Aurelia Butler

TEGUCIGALPA (Reuters) – A Honduran special anti-corruption unit indicted two former conservative presidents on Wednesday on charges of fraud for the diversion of over $12 million of public funds into political campaigns, the state prosecutors office said.Ex-President Juan Orlando Hernandez, who is awaiting trial in the United States on drug trafficking charges following his extradition last year, and his predecessor, Porfirio Lobo, were indicted alongside six other former officials including ex-finance minister Wilfredo Cerrato.Lawyers for the accused could not immediately be reached for comment.The indictment, filed to the country’s Supreme Court, accuses both Hernandez and Lobo of fraud for the diversion of a combined total of some 288 million lempiras ($12 million) to finance political campaigns, as well as money laundering by Hernandez, Carlos Morazan, a spokesman for the prosecutors’ office, told Reuters.The indictments come amid an expansion of the so-called Pandora (OTC:PANDY) case, an investigation that has for five years probed some 38 people for corruption – mostly politicians, deputies and former officials. Almost all have been acquitted.The six former officials indicted stand accused of fraud and abusing their authority.According to Honduras’ public ministry, the public funds were diverted into a political campaign for Hernandez’ National Party in 2013, to pay debts for the Liberal Party, and finance two other fringe political groups.A “network of corruption” was formed between 2010 and 2013 that helped extend and approve the transfer of over $12 million through private foundations into political campaigns, the ministry said.Hernandez’ 2013 campaign, which took him to the presidency, benefited from at least 62 million lempiras ($2.6 million), the ministry added, using “ghost companies, borrowed names and fictitious contracts” to ultimately bring funds into party hands, the ministry added. More

(Reuters) – A look at the day ahead in Asian markets from Jamie McGeever, financial markets columnist.Unexpectedly high U.S. producer price inflation figures on Wednesday could cool this week’s rally in emerging market and Asian stocks, with local attention on Thursday turning to Indian consumer inflation.Indian CPI for September tops the regional calendar, which also includes Indian trade data, bank lending, corporate goods inflation and machinery orders form Japan, and the latest snapshot of industrial production from Malaysia.On the corporate front Fast Retailing – the Japanese operator of global clothing chain Uniqlo – is expected to report a full-year profit of 374.6 billion yen ($2.52 billion), which would be a new record.But the tone of trading across Asian markets on Thursday may be a little more cautious than some of the headline moves on Wednesday indicate, and may also hinge on the U.S. yield curve.Emerging market stocks on Wednesday had their best day since July 25 and the MSCI Asia ex-Japan index rose over 1% for its best day in more than a month.Most of these gains were fueled by a powerful short-covering rally in U.S. Treasuries that triggered a sizeable decline in government bond yields around the world, especially at the back end of the curve.But ugly U.S. producer inflation data at the U.S. open on Wednesday – monthly, annual, headline and core readings were all higher than expected – was a reality check for those betting the Fed is all but done raising rates.The U.S. yield curve flattened more on Wednesday than any single day since March 16, but for ‘good’ and ‘bad’ reasons.The initial ‘bull’ flattening in Asia and Europe, led by strong buying of long-dated bonds, that pushed long yields sharply lower, flipped after the U.S. PPI data to ‘bear’ flattening, led by selling of two-year bonds and rise in short-dated yields.But this flipped back again after the latest Fed minutes were released, paving the way for a late flourish on Wall Street and positive close for the three main indexes.The ‘pivot’ message from Fed officials this week has been pretty strong and consistent, and Governor Christopher Waller on Wednesday was the latest to beat that drum. The minutes also suggested policymakers are turning more cautious on rates.But the PPI number could give traders in Asia pause for thought, especially with U.S. CPI due out later on Thursday.India’s CPI report, meanwhile, is expected to show a steep fall in annual inflation last month to 5.50% from 6.83%, with moderating food price rises and government subsidies offseting a surge in the cost of crude oil.Here are key developments that could provide more direction to markets on Thursday:- India CPI inflation (September)- Japan machinery orders (August)- IMF, World Bank meetings in Marrakech, Morocco (By Jamie McGeever; Editing by Josie Kao) More

Despite recent gains in major U.S. indexes like the Dow Jones Industrial Average, Jones anticipates a potential downturn if geopolitical unrest intensifies further. He also highlighted the deeply inverted yield curve, a reliable recession predictor, which hit its lowest point since 1981 in July, adding to the market uncertainty. Jones drew attention to the Federal Reserve’s aggressive rate hikes aimed at combating inflation, attributing these measures to market instability and the collapse of Signature Bank (OTC:SBNY), First Republic Bank (OTC:FRCB), and Silicon Valley Bank. He anticipates a recession by Q1 2024, driven by the Federal Reserve’s hawkish stance. Predictions suggest a rate decrease by early 2024 to prevent further economic fallout.Amidst this turmoil, Jones maintains a bullish position on Bitcoin (BTC) and gold, viewing them as safe havens in an unstable market scenario. He revealed that he maintains a 5% BTC allocation in his portfolio. This viewpoint finds support in events like Binance freezing Hamas-linked accounts and a resilient 5-day chart of gold and BTC. The current situation coincides with the 2024 Bitcoin halving cycle, potentially triggering significant market shifts. Jones first announced his 1% allocation to BTC in May 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns.Jones’ endorsement of Bitcoin and gold comes amidst a potentially vicious cycle of escalating interest rates and funding costs leading to increased debt issuance, which could result in an untenable fiscal position. His recommendations provide an alternative investment strategy in a geopolitical landscape he characterizes as one of the riskiest for traditional stock investments.This article was generated with the support of AI and reviewed by an editor. For more information see our T&C. More