Latest news with #RaeWee
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Philippines defence chief says China needs to overcome 'deficit of trust'
By Rae Wee and Greg Torode SINGAPORE (Reuters) -China has a "deficit of trust and credibility" it needs to overcome in order to mend its fraught defence ties with the Philippines, though any breakthrough in the near term remains unlikely, Manila's top defence official said on Saturday. Defence secretary Gilberto Teodoro told Reuters that the threat of China's growing military prowess was "undeniable", echoing comments from Pete Hegseth, the counterpart from his U.S. treaty ally. "China's activities are getting more expansive and more aggressive. Their demonstrations of force are getting more frequent, and in the West Philippine Sea, we are getting used to their activities, but they have expanded the areas where they are doing it," he said, referring to the South China Sea. In a wide-ranging interview on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue defence meeting in Singapore, Teodoro spoke of the frustration of dealing with Chinese military counterparts who rarely stray from talking points and propaganda and represent an institution that exists to serve the Communist Party leadership. "I believe my foreign affairs colleagues are trying their level best to engage China. But on the defence side, what we have seen is that China has to overcome a deficit of trust and credibility," he said. "They continue their activities while gaslighting us that because the proximity and the defensive capabilities of the Philippines are not on par with Vietnam, so they choose us as an easy target." But Teodoro said both the United States and the Philippines wanted to peacefully deter China and he remained confident in Washington's security commitments after meeting Hegseth in Singapore. The Philippines has been among the most vocal critics of China's growing assertion of sovereignty in the South China Sea, in contrast to some of its neighbours like Malaysia, who have adopted a more cautious stance. "No country in ASEAN is subjected to the same amount of intense activities in all fronts by China, but the Philippines," said Teodoro. China's defence ministry did not immediately respond to a Reuters' request for comment. China's foreign ministry earlier this month urged the Philippines to stop provocations in the South China Sea and officials have frequently accused the U.S. of sowing discord in the region. China claims almost the entire South China Sea, despite overlapping claims by Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Taiwan. A 2016 ruling of an international arbitral tribunal said Beijing's claims, based on its historic maps, have no basis under international law, a decision China does not recognise.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Morning Bid: Nvidia earnings take the spotlight
A look at the day ahead in European and global markets from Rae Wee Earnings results from Nvidia will be the marquee event for markets on Wednesday, with all eyes on how much U.S. technology curbs on China will cost the AI bellwether. Company watchers expect the chip giant to report a 66.2% surge in first-quarter revenue to $43.28 billion, however uncertainty surrounding its China business looms large even as a pullback in other regulations is set to open up new markets. As it is, traders in the options markets are bracing for industry-wide volatility after the results, with defensive options contracts on a major semiconductor ETF drawing heavy attention. Earnings aside, investors will also be watching developments in global bond markets after demand on Wednesday for Japan's 40-year government bond auction was its lowest since November, underscoring the market's diminishing capacity to absorb new debt. Long-end yields have surged worldwide in recent weeks on a heavy selloff in bonds as concern mounts over fiscal deficits, particularly in developed nations such as the U.S. and Japan. Worries over tax cuts and that the United States' chaotic tariff policy will stoke inflation and propel government spending have made investors increasingly nervous about holding long-dated sovereign debt. On Tuesday, Reuters' exclusive report that Japan is considering trimming the issuance of super-long bonds was followed by a drop in both yields and the yen. Yields on Japanese government bonds were little changed following Wednesday's auction. U.S. Treasury yields edged up slightly after falling the previous day. Over in New Zealand, the central bank cut its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points and flagged a slightly deeper easing cycle than it forecast three months ago, underlining risk to economic growth from a sharp shift in U.S. trade policy. Key developments that could influence markets on Wednesday: * North America earnings: Nvidia, Bank of Montreal, NationalBank of Canada, DICK'S Sporting Goods, Macy's * U.S. auction of two-year floating rate, five-year notes * German auction of 15-year Federal bonds * German unemployment data for May * France Q1 GDP final reading, producer prices for April Trying to keep up with the latest tariff news? Our new daily news digest offers a rundown of the top market-moving headlines impacting global trade. Sign up for Tariff Watch here. (By Rae Wee; Editing by Christopher Cushing)
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Morning Bid: Nvidia earnings take the spotlight
A look at the day ahead in European and global markets from Rae Wee Earnings results from Nvidia will be the marquee event for markets on Wednesday, with all eyes on how much U.S. technology curbs on China will cost the AI bellwether. Company watchers expect the chip giant to report a 66.2% surge in first-quarter revenue to $43.28 billion, however uncertainty surrounding its China business looms large even as a pullback in other regulations is set to open up new markets. As it is, traders in the options markets are bracing for industry-wide volatility after the results, with defensive options contracts on a major semiconductor ETF drawing heavy attention. Earnings aside, investors will also be watching developments in global bond markets after demand on Wednesday for Japan's 40-year government bond auction was its lowest since November, underscoring the market's diminishing capacity to absorb new debt. Long-end yields have surged worldwide in recent weeks on a heavy selloff in bonds as concern mounts over fiscal deficits, particularly in developed nations such as the U.S. and Japan. Worries over tax cuts and that the United States' chaotic tariff policy will stoke inflation and propel government spending have made investors increasingly nervous about holding long-dated sovereign debt. On Tuesday, Reuters' exclusive report that Japan is considering trimming the issuance of super-long bonds was followed by a drop in both yields and the yen. Yields on Japanese government bonds were little changed following Wednesday's auction. U.S. Treasury yields edged up slightly after falling the previous day. Over in New Zealand, the central bank cut its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points and flagged a slightly deeper easing cycle than it forecast three months ago, underlining risk to economic growth from a sharp shift in U.S. trade policy. Key developments that could influence markets on Wednesday: * North America earnings: Nvidia, Bank of Montreal, NationalBank of Canada, DICK'S Sporting Goods, Macy's * U.S. auction of two-year floating rate, five-year notes * German auction of 15-year Federal bonds * German unemployment data for May * France Q1 GDP final reading, producer prices for April Trying to keep up with the latest tariff news? Our new daily news digest offers a rundown of the top market-moving headlines impacting global trade. Sign up for Tariff Watch here. (By Rae Wee; Editing by Christopher Cushing) Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Daily Maverick
