Prime Minister Viktor Orban ’s election defeat is extending a historic rally in Hungary’s bond market as his successor dangles the prospects of the country adopting the euro. The extra yield investors demand to hold Hungary ’s 10-year domestic bonds instead of German bunds — the euro-area benchmark — has dropped to the lowest level in five years in the wake of Sunday’s election. The forint and Bud...
Prime Minister Viktor Orban ’s election defeat is extending a historic rally in Hungary’s bond market as his successor dangles the prospects of the country adopting the euro. The extra yield investors demand to hold Hungary ’s 10-year domestic bonds instead of German bunds — the euro-area benchmark — has dropped to the lowest level in five years in the wake of Sunday’s election. The forint and Budapest-listed stocks have also advanced sharply. The scale of Orban’s landslide loss to Peter Magyar ’s Tisza party changed the investment narrative around Hungary nearly overnight. The country known as the European Union’s leading rebel with a stalled economy and bloated budget is now taking on the role of a nation keen on making reforms needed to access EU funds and ultimately joining the euro. “It has been a game changer and the euro accession is clearly the main positive point,” Guillaume Tresca , a global EM strategist at Generali Asset Management, said about the election. “For bonds, it would be a real positive leading to lower fiscal risks and so to lower long-term yields.” Investors had positioned for a Tisza victory, lifting Hungarian assets in the run-up to the ballot on a bet that Magyar would unlock access to about $20 billion in EU funds frozen by Brussels for Orban’s democratic breaches. The spread between yields on Hungarian debt and bunds had narrowed 93 basis points in the last weeks of campaigning and a further 43 points since the vote, data compiled by Bloomberg show. To be clear, Magyar has his work cut out to meet the criteria for joining the currency bloc and accession isn’t expected during his current term in office until 2030. And he will first need to dismantle the system built by Orban after taking over in early May. Read more: EU Won’t Release Hungarian Funds Without Seeing Reforms Still, the very act of firing the starting gun on the euro accession process is boosting bonds. The warm reception for Hungary’s incoming leader from Brussels and the Eu...
There are some companies that seem to defy expectations, no matter what adversities are thrown at them. Nucor (NYSE: NUE) is one of them. The steel mill was born from the bankruptcy of another business, and it has become one of the most consistent companies in an industry known for its high cyclicality. The company's winning formula is still paying dividends for investors. Nucor is a steelmaker , ...
There are some companies that seem to defy expectations, no matter what adversities are thrown at them. Nucor (NYSE: NUE) is one of them. The steel mill was born from the bankruptcy of another business, and it has become one of the most consistent companies in an industry known for its high cyclicality. The company's winning formula is still paying dividends for investors. Nucor is a steelmaker , but the key is in how it makes steel. The old method is blast furnaces, which are inflexible and expensive to operate. Nucor helped popularise the new method, electric arc mini-mills. Nucor's mills are highly flexible, allowing them to ramp up and down more easily with demand. This simple fact has created a business model that is highly resilient through the entire steel cycle. Image source: Getty Images. Continue reading
A Japanese man arrested for abandoning the body of his stepson who had been missing for weeks has admitted to killing the boy and allegedly hiding the corpse in different locations amid an extensive search by police in Kyoto prefecture. The arrest on Thursday morning marked a dramatic turn of events in the investigation, which was launched when 11-year-old Yuki Adachi went missing on March 23 afte...
A Japanese man arrested for abandoning the body of his stepson who had been missing for weeks has admitted to killing the boy and allegedly hiding the corpse in different locations amid an extensive search by police in Kyoto prefecture. The arrest on Thursday morning marked a dramatic turn of events in the investigation, which was launched when 11-year-old Yuki Adachi went missing on March 23 after the stepfather claimed to have driven him to school. The 37-year-old, also called Yuki Adachi, is...
Tesco Plc gave conservative guidance for this fiscal year as Britain’s largest grocer faces uncertainty over costs and the impact on households due to the war in the Middle East. The retailer expects adjusted operating profit of between £3 billion ($4.1 billion) and £3.3 billion this year, a wider range than it anticipated due to the impact of the Iran war. Tesco’s profit rose to £3.15 billion in ...
Tesco Plc gave conservative guidance for this fiscal year as Britain’s largest grocer faces uncertainty over costs and the impact on households due to the war in the Middle East. The retailer expects adjusted operating profit of between £3 billion ($4.1 billion) and £3.3 billion this year, a wider range than it anticipated due to the impact of the Iran war. Tesco’s profit rose to £3.15 billion in the 12 months ended Feb. 28, according to a statement Thursday, more than analysts expected. Tesco joins a growing chorus of corporate warnings about the fallout from the Iran War, amid fears that stretched household budgets will be unable to absorb higher costs. The Food and Drink Federation now expects food inflation to exceed 9% by the end of the year, up from its previous forecast of 3.2%.
