Stocks ease as Ukraine attacks and rate outlook spark flight to havens
Global shares dropped on Monday after Russian missiles pounded cities across Ukraine and as renewed concern about the economic outlook sent investors into safe-haven assets such as the dollar and bonds.
Morning Bid: The 75bp club
Most of world’s major central banks are now going up a gear with historically sweeping interest rate rises to cool their economies and drag down inflation – and there are some signs it’s already working.
Analysis: Macro gamblers grapple with immovable Bank of Japan
Investors betting that Japan will have to quit its ultra-loose monetary policy are running into riskier and pricier territory as the showdown shifts to the Bank of Japan’s home turf in the bond market.
Analysis: Scalded by Russia, investment funds tread carefully in China
China, the only big economy promising a growth rebound this year, is again luring foreign investors. Yet the fear that Beijing may someday end up as ostracised from global markets as Russia is keeping a lid on demand.
Analysis: Swiss policy pivot signals exit for big stock and bond investor
From Silicon Valley shares to U.S. and European government bonds, securities that are already under heavy pressure stand to lose a major buyer as Switzerland ends its long-standing policy of recycling euros and dollars into foreign markets.
Analysis: Positive real yields may spell more trouble for U.S. stocks
A hawkish turn by the Federal Reserve is eroding a key support for U.S. stocks, as real yields climb into positive territory for the first time in two years.
Rouble falls sharply as Russia relaxes some capital controls
The Russian rouble weakened sharply in jittery trade on Monday, reversing some of the previous week’s gains, after the central bank decided to relax temporary capital control measures aimed at limiting a drop in the currency.
Sanctioned Russia teeters on brink of historic default
The economic cost of Russia’s assault on Ukraine was further exposed on Wednesday as the sanctions-hit country teetered on the brink of its first default on international debt since the Bolshevik revolution.
Markets brace for heavy falls as Russia-Ukraine crisis escalates
Investors were bracing for a torrid day for Russian, Ukrainian and wider global markets when they reopen on Tuesday, after Vladimir Putin upped the ante in a crisis the West fears could unleash a major war.
Analysis: Traders scour markets for protection amid Ukraine tensions
Unnerved by the sabre-rattling between Russia and the West over Ukraine, traders are scouring global markets for investments that could provide them with protection against losses in case the conflict escalates.
