Latest news with #VishnuVarathan
CNA
3 days ago
- Business
- CNA
CNA938 Rewind - Wrap of Japan's business headlines: Japan-US tariff talks, Nippon Steel deal
CNA938 Rewind Play From the Japan-US tariff negotiations, to the latest on the Nippon Steel deal and the idea of a US-Japan sovereign wealth fund, Andrea Heng and Hairianto Diman get a round-up of the business headlines in Japan. For that, they speak with Vishnu Varathan, Managing Director & Chief Economist, Asia ex-Japan, Mizuho Bank.
Toronto Star
21-05-2025
- Business
- Toronto Star
Oil Climbs on Report That Israel Is Preparing to Strike Iran
(Bloomberg) — Oil jumped on a report from CNN that US intelligence suggests Israel is making preparations to strike Iranian nuclear facilities. West Texas Intermediate futures surged as much as 3.5% to $64.19 a barrel. It isn't clear that Israeli leaders have made a final decision on whether to carry out the strikes, CNN said, citing unnamed officials. Oil prices have been volatile since last week on mixed headlines about the fate of Iran-US talks, which could pave the way for more barrels to return to a market that's expected to be oversupplied later in the year. An attack by Israel would hinder any progress in those negotiations and add to volatility in the Middle East, which supplies about a third of the world's oil. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW 'There's a difference between proxy battles and symbolic strikes versus an unmitigated attack, which is what latest reports, if true, appear to potentially flag,' said Vishnu Varathan, head of macro for Asia ex-Japan for Mizuho Bank Ltd. Other conflicts between Israel and others 'had a sense of greater restraint on both sides, especially given the involvement of, and coordination with, regional players alongside the US and Europe.' Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on Tuesday said he didn't think the latest effort to negotiate with the US would lead to a result. WTI prices could tumble as low as $40 a barrel if sanctions on the Islamic Republic's oil exports are lifted, according to Bloomberg Intelligence. To get Bloomberg's Energy Daily newsletter in your inbox, click here. ©2025 Bloomberg L.P. (Bloomberg) — Oil jumped on a report from CNN that US intelligence suggests Israel is making preparations to strike Iranian nuclear facilities. West Texas Intermediate futures surged as much as 3.5% to $64.19 a barrel. It isn't clear that Israeli leaders have made a final decision on whether to carry out the strikes, CNN said, citing unnamed officials. Oil prices have been volatile since last week on mixed headlines about the fate of Iran-US talks, which could pave the way for more barrels to return to a market that's expected to be oversupplied later in the year. An attack by Israel would hinder any progress in those negotiations and add to volatility in the Middle East, which supplies about a third of the world's oil. 'There's a difference between proxy battles and symbolic strikes versus an unmitigated attack, which is what latest reports, if true, appear to potentially flag,' said Vishnu Varathan, head of macro for Asia ex-Japan for Mizuho Bank Ltd. Other conflicts between Israel and others 'had a sense of greater restraint on both sides, especially given the involvement of, and coordination with, regional players alongside the US and Europe.' ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on Tuesday said he didn't think the latest effort to negotiate with the US would lead to a result. WTI prices could tumble as low as $40 a barrel if sanctions on the Islamic Republic's oil exports are lifted, according to Bloomberg Intelligence. To get Bloomberg's Energy Daily newsletter in your inbox, click here. ©2025 Bloomberg L.P.
Toronto Star
21-05-2025
- Business
- Toronto Star
Oil surges on report that Israel is preparing to strike Iran
Oil jumped on a report from CNN that US intelligence suggests Israel is making preparations to strike Iranian nuclear facilities. West Texas Intermediate futures surged as much as 3.5% to $64.19 a barrel. It isn't clear that Israeli leaders have made a final decision on whether to carry out the strikes, CNN said, citing unnamed officials. Oil prices have been volatile since last week on mixed headlines about the fate of Iran-US talks, which could pave the way for more barrels to return to a market that's expected to be oversupplied later in the year. An attack by Israel would hinder any progress in those negotiations and add to volatility in the Middle East, which supplies about a third of the world's oil. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW 'There's a difference between proxy battles and symbolic strikes versus an unmitigated attack, which is what latest reports, if true, appear to potentially flag,' said Vishnu Varathan, head of macro for Asia ex-Japan for Mizuho Bank Ltd. Other conflicts between Israel and others 'had a sense of greater restraint on both sides, especially given the involvement of, and co-ordination with, regional players alongside the US and Europe.' Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on Tuesday said he didn't think the latest effort to negotiate with the US would lead to a result. WTI prices could tumble as low as $40 a barrel if sanctions on the Islamic Republic's oil exports are lifted, according to Bloomberg Intelligence. ©2025 Bloomberg L.P.
