Latest news with #HarryRobertson
Zawya
21-03-2025
- Business
- Zawya
Euro zone bond yields set for weekly fall on tariff and growth concerns
LONDON - Euro zone bond yields were set for their biggest weekly fall since November on Friday as traders mulled the risks of tariffs and a U.S. economic slowdown, after shooting higher earlier in March on Germany's spending plans. Investors were also watching Germany's Bundesrat upper house of parliament, which is set to vote on Friday on a dramatic increase in spending. Analysts said the bill is likely to pass that final hurdle. Germany's 10-year bond yield, the benchmark for the euro zone bloc, fell 2 basis points (bps) to 2.761% and was on track to fall 11 bps for the week. Yields move inversely to prices. Analysts at Barclays, Commerzbank and ING said concerns about U.S. President Donald Trump's April 2 deadline for tariff decisions was weighing on sentiment and pushing investors towards the safety of government bonds. German yields nonetheless remain 39 bps higher for the month after the announcement of the country's new spending plans - to be funded largely through bond markets - sent yields soaring. Italy's 10-year yield was lower by 1 bp at 3.836%, and the closely watched gap between Italian and German bond yields widened slightly to 107 bps. Germany's two-year bond yield, which is more sensitive to European Central Bank rate expectations, was 1 bp lower at 2.158%. (Reporting by Harry Robertson; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
The Guardian
14-03-2025
- Sport
- The Guardian
Kyle Feldt sparks St Helens' Challenge Cup cruise against Leeds
St Helens booked their spot in the quarter-finals of this year's Challenge Cup after inflicting more misery on their great rivals, Leeds Rhinos, exposing some of their early-season weaknesses in the process. These two sides were Super League's dominant pairing for a prolonged period over the past two decades. But it is a sign of how far behind the competition's chasing pack the Rhinos have fallen when you consider this was their 18th defeat in the past 19 meetings against the Saints. After a fairly timid first half in which the two teams were split by just a solitary try scored by Kyle Feldt, a blistering eight-minute passage after the break decisively swung this tie the way of the Saints, who once again progress to the last eight of the cup with minimal fuss. Tries from Tristan Sailor, Matt Whitley and Harry Robertson turned a 6-2 lead into a 20-point advantage in the blink of an eye. And against a Leeds side who, at that point, had not scored a try for over 140 minutes and had laboured in attack all evening, it was ultimately the difference. Leeds did end their wait for a try when Ash Handley touched down but there was never really any semblance of a comeback – and they have now not won a Challenge Cup tie against Super League opposition for five years. That dates all the way back to 2020, the last time the Rhinos won a major trophy. The Rhinos were able to welcome back a number of key men here, including fullback Lachie Miller and winger Ryan Hall. Both were important in Leeds establishing the early foothold in a game that initially lacked spark but was just about edged in terms of territory by the visitors. And their fractional dominance was rewarded just after the midway point in the half, when Jake Connor kicked Leeds into a 2-0 lead from the tee after a penalty close to the St Helens line. But having laboured with the ball to that point, falling behind did at least seem to instil a bit of life into the hosts as half-time approached. Jonny Lomax's testing kick wasn't dealt with by the Leeds defence and Harry Robertson's clever touch backwards allowed the Saints to recycle the ball, leading to Feldt finishing well in the corner. Mark Percival converted brilliantly from the touchline to give the hosts a four-point lead. But that was as good as it got for either side in a fairly low quality half. There were few clear-cut chances, with errors dominating the closing moments of the first 40 minutes. The cup tie was clearly in the balance and there to be won, but purely by virtue of the fact that neither side were really delivering what they can be capable of. Sign up to The Recap The best of our sports journalism from the past seven days and a heads-up on the weekend's action after newsletter promotion The Saints stepped it up when it mattered after the break. First, the outstanding Robertson cut through to tee up Sailor for a simple finish before Whitley added another three minutes later. Robertson, the latest star to emerge through the St Helens academy, then scored a wonderful effort two minutes later to make it 22-2. Leeds' effort couldn't be faulted but the truth is that their attack is failing to trouble Super League's best sides so far in 2025. Handley's clever finish from a Jake Connor kick at least ended their lengthy wait for a try, but by the time they scored again, the tie was done. Their second came through Harry Newman with two minutes remaining but there would be no dramatic finale, and Leeds's ever-increasing wait for a trophy looks set to continue for a while yet.
