Stocks

  Bloomberg Consumers were the Achilles’ heel of the U.S. economy in the run-up to the last recession. This time, companies may play that role. Among the warning signs: rising debt, lagging profits and mounting defaults. While the financial vulnerabilities aren’t likely to lead to another downturn soon, economists say they point to potential potholes down the road for an …

BLOOMBERG The Fed factor dominated global markets, battering bonds and developing-nation currencies while lifting the dollar. Treasury 10-year futures slid the most in almost two weeks and German bunds declined after Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said an interest-rate increase is likely in coming months. Emerging-market currencies headed toward the worst month since August and gold fell for a ninth …

  Bloomberg Companies probably love getting attention from analysts at Emperor Securities Ltd. in Hong Kong. Investors who followed their advice for the past year, not so much. The unit of Emperor Capital Group Ltd. issued buy recommendations on every one of the 173 companies it reported covering from April 2015 through May 16. Its target prices, which the company …

  Dubai / Reuters The oil market doomsayers are beginning to capitulate. Speculators reduced bets on falling prices to the lowest level in 11 months as oil briefly breached $50 a barrel on signs supplies are coming into balance. Crude climbed 7.4 percent this month in New York amid lower U.S. production and unplanned disruptions in Canada and Nigeria. Prices …

  Bloomberg This year’s best-performing commodity is chicken feed. And cow food. Soybean meal, made from crushed soybeans and used to feed poultry and livestock, has jumped 54 percent in 2016, the biggest gain among the 22 components of the Bloomberg Commodity Index. Prices are soaring after flooding reduced crops and limited supplies from Argentina, the world’s biggest exporter of …

  Bloomberg Some wheat traders are steering clear of Bangladesh’s tenders to import the grain after the nation rejected three cargoes earlier this year. The country’s Directorate General of Food received only two offers in a tender to buy 50,000 metric tons of wheat, Ilahi Dad Khan, director of procurement at the agency, said by phone from Dhaka. It had …

  Bloomberg Gold looks very different than it did at the beginning of May. Along with platinum, palladium and silver, it is heading for the biggest monthly loss since November as investors anticipate higher borrowing costs in the U.S. Bullion has pared this year’s rally after retreating more than 5 percent in May as the dollar rallied and investors raised …

  BLOOMBERG Crude surpassed $50 a barrel for the first time in six months amid signs the global supply glut is coming to an end, buoying currencies where oil is produced. U.S. stocks fluctuated after a two-day rally. A drop in U.S. stockpiles and shrinking output in Nigeria and Venezuela contributed to the gains in Brent, which is up more …

  BLOOMBERG Don’t fear the Fed is the new mantra for global markets. Global equities rose to a two-week high amid increasing investor optimism that the world economy can withstand higher interest rates from the Federal Reserve. Oil advanced and gold fell amid a retreat in the dollar. U.S. shares looked for consecutive climbs after alternating between gains and losses …

  Bloomberg Brazilian companies have figured out where to invest amid a political crisis and rocky economy: anywhere but Brazil. Industrial machinery maker WEG SA said 75 percent of its investments this year will be in operations outside the country. That compares with 80 percent of total investments in Brazil three years ago. In the past two months, the Jaragua …