Copper headed for a weekly loss, tracked by other metals, as uncertainty over the next developments in the Middle East war continued to weigh on the global economy. There’s little sign yet that the US and Iran will return to talks after President Donald Trump extended a ceasefire indefinitely earlier this week. The Strait of Hormuz remains largely blocked, and oil prices are heading for the fifth ...
Copper headed for a weekly loss, tracked by other metals, as uncertainty over the next developments in the Middle East war continued to weigh on the global economy. There’s little sign yet that the US and Iran will return to talks after President Donald Trump extended a ceasefire indefinitely earlier this week. The Strait of Hormuz remains largely blocked, and oil prices are heading for the fifth daily gain as warnings mount over global growth. Copper fell 1% to $13,222.50 a ton by 12:18 p.m. Shanghai time, and the metal is now on track for a comfortable weekly decline of 0.9%. Aluminum dropped 0.6% and zinc fell 0.3% The turmoil in the Persian Gulf has had varied effects across the metals market. Aluminum supplies from the region have been squeezed, while disruptions to flows of sulfuric acid and fuels pose a risk to producers elsewhere. “For now, we expect an uncertain outlook for the global economy to temper bullish sentiment on the supply side,” analysts from BMI, a unit of Fitch Solutions, wrote in a note.
SBI Funds Management Ltd. is set to begin formal marketing as early as next week for its planned initial public offering to raise as much as $1.5 billion, according to people familiar with the matter. India’s largest asset manager is aiming to sell about three quarters of the issue to domestic investors and is also considering raising as much as $350 million through a pre-IPO share placement, the ...
SBI Funds Management Ltd. is set to begin formal marketing as early as next week for its planned initial public offering to raise as much as $1.5 billion, according to people familiar with the matter. India’s largest asset manager is aiming to sell about three quarters of the issue to domestic investors and is also considering raising as much as $350 million through a pre-IPO share placement, the people said, asking not to be identified as the information is private. The company is in discussions with bankers on the plan, the people said. SBI Funds is seeking a valuation in the range $13-15 billion, the people said. That compares with rival ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co. ’s market value of about $17.6 billion, following the $1.2 billion listing of India’s second-largest asset manager in December. Deliberations are ongoing and details of the offering, including size and timing, could change, the people said. A representative for SBI Funds didn’t respond to requests for comment. SBI Funds has appointed nine banks, including Kotak Mahindra Capital Co. , Axis Bank Ltd. , SBI Capital Markets Ltd. , JM Financial Ltd. and HSBC Holdings Plc , to manage the offering, according to the draft prospectus. For the latest news on equity capital markets activity in the Asia-Pacific region, follow the channel or visit NI BFWECMAS . To subscribe to ECM Watch , Bloomberg’s daily roundup of news from around the region, click here . SBI Funds, which oversees assets of about 12.48 trillion rupees ($133 billion), according to data from the Association of Mutual Funds in India, is jointly owned by State Bank of India Ltd. and Amundi SA. While State Bank of India plans to offload as many as 128.3 million shares, or 6.3% of the total equity capital in the IPO, Amundi will sell as many as 75.4 million shares, or 3.7%, according to the prospectus. The sale will have no fresh issuance. India’s Top Asset Manager SBI Funds Files Prospectus for IPO Citi, JPMorgan Opt Out of $1.4 Billion SBI...
undefined China’s pork prices are showing early signs of stabilizing after a prolonged decline , as faster capacity cuts and government stockpiling begin to rebalance supply. The shift matters beyond the farm sector. Pork is a key component of China’s consumer price index, and its earlier slump has been a major drag on inflation, adding to broader deflationary pressures. China’s Pork Prices Show S...
undefined China’s pork prices are showing early signs of stabilizing after a prolonged decline , as faster capacity cuts and government stockpiling begin to rebalance supply. The shift matters beyond the farm sector. Pork is a key component of China’s consumer price index, and its earlier slump has been a major drag on inflation, adding to broader deflationary pressures. China’s Pork Prices Show Signs of Stabilizing Caixin Vice Agriculture Minister Maierdan Mugaiti said Thursday that the number of breeding sows has fallen for nine straight months, while March piglet births dropped year-on-year for the first time in over a year — early signs that excess capacity is being reduced.
Pick-by-pick: all the selections from the first round Two quarterbacks go in Thursday’s first round The story of the first round of the 2026 NFL draft surrounded a quarterback but it wasn’t No 1 overall pick Fernando Mendoza . As expected, the Las Vegas Raiders selected Mendoza with the first pick on Thursday after he led Indiana to the national title last season. But the shock of the night came w...