5 days ago
- Business
- Daily Maverick
Asian shares dip, dollar struggles after Trump's tariff backflip
By Rae Wee SINGAPORE, May 27 (Reuters) – Asian shares eased on Tuesday, though US futures rose after President Donald Trump delayed his threatened 50% duties on European Union shipments, while the dollar was headed for a fifth straight monthly loss. In Japan, yields on super-long government bonds fell early in the session, retreating from their all-time highs in the wake of last week's heavy selloff in the bonds. Markets in the US were closed on Monday for a holiday, making for thin overnight trading conditions and leaving investors latching on to lingering optimism from Trump's U-turn on his threat to impose 50% tariffs on imports from the EU next month, restoring a July 9 deadline. Nasdaq futures were up 1.26% in Asia while S&P 500 futures similarly rose 1.11%. FTSE futures advanced 0.94%. UK markets were also closed on Monday. 'It was a better night for risk assets, following Trump deferring (EU tariffs) back to July 9,' said Tony Sycamore, a market analyst at IG. 'What I think probably is now the main driver for this week is we've got the month-end rebalancing flows, which should start to kick in anytime soon… Nvidia's earnings report again is going to be front and centre in terms of what's going on there.' Results from Nvidia are due on Wednesday, where the AI darling is expected to report a 65.9% jump in first-quarter revenue. Elsewhere, MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down 0.17%, while Japan's Nikkei similarly fell 0.15%. China's CSI300 blue-chip index edged 0.06% lower while the Shanghai Composite Index was little changed. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index dipped 0.1%. Focus for investors this week will also be on speeches from a slew of Federal Reserve policymakers and Friday's US core PCE price index, for clues on the outlook for US rates. A two-day annual conference hosted by the Bank of Japan (BOJ) and its affiliated think tank kicked off on Tuesday, with this year's gathering of global central bankers in Tokyo set to focus on flagging economic growth and sticky inflation. In currencies, the dollar struggled to find its footing and was headed for a fifth straight month of declines against a basket of currencies, which would mark the longest such losing streak since 2017. The euro hovered near a one-month high at $1.14035, while the yen was up nearly 0.5% at 142.18 per dollar. Trump's chaotic trade policies and concerns over the worsening US deficit outlook have undermined sentiment towards US assets and in turn been a drag on the dollar. 'A US dollar regime change could be in the making in the long term after it appears to have peaked recently,' said David Meier, an economist at Julius Baer. 'Erratic US policymaking, the tense fiscal situation, and large external indebtedness, against the backdrop of the twin deficit, suggest that a weaker USD is the route of least resistance.' And as the dollar loses some of its safe-haven appeal, investors have instead sought alternatives such as gold, sending prices to record highs this year. It last traded 0.28% lower at $3,332.91 an ounce. Elsewhere, oil prices eased on Tuesday as investors weighed the possibility of an OPEC+ decision to further increase its crude oil output at a meeting later this week. Brent crude futures eased 0.1% to $64.67 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate crude fell 0.16% to $61.43 per barrel.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Morning Bid: Chaotic US trade shifts leave markets wary
A look at the day ahead in European and global markets from Rae Wee Markets in Britain will likely return from the long weekend with a bang on Tuesday after Donald Trump's backflip over his threatened 50% tariff on the European Union, although worries about his erratic policy shifts could make the lift short-lived. FTSE futures were up sharply in Asia and Wall Street futures similarly pointed to a strong open, after the cash market was closed for a holiday in the previous session. Asian stocks retreated on Tuesday, however, suggesting that investors remain hesitant. The U.S. president's latest U-turn on EU tariffs reinforces how unpredictable his trade policies can be and undermines already fragile investor confidence in the U.S. economy. The temporary trade reprieve did little to help the dollar, which remained stuck near its lowest in a month on Tuesday and was set for a fifth monthly decline against a basket of major currencies. That would mark its longest losing streak since 2017. There is little on the data calendar on Tuesday, leaving investors focused on events later in the week, including Nvidia's earnings. The AI bellwether is expected to report a 65.9% jump in first-quarter revenue on Wednesday, and Wall Street will be watching closely for clues on the impact of tighter U.S. export curbs on its AI chip sales to China. Sources told Reuters that Nvidia will launch a new artificial intelligence chipset for China at a significantly lower price than its recently restricted H20 model and plans to start mass production as early as June. Also on deck this week are speeches by Federal Reserve policymakers, alongside Friday's U.S. core PCE price index data, which could offer clues on the rate outlook. A two-day annual conference hosted by the Bank of Japan and an affiliated think-tank kicked off on Tuesday, with the gathering of global central bankers in Tokyo set to focus on two uncomfortable realities: flagging economic growth and sticky inflation. Key developments that could influence markets on Tuesday: - 2025 BOJ-IMES conference in Tokyo - Bitcoin 2025 conference in Las Vegas - French preliminary inflation (May) Trying to keep up with the latest tariff news? Our new daily news digest offers a rundown of the top market-moving headlines impacting global trade. Sign up for Tariff Watch here. (By Rae Wee; Editing by Edmund Klamann) Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
