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Stocks rise, Treasuries rally as Fed tightens

  Bloomberg US stocks extended gains, Treasuries rallied and the dollar tumbled after the Federal Reserve raised interest rates as expected while keeping steady its forecast that it will tighten a total of three times this year. The S&P 500 Index rose 0.5 percent, while the yield on 10-year Treasury notes tumbled to 2.53 percent at 2:02 p.m. in New ...

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Gulf markets mixed but banks buoy Saudi

  DUBAI / Reuters Gulf stock markets were mixed on Wednesday but Saudi Arabia was boosted by banks after credit rating agency Moody’s raised its outlook for the kingdom’s banking system to “stable” from “negative”. The Saudi stock index climbed 0.7 percent as 11 of the 12 listed banks gained, with the biggest, National Commercial Bank, rising 2.4 percent. “Saudi ...

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European stocks climb with miners on Fed and Dutch election day

  Bloomberg European stocks rose, lifted by gains in mining companies, as traders prepared for decisions by Federal Reserve officials and by Dutch voters that may give market signals for the region’s interest rates and politics. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index rose 0.4 percent at the close. Raw materials producers including Rio Tinto Plc and Glencore Plc led a rebound ...

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Two Irelands have ties Brexit can’t destroy

  Having been born into an Irish-American family in what was then a heavily Scots and Irish New Jersey town (Kearny), I somewhat irrationally associate Ireland with the past. But attention is suddenly turning to the future, as the political status of the two Irelands may be up for grabs, mostly because of Brexit. Although this may seem like a ...

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Chinese banks are great, fundamentals aside

  A strange thing is happening in Hong Hong’s publicly traded Chinese stocks. Chinese banks, roundly shunned by global investors, are winning the popularity contest among mainland investors buying through the Shenzhen-Hong Kong and Shanghai-Hong Kong stock connects. According to Goldman Sachs Group Inc., daily purchases of Hong Kong shares via the two links are up 41 percent this year, ...

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Equal marriages go along with more equal pay

  A friend recently asked me whether women’s entry into the workforce has been good for men. I couldn’t give him a clear answer, because it’s a complicated question. Overall, the answer is yes, but the change hasn’t been equally good for all men. Those who have successfully adapted their family structure and social norms to the new economic realities ...

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BOJ March plan would taper bond buying by 18 percent

  Bloomberg The Bank of Japan’s bond-purchase plan for March puts policy makers on track to miss an annual target, leaving investors debating whether they’re witnessing a stealth tapering. Calculations based on the plan released Feb. 28 suggest a net 66 trillion yen ($575 billion) of purchases if the March pace were to be sustained over the following 11 months. ...

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Deutsche Securities warned by Japan over bond trading collusion

  Bloomberg The Japan Fair Trade Commission issued a warning to the Japanese brokerage unit of Deutsche Bank AG after it found that a trader colluded with a counterpart at Citigroup Inc. on trades of European sovereign bonds — the first such notice handed down to a foreign securities company operating in the country. The trader at Deutsche Securities Inc. ...

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Kenya’s biggest bank posts first profit drop on bad loans

  Bloomberg Equity Group Holdings Ltd. posted its first-ever drop in annual profit, missing analysts’ expectations for an increase, as non-performing loans at Kenya’s biggest bank by market value more than doubled. The stock head for it’s biggest fall in six months. Net income declined to 16.5 billion shillings ($161 million) in the 12 months through December from 17.3 billion ...

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Barclays Africa debt sale misses target

  Bloomberg Barclays Africa Group Ltd. sold less than half its target in a bond auction as a wall of debt issuance by South African banks and the impending exit of its UK parent, Barclays Plc, damped demand. Barclays Africa offered 1.5 billion rand of notes but raised only 642 million rand within price guidance, according to Deon Raju, head ...

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