March, 2021

• 1 March

  RBA doubles down in defense of yields amid bond rebound

  

  Bloomberg The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) doubled down on bond purchases on Monday, spurring the biggest drop in yields in a year as policy makers around the world seek to check runaway bets on reflation. The central bank announced plans to buy more than $3 billion of longer-dated securities, following up on a surprise boost in purchases of shorter-maturity ...

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• 1 March

  Bank of Japan ready to defend yield range

  

  Bloomberg Bank of Japan (BOJ) officials are still prepared to stem any risk of Japan’s benchmark bond yield rising too much ahead of a policy review later this month and could even act before it hits 0.2%, according to people familiar with the matter. The central bank has no pre-set yield level in mind for entering the market as it ...

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• 1 March

  Bank of Ireland set to close third of branches

  

  Bloomberg Bank of Ireland group will cut its branch network by about a third as the pandemic drove customers online and further away from its offices. The lender will shut 88 of its 257 branches in Ireland and 15 of 28 outlets in Northern Ireland, it said in Dublin on Monday. Bank of Ireland shares rise as much as 4.4% ...

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• 1 March

  Bank of England aligns with Fed over rout in bond market

  

  Bloomberg In the showdown between traders and central bankers over rising bond yields, the Bank of England (BOE) is aligned more with the relaxed views of the US Federal Reserve than peers in Asia and Europe that are trying to rein in markets. Addressing the topic for the first time late last week, BOE policy makers echoed Fed officials in ...

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• 1 March

  Philippine peso eyes technical support in yield storm

  

  Bloomberg The Philippine peso has been under siege from rising Treasury yields and buoyant crude prices. But technicals may offer some support. The peso slumped to its lowest level in six months last week following an extension of coronavirus-led curbs in the nation and delays in vaccine rollouts. The 10-year Treasury yield’s surge to 1.6% added to the bearish sentiment. ...

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• 1 March

  Commerzbank plans to exit HK, Luxembourg

  Bloomberg Commerzbank AG plans to withdraw from locations including Hong Kong, Luxembourg and Hungary as part of its previously announced restructuring, according to an internal memo seen by Bloomberg. Asia sales activities will be bundled in Singapore and the Dubai branch will continue to operate as a representative office, it said. In South America, the German lender plans to sell ...

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• 1 March

  Bank of Japan shares may have become the latest meme stock

  

  Bloomberg Japan’s central bank joined the ranks of equities with puzzling surges in valuation led by retail investors on Monday, as its shares surged by their daily limit. The stock rises 18%, the most since 2005, to 33,000 yen a share. Even experienced investors are often surprised to learn that as well as being Japan’s lender of last resort and ...

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• 1 March

  Global stocks rally as Treasuries stabilise

  

  Bloomberg US equity futures and global stocks rallied, while Treasuries stabilised in a sign of confidence after last week’s bond market turmoil. S&P 500 futures jumped and European stocks notched broad-based gains. Benchmark Treasury yields fluctuated around 1.40%, while Australia’s 10-year yield slid the most in a year after the central bank doubled down on bond purchases to pacify fixed-income ...

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• 1 March

  Palestinians commend UAE’s move to provide Covid-19 vaccine to Gaza

  

  GAZA / WAM Many Palestinians have commended the UAE’s move to provide the coronavirus vaccine to the Gaza Strip, in light of the long-imposed blockade that hinder the delivery of Covid-19 vaccines into the Strip. In a statement to the Emirates News Agency (WAM), Palestinian human rights activist Khalil Abu Shamala said that Gaza Strip is witnessing a deterioration in ...

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• 1 March

  Opec+ faces calls to cool crude market frenzy with extra barrels

  

  Bloomberg From trading houses in Geneva to Wall Street banks, much of the oil world agrees that global markets could use some more barrels. The big question is whether Opec+ will provide enough of them. A crude glut that piled up during the pandemic is vanishing fast. Global inventories are plunging at the steepest rate in two decades, according to ...

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