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.
The yen edged away from its weakest level since July 2024 amid warnings that suggest Japan is prepared for potential intervention to support the currency. Japan’s currency slipped as much as 0.1% to 160.46 on Monday morning, after weakening for four consecutive days last week. It strengthened to trade at 159.95 after Japan’s top currency official said bold action may be necessary if the situation ...
The yen edged away from its weakest level since July 2024 amid warnings that suggest Japan is prepared for potential intervention to support the currency. Japan’s currency slipped as much as 0.1% to 160.46 on Monday morning, after weakening for four consecutive days last week. It strengthened to trade at 159.95 after Japan’s top currency official said bold action may be necessary if the situation continues. Read more: Japan’s Mimura: Bold Action May Be Needed If Situation Continues The conflict in Iran has pushed up crude oil prices, stoking inflation concerns and sending the yen and Japanese government bonds lower. Traders had been watching the 160 mark on the yen because authorities last intervened around this level in 2024. Read more: Yen Weakens to 160 Against Dollar for First Time Since 2024
Rheinmetall CEO’s dismissive comments draw pointed reaction from Ukrainian prime minister and adviser to Volodymyr Zelenskyy. What we know on day 1,496 German defence giant Rheinmetall has sought to ease a row caused by its CEO when he likened Ukrainian factories producing drones to “housewives” making weapons in their kitchens. In an interview with the Atlantic, CEO Armin Papperger was asked whet...
Rheinmetall CEO’s dismissive comments draw pointed reaction from Ukrainian prime minister and adviser to Volodymyr Zelenskyy. What we know on day 1,496 German defence giant Rheinmetall has sought to ease a row caused by its CEO when he likened Ukrainian factories producing drones to “housewives” making weapons in their kitchens. In an interview with the Atlantic, CEO Armin Papperger was asked whether Ukraine’s drone technology could disrupt his industry, which focused more on areas such as artillery and tanks. “This is how to play with Legos,” Papperger said of the drones and went on to compare major drone Ukrainian manufacturers to “housewives”, adding “this is not the technology of Lockheed Martin, General Dynamics, or Rheinmetall”. “They have 3D printers in the kitchen, and they produce parts for drones,” he said, adding: “This is not innovation.” Alexander Kamyshin, an adviser to Volodymyr Zelenskyy, swiftly point out the successes that Ukraine’s drones have had against Russian tanks. Kamyshin said that in his visits to arms factories he had seen “Ukrainian women working equally with men often enough”, adding: “They deserve respect.” The row also spawned the hashtag #MadeByHousewives on Ukrainian social media. On Sunday, Rheinmetall tagged Kamyshin in a post on its X account in which it said. “We have the utmost respect for the Ukrainian people’s immense efforts in defending themselves. Every single woman and man in Ukraine is making an immeasurable contribution.” Ukraine’s prime minister, Yulia Svyrydenko, later on Sunday said “the people of Ukraine deserve not only utmost respect but to be heard – and learned from. Yes, Europe’s defence is powered by Ukrainian ‘housewives’,” she said, also adding the #MadeByHousewives hashtag. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he discussed a possible security partnership on Sunday with Jordan’s King Abdullah to defend against drone attacks arising from the Iran war. “We discussed a possible partnership in the securi...
In March 2026, F5, Inc. announced several alliances with Forcepoint, Skyfire, and NVIDIA to combine its Application Delivery and Security Platform with partners’ data protection, AI-agent verification, and GPU optimization technologies, aiming to secure and optimize AI workloads across their lifecycle. Together, these collaborations position F5 as a key infrastructure and security layer for enterp...
In March 2026, F5, Inc. announced several alliances with Forcepoint, Skyfire, and NVIDIA to combine its Application Delivery and Security Platform with partners’ data protection, AI-agent verification, and GPU optimization technologies, aiming to secure and optimize AI workloads across their lifecycle. Together, these collaborations position F5 as a key infrastructure and security layer for enterprises looking to operationalize AI, linking data governance, agent identity, and inference...
Japanese stocks declined after concerns over the escalating Iran war and climbing oil prices hit risk appetite as the conflict enters its fifth week. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average slid as much as 5.1%, while the Topix index was down 4.6% at one point in early Tokyo trading. Electronics and banks weighed most heavily on the broader Topix. Japanese stocks will test lower levels as expectations of a d...
