Aurelia Butler

(Reuters) – A look at the day ahead in Asian markets from Jamie McGeever, financial markets columnist.The Bank of Japan’s policy meeting on Friday is the highlight of the week in Asia, with speculation rising that policymakers may be much closer to moving away from ultra-loose policy and negative interest rates than previously thought.Rate decisions and guidance from Taiwan, the Philippines and Indonesia on Thursday will also be closely scrutinized, while the latest inflation figures from Japan, Malaysia and Hong Kong are on tap this week too. Wall Street’s gloomy end to last week – the three main indexes fell between 0.83% and 1.56% on Friday – will cast a shadow over the Asia open on Monday, even though Asian markets ended the week on a far more positive note. The MSCI Asia ex-Japan Index rose on Friday, lifted by surprisingly strong Chinese retail sales and industrial production figures, ensuring a decent 1.2% rise on the week. That is the third weekly rise in four.But the steady grind higher in oil prices to new highs for the year is stoking inflation concerns, just as central banks in most developed economies are at or approaching the end of their tightening cycles. Stagflation fears are rising.After the European Central Bank’s fireworks last week, the euro will be closely watched as a signal for whether the backlash from more hawkish ECB members is gaining any traction with traders and investors.The euro has weakened for the last nine weeks, its longest losing streak ever. The 5% decline over that period is modest relative to other multi-week spells of depreciation, but nine weeks is still record-breaking. A period of consolidation and reversal is surely imminent.The flip side of that run – which has more far-reaching implications and affects Asia more – is the dollar has strengthened nine weeