Analysis: Currencies

Fed's Bowman open to cutting rates at July policy meeting

NEW YORK -Federal Reserve Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman, recently tapped by President Trump as the U.S. central bank's top bank overseer, said Monday the time to cut interest rates is...

US existing home sales rise in May; mortgage rates still a constraint

WASHINGTON -U.S. existing home sales unexpectedly increased in May, but the trend remained weak amid high mortgage rates. Home sales climbed 0.8% last month to a seasonally adjusted...

Italy has frozen Russian oligarchs' assets worth over $2.6 billion

MILAN -Italy has frozen Russian oligarchs' assets valued at around 2.3 billion euros since the invasion of Ukraine in 2022, data provided by Italian authorities show, with the most recent seizures...

Kenyan shilling steady versus dollar, LSEG data shows

NAIROBI -Kenya's shilling was stable against the dollar on Monday, data from the London Stock Exchange Group showed. At 0700 GMT, commercial banks quoted the shilling at 129.00/50 per...

Taiwan central bank says US debt rising too fast may impact trust in Treasuries

TAIPEI -Taiwan's central bank governor warned on Saturday that rapidly rising U.S. debt could be unfavourable to the outlook for U.S. Treasuries and that U.S. President Donald Trump's trade policies...

Trump says he may change his mind about firing Fed Chair Powell

WASHINGTON -U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday again floated the idea of firing Jerome Powell, the Federal Reserve chair he has long attacked over interest rates he wants lowered. I...

Putin says war in Ukraine is not killing Russia's economy

ST PETERSBURG, Russia -Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday dismissed claims the war in Ukraine is devastating the Russian economy, citing continued growth, low debt and economic...

Still early to assess tariff impact on economy, Fed report says

The Federal Reserve's latest Monetary Policy Report to Congress, released on Friday, said U.S. inflation is somewhat elevated and the labor market is in solid shape, but suggested that President...

Putin says war in Ukraine is not killing Russia's economy

* Putin says Russia must not let economy slip into recession * Tells officials to ensure balanced growth for cooling economy * Pressure...

Fed split on whether to hedge on inflation, or proceed with cuts

WASHINGTON -The close split at the U.S. Federal Reserve over whether to keep hedging against inflation risks or move forward faster with rate cuts came through on Friday in the first public comments...

Sterling set for weekly loss as Middle East conflict overshadows domestic data

Sterling gained slightly against the dollar on Friday but was set for a loss on the week as uncertainty over the Israel-Iran conflict fuelled demand for traditional safe havens such as the...

Kenyan shilling flat Vs dollar - LSEG data

NAIROBI -The Kenyan shilling was flat against the dollar on Friday from the previous session, data from the London Stock Exchange Group showed. At 0717 GMT commercial banks quoted the...

South African rand gains as worries ease of US involvement in Middle East

JOHANNESBURG -The South African rand was up on Friday, as most emerging markets benefited from easing worries of an immediate U.S. involvement in the Iran-Israel conflict. At 1436 GMT,...

Slow rate hikes could cause wage-price spiral, BOJ paper says

TOKYO -Hiking interest rates only gradually as raw material costs rise could heighten the risk of an upward spiral in wages and consumer prices, the Bank of Japan said in a research paper released...

Russia's flagship economic forum offers scant hope of foreign investment revival

ST PETERSBURG, Russia -Foreign direct investment into Russia has fallen sharply, U.N. data published on Thursday showed, and Russia's premier economic forum in St Petersburg this week is offering...

Putin hosts Indonesia's Prabowo in Russia in bid to deepen ties

ST PETERSBURG, Russia -Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto held talks with President Vladimir Putin in the northern Russian city of St Petersburg on Thursday after which the duo signed a...

Russia's Novak says no one has approached government about buying Nord Stream 2

ST PETERSBURG -Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said on Thursday that no one has approached the Russian government about buying the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline. The Wall...

Exclusive-Japan to cut super-long bond sales by 10% to calm markets, draft shows

TOKYO -Japan's government plans to cut sales of super-long bonds by about 10% from its original plan in a rare revision to its bond programme for the current fiscal year, trimming overall bond...

Fed's Powell says central bank still has the needed data to do its work

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell made a plea on Wednesday for the government not to cut back too aggressively on its efforts to collect data on the economy because the information it collects...