2025-11-26 21:22

AUCKLAND, Nov 27 (Reuters) - Early indicators suggest the economy had been expanding during the second half of this year and demand had stabilised, Reserve Bank of New Zealand Governor Christian Hawkesby told a parliamentary committee on Thursday. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/new-zealand-central-bank-says-economic-recovery-picking-up-2025-11-26/

2025-11-26 21:19

WASHINGTON, Nov 26 (Reuters) - West Virginia Governor Patrick Morrisey said he was receiving conflicting reports about the condition of the two National Guards members who were shot on Wednesday in Washington, after earlier saying the two members had died of their injuries. Morrisey did not elaborate on their condition. Sign up here. "We are now receiving conflicting reports about the condition of our two Guard members and will provide additional updates once we receive more complete information," Morrisey said in a post on X. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/society-equity/trump-says-he-has-nothing-do-with-family-business-2025-11-18/

2025-11-26 21:02

OTTAWA, Nov 26 (Reuters) - Canada will submit the proposed merger of Anglo American (AAL.L) , opens new tab and Teck Resources (TECKb.TO) , opens new tab to a national security review, Industry Minister Melanie Joly said on Wednesday. Joly also said Ottawa would come to a final decision in the coming months. Sign up here. "The national security review for any transaction is always part of the process... so we're following the process," she told reporters from South Korea via a teleconference. Shares of Teck were up 1% in midday trade in Toronto. Anglo American shares closed up 2.4% at the London Stock Exchange on Wednesday. The proposed $53 billion deal, one of the biggest in the mining industry, would create a copper giant. But the deal, due to its size, needs a nod from several regulators, including in Canada. The top leadership of both companies has proposed to move the combined headquarters to Vancouver and maintain a dual listing. However, Ottawa has asked for more, such as investment in the country and job security. The national security review, according to the Investment Canada Act, would look at the potential impact the transaction would have on the critical minerals and critical mineral supply chains. Copper is considered a critical mineral by Canada. Teck also produces germanium, which is also on the critical mineral list. Canada amended the ICA in 2024 to tighten rules around any large foreign acquisition of its domestic companies and the potential impact on national security. Though the Anglo-Teck merger primarily combines the companies' copper assets in Chile, Teck owns the Highland Valley copper mine in Canada. Teck shareholders are scheduled to vote on the merger on December 9. On Wednesday, proxy advisory firm ISS recommended that Anglo American and Teck shareholders vote in favor of the deal. https://www.reuters.com/world/proposed-teck-anglo-merger-is-subject-national-security-review-says-canada-2025-11-26/

2025-11-26 20:55

Kevin Hassett emerges as frontrunner for Fed chair, with his odds on betting sites jumping Hassett seen as dovish on rates, could weaken the dollar over time Investors are not worried about Fed independence yet Some on Wall Street hope Hassett's traditional economics background will keep policy grounded NEW YORK, Nov 26 (Reuters) - Beneath the U.S. bond markets' composure around the prospect of White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett becoming the next Federal Reserve chair lies a niggling worry that his bias for interest rate cuts will undermine the dollar. Bets on Hassett replacing Jerome Powell when his Fed chairmanship ends in May climbed this week after a Bloomberg news report, although the White House said any discussion on the new chair remained speculative until a final decision. Sign up here. Short-term yields, which are closely tied to Fed rate expectations, initially dipped as Hassett's lead on betting sites rose, but they soon rebounded. The dollar and Fed funds futures barely reacted, with traders pricing in an 83% probability of a quarter-point rate cut in December, according to CME's FedWatch tool. Hassett, a former Fed senior economist, is deemed close to U.S. President Donald Trump's administration. Both favor a faster reduction in interest rates. The possibility of Hassett being nominated Fed chair "puts rate cuts back on the table and is bearish for the dollar," said Mike Riddell, lead portfolio manager for Fidelity International's Strategic Bond strategies. But the market barely reacted, perhaps because he was seen as the favourite and Treasury yields had fallen quite a bit in recent weeks, Riddell said. The field of candidates has narrowed to a handful of finalists who include former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh, Fed Governor Christopher Waller, Fed Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman, and BlackRock executive Rick Rieder. On betting site Polymarket, Hassett's odds have risen 18 points to 53%, with Waller in second place at 22% and Warsh at 16%. FED INDEPENDENCE So far, investors are discounting any erosion of Fed independence, regardless of who takes the helm. Even if the administration would like to reduce financing costs for a rising pile of government debt, few people think it would adopt a policy to prioritize low-cost government financing over the Fed's mandate of controlling inflation. "I think the market understands this, that the chairman doesn't decide rates. The chairman guides a committee and 12 people get to vote," said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at B. Riley Wealth. "As much as you'd like to think that a very dovish Fed chair might move monetary policy easier over the course of his tenure, it just doesn't work that way," Hogan said. The future path of interest rates also remains heavily dependent on fresh U.S. data, with investors focused on how the economy responds to key labor reports and the Trump administration's trade and tariff policies. "Wall Street is going to be of two minds on Kevin Hassett, should he wind up as Fed Chair," said Tom Graff, chief investment officer at investment manager Facet. "He will be viewed as less independent compared to either past Fed chairs, or for that matter a candidate like Christopher Waller. This creates some risk to the dollar as well as risks to a steeper Treasury yield curve." Graff, however, also believes Hassett's traditional economics background precludes this, even if he might be more aggressive about rate cuts than Powell. POLITICIZED FED? The Fed eased rates by a quarter of a percentage point at each of its meetings in September and October, leaving the Fed funds rate - what banks charge each other for overnight lending and the Fed's main policy lever - at 3.75% to 4.00%. Since then, Fed officials have pressed competing views on the economy and risks facing it, a debate set to intensify ahead of the U.S. central bank's next policy meeting in December. In September, Hassett backed the Fed's 'slow and steady' approach to lowering rates and told CBS News' "Face the Nation" show that Fed policy needs to be fully independent of political influence, including from Trump. Threats to Fed independence came into focus earlier this year following Trump's attempt to fire Governor Lisa Cook, a move that was temporarily blocked by the U.S. Supreme Court. "The whole kind of 'Trump is going to own the Fed' is overdone, even with Hassett," said Sally Greig, head of global bonds at Baillie Gifford. "He'd find it hard to push the whole committee to be as dovish as Trump might want. Also, he might not be as dovish as people are expecting him to be." https://www.reuters.com/business/hassett-fed-helm-could-pressure-dollar-investors-say-2025-11-26/

