Improbable bets on break of Hong Kong dollar peg adding up
It’s what is known in the markets as a “tail risk”: a highly unlikely scenario in which Hong Kong’s currency peg suddenly snaps. Yet market pricing suggests bets on such a shock are building in the hedge fund world, and some traders say it makes a lot of sense.
Exclusive: China set to fine Ant Group over $1 billion, signalling revamp nears end-sources
Chinese authorities are poised to impose a fine of more than $1 billion on Jack Ma’s Ant Group, said six sources with direct knowledge of the matter, setting the stage for ending the fintech company’s two-year long regulatory overhaul.
Dollar rises as China COVID worries spur safe-haven buying
The U.S. dollar was firmly higher against major currencies on Monday, as rising COVID-19 cases in China led to new restrictions there and weighed on global investor sentiment.
Apple supplier Foxconn adjusts production to avoid holiday blues
Apple Inc supplier Foxconn said on Thursday it expected smartphone revenue to fall this quarter and is adjusting production to prevent recent COVID-19 curbs at a massive iPhone factory in China from impacting holiday orders.
India’s first fully solar village lights up the lives of poor residents
These days, Prajapati, 68, from the village of Modhera in western India’s Gujarat state, has doubled the amount of earthenware he makes compared to a few months ago since he no longer has to turn the wheel manually as he could not then afford high electricity bill that were up to 1,500 Indian rupees ($18.19) a month.
UK banks start cutting ‘Truss premium’ from mortgage rates, but slowly
Having hiked mortgage rates after political turmoil drove up the cost of borrowing, British banks are now cutting home loan prices, albeit slowly, as markets calm since Liz Truss’s government collapsed and Rishi Sunak took power.
Exclusive: Indian car makers propose tax cut on imports in trade deal with Britain
Indian car makers have proposed cutting to 30% the tax rate on imported cars as part of a trade deal with Britain, sources told Reuters, an unprecedented move that could ease access to one of the world’s most protected automobile markets.
Analysis: Japan is chasing its tail on yen intervention
As the Bank of Japan steps into currency markets for the first time in decades to defend a battered yen, it is running into numerous obstacles, chiefly its own stubborn commitment to ultra-easy monetary settings.
Analysis: China’s mortgage boycott quietly regroups as construction idles
Two months since many Chinese homebuyers stopped repaying mortgages to protest stalled construction on their properties, a lack of progress at more sites now threatens to intensify the boycott, despite assurances from authorities.
Exclusive: Flurry of new rules leave Turkish banks struggling to lend
Some Turkish banks are curtailing corporate lending after the government’s latest raft of regulations raised their costs and forced many to cut their balance sheet risks, five banking and private sector sources told Reuters.
