Latest news with #StandardChartered
Business Insider
10 hours ago
- Business
- Business Insider
Standard Chartered: Weak dollar to unlock opportunities in emerging markets and global equities
10 July 2025, Nairobi, Kenya: Standard Chartered announced today its Global Market Outlook for the second half of 2025, projecting a constructive but volatile environment for investors worldwide. The Bank sees significant implications for emerging markets investors including Africa, driven by expectations of a softer US dollar, resilient global equity markets and improving prospects for emerging-market assets. The report highlights that Global macro conditions remain mixed. In the United States, growth continues to be supported by resilient consumption and fiscal stimulus, though trade and policy uncertainty may temper momentum in the second half of the year. In Europe, fiscal easing increasingly offers support, but structural challenges persist while China's outlook is stabilising on the back of targeted stimulus and improving retail activity. Meanwhile, growth in India and ASEAN is expected to remain well-supported. Against this backdrop, the report outlines an investment strategy reflecting evolving risks and opportunities. We expect the US dollar to weaken over the next 6 to 12 months and have accordingly upgraded Asia (ex-Japan) equities and Emerging Market (EM) local-currency bonds to Overweight. Global equities also remain an Overweight position across portfolios, supported by healthy earnings, easing trade tensions, and controlled inflation (so far). Based on the report, 'Aas global markets transition into a new phase, emerging markets investors are well-positioned to capitalise on emerging opportunities. A weaker dollar historically supports returns across risk assets, particularly in emerging markets, which have long been core components of regional portfolios. Manpreet Gill, Chief Investment Officer of Africa, Middle East and Europe, Standard Chartered said: ' This outlook underscores a critical moment for investors in the region. As the global environment adjusts to weak dollar dynamics, shifting trade policies, and diverging central bank actions, investors in the emerging markets have an opportunity to reposition portfolios with greater international diversification. Asset classes such as emerging market bonds and equities across major regions (including non-US equities) are well-placed to help investors navigate volatility, capture income, and enhance portfolio resilience in today's shifting landscape.' In line with these themes, the report maintains a preference for USD-denominated bonds in the 5–7-year maturity range, citing them as the most attractive in terms of risk-adjusted returns, particularly as yields begin to ease from current levels. Meanwhile, Developed Market Investment Grade corporate bonds have been downgraded to Underweight due to tight yield premiums and slower inflows. Alternative investments are also in focus, with the Bank highlighting gold as a core allocation, supported by strong central bank demand and its role as a diversifier when bonds offer less downside protection.
Yahoo
16 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
The Node: Stablecoin Supremacy
The governor of the Bank of England, Andrew Bailey, wrote a letter to the G20 yesterday stating that the Financial Stability Board (FSB) — the forum's financial overseer, which Bailey was appointed to head in April — is assessing the role of stablecoins in payments and settlements as a top priority. To the point: an analyst at Standard Chartered says that, once stablecoins hit the $750 billion mark, they may begin to influence the structure of U.S. Treasury markets. (Their market cap is currently at roughly $258 billion according to DefiLlama.) We also have Deribit making it possible for USDC holders to earn 4% yield, a crypto startup called Dakota raising $12.5 million to make it easier for businesses to move funds from U.S. dollars to stablecoins, and back again. These four headlines are all from today, and they're nothing out of the ordinary. We are used to seeing an abundance of news, every day, about stablecoin adoption. 'Stablecoins are crypto's killer app' has become a motto almost akin to 'stay humble, stack sats.' The underdiscussed winners of the stablecoin growth are market makers — the outfits that provide liquidity to crypto markets and ensure trades are executed efficiently. Kevin de Patoul, CEO of global investment firm Keyrock, recently told CoinDesk that demand for bitcoin and stablecoins outshined demand for any other type of cryptocurrencies by a wide margin. Even more interesting, demand for stablecoins is increasingly coming from companies that aren't crypto native, but consider stablecoins as a genuinely superior technology for international payments. 'That's really been a change over the last year and a half, seeing those assets being used for their superior efficiency, rather than simply a way to gain exposure to crypto,' he said. Stablecoins will show the way for the tokenization of stocks, money market funds, and other, stranger types of financial products. De Patoul expects the financial system's backend will be completely updated to improve user access to these vehicles. While tokenization is a bit of a newer and shinier concept for crypto natives — a little more like bleeding edge tech — stablecoins, with their 'mind-boggling' potential, will likely remain the bigger story for years to come, De Patoul said. 'Eventually, 50% of global payments are going to be made in stablecoins,' he said. 'Stablecoins are going to continue to be the biggest use case for digital assets for the next few years.' 擷取數據時發生錯誤 登入存取你的投資組合 擷取數據時發生錯誤 擷取數據時發生錯誤 擷取數據時發生錯誤 擷取數據時發生錯誤
Yahoo
16 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Stablecoins May Reshape U.S. Treasury Market at $750B Threshold, Standard Chartered Says