Reuters
14-03-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Stocks suffer biggest weekly outflow this year in 'risk-off' move, BofA says
LONDON, March 14 (Reuters) - Investors pulled $2.8 billion from stock funds in the week to Wednesday in the biggest weekly outflow this year, Bank of America said on Friday, in a sign of a souring of the mood in global financial markets. The U.S. S&P 500 (.SPX), opens new tab stock index has now fallen more than 10% from its recent high, putting it into correction territory, as U.S. President Donald Trump's stop-start trade wars sow uncertainty among companies and investors. U.S. government bond funds received the biggest weekly inflow since August at $6.4 billion, BofA said in its weekly note tracking flows in and out of world markets citing figures from data provider EPFR. BofA said this was a sign of a "risk-off" mood. Investors pulled $2.8 billion from U.S. stock funds in particular but put $5 billion into European equities. Real estate stocks suffered the biggest outflow since May 2022 at $1.2 billion, while high yield bond funds saw the biggest outflow in 12 weeks at $2.3 billion. However, BofA's analysts said the move out of stocks had yet to unwind much of the $156 billion of inflows into global equity funds so far this year. Reporting by Harry Robertson, editing by Alun John
Zawya
07-03-2025
- Business
- Zawya
German bonds regain footing after biggest two-day drop since 1970s
LONDON - A sharp sell-off in euro zone government bonds abated on Friday, after the biggest two-day fall in Bunds since the 1970s on the back of a complete rewriting of Germany fiscal rules. Investors were waiting for key U.S. jobs figures and were digesting yet more weak factory data from Germany, where industrial orders fell more than expected in January. Germany's 10-year bond yield, the benchmark for the euro zone bloc, fell 5 basis points (bps) to 2.835%. The yield soared 30 bps on Wednesday, when Germany's plan to change its fiscal rules was announced, the biggest one-day rise since the late 1990s. It then rose another 10 bps on Thursday, making the two-day sell-off the biggest since 1974. Yields move inversely to prices. Italy's 10-year yield was down 1 bp at 3.932%, widening the closely watched gap between Italian and German yields to 109 bps. The debt of more indebted countries such as Italy has sold off alongside that of Germany, which is traditionally the yardstick for rest of the euro zone. Germany's two-year bond yield, which is sensitive to European Central Bank rate expectations, was 4 bps lower at 2.237%, but remained up 26 bps for the week. (Reporting by Harry Robertson Editing by Christina Fincher)
Yahoo
03-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Traders place record bet on rising Japanese yen, eyeing further rate hikes
By Harry Robertson LONDON (Reuters) - Speculators have mounted their biggest ever wager that the Japanese yen will continue to rise as they position for further Bank of Japan interest rate hikes, an abrupt reversal from huge bets against the currency last year. The yen has strengthened by 4% this year as stronger inflation data has pointed to more rate hikes, calling into question the once hugely popular yen carry trade, which drove investors to position heavily against the currency over the last two years. Net long positions in yen futures among non-commercial traders - such as hedge funds and other speculators - soared to 96,000 contracts in the week ended February 25. That was up from 61,000 a week earlier, data from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission showed on Friday, and was a record on data stretching back more than 30 years. In cash terms, the long position - a bet the currency will rise - amounts to around $8 billion, LSEG data shows. The yen rose to an almost five-month high of 148.56 per dollar last week as a fall in U.S. Treasury yields and a rise in Japanese bond yields dented the attractiveness of the U.S. currency. Growing expectations that the Bank of Japan will keep hiking interest rates have been boosted by stronger-than-expected inflation data and comments from BOJ officials. "The BOJ has definitely been more hawkish than people had anticipated at the start this year, hiking rates again and strongly signaling that they're likely to continue to hike rates going forward," said Lee Hardman, senior currency analyst at Japanese bank MUFG. The BOJ has been going in the opposite direction to other major central banks, hiking interest rates to a 17-year high of 0.5% in January. Rates were negative for eight years until 2024 as Japan battled low growth and deflation. Speculators built their biggest bet against the Japanese currency in 17 years last July, as U.S. bond yields soared compared to those in Japan. The difference in yields made it highly profitable to borrow in Japanese yen to invest in dollar assets, in a so-called carry trade, effectively shorting the currency. Hardman said higher volatility, along with a rising yen and Japanese yields have made such a trade less attractive. "The yen is still a low-yielder, but it's more risky now to go short the yen," he said. Analysts at JPMorgan said in a note that the yen rally was part of a "broader carry-to-value rotation" in currency markets. However, Kamal Sharma, senior FX strategist at Bank of America, said he expects the yen's gains to be limited and for it to fall back to around 160 per dollar, in part because of foreign direct investment outflows. "We're still bearish on the yen, and a large part of this has been the idea that the structural outflow that we've seen from the Japanese economy continues at pace," he said.
