February, 2023

• 7 February

  BNP reaps reward of $20b ESG fund call with new dominance

  

    Bloomberg As the dust settles on the wave of ESG fund downgrades that swept through Europe’s investment industry, BNP Paribas SA has managed to climb several notches up a controversial ladder. BNP Paribas Asset Management (AM) is now the second-biggest provider of the European Union’s top environmental, social and governance (ESG) fund class, known as Article 9. Its decision ...

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• 7 February

  Australia set to push rates to 10-year high

  

    Bloomberg Australia’s central bank (RBA) is all but certain to increase interest rates at its first meeting of the year, with some observers pointing to the risk of a resumption of outsized moves to counter a surprising surge in inflation. Most economists and traders see the Reserve Bank lifting its cash rate by a quarter-point on Tuesday to 3.35%, ...

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• 7 February

  HK dollar carry trade flares on widest yield gap since 2007

  

  Bloomberg The Hong Kong dollar is rapidly heading toward the weak end of its trading band against the greenback as traders sell the currency to buy higher-yielding US assets. The local exchange rate is one of the worst performers worldwide in the past two months with a 0.74% drop against the US dollar, and last traded at HK$7.8473. Depreciating past ...

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• 6 February

  ECB must ‘show its teeth’ to reach price goal: Holzmann

  

  Bloomberg The European Central Bank (ECB) should actively fight inflation until people feel price stability in their everyday lives, according to Governing Council member Robert Holzmann. “The risk of over-tightening seems dwarfed by the risk of doing too little,” Holzmann told a conference Monday in Budapest. “Monetary policy must continue to show its teeth until we see a credible convergence ...

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• 6 February

  Europe’s bond recovery drops

    Bloomberg All it took was a strong US jobs report to expose the fragility of last week’s bond rally in Europe. Within minutes of the print, German bonds had erased almost half of their day-before rally, which had been turbocharged by expectations central banks were nearing an end to their hiking cycles. Jubilation is giving way to fresh anxiety ...

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• 6 February

  Stocks, futures decline on Fed outlook; dollar rises

  

    Bloomberg European stocks and US equity futures slumped as an unexpectedly strong US jobs report raised the prospect of more rate hikes from the Federal Reserve. Concern over US-China geopolitical tensions also weighed on sentiment. The Stoxx Europe 600 index dropped more than 1% after closing on February 3 in a bull market, with the technology and real estate ...

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• 6 February

  Adani rout drags India’s weighting in EM Index

  

    Bloomberg India’s weighting in MSCI’s emerging-market benchmark dropped after the brutal selloff in Adani group’s stocks, giving away its second spot to Taiwan after a rally in the latter’s market. As of the end of January, Taiwan’s weighting in the MSCI Emerging Markets Index rose to 14.2%, behind leader China’s 31.2%, while India’s fell to the third spot with ...

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• 6 February

  World Government Summit to discuss future ideas, strategies

  

    Dubai / WAM The World Government Summit 2023 will be held in Dubai from February 13-15, under the slogan “Shaping Future Governments”. The summit witnesses the participation of presidents, governments, ministers, officials, heads of international organisations and companies, thought leaders, global experts and prominent business leaders from the private sector. Mohammad bin Abdullah Al Gergawi, Minister of Cabinet Affairs ...

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• 6 February

  Oil market faces production issue in 2024, says Goldman

  

  Bloomberg Oil will rise back above $100 a barrel this year and may face a serious supply problem in 2024 as spare production capacity runs out, according to Goldman Sachs Group Inc. With sanctions likely to cause Russian oil exports to drop and Chinese demand expected to recover as the country ends its Covid Zero policy, prices will rise above ...

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• 6 February

  UAE leaders offer condolences over death of Pervez Musharraf

    ABU DHABI / WAM President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan has sent a cable of condolences to President of Pakistan, Arif Alvi, over the death of Former President Pervez Musharraf. HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, has dispatched similar cable of condolences to ...

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