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Oil Surges on Report That Israel Is Preparing to Strike Iran
(Bloomberg) -- Oil jumped on a report from CNN that US intelligence suggests Israel is making preparations to strike Iranian nuclear facilities. America, 'Nation of Porches' Can Frank Gehry's 'Grand LA' Make Downtown Feel Like a Neighborhood? Chicago's O'Hare Airport Seeks Up to $4.3 Billion of Muni Debt NJ Transit Makes Deal With Engineers, Ending Three-Day Strike NJ Transit Train Engineers Strike, Disrupting Travel to NYC West Texas Intermediate futures surged as much as 3.5% to $64.19 a barrel. It isn't clear that Israeli leaders have made a final decision on whether to carry out the strikes, CNN said, citing unnamed officials. Oil prices have been volatile since last week on mixed headlines about the fate of Iran-US talks, which could pave the way for more barrels to return to a market that's expected to be oversupplied later in the year. An attack by Israel would hinder any progress in those negotiations and add to volatility in the Middle East, which supplies about a third of the world's oil. 'There's a difference between proxy battles and symbolic strikes versus an unmitigated attack, which is what latest reports, if true, appear to potentially flag,' said Vishnu Varathan, head of macro for Asia ex-Japan for Mizuho Bank Ltd. Other conflicts between Israel and others 'had a sense of greater restraint on both sides, especially given the involvement of, and coordination with, regional players alongside the US and Europe.' Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on Tuesday said he didn't think the latest effort to negotiate with the US would lead to a result. WTI prices could tumble as low as $40 a barrel if sanctions on the Islamic Republic's oil exports are lifted, according to Bloomberg Intelligence. Why Apple Still Hasn't Cracked AI Anthropic Is Trying to Win the AI Race Without Losing Its Soul Inside the First Stargate AI Data Center Microsoft's CEO on How AI Will Remake Every Company, Including His Cartoon Network's Last Gasp ©2025 Bloomberg L.P. 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
CNBC
20-05-2025
- Business
- CNBC
U.S. Treasury yields slip as Fed signals just one rate cut in 2025
U.S. Treasury yields slipped early Tuesday after the U.S. Federal Reserve signaled just one rate cut in 2025. The 30-year Treasury yield slipped almost 3 basis points after briefly surging past 5% on Monday. The 10-year yield dipped 2 basis points to 4.455% at 1:50 a.m. ET, and the 2-year Treasury yield shed slightly over 1 basis point to 3.97%. One basis point is equivalent to 0.01%, and yields and prices move in opposite directions. Last Friday, Moody's Ratings lowered the U.S. credit rating to the second-highest tier, following in the footsteps of S&P Global Ratings and Fitch, which did so in 2011 and 2023, respectively. The downgrade from Aaa to Aa1 by Moody's is "admittedly significantly dire," said Vishnu Varathan, head of macro research at Mizuho Securities. But the move is "inconsequential" for markets, he wrote in a note. Though the resultant jolt in yields may clip already tentative market optimism, the downgrade is unlikely to crush the broader recovery, he added. The downgrade has no adverse impact on the liquidity and collateral value of U.S. Treasurys, and hence no "imminent shock" from forced liquidation, Varathan said. "Above all, there are no triple-A alternatives for markets that are sufficiently deep and liquid to threaten the reserve asset status of USTs that is tagged to the U.S. Dollar's global reserve currency status," he added. In April, U.S. Treasury yields surged after U.S. President Donald Trump introduced broad "reciprocal tariffs" targeting foreign trade partners. Concerns over a potential financial panic and higher consumer borrowing costs led the administration to scale back the most aggressive tariffs. On top of that, Atlanta Federal Reserve President Raphael Bostic told CNBC on Monday he's leaning toward just one interest rate cut this year, as the central bank seeks to strike a balance between containing inflation risks and avoiding an economic downturn. Although the Fed's March projections indicated two 25-basis-point cuts in 2025, Bostic noted that the impact of tariffs has been more significant than anticipated.
