- Japan Bonds Fall on Rate Bets, Asian Stocks Muted: Markets Wrap
(Bloomberg) — Japanese bond yields pushed higher with the yen as bets on a long-anticipated rate hike were fuelled by hawkish signals from a summary of the Bank of Japan’s latest meeting. Asian shares were broadly unchanged, as investors mull disappointing earnings from key US technology companies Microsoft Corp. and Alphabet Inc. - BOJ Summary Signals Rate Hike Is Coming Closer With Talk of Exit
(Bloomberg) — The Bank of Japan signalled it’s getting closer to raising its interest rate for the first time since 2007 in its summary of opinions from last week’s policy gathering, although authorities didn’t hint at a consensus over the specific timing for the move. - Israel Military Sees Taking Many Months to Eliminate Hamas
(Bloomberg) — The Israeli military said it’s engaged in the fiercest fighting yet in Gaza in the southern city of Khan Younis, where it hopes to kill or capture Hamas leaders presumed to be hiding in tunnels with hostages. Israeli troops have killed or captured most of the commanders of two of Hamas’ five fighting brigades, both based in the north of Gaza, an Israeli military intelligence officer said in a briefing. - Billionaire Druckenmiller Says He Will Continue to Fund Haley
(Bloomberg) — Investor Stan Druckenmiller said he would continue to fund Nikki Haley’s increasingly long-shot challenge against Donald Trump for the Republican presidential nomination. “I’m going to continue to support Nikki Haley,” he said Tuesday as he left a New York City fundraiser for Haley, a former South Carolina governor and United Nations ambassador.
5. Revenues at Pfizer fell sharply in the final quarter of last year as sales of its Covid jab and treatment continued to wane, but the pain was eased by the growth of an important new respiratory vaccine.
The American drugs company brought in revenue of $14.2 billion in the fourth quarter, down 41 per cent year-on-year and behind Wall Street’s forecasts. The decline was attributed to slumping demand for Comirnaty, its Covid vaccine developed with BioNTech of Germany, and for Paxlovid, its antiviral treatment.
6. UPS announced its fourth-quarter results today, which showed a mix of hits and misses, alongside guidance that fell short of analysts’ expectations.
Shares dropped more than 8% pre-market on Tuesday. The company reported an adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $2.47, aligning with the consensus among analysts. However, its quarterly revenue was $24.92 billion, a decrease of 7.8% year-over-year and below the anticipated $25.41 billion. The revenue decline was evident across various segments. UPS plans to cut 12,000 jobs as demand for package delivery stagnates, executives said Tuesday. The layoffs will eliminate around 2.4 percent of UPS’s global workforce of roughly 495,000, with about 75 percent of the job reductions coming in the first half of 2024. Executives said they don’t expect those jobs to return. “It’s a change in the way we work,” Chief Financial Officer Brian Newman said Tuesday during a conference call with analysts.
7. Fed to Begin Mulling Cuts, Hold Rates Steady: Decision-Day Guide
(Bloomberg) — The Federal Reserve will likely hold interest rates steady for a fourth straight meeting but avoid signalling an imminent interest-rate cut. The Federal Open Market Committee is poised to keep rates in a range of 5.25% to 5.5% at its two-day policy meeting ending Wednesday, a 22-year high first reached in July. The rate decision and accompanying statement will be released at 2 p.m. in Washington.
8. Hedge Fund Dymon Offers to Waive Key Fees Unless Returns Hit 5%
(Bloomberg) — A Singapore hedge fund is offering a relatively rare, client-friendly fee structure for investors as capital inflows for the industry slow and higher interest rates enhance the appeal of cash. Dymon Asia Capital is creating a new share class as part of a $1 billion fundraising for its multi-strategy hedge fund, which includes a so-called hurdle rate.
9. US Job Openings Rise to Three-Month High But Fewer Workers Quit
(Bloomberg) — US job openings unexpectedly rose in December to the highest level in three months while fewer Americans quit their jobs, indicating workers are growing more cautious even as labor demand remains strong. Vacancies increased to 9 million from an upwardly revised 8.9 million reading in the prior month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, known as JOLTS, showed Tuesday.
10. Australian Inflation Cools Further, Easing RBA Rate Pressure
(Bloomberg) — Australia’s headline inflation cooled further in the final three months of 2023, bolstering the case for the Reserve Bank to keep interest rates unchanged next week and sending the currency lower. The consumer price index advanced 4.1% in the fourth quarter from a year earlier, coming in below economists’ estimate of 4.3%, Australian Bureau of Statistics data showed Wednesday.
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