Cheng Li-wun, chairwoman of Taiwan’s Kuomintang (KMT), will lead a delegation to mainland China next month at the invitation of Beijing, her first visit since assuming the position in November. Song Tao, head of Beijing’s Taiwan Work Office, said on Monday that the Communist Party Central Committee and Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party Central Committee, would welcome her visit ...
Cheng Li-wun, chairwoman of Taiwan’s Kuomintang (KMT), will lead a delegation to mainland China next month at the invitation of Beijing, her first visit since assuming the position in November. Song Tao, head of Beijing’s Taiwan Work Office, said on Monday that the Communist Party Central Committee and Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party Central Committee, would welcome her visit to Jiangsu province, Shanghai and Beijing from April 7 to 12, to “promote the peaceful development...
Market Snapshot USD/INR ₹94.81 +0.9% Nifty 50 Index 22,819.60 -2.1% India 10-Year Bond Yield 6.93% +0.06 Spot Gold ($/oz) $4,465.46 -0.6% S&P 500 Futures 6,381.50 -0.5% Market data as of 08:04 AM IST, Mar. 30, 2026, or the previous close for Indian markets. Data is subject to provider delays. Good morning... I’m Ashutosh Joshi in Mumbai with a quick pulse check as markets kick off a new week. Asia...
Market Snapshot USD/INR ₹94.81 +0.9% Nifty 50 Index 22,819.60 -2.1% India 10-Year Bond Yield 6.93% +0.06 Spot Gold ($/oz) $4,465.46 -0.6% S&P 500 Futures 6,381.50 -0.5% Market data as of 08:04 AM IST, Mar. 30, 2026, or the previous close for Indian markets. Data is subject to provider delays. Good morning... I’m Ashutosh Joshi in Mumbai with a quick pulse check as markets kick off a new week. Asian stocks are witnessing another selloff early on Monday and crude oil has climbed as Iran-backed Houthi forces entered the Middle East conflict and more US troops arrived in the region — raising worries of a prolonged war. That suggests there will be little respite for the Nifty 50, which on Friday extended its slide to a fifth straight week — the longest losing streak since August. Even so, the rupee could see a sharp rebound after the Reserve Bank of India stepped in late Friday with a measure to curb speculation . The rule requires lenders acting as authorized dealers to ensure their open positions in the onshore currency market do not exceed $100 million at the end of each trading day. It came following the rupee’s slide past the closely watched 94-per-dollar mark to yet another record low. Local lenders, though, have urged the RBI to rethink the rule, saying the measure would saddle them with large losses. Monday is the last trading day of this fiscal year in India as March 31 is a holiday. In today’s newsletter, we look at: Record foreign outflows from stocks Increased purchases from local mutual funds Fresh worries for the bond market But first, here’s how the government has eased borrowing pressure — for now. Markets Buzz: Spreading the Load The government has chosen to spread its borrowing more evenly this time instead of front-loading it as usual. The aim is to limit the supply burden at a time when yields are near two-year highs amid the energy shock from the Iran war. While that should help in the near term, a hefty 7.9 trillion rupees in borrowing has been push...
Biotech firm Hangzhou Diagens Biotechnology is banking on AI-powered chromosome testing to drive profit growth following its Hong Kong listing, as China’s falling fertility rate spurs demand for assisted reproduction. “In China, many young people do not want to marry or have children, and by the time they decide to start a family, they need medical help to do so,” Diagens’ founder and executive di...
Biotech firm Hangzhou Diagens Biotechnology is banking on AI-powered chromosome testing to drive profit growth following its Hong Kong listing, as China’s falling fertility rate spurs demand for assisted reproduction. “In China, many young people do not want to marry or have children, and by the time they decide to start a family, they need medical help to do so,” Diagens’ founder and executive director, Song Ning, said. “We are meeting an increasing number of couples every year who struggle to...
LNG Crisis From Bad To Worse As Storm Damage Adds Weeks To Restart Of Chevron Wheatstone Plant The perfect storm surrounding the global LNG supply chain, which hit a brick wall two weeks ago when Iranian attacks shuttered 17% of Qatar's LNG output following devastating strikes on the Ras Laffan plant, the largest in the world, just went from metaphorical to literal after storm damage to Chevron’s ...
