Last week, a friend and I chatted about our children’s favourite art pieces after happening upon an auction house’s exhibition in a building in the heart of Hong Kong’s business district. We both recalled stopping to look at Yayoi Kusama’s Mount Fuji prints. “I pass by the space twice every day,” my friend said. She told me that my son’s pick – a piece by Sam Francis – was a new installation, repl...
Last week, a friend and I chatted about our children’s favourite art pieces after happening upon an auction house’s exhibition in a building in the heart of Hong Kong’s business district. We both recalled stopping to look at Yayoi Kusama’s Mount Fuji prints. “I pass by the space twice every day,” my friend said. She told me that my son’s pick – a piece by Sam Francis – was a new installation, replacing what had been a display of handbags. How often do we pause to notice art, or enjoy life in...
India has moved to curb speculative bets against the rupee, taking one of its most forceful steps in over a decade as the cost of defending the currency rises. Late Friday, the Reserve Bank of India announced new rules capping the open positions banks can hold in the onshore currency market at $100 million at the end of each trading day. The change, effective April 10, forces lenders to shrink the...
India has moved to curb speculative bets against the rupee, taking one of its most forceful steps in over a decade as the cost of defending the currency rises. Late Friday, the Reserve Bank of India announced new rules capping the open positions banks can hold in the onshore currency market at $100 million at the end of each trading day. The change, effective April 10, forces lenders to shrink their books, limiting their ability to run large one-sided bets against the rupee. The urgency reflects deep concern about the rupee, which has slid to successive record lows following the Iran war. That is pushing the RBI to shift away from relying mainly on spot and forward market interventions — tools that have already contributed to a more than $30 billion drawdown in foreign-exchange reserves in the first three weeks of March, according to people familiar with the matter, to more direct measures targeting financial institutions. “The move signals clear discomfort with rupee weakness and reflects a shift from direct intervention to controlling market positioning, offering near-term stability but limited influence on longer-term fundamentals,” said Kunal Sodhani , head of treasury at Shinhan Bank in Mumbai. Lenders are seeking to delay the deadline to comply, warning that such a rapid unwind may trigger large losses, and urging that the rule apply only to new bets, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg News. Pressure on the rupee has mounted since the Iran war broke out a month ago. The currency has fallen more than 4% over that period to 94.82 as of Friday, and is Asia’s worst performer this year. Uncertainty over the duration of the conflict has prompted global funds to pull more than $11 billion from Indian equities, while index-eligible bonds have seen record outflows of $1.6 billion in March. Part of the challenge for policymakers is where that pressure is coming from. While the rupee trades in Mumbai, price signals are increasingly determined overseas in hubs...
matejmo/iStock via Getty Images At a glance Performance The Fund returned 2.47% and the Russell 2500™ Value Index returned 3.15%. Contributors/detractors Stock selection in the information technology and industrials sectors detracted from relative performance, while stock selection in the materials and real estate sectors contributed. Outlook We remain confident in our disciplined value investment...
matejmo/iStock via Getty Images At a glance Performance The Fund returned 2.47% and the Russell 2500™ Value Index returned 3.15%. Contributors/detractors Stock selection in the information technology and industrials sectors detracted from relative performance, while stock selection in the materials and real estate sectors contributed. Outlook We remain confident in our disciplined value investment approach even as we see potential sources of market volatility. Investment environment • Stocks rose on positive earnings news and expectations for Federal Reserve (Fed) rate cuts. The Fed followed up a September rate cut with two 25 basis-point (bp) rate cuts, in October and December, respectively. • Given the protracted government shutdown, economic data was sparse except for company commentary and private investment surveys, which pointed to a slowly improving economic environment. • While investors paid more attention to fundamentals relative to earlier in the year, we continued to see pockets of outperformance by lower-quality stocks, as non-earners continued to outperform. Portfolio review Relative performance was hindered by our position in Bath & Body Works ( BBWI ). The specialty retailer reported disappointing revenue growth and reduced guidance, reflecting both cautious spending by its consumers as well as some operational issues that need to be addressed. Despite an inexpensive valuation, we have meaningfully reduced our holdings given our concerns over poor execution by company management, and because we believe the next iteration of the company's turnaround will take considerable time. Detractors in the industrials sector included Janus International Group ( JBI ), a manufacturer of industrial doors and storage units for the self-storage providers. Demand for self-storage space has remained anemic due to sluggish home sales and slower housing turnover. Against this backdrop, Janus International reported disappointing quarterly results. We added to the positio...
Japan’s top currency official delivered his strongest warning yet to speculators, saying authorities may need to take bold action in the foreign exchange market if current conditions persist. “We’re hearing increasing concern that speculative activity is picking up not just in the crude oil futures market, but also in the foreign exchange market,” Atsushi Mimura , vice finance minister for interna...
Japan’s top currency official delivered his strongest warning yet to speculators, saying authorities may need to take bold action in the foreign exchange market if current conditions persist. “We’re hearing increasing concern that speculative activity is picking up not just in the crude oil futures market, but also in the foreign exchange market,” Atsushi Mimura , vice finance minister for international affairs told reporters Monday. “If this situation continues, we believe decisive action may soon be necessary,” he said. Mimura spoke after the yen weakened past 160 per dollar level just before the weekend, a level where Japan intervened in 2024. “We are prepared to respond on all fronts, and our focus is broad and comprehensive,” he said, suggesting the government is monitoring not only currency markets but also crude oil futures. While Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama has referred to possible “bold action” — a phrase widely understood as signaling intervention — several times since late last year, Mimura has not used the term since taking office in July 2024. The wording delivered by Japan’s FX chief is typically seen as a final warning ahead of actual intervention to support the yen.