The stablecoin market could start reshaping traditional finance if it grows to about $750 billion, according to Geoff Kendrick, Standard Chartered's head of digital assets research. Kendrick, writing in a note Tuesday after a week-long trip through Washington, New York and Boston, said there's a growing consensus among crypto industry players, fund managers and policymakers that this $750 billion mark would be the tipping point where stablecoins begin to influence government debt issuance, monetary policy and the structure of U.S. Treasury markets through sheer demand. The current stablecoin market stands at about $240 billion. But Kendrick's contacts expect it could more than triple by the end of 2026, driven by broadening use and regulatory clarity, particularly if the bipartisan GENIUS Act becomes law — a move that could happen as early as next week. 'In the U.S., once the stablecoin market gets to a certain size, the amount of T-bills required to back stablecoins will likely require a shift in planned issuance across the curve towards more T-bill issuance, less longer-tenor issuance,' Kendrick wrote. 'This potentially has implications for the shape of the U.S. Treasury yield curve and demand for USD assets.' Stablecoins — cryptocurrencies designed to maintain a fixed value, usually $1 — are typically backed by cash-equivalent reserves, most often short-term U.S. government debt. As demand rises, so too does the need to hold vast quantities of Treasury bills, putting stablecoins on a potential collision course with traditional fixed income markets. Kendrick met with a cross-section of market participants during his U.S. visit, including Bitcoin miners, crypto-native firms, traditional hedge funds and policymakers, he said. Their near-unanimous focus: stablecoins. Market participants expect a wave of stablecoin issuance, not just from crypto firms, but possibly from banks and even local governments. Emerging markets may be the most immediately affected. Kendrick flagged concerns that individuals in these regions are using stablecoins as a digital savings vehicle, pulling capital away from local banking systems and central bank reserves. That could challenge financial stability in countries that rely on U.S. dollar liquidity to manage fixed exchange rates or capital controls. On the U.S. front, stablecoins could shift corporate treasuries away from traditional banking and into tokenized cash alternatives. But how much of their cash businesses move on-chain — and how fast — remains uncertain. The growing attention is reflected in public markets. Shares of Circle (CRCL), the issuer of the USDC stablecoin, have surged 540% since its public debut last month. The run-up signals investor confidence in stablecoins as a central pillar of the next phase of digital finance. Sign in to access your portfolio
Business Insider
16 hours ago
- Business
- Business Insider
Standard Chartered (STAN) Becomes First Bank to Offer Spot Bitcoin Trading
British bank Standard Chartered (STAN) has become the first global lender to offer spot trading in Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) to institutional clients. Elevate Your Investing Strategy: Take advantage of TipRanks Premium at 50% off! Unlock powerful investing tools, advanced data, and expert analyst insights to help you invest with confidence. Make smarter investment decisions with TipRanks' Smart Investor Picks, delivered to your inbox every week. The crypto trading feature, which is now operational across Standard Chartered's branches in the United Kingdom (U.K.), is available during Asian and European trading hours only. However, the bank says it is considering offering trading in Bitcoin and Ethereum around the clock, 24 hours a day, five days a week. In a statement, the bank said that Standard Chartered is 'the first global systemically important bank to be offering crypto asset trading.' Standard Chartered also said that it defines institutional clients as asset managers and multinational companies that are clients of its corporate and investment banking division. Crypto Bull Standard Chartered is known for being a crypto bull and has been involved in digital assets for a long time. The bank offers digital asset custody and trading through its corporate and investment bank. It also offers digital asset tokenization services. The new crypto trading service is being integrated into Standard Chartered's existing trading platforms, allowing corporate clients, asset managers, and institutional investors to access crypto markets through familiar interfaces, said the bank. Clients can settle trades to a custodian of their choice, including Standard Chartered's in-house custody service. Standard Chartered said that its focus for now is on Bitcoin and Ethereum, the two largest cryptocurrencies. However, the bank says it plans to eventually expand the crypto trading service to include other digital assets. BTC is currently trading at $116,031 and is up 28% on the year. Is BTC a Buy?
Finextra
a day ago
- Business
- Finextra
Standard Chartered launches bitcoin spot trading
Standard Chartered has become the first global systemically important bank to offer digital asset spot trading to institutional clients. 0 The offering includes spot trading for Bitcoin (XBT/USD) and Ether (XET/USD) through the bank's UK branch and will soon add non-deliverable forwards trading. The trading is fully integrated with Standard Chartered's existing platforms, allowing institutional clients to access and trade cryptoassets through familiar FX interfaces. Clients can settle to their choice of custodian, including the bank's own service. Bill Winters, group chief executive, Standard Chartered, says: 'As client demand accelerates further, we want to offer clients a route to transact, trade and manage digital asset risk safely and efficiently within regulatory requirements.' Standard Chartered has been an enthusiastic player in the digital asset market, recently unveiling a partnership with crypto exchange OKX on a collateral mirroring programme, enabling institutional clients to utilise cryptocurrencies and tokenised money market funds as off-exchange collateral for trading. Earlier this year, the bank's head of digital assets Geoffrey Kendrick forecast that bitcoin could hit a high of $500,000 over the next three years.