Pick-by-pick: all the selections from the first round Two quarterbacks go in Thursday’s first round The story of the first round of the 2026 NFL draft surrounded a quarterback but it wasn’t No 1 overall pick Fernando Mendoza . As expected, the Las Vegas Raiders selected Mendoza with the first pick on Thursday after he led Indiana to the national title last season. But the shock of the night came when the Los Angeles Rams picked another quarterback, Alabama’s Ty Simpson, at No 13. The Rams current starting quarterback, Matthew Stafford, was named NFL MVP last season and Simpson was projected to be a second-round pick by many analysts. However, Stafford turned 38 in February and the Rams are starting to plan for life without him. Continue reading...
The European Central Bank will respond to the Iran war by raising interest rates once — in June — before reversing the move next year to protect economic growth, analysts say. All but one respondent in a Bloomberg survey sees the ECB keeping its deposit rate unchanged at 2% on April 30, but lifting it by a quarter-point at the following meeting as new projections offer a better picture of the conf...
The European Central Bank will respond to the Iran war by raising interest rates once — in June — before reversing the move next year to protect economic growth, analysts say. All but one respondent in a Bloomberg survey sees the ECB keeping its deposit rate unchanged at 2% on April 30, but lifting it by a quarter-point at the following meeting as new projections offer a better picture of the conflict’s economic consequences. Half of those predicting a June hike also expect at least one cut by end-2027. A median estimate shows the deposit rate back at 2% in September of that year. Chief Economist Philip Lane and others say they’re unlikely to receive sufficient information this month to determine whether soaring oil and natural gas costs have meaningfully shifted the inflation expectations of households and firms. At the same time, they stress that they’re closely tracking such signals and will act if needed. “It’s difficult to foresee the evolution of the conflict itself and the development of energy prices,” Dekabank economist Kristian Toedtmann said. “But it’s also hard to imagine that indirect and second-round effects on inflation will be so mild that the ECB can look through these fluctuations.” Consumer prices surged an annual 2.6% in March — the most since mid-2024. Selling-price expectations and inflation fears are also on the rise. While markets are almost fully convinced the ECB will stand pat next week, they’re still pricing two quarter-point hikes this year. Just over a third of survey respondents agree. Dennis Shen , a lecturer at TU Berlin’s International School of Management who only foresees one move, says that after steep pay gains during the last inflation shock, the ECB’s threshold may be lower than it appears. “It doesn’t require proof of a wage spiral — it only needs a credible risk of one,” he said. “A 25 basis-point ‘insurance hike’ fits that playbook: cautious in size, but decisive in signal.” That would fit an argument President Christine La...
Central Asia, once treated as a geopolitical backwater, is seizing the spotlight as international capital flows and foreign powers compete for access to its vast mineral and energy wealth. While the Iran war has disrupted commodity supplies and threatened to spark global inflation, much of Central Asia looks resilient, with most economies growing about 5% to 6% and asset sales luring investors. Go...
Central Asia, once treated as a geopolitical backwater, is seizing the spotlight as international capital flows and foreign powers compete for access to its vast mineral and energy wealth. While the Iran war has disrupted commodity supplies and threatened to spark global inflation, much of Central Asia looks resilient, with most economies growing about 5% to 6% and asset sales luring investors. Governments from the US and Europe to Russia and China are vying for influence and access to the region’s abundant reserves of oil and gas, gold, rare earths and uranium. Its largest economies, energy rich Kazakhstan and gold producer Uzbekistan, are leading the charge to court investors and presidents alike. And with the Middle East war exposing the vulnerability of global trade, the region is also leveraging its growing role as a transportation hub between Europe and Asia. “Central Asia is a resilient pocket of emerging markets amid wider geopolitical upheaval,” said Euart MacKerron , a credit research analyst at Aegon Asset Management. The region has built credit with investors by navigating the fallout from Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, while balancing the competing interests of China and the West, he said. China so far is emerging as the economic frontrunner, surpassing Russia as the region’s largest investor, with $36 billion in foreign direct investment over the past decade, according to a December 2025 report by the Eurasian Development Bank. But last year underscored a shift and Beijing’s leading role could change over time, as the five one-time stablemates in the Soviet Union turn rivalry between the powers to their advantage, balancing competing interests while resisting alignment with any single player. “A multi vector foreign policy is paying off, as countries have mastered the art of avoiding being forced to pick a side in great power conflicts,” said Bota Iliyas, a geopolitical and risk analyst at London-based firm Schillings. While Xi Jinping visited Kaza...
The cap on individual stock holdings by funds has been relaxed to 25%, triggering a surge across Taiwan's stock market, with Taiwan Semiconductor hitting a record high. 富途牛牛
The cap on individual stock holdings by funds has been relaxed to 25%, triggering a surge across Taiwan's stock market, with Taiwan Semiconductor hitting a record high. 富途牛牛