TSMC booked a 58% surge in profit, a sign that the Middle East war in its first few weeks did not depress booming AI investment. Bloomberg's Charlotte Yang reports. (Source: Bloomberg)
TSMC booked a 58% surge in profit, a sign that the Middle East war in its first few weeks did not depress booming AI investment. Bloomberg's Charlotte Yang reports. (Source: Bloomberg)
Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL), the world’s largest producer of electric vehicle (EV) batteries, rallied after creating a subsidiary to manage its mining assets, signalling a deeper push into the energy storage business. Its Shenzhen-listed shares rose 4.4 per cent to 450.14 yuan on Thursday, lifting its market capitalisation above 2 trillion yuan (US$293.4 billion), while its Hong Kong-li...
Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL), the world’s largest producer of electric vehicle (EV) batteries, rallied after creating a subsidiary to manage its mining assets, signalling a deeper push into the energy storage business. Its Shenzhen-listed shares rose 4.4 per cent to 450.14 yuan on Thursday, lifting its market capitalisation above 2 trillion yuan (US$293.4 billion), while its Hong Kong-listed stock jumped 10 per cent to HK$723. Other energy storage-related stocks on the mainland also...
A number of stocks fell in the afternoon session after news of a potential Middle East ceasefire triggered a major shift in the stock market. For weeks, investors held defensive and energy stocks during the conflict between the U.S. and Iran.
A number of stocks fell in the afternoon session after news of a potential Middle East ceasefire triggered a major shift in the stock market. For weeks, investors held defensive and energy stocks during the conflict between the U.S. and Iran.
Millennium Wheel And Skyline At Sunset. London, England. Design Pics Editorial | Universal Images Group | Getty Images The U.K. economy grew by 0.5% in February, according to preliminary figures from the Office for National Statistics published Thursday. Economists polled by Reuters expected U.K. gross domestic product (GDP) to have expanded by 0.1% month-on-month. Services and production both gre...
Millennium Wheel And Skyline At Sunset. London, England. Design Pics Editorial | Universal Images Group | Getty Images The U.K. economy grew by 0.5% in February, according to preliminary figures from the Office for National Statistics published Thursday. Economists polled by Reuters expected U.K. gross domestic product (GDP) to have expanded by 0.1% month-on-month. Services and production both grew by 0.5%, and construction grew by 1% in February 2026. The rebound came after the economy grew by 0.1% in January (the first estimate suggested the economy had flatlined). The International Monetary Fund warned earlier this week that the U.K. could see the biggest hit to growth from the Iran war of any major economy. The IMF is now forecasting U.K. growth of just 0.8% in 2026, down from a previous forecast of 1.3%. that the IMF made in January "Looking ahead, we expect growth to temper," Sanjay Raja, chief U.K. economist at Deutsche Bank, said in emailed analysis. "Indeed, higher uncertainty would dampen spending and investment. Tighter financial conditions won't help either. With sentiment weakening, we expect output to also take a hit," he added. As a net importer of energy, the U.K. is particularly vulnerable to global energy price shocks like the one being caused by conflict in the Middle East, which has put a stranglehold on oil and gas exports from the region. Before the war began in late February, the Bank of England was expected to cut interest rates as inflation cooled to its 2% target. The war has put paid to those expectations, however. Economists now expect U.K inflation to accelerate in March to 3.3%, from 3% in February, forcing the bank to hike interest rates at least once this year. The latest inflation data is due on April 22. This is a breaking news story. Please refresh for updates. Choose CNBC as your preferred source on Google and never miss a moment from the most trusted name in business news.
Greater Bay Airlines has suspended its flights between Hong Kong and Bangkok for more than four months amid surging fuel prices driven by the conflict in the Middle East. The airline’s website on Thursday showed no flights from Hong Kong to Bangkok between May 11 and September 22, and none from Bangkok to Hong Kong between May 12 and September 30. The carrier said it had adjusted its services due ...
Greater Bay Airlines has suspended its flights between Hong Kong and Bangkok for more than four months amid surging fuel prices driven by the conflict in the Middle East. The airline’s website on Thursday showed no flights from Hong Kong to Bangkok between May 11 and September 22, and none from Bangkok to Hong Kong between May 12 and September 30. The carrier said it had adjusted its services due to rising fuel prices and apologised to affected travellers. “Due to the continued rise in fuel...
ONS figure for February suggests economy was gaining gained momentum before conflict stoked inflation with soaring energy prices The UK economy unexpectedly expanded by 0.5% in February, before the war in the Middle East dashed hopes of an uptick in growth this year, official figures show. The unusually large increase reported by the Office for National Statistics, suggests the economy had gained ...
ONS figure for February suggests economy was gaining gained momentum before conflict stoked inflation with soaring energy prices The UK economy unexpectedly expanded by 0.5% in February, before the war in the Middle East dashed hopes of an uptick in growth this year, official figures show. The unusually large increase reported by the Office for National Statistics, suggests the economy had gained momentum before the conflict began. Economists had forecast just a 0.1% expansion. Continue reading...