NEWSLETTER
Thursday / September 29Sep 29
Thursday / August 4
Fed rates
Federal Reserve officials voiced their determination again on Wednesday to rein in high inflation, although one noted a half-percentage-point hike in the U.S. central bank's key interest rate next month might be enough to march toward that goal.
"I start from the idea that 50 (basis points) would be a reasonable thing to do in September because I believe I'm seeing evidence in my contact conversations, and in the observations of the world I see, that there are some bright spots for me," San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly said in an interview with Reuters.
However, "if we just see inflation roaring ahead undauntedly, the labor market showing no signs of slowing, then we'll be in a different position where a 75-basis-point increase might be more appropriate. But I go in with the 50 in mind as I look at the data coming in," Daly added.
US Senate approves NATO expansion
The U.S. Senate approved on Wednesday Finland and Sweden's accession to NATO, the most significant expansion of the 30-member alliance since the 1990s as it responds to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The Senate voted 95 to 1 to support ratification of the two countries' accession documents, easily surpassing the two-thirds majority of 67 votes required to support ratification of the two countries' accession documents.
Russian-German gas crisis
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Wednesday said Russia had no reason to hold up the return of a gas turbine for the Nord Stream 1 pipeline that had been serviced in Canada but has since been stranded in Germany in an escalating energy standoff.
Standing next to the turbine on a factory visit to Siemens Energy (ENR1n.DE) in Muelheim an der Ruhr, Scholz said it was fully operational and could be shipped back to Russia at any time - provided Moscow was willing to take it back.
For Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly, whose government has faced criticism for returning the turbine in violation of its own sanctions, the present impasse was worth it as an illustration of the Kremlin's purpose.
"We called his bluff," she said at a meeting with her German counterpart Annalena Baerbock in Montreal. "It is now clear that Putin is weaponising energy flows through Europe.
Zelensky wants to talk to Xi
Ukraine is seeking an opportunity to speak "directly" with Chinese leader Xi Jinping to help end its war with Russia, President Volodymyr Zelensky said, the South China Morning Post reported on Thursday.
In an interview with SCMP, the Ukrainian leader urged China to use its outsize political and economic influence over Russia to bring an end to the fighting.
"It's a very powerful state. It's a powerful economy … So (it) can politically, economically influence Russia. And China is [also a] permanent member of the UN Security Council," the report quoted Zelenskiy as saying.
Vienna talks
A new round of talks to try to save the Iran nuclear deal will convene in Vienna this week.
Top European Union official Enrique Mora announced on Twitter Wednesday that he was heading to the Austrian capital to discuss returning to full implementation of the nuclear agreement on the basis of a proposal put forward by top EU diplomat Josep Borrell in recent weeks.
Rob Malley, the US special envoy for Iran, said Wednesday that he was preparing to travel to Vienna for discussions based on that proposal.
OPEC+ production
OPEC+ is set to raise its oil output goal by 100,000 barrels per day, an amount analysts said was a setback to U.S. President Joe Biden after his trip to Saudi Arabia to ask the producer group's leader to pump more to help the United States and the global economy.
The increase, equivalent to 0.1% of global demand, follows weeks of speculation that Biden's trip to the Middle East and Washington's clearance of missile defence system sales to Riyadh and the United Arab Emirates will bring more oil to the world market.
The increase of 100,000 bpd will be one of the smallest since OPEC quotas were introduced in 1982, OPEC data shows.
"This is a smaller increase but an increase nonetheless," Amos Hochstein, senior U.S. State Department adviser for energy security, told CNN.,
Wall Street
Wall Street ended sharply higher on Wednesday, with strong profit forecasts from PayPal and CVS Health Corp lifting sentiment and helping elevate the Nasdaq to its highest level since early May.
The Nasdaq gained 2.59% to 12,668.16 points, while Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.29% to 32,812.50 points.
Additional data on Wednesday showed new orders for U.S.-manufactured goods increased solidly in June and business spending on equipment was stronger than initially thought, pointing to underlying strength in manufacturing despite rising interest rates.