Japanese stocks declined after concerns over the escalating Iran war and climbing oil prices hit risk appetite as the conflict enters its fifth week. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average slid as much as 5.1%, while the Topix index was down 4.6% at one point in early Tokyo trading. Electronics and banks weighed most heavily on the broader Topix. Japanese stocks will test lower levels as expectations of a drawn-out war in the Middle East build, said Shoji Hirakawa , chief global strategist at Tokai Tokyo Intelligence Lab. Monday’s slide comes after the Houthis joined the Iran war over the weekend, ramping up tensions in the Middle East. Additional US troops also arrived in the region. READ: Strikes Continue as Houthis Join Iran War, US Troops Arrive Oil prices are high and there are concerns about the impact on Japanese companies, such as difficultes in procuring raw materials, Hirakawa said. Monday is also the ex-dividend date for many companies with fiscal years ending in March and September, which is likely to put extra pressure on the benchmarks as investors lock in payouts. Ex-dividend stocks may push down the Topix by approximately 35 points and the Nikkei 225 by around 357, according to Bloomberg-compiled data.
The Huskies beat Duke with a 3-pointer from the logo with 0.4 seconds left by Braylon Mullins, who grew up just outside of Indianapolis. (Image credit: Stephanie Scarbrough)
The Huskies beat Duke with a 3-pointer from the logo with 0.4 seconds left by Braylon Mullins, who grew up just outside of Indianapolis. (Image credit: Stephanie Scarbrough)
Aluminum climbed around 6% after Iran attacked two production sites in the Middle East, threatening to deepen supply disruptions in a region that accounts for a significant portion of global output. Prices on the London Metal Exchange rose as much as 6% to $3,492 a ton in early trading. Shares in Australian aluminum companies also rose . The Middle East’s top aluminum producer, Emirates Global Alu...
Aluminum climbed around 6% after Iran attacked two production sites in the Middle East, threatening to deepen supply disruptions in a region that accounts for a significant portion of global output. Prices on the London Metal Exchange rose as much as 6% to $3,492 a ton in early trading. Shares in Australian aluminum companies also rose . The Middle East’s top aluminum producer, Emirates Global Aluminium PJSC , said on Saturday it had sustained “ significant damage ” at its plant in Abu Dhabi, while state-owned Aluminium Bahrain said it was assessing damage at its facility. Read More: Iran War Comes for Aluminum, Pitching Key Metal into Crisis The war in the Middle East had already pushed up prices of aluminum — used in cars, planes and solar panels — as smelters in the region can’t ship out metal or bring in raw materials. The latest attacks risk making the situation worse by potentially knocking out supplies for a longer period, even if the Strait of Hormuz is reopened.
Funtap/iStock via Getty Images Fund Performance Review The fund finished the fourth quarter in line with the 0.16% gain of the benchmark, the Russell Midcap® Index. Security lending income and security misweights due to certain benchmark securities that the fund is restricted from buying were additive to overall Fund performance for the period. The performance variance between futures held by the ...
Funtap/iStock via Getty Images Fund Performance Review The fund finished the fourth quarter in line with the 0.16% gain of the benchmark, the Russell Midcap® Index. Security lending income and security misweights due to certain benchmark securities that the fund is restricted from buying were additive to overall Fund performance for the period. The performance variance between futures held by the fund (to equitize cash and accruals) and that of the index also had positive impacts. Efficient trading and implementation strategies helped limit fund transaction costs while replicating the exposure and characteristics of the benchmark. Results for U.S. mid-cap stocks were roughly flat in the fourth quarter, according to the Russell index, extending a historically fast rebound that began in early April, but at a slower pace. The advance has been supported by strong corporate fundamentals, a resilient economy, an ongoing boom in spending on artificial intelligence and the Federal Reserve's first interest-rate reductions since December 2024. Stocks entered October on an uptrend, but with the federal government in a shutdown that would last until November 12. On October 29, the central bank lowered its benchmark federal funds rate by 0.25 percentage points at its second consecutive meeting. The index returned -0.83% for the month. Mid-caps rallied modestly in November (+1.27%), despite the continued shutdown and a brief mid-month sell-off. Meanwhile, the Fed cut rates by another quarter point on December 10. The index returned -0.28% for the month and achieved a 10.60% gain for the year and a 30.09% increase since the low on April 8. In the fourth quarter, the index's narrow advance was driven by the defensive-oriented health care sector (+6%), which particularly shined in November. Materials (+3%) and industrials (+1%) also delivered modest gains. Information technology, which represented 12% of the index in Q4, gained 3%, led by technology hardware & equipment (+9%) compan...