germany registering its fastest growth since March and France's downturn easing. Euro zone bond yields were mostly higher, with the benchmark 10-year German Bund at 2.7374% . The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield was at 4.3101% . The U.S. dollar index was up 0.2% on the day at 98.225 , and the euro was steady at $1.1653 . U.S. President Donald Trump intensified his effort to influence the Federal Reserve on Wednesday, calling on Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook to resign on the basis of allegations made by one of his political allies about mortgages she holds in Michigan and Georgia. Cook said she had "no intention of being bullied to step down" from her position at the central bank. Deutsche Bank analysts in a research note attributed a rise in gold overnight to renewed concerns about the Fed's independence. "The news was a reminder of the lingering concerns over future Fed independence and risks of fiscal dominance, though the extent of the market reaction was fairly modest," Deutsche Bank said. State Street Markets' Tim Graf said that although central bank independence is considered "sacrosanct" by markets, it was not yet problematic. “Markets quite rightly look through this, price maybe a little bit of risk premium for sure, but it's not something that I think really upsets the apple cart too much," he said. Gold prices edged lower on Thursday, at $3340.61 per ounce. Oil prices rose, bolstered by signs of strong demand in the U.S.. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/global-markets-update-3-2025-08-21/
2025-08-21 10:14
MUMBAI, Aug 21 (Reuters) - The Indian rupee fell on Thursday as aggressive dollar buying by oil importers towards the end of the session pressured the local currency even as persistent greenback sales by foreign banks helped offset some of the losses. The Asian currency closed 0.24% lower at 87.2700 per U.S. dollar on Thursday against its previous close of 87.0650. Sign up here. "There were some debt inflows which had masked the impact, but with that done, we saw the impact of dollar bids," a trader with a brokerage said. Meanwhile, foreign banks were on the offer side in the dollar/rupee pair again for most part of the session on Thursday, extending the pattern seen over the past two days - a move that has puzzled traders. The persistent selling by foreign banks coupled with the Indian government's proposed tax cuts and U.S. President Donald Trump's talks with Russian and Ukrainian Presidents helped the rupee move higher than 87 for the first time this month on Tuesday. However, the upcoming August 27 deadline for the implementation of additional 25% U.S. tariffs on Indian goods is expected to pose a fresh threat to the rupee. "The expectation is that the rupee will be on the weaker side till September," said Dilip Parmar, currency analyst at HDFC Securities. Earlier this week, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's accusations of India profiteering from purchases of Russian oil during the Ukraine war further hurt the rupee. Also closely watched will be U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's speech at the Jackson Hole symposium on Friday, in which market participants will look for clues on interest rate trajectory in the world's largest economy. Asian currencies traded mixed on Thursday while dollar index was flat at 98.238 as of 1536 IST. https://www.reuters.com/world/india/rupee-slips-oil-importers-step-up-dollar-purchases-2025-08-21/
2025-08-21 10:07
LONDON, Sept 23 (Reuters) - A downturn in British factories eased slightly in September but concerns about the government's November budget, the economy, high energy costs and issues hiring skilled workers are weighing on firms, an industry survey showed on Tuesday. The CBI's monthly balance for manufacturing new orders fell in September to -27 from -33 in August. Sign up here. The CBI's gauge of output for the past three months improved but remained rooted in contraction territory. The measure for the next three months edged down to -14 in September from -13 in August. "Businesses across the board are looking ahead to the November Budget with hope that it delivers meaningful action to ease cost and regulatory pressures," Ben Jones, lead economist at the CBI, said. "Without that clear policy direction, confidence will continue to ebb and firms will find it increasingly difficult to invest, hire and grow." The survey's gauge of export orders improved marginally compared to August at -32, but remained far below the long-term average of -19. Expectations for rising prices over the coming three months among manufacturers were their weakest since October 2024, the CBI said. The CBI report followed on the heels of S&P Global's preliminary September survey of the UK manufacturing sector, which showed a downturn in output, with some factories saying the shutdown of Britain's biggest carmaker Jaguar Land Rover had impacted activity in the automotive supply chain. https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/uk-factories-report-new-downturn-weak-outlook-cbi-says-2025-08-21/