Federal Reserve officials voiced their determination again on Wednesday to rein in high inflation, although one noted a half-percentage-point hike in the U.S. central bank's key interest rate next month might be enough to march toward that goal.
"I start from the idea that 50 (basis points) would be a reasonable thing to do in September because I believe I'm seeing evidence in my contact conversations, and in the observations of the world I see, that there are some bright spots for me," San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly said in an interview with Reuters.
However, "if we just see inflation roaring ahead undauntedly, the labor market showing no signs of slowing, then we'll be in a different position where a 75-basis-point increase might be more appropriate. But I go in with the 50 in mind as I look at the data coming in," Daly added.
US Senate approves NATO expansion
The U.S. Senate approved on Wednesday Finland and Sweden's accession to NATO, the most significant expansion of the 30-member alliance since the 1990s as it responds to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The Senate voted 95 to 1 to support ratification of the two countries' accession documents, easily surpassing the two-thirds majority of 67 votes required to support ratification of the two countries' accession documents.
Russian-German gas crisis
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Wednesday said Russia had no reason to hold up the return of a gas turbine for the Nord Stream 1 pipeline that had been serviced in Canada but has since been stranded in Germany in an escalating energy standoff.
Standing next to the turbine on a factory visit to Siemens Energy (ENR1n.DE) in Muelheim an der Ruhr, Scholz said it was fully operational and could be shipped back to Russia at any time - provided Moscow was willing to take it back.
For Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly, whose government has faced criticism for returning the turbine in violation of its own sanctions, the present impasse was worth it as an illustration of the Kremlin's purpose.
"We called his bluff," she said at a meeting with her German counterpart Annalena Baerbock in Montreal. "It is now clear that Putin is weaponising energy flows through Europe.
Zelensky wants to talk to Xi
Ukraine is seeking an opportunity to speak "directly" with Chinese leader Xi Jinping to help end its war with Russia, President Volodymyr Zelensky said, the South China Morning Post reported on Thursday.
In an interview with SCMP, the Ukrainian leader urged China to use its outsize political and economic influence over Russia to bring an end to the fighting.
"It's a very powerful state. It's a powerful economy … So (it) can politically, economically influence Russia. And China is [also a] permanent member of the UN Security Council," the report quoted Zelenskiy as saying.
Vienna talks
A new round of talks to try to save the Iran nuclear deal will convene in Vienna this week.
Top European Union official Enrique Mora announced on Twitter Wednesday that he was heading to the Austrian capital to discuss returning to full implementation of the nuclear agreement on the basis of a proposal put forward by top EU diplomat Josep Borrell in recent weeks.
Rob Malley, the US special envoy for Iran, said Wednesday that he was preparing to travel to Vienna for discussions based on that proposal.
OPEC+ production
OPEC+ is set to raise its oil output goal by 100,000 barrels per day, an amount analysts said was a setback to U.S. President Joe Biden after his trip to Saudi Arabia to ask the producer group's leader to pump more to help the United States and the global economy.
The increase, equivalent to 0.1% of global demand, follows weeks of speculation that Biden's trip to the Middle East and Washington's clearance of missile defence system sales to Riyadh and the United Arab Emirates will bring more oil to the world market.
The increase of 100,000 bpd will be one of the smallest since OPEC quotas were introduced in 1982, OPEC data shows.
"This is a smaller increase but an increase nonetheless," Amos Hochstein, senior U.S. State Department adviser for energy security, told CNN.,
Wall Street
Wall Street ended sharply higher on Wednesday, with strong profit forecasts from PayPal and CVS Health Corp lifting sentiment and helping elevate the Nasdaq to its highest level since early May.
The Nasdaq gained 2.59% to 12,668.16 points, while Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.29% to 32,812.50 points.
Additional data on Wednesday showed new orders for U.S.-manufactured goods increased solidly in June and business spending on equipment was stronger than initially thought, pointing to underlying strength in manufacturing despite rising interest rates.