2025-11-26 20:25

OTTAWA, Nov 26 (Reuters) - Canada will offer more support to help the steel and lumber industries deal with U.S. tariffs and create a domestic market, Prime Minister Mark Carney said on Wednesday. The government has also increased protection for steel and lumber workers, Carney told a press conference. Sign up here. Ottawa will reduce the quota for steel imports from countries that do not have a free trade agreement with Canada to 20% from 50% of 2024 levels, Carney said. Countries with an FTA with Canada will see their quotas cut to 75% from 100% of the 2024 level. This does not include the U.S. and Mexico, which are bound by the United States-Canada-Mexico free trade deal. Canada will also impose a global 25% tariff on targeted imported steel-derivative products, and incorporate border measures to combat steel dumping. In July, Ottawa set a quota of steel imports at 50% of the 2024 level from non-FTA countries in bid to stop dumping of foreign steel into Canada. The measures are being tightened to open up the domestic for Canadian-produced steel, said a government official. The steel industry contributes over C$4 billion to GDP and employs more than 23,000 people directly. It is, however, one of of the two sectors hit hardest by President Donald Trump's 50% tariffs on steel imports from Canada. Ottawa will work with railway companies to cut freight rates for inter-provincial transfer of Canadian steel and lumber by 50%, beginning in early 2026. The government said would also support use of locally made steel and lumber in homebuilding, and financial aid for companies dealing with tariff-related impact such as on their workforce, liquidity crunch, and for restructuring operations. ((Reuters Ottawa editorial; [email protected] , opens new tab)) Keywords: USA TRUMP/CANADA STEEL https://www.reuters.com/world/china/canada-unveils-more-measures-protect-tariff-hit-steel-lumber-sectors-2025-11-26/

2025-11-26 20:00

Vanguard bought gilts after budget UK government bonds, pound rally Investors warn backloaded tax hikes are risky LONDON, Nov 26 (Reuters) - (This Nov 26 story has been refiled to fix garbled text in paragraph 3) Big investors on Wednesday broadly welcomed British finance minister Rachel Reeves' tax-raising budget that gives her more leeway to meet her fiscal targets, but they warned it may not be enough if growth falters because tax hikes are due to kick in later. Sign up here. Reeves delivered a highly anticipated budget that raises taxes and doubles her fiscal margin, known as headroom, to meet Britain’s fiscal targets, exceeding market expectations, even as welfare spending rises. Following the budget announcement, Vanguard's head of international rates told Reuters he added back to a position favouring British government bonds, known as gilts, after trimming it before the budget, saying the measures would allow the Bank of England to continue cutting rates. "While it's not a super positive budget ... we have added to positions," said Ales Koutny, head of international rates at Vanguard, which manages roughly $11 trillion in assets. Allianz Global Investors maintained a bullish stance, though it had reduced that position pre-budget. But fund managers at Franklin Templeton, Northern Trust Asset Management, BlueBay Asset Management and Fidelity International said they remained cautious on gilts. While they said the larger fiscal margin is positive, the asset managers cautioned the outcome of the budget is less certain, as Reeves' plans increase spending in the short term while much of the 26 billion pounds in tax hikes take effect later. If economic growth falls short, tax revenues could be lower than anticipated and spending higher, eroding Reeves' headroom again, the investment managers said. "With so much of this being back-loaded, we're not going to know the credibility (of the plans) for some time," said Dan Farrell, head of international fixed income at Northern Trust Asset Management, who prefers Spanish and Italian government bonds to British ones. David Zahn, head of European fixed income at Franklin Templeton, which manages $1.5 trillion in assets, said he expected Reeves would have to raise taxes again next year -- the third year running following 40 billion pounds in increases last year. "It's a missed opportunity, and she's just chosen to kick the can down the road," Zahn said. While long-dated gilt yields posted their biggest one-day fall since September on Wednesday, investors said that was driven more by the Britain's debt management office cancelling some bond sales. Investors said it remained to be seen how Labour lawmakers, who forced a U-turn on welfare cuts over the summer, would react to the budget. "There will be lingering risks, both from the political and the fiscal side going forward," said Peder Beck-Friis, economist at fixed-income manager PIMCO, which favours five-year gilts. RBC BlueBay Asset Management's fixed-income Chief Investment Officer Mark Dowding said he would see further yield declines as an opportunity to take a short position. He recently contributed to a Reform UK affiliated think-tank report calling for spending cuts in case of a gilt crisis. The budget boosted sterling , which hit its highest level since late October against the dollar, after recent weakness spurred by pre-budget jitters. Vanguard's Koutny said he had taken a more positive position on the pound ahead of the budget and Wednesday's news reinforced that view. But Mike Riddell, a lead portfolio manager at Fidelity International, said he was bearish on the pound longer term, given expectations of weaker economic growth and more interest rate cuts. However, Wednesday's sterling rally "is perhaps a bit of a green light for the government," he said. https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/big-investors-welcome-reeves-extra-headroom-fret-over-long-term-2025-11-26/