LNG Crisis From Bad To Worse As Storm Damage Adds Weeks To Restart Of Chevron Wheatstone Plant The perfect storm surrounding the global LNG supply chain, which hit a brick wall two weeks ago when Iranian attacks shuttered 17% of Qatar's LNG output following devastating strikes on the Ras Laffan plant, the largest in the world, just went from metaphorical to literal after storm damage to Chevron’s Wheatstone gas plant in Western Australia is hampering efforts to restart operations and the facility won’t be back online fully for weeks, adding even more turmoil to the global LNG market. Wheatstone gas plant, Australia As Reuters reports , tropical Cyclone Narelle was estimated to have disrupted Australian LNG facilities along the northern and western coasts, and disrupted supply equating to more than 30 million metric tons per year . Combined with the shock from conflict in the Middle East, more than a quarter of global LNG supply has been disrupted, MST Marquee analyst Saul Kavonic said on Friday. “The Wheatstone gas facility near Onslow has had equipment damage from the severe weather, which has impacted restart activities,” Chevron said in a statement, adding that “while damage assessments continue at both the onshore Wheatstone plant and offshore Wheatstone Platform, it is likely to be a number of weeks before production returns to full rates to allow time for repairs to be safely completed." As we reported last week , Chevron said earlier in the week that one of three LNG production units at its Gorgon plant was halted, as well as a platform that feeds Wheatstone, which is a two-train LNG project which produces 8.9 million tons a year, about 15% of which is meant to be reserved for the domestic market. On Sunday it said the 15.9 million ton Gorgon LNG export facility and domestic plant continued to operate at full rates, adding that all of its three trains returned to full production on Sunday. The storm also hit infrastructure feeding Woodside Energy Gro...
Greggory DiSalvo/iStock via Getty Images Introduction U.S. 30-year government bond yields ( US30Y ) have increased in recent weeks as war in the Middle East pushes back the timing of Fed policy normalization from 2026 to 2027-2028. In fact, as I write this 30-year yields stand at 4.97%, only fractionally below a decade high of 5.09% set in October 2023. Back then the Fed funds rate was 5.33%, roug...
Greggory DiSalvo/iStock via Getty Images Introduction U.S. 30-year government bond yields ( US30Y ) have increased in recent weeks as war in the Middle East pushes back the timing of Fed policy normalization from 2026 to 2027-2028. In fact, as I write this 30-year yields stand at 4.97%, only fractionally below a decade high of 5.09% set in October 2023. Back then the Fed funds rate was 5.33%, roughly 1.5% above current levels. In essence, we have witnessed a dramatic steepening of the yield curve over the last two and a half years. One way to position for a flattening of the yield curve, coupled with an outright decline in long-term interest rates, is the iShares 25+ year treasury STRIPS bond ETF ( GOVZ ). The bullish investment thesis can be summarized as: GOVZ should deliver an attractive low double-digit capital gain for investors with a horizon in late 2027/early 2028. In the meantime, GOVZ offers an attractive mid-single-digit dividend yield. Economic data in 2026 is quite different from 2023, indicating that risks to the GOVZ investment case are manageable. Strategy and Key Characteristics GOVZ invests exclusively in STRIPS with a maturity of at least 25 years issued by the U.S. treasury. For those not familiar with STRIPS, think of it as separating the principal and interest payment of a bond in two distinct securities. GOVZ invests primarily in the principal portion of STRIPS, giving the ETF high sensitivity to changes in long term interest rates. This is shown by the ETF's elevated effective duration of 26.52x , indicating that a 1% move in interest rates will result in a circa 26.52% change in the value of GOVZ's portfolio. If interest rates increase, this can be disastrous for GOVZ's value, as evident by the ~64% slump in GOVZ price since its inception in September 2020. Back then 30-year yields stood at about 1.45%, roughly 3.5% below current levels. As such, the ETF is not suitable for investors who cannot handle interest rate risk. GOVZ charges a low 0...
ismagilov/iStock via Getty Images • The fund posted returns of 4.51% (Institutional shares) and 4.45% (Investor A shares, without sales charge) for the fourth quarter of 2025. • The largest contributor to relative performance was security selection in the financials, consumer discretionary, and consumer staples sectors. The largest detractor was investment decisions in the communication services, ...
ismagilov/iStock via Getty Images • The fund posted returns of 4.51% (Institutional shares) and 4.45% (Investor A shares, without sales charge) for the fourth quarter of 2025. • The largest contributor to relative performance was security selection in the financials, consumer discretionary, and consumer staples sectors. The largest detractor was investment decisions in the communication services, health care, and energy sectors. • The largest exposures were in the financials, industrials, and health care sectors. During the quarter, the fund increased its allocations to the industrials and information technology sectors, and reduced its exposures to the health care and energy sectors. Contributors Stock selection in the financials sector, particularly in the banks industry, was the largest contributor to relative performance. Selection decisions in the consumer discretionary sector, notably in the specialty retail industry, added value. Selection decisions in the consumer staples sector, especially in the consumer staples distribution & retail industry, also had a positive impact. Detractors The largest detractor was investment decisions in the communication services sector, particularly in the interactive media & services industry. Security selection in the health care sector, especially in the life sciences tools & services industry, weighed on relative performance. Stock selection in the energy sector, notably in the oil, gas & consumable fuels industry, had a negative impact. Further insight After a standout year for U.S. equities in 2025, we enter 2026 constructive but more cautious. Exuberance driven by artificial intelligence (AI) and narrow leadership raises questions about durability, and we think market enthusiasm may be overlooking attractive opportunities beyond AI. At the same time, we see upside risks to inflation from sticky services, tight labor markets, potential energy and commodity volatility, tariff and reshoring pressures, and large-scale AI-rel...