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Reuters
20 minutes ago
- Reuters
Asia shares slip, dollar steadies ahead of Jackson Hole
SINGAPORE, Aug 20 (Reuters) - Shares in Asia fell on Wednesday, weighed down by a tech-led selloff on Wall Street, while the dollar gained some ground ahead of a key meeting of central bankers later in the week. Oil prices inched higher after falling in the previous session, as traders bet that talks over a possible agreement to end the war in Ukraine could ease sanctions on Russian crude oil, boosting global supply. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS), opens new tab fell 0.47%, as did stock futures in Europe and the U.S.. EUROSTOXX 50 futures slid 0.55%, while DAX futures lost 0.5% and FTSE futures eased 0.14%. S&P 500 futures dipped 0.2% and Nasdaq futures lost 0.34%, extending its fall from the cash session overnight. "The S&P 500 and Nasdaq slumped overnight as investors ditched high-flying tech stocks with their lofty valuations," said Tony Sycamore, a market analyst at IG. Adding to headwinds for the sector, news that Nvidia (NVDA.O), opens new tab and AMD (AMD.O), opens new tab have agreed to give the U.S. government 15% of the revenues from chip sales in China, as well as reports that the U.S. is considering taking a 10% stake in Intel, have stoked investor worries of the Trump administration's growing influence on tech companies. Sources also told Reuters that U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick is looking into the federal government taking equity stakes in computer chip manufacturers that receive CHIPS Act funding to build factories in the country. "These developments signal that U.S. government is heading in a concerning and more interventionist direction," said Sycamore. Other bourses in Asia were similarly in the red on Wednesday, with Japan's Nikkei (.N225), opens new tab down 1.2%, while China's CSI300 blue-chip index (.CSI300), opens new tab fell 0.5%. Much of investors' attention at the start of the week was on a meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and a group of European allies over the Russia-Ukraine war. While the talks concluded without much fanfare, Trump said the United States would help guarantee Ukraine's security in any deal to end Russia's war there. He later said on Tuesday that the United States might provide air support to Ukraine, while ruling out putting U.S. troops on the ground. "The U.S. is not categorically underwriting anything, any security for Ukraine, even if they're open to provide some, because we don't know the conditions under which they will. So there's quite a bit of risk left out there," said Vishnu Varathan, head of macro research for Asia ex-Japan at Mizuho. Oil prices recovered after a fall in the previous session, with Brent crude futures last up 0.46% at $66.09 a barrel. U.S. crude advanced 0.6% to $62.72 per barrel. All eyes are now on the Kansas City Federal Reserve's August 21-23 Jackson Hole symposium, where Fed Chair Jerome Powell is due to speak on the economic outlook and the central bank's policy framework on Friday. Focus will be on what Powell says about the near-term outlook for rates, with traders almost fully pricing in a rate cut next month. "Given the apparent tensions between U.S. CPI and PPI data, (it) does come across as... premature to declare one way or the other. And most importantly, given this kind of dilemma embedded within the data, it is hard to decipher whether the Fed would take or would emphasise the risks that start to mount on the job side of the equation or (the) need to sit firm," said Mizuho's Varathan. Ahead of the gathering, the dollar firmed slightly, pushing the euro down 0.13% to $1.1633, while sterling fell 0.16% to $1.3470. The New Zealand dollar eased 0.17% to $0.5885 ahead of a rate decision by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand due shortly on Wednesday, where a rate cut is expected. Elsewhere, spot gold fell 0.07% to $3,312.89 an ounce.
Daily Mail
2 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Make no mistake, what's unfolding is spiteful class warfare on steroids: JEFF PRESTRIDGE
Another day and yet another rumour emerges of an egregious attack on the wealth of Middle England by this tax-grabbing Government. It's enough to reduce grown men and women, the prudent and thrifty to tears. Having just informed us that a more pernicious inheritance tax regime is heading our way, Labour has now indicated that it is looking to impose a new property tax regime on middle-class homeowners. It seems that nothing in our financial armoury – our home, pension and savings – is sacred in the eyes of Labour. It's all there to be grabbed or taxed to the hilt. Although details of the proposed tax are rather sketchy – and Treasury officials are currently remaining schtum – the fact that the story broke in the Labour-supporting Guardian newspaper suggests that this new tax regime has legs. No smoke without fire. The tax, it seems, could apply to those selling homes worth more than £500,000 – and replace the current stamp duty tax which is levied on buyers. Another option is an annual levy on the value of a property – a wealth tax whichever way you look at it. At what rate the tax would be applied is anyone's guess but it would surely be set at such a level that it raised more than the Treasury currently receives in stamp duty (£11.6billion in the last financial year). After all, this is a tax overhaul driven essentially by Labour's desperate need to generate more revenue for the Treasury's coffers, much diminished by the Chancellor's bloated spending and costly U-turns on winter fuel payment and much-needed welfare reform. It's scary – bloody scary. Make no mistake about it, what is unfolding before our very eyes is class warfare on steroids. A spiteful assault on millions of people who through a mix of thrift, sacrifice and damned hard work have built their own financial fortress, only for the Big Bad Wolf that is Labour to come along and attempt to blow it down. While the current stamp duty tax regime is far from perfect, a replacement property tax – whichever form it takes – would bring with it a shedful of issues. For example, if it took the form of a seller's tax, it would surely clog up the housing market even more than it is now. I imagine that many elderly homeowners sitting in sizeable £500,000-plus properties would opt to stay put rather than sell up, pay the tax and downsize. But if it was an annual tax, it could blow a hole in your household budget. Alongside the replacement for stamp duty, Labour is also rumoured to be looking at abolishing council tax and introducing a 'local' property tax which owners, not residents, would pay. This would be based on the value of the home. Good luck there, Rachel Reeves, given that a similar idea (the poll tax) introduced some 35 years ago by a Conservative government led by Margaret Thatcher went down like a lead balloon – and was swiftly abandoned. Of course, there is a strong case for reform of property taxes in this country. But my suspicion is that Rachel From Accounts will use reform as cover to squeeze the middle classes until the pips squeak. As far as she is concerned our homes, pensions and savings are hers to tap for extra tax. Frightening. Beware of the Big Bad She-Wolf.
BBC News
2 hours ago
- BBC News
UK independent space agency scrapped to cut costs
The UK Space Agency will cease to exist as an independent entity to cut the cost of bureaucracy, the government said on will be absorbed by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) in April government says this will save money, cut duplication and ensure ministerial one leading space scientist said the move would lead to disruption in the short term and the UK losing ground to its international competitors over the long run. Dr Simeon Barber of the Open University feared that scrapping UKSA would lead to Britain's space sector "losing focus"."Around the world countries have been recognising the importance of space by setting up national space agencies, and for the government to be scrapping ours seems like a backward step," he said. UKSA was created 2010 in response to the growing importance of the sector to the economy. The development of small spacecraft, satellites and space instrumentation is a field that the UK excels at, thanks in part due to the agency. Its role is to develop the country's space strategy, coordinate research and commercial activities and liaise with international partners. During its tenure UKSA saw a UK astronaut, Tim Peake launched into space to work on the International Space Station and the development of Britain's own capability to launch small satellites and other small payloads into space from space sector generates an estimated £18.6bn a year and employs 55,000 people across the agency, its budget and activities will now be absorbed into DSIT. It follows a commitment from Prime Minister Keir Starmer to reduce costs and cut the number of arms length government bodies, known as quangos (quasi-autonomous non-governmental organisations), starting with the abolition of NHS England announced in minister Sir Chris Bryant said: "Bringing things in house means we can bring much greater integration and focus to everything we are doing while maintaining the scientific expertise and the immense ambition of the sector."The merger will see the agency become a unit within DSIT, staffed by experts from both organisations and retaining the UKSA supporters of the space agency, such as Dr Barber fear that this will mean a loss of the agency's dynamic, proactive approach which has proved to be so successful for the UK's space science and its space industry. He said there was a danger of moving to more bureaucratic, less incentivised ways of working, which he said were more typical of government departments, and were the reason the agency was created in the first place."It feels like we're going to get stuck in the mud again," he told BBC News.
