CHICAGO The U.S. Federal Reserve's long-stalled 'liftoff' of interest rates may finally get airborne this year as policymakers from Chair Janet Yellen on Friday to regional leaders across the United States signaled that the era of easy money is drawing to a close. | Video
The U.S. International Trade
Commission said on Friday it had made a final finding that the
U.S. industry was being harmed by the dumping and subsidization
of imports of carbon and alloy steel cut-to-length plate from
China.
China's Central Bank does not
need to raise interest rates or cut reserve requirement ratios
(RRR) for the time being, Yi Gang, a vice central bank governor,
was reported as saying on Saturday.
President Donald Trump's
pick to chair the Securities and Exchange Commission, Jay
Clayton, passed a key hurdle toward his confirmation after a
government ethics watchdog gave him a clearance, a person
familiar with the matter said on Friday.
CSX Corp is nearing a deal with
one of its largest investors, activist hedge fund Mantle Ridge
LP, to sign up veteran railroad executive Hunter Harrison as the
U.S. railroad company's CEO, people familiar with the matter
said on Friday.
Bolivian consumer prices rose
0.38 percent in February, the official National Statistics
Institute said on Friday, marking an increase in inflation from
0.10 percent in January.
Ride services company Uber Technologies
Inc for years has used a secret tool to avoid
authorities in markets where its service faced resistance by law
enforcement or was banned, the company confirmed on Friday.
Caterpillar Inc was sued on
Friday for allegedly deceiving shareholders about its business,
one day after federal law enforcers raided three of its
buildings in connection with a probe into the heavy machinery
manufacturer's offshore tax practices.
European shares dropped on
Friday following disappointing company updates, with WPP
falling after giving a cautious outlook and Berendsen
plunging on its results.
European shares slipped in early
trading on Friday following some poor company updates, with WPP
falling after painting a cautious picture about its
outlook and Berendsen plunging following disappointing
results.
European shares steadied early
on Thursday, pausing after a strong rally in the previous
session, with strong earnings updates driving shares in Melrose
Industries and Subsea 7.
* Covestro sinks as Bayer sells shares
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European shares gained on
Wednesday, with results driving specific stock moves, while
basic resources were the top sector performers after U.S.
President Donald Trump pledged $1 trillion of infrastructure
spending in his first speech to Congress.
Speculators reduced bullish bets on the
U.S. dollar in the latest week, pushing net longs to their
lowest since early October, according to Commodity Futures
Trading Commission data released on Friday and calculations by
Reuters.
The value of the dollar's net long position totaled $13.01
billion in the week ended Feb. 28, from $15.02 billion the
previous week.
Analysts said this week's decline in net long dollar
positioning could be temporary in the wake of stronger signals
by the Federal Reserve that it may raise rates this month.
On Friday, Fed Chair Janet Yellen gave her strongest signal
yet that the U.S. central bank could nudge rates higher when it
meets this month.
"At our meeting later this month, the committee will
evaluate whether employment and inflation are continuing to
evolve in line with our expectations, in which case a further
adjustment of the federal funds rate would likely be
appropriate," Yellen said at a business luncheon in Chicago.
Several of Yellen's colleagues at the Fed have also been
signaling a move in March the past several weeks.
"The (dollar) bulls are finally listening to the cohesiveness
of Fed officials who have been saying all along (doves and
hawks) that conditions are prime for tightening," said Kathy
Lien, managing director of FX strategy at BK Asset Management in
New York.
The dollar fell on Friday in the wake of Yellen's remarks,
but that is more due to profit-taking since traders before the
Fed chair's remarks wagered that she would strike a hawkish
tone.
According to Fed fund futures date, the odds of a rate hike
this month sits at 90 percent, compared with 40 percent the week
before.
The Reuters calculation for the aggregate U.S. dollar
position is derived from net positions of International Monetary
Market speculators in the yen, euro, British pound, Swiss franc
and Canadian and Australian dollars.
Japanese Yen (Contracts of 12,500,000 yen)
$5.545 billion
Feb. 28, 2017 Prior week
week
Long 29,012 29,954
Short 79,029 80,116
Net -50,017 -50,162
EURO (Contracts of 125,000 euros)
$6.763 billion
Feb. 28, 2017 Prior week
week
Long 143,584 130,981
Short 194,748 189,232
Net -51,164 -58,251
POUND STERLING (Contracts of 62,500 pounds sterling)
$5.468 billion
Feb. 28, 2017 Prior week
week
Long 43,329 38,253
Short 114,000 104,605
Net -70,671 -66,352
SWISS FRANC (Contracts of 125,000 Swiss francs)
$1.469 billion
Feb. 28, 2017 Prior week
week
Long 3,569 6,945
Short 15,383 15,881
Net -11,814 -8,936
CANADIAN DOLLAR (Contracts of 100,000 Canadian dollars)
$-2.263 billion
Feb. 28, 2017 Prior week
week
Long 63,125 58,780
Short 33,035 34,196
Net 30,090 24,584
AUSTRALIAN DOLLAR (Contracts of 100,000 Aussie dollars)
$-3.975 billion
Feb. 28, 2017 Prior week
week
Long 95,696 88,768
Short 43,781 55,246
Net 51,915 33,522
MEXICAN PESO (Contracts of 500,000 pesos)
$1.139 billion
Feb. 28, 2017 Prior week
week
Long 39,057 35,125
Short 84,840 91,606
Net -45,783 -56,481
NEW ZEALAND DOLLAR (Contracts of 100,000 New Zealand dollars)
$-0.211 billion
Feb. 28, 2017 Prior week
week
Long 37,198 35,252
Short 34,261 32,094
Net 2,937 3,158
(Reporting by Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss, editing by G Crosse and
Lisa Shumaker)
Speculators reduced bullish bets on the
U.S. dollar in the latest week, pushing net longs to their
lowest since early October, according to Commodity Futures
Trading Commission data released on Friday and calculations by
Reuters.
U.S. Treasury yields hit
session highs before flattening while stocks were largely
unchanged on Friday after Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen
said the Fed is set to raise its benchmark interest rate this
month as long as economic data on jobs and inflation holds up.
World equity markets edged off
record highs and the U.S. dollar retreated on Friday after two
days of gains as cautious investors held back amid mounting
expectations for a U.S. interest rate hike in March.
The worst drought to hit Sir
Lanka in 40 years may cost the government up to 40 billion
rupees ($264.7 million), but shoud not worsen the fiscal
deficit, Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake said on Friday.
The dollar weakened against a
basket of major currencies on Friday ahead of a speech by
Federal Reserve chief Janet Yellen that could affirm
expectations for an interest rate hike on March 15.
The dollar stalled after two
days of strong gains on Friday, with nerves around a speech by
Federal Reserve chief Janet Yellen due later in the day adding
to factors that have held back a broader rally this year.