Stock futures were falling early Thursday even after Nvidia convincingly beat earnings and guidance expectations as the strong tech rebound looked set to take a pause. Dow futures fell 0.2% and Nasdaq futures were 0.1% lower. Stocks rallied for a second day Wednesday as investors appeared to shake off the panic over artificial intelligence that rocked markets at the start of the week following a v...
Stock futures were falling early Thursday even after Nvidia convincingly beat earnings and guidance expectations as the strong tech rebound looked set to take a pause. Dow futures fell 0.2% and Nasdaq futures were 0.1% lower. Stocks rallied for a second day Wednesday as investors appeared to shake off the panic over artificial intelligence that rocked markets at the start of the week following a viral note from Citrini Research.
Kenya’s shilling has traded in an unusually narrow band against the dollar for 18 months, emerging as one of the world’s most stable currencies after a bruising 2023 rout. Since the central bank began cutting interest rates in August 2024, the currency has hovered between 128 and 130 per dollar, a stark contrast to the 21% slide it suffered the previous year. The currency’s one-year volatility has...
Kenya’s shilling has traded in an unusually narrow band against the dollar for 18 months, emerging as one of the world’s most stable currencies after a bruising 2023 rout. Since the central bank began cutting interest rates in August 2024, the currency has hovered between 128 and 130 per dollar, a stark contrast to the 21% slide it suffered the previous year. The currency’s one-year volatility has been 1.6%, compared with 10.5% for the South African rand. Frontier and emerging-market currencies have swung sharply since Donald Trump returned to the US presidency, buffeted by shifting trade policies, geopolitical tensions and domestic economic pressures. Kenya’s currency, by contrast, has moved just 0.5%. That compares with a 40% surge in Ghana’s cedi and a 19% slump by Turkey’s lira. Kenyan central bank Governor Kamau Thugge attributes the stability to a current account that is “behaving relatively well,” aided by an increase in foreign direct investment and overseas purchases of local-currency bonds that have helped improve dollar liquidity. The currency’s fortunes shifted in 2024, months after Thugge took office and started raising interest rates. He reopened access to foreign exchange, easing a severe dollar shortage. Previously, businesses hoarded greenbacks and banks were reluctant to quote firm prices. “Sometimes having enough forex is enough to dissuade people from just wanting to buy dollars,” Thugge said in an interview in the capital, Nairobi, on Tuesday. “If they know there is enough, there is no panic.” Risks remain. Geopolitical tensions, including the threat of US military action against Iran, could rattle markets. Foreign investors sold a net $92 million of Kenyan equities last year, a trend that has continued, according to brokers. Kenya’s Parliamentary Budget Office, which advises lawmakers, said the lack of volatility may mask risks. “This unusual stability, compared to normal emerging-market volatility, points to tight exchange rate management or a...
Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey launched a fresh bid to smooth the flow of traditional money across national borders after officials acknowledged it’s “unlikely” countries will meet goals set for 2027. Bailey, in his role as chair of the Financial Stability Board , has convened a summit of top central banks and private-sector players for March 12 in London to discuss ways to reinvigorate th...
Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey launched a fresh bid to smooth the flow of traditional money across national borders after officials acknowledged it’s “unlikely” countries will meet goals set for 2027. Bailey, in his role as chair of the Financial Stability Board , has convened a summit of top central banks and private-sector players for March 12 in London to discuss ways to reinvigorate the work, people familiar with the event said. The event is likely to be a mixture of private and public discussion. The FSB declined to comment beyond saying that Bailey is set to speak that day and that Bank of Italy Governor Fabio Panetta — in his role as chair of the FSB Cross Border Payments Coordination Group — will also be addressing the event. A person familiar with the situation said Bailey had made jump-starting meaningful progress on cross-border payments a key priority since becoming chair of the Basel-based FSB last summer. The group, which convenes the world’s most influential central banks and other finance officials, was tasked with overhauling slow and costly cross-border payments by the Group of 20 in 2021. The backdrop then was mounting nervousness over Facebook’s ultimately-abandoned plans to launch a digital currency . Now, the role of traditional central bank money is once again under threat by the growth of crypto currencies, particularly stablecoins , which can offer a faster and cheaper alternative for international payments. Progress on the FSB work has been patchy. In October officials noted that while most of the actions on their roadmap had been completed, real-world improvements were slow to follow and the average cost of cross-border payments “remains high.” “It is unlikely that satisfactory improvements at the global level will be achieved in line with the 2027 Roadmap timetable,” the FSB said, calling on jurisdictions to take “tangible steps” to improve and private sector to engage. UK Targets End-2026 for Stablecoin Rules to Keep Pace With US...
Insight with Haslinda Amin, a daily news program featuring in-depth, high-profile interviews and analysis to give viewers the complete picture on the stories that matter. The show features prominent leaders spanning the worlds of business, finance, politics and culture. (Source: Bloomberg)
Insight with Haslinda Amin, a daily news program featuring in-depth, high-profile interviews and analysis to give viewers the complete picture on the stories that matter. The show features prominent leaders spanning the worlds of business, finance, politics and culture. (Source: Bloomberg)
President Christine Lagarde repeated that the European Central Bank has succeeded in taming consumer prices, while cautioning that policymakers must keep an eye on elevated perceptions of inflation. Speaking at a regular hearing with European lawmakers Thursday in Brussels, she predicted that officials will meet their 2% goal over the medium term. “Our efforts to bring inflation down have been eff...
President Christine Lagarde repeated that the European Central Bank has succeeded in taming consumer prices, while cautioning that policymakers must keep an eye on elevated perceptions of inflation. Speaking at a regular hearing with European lawmakers Thursday in Brussels, she predicted that officials will meet their 2% goal over the medium term. “Our efforts to bring inflation down have been effective,” Lagarde said. “However, even though inflation has declined, surveys show that many citizens still perceive prices to be rising faster than the official data suggest.” While policymakers stress “ full optionality ” on their next interest-rate moves, they’re showing no inclination to tweak them any time soon. They forecast inflation to stabilize at the 2% target over the medium term and growth to pick up. However, some see a risk of a more prolonged undershooting, with the euro’s ascent and cheap China imports seen as key dangers. However, perceived inflation is higher than actual readings, according to the latest Consumer Expectation Survey . This can negatively affect private consumption and lead to higher wage claims, making the central bank’s job of maintaining price stability and fostering growth harder. “The ECB pays close attention to households’ inflation perceptions – not only because these have an impact on economic activity and expectations, but also to ensure that we continue to earn the trust of the people we serve,” Lagarde said. “Our role is to focus on delivering our mandate and explain not only what we do, but also why and how we do it, and to do so in a way that can be easily understood.” Economists Expect Lagarde to Exit Early, Handing ECB Job to Knot Lagarde Says ECB Must Be Agile When Setting Interest Rates Inside the ECB, Irritation Grows Over Lagarde’s Handling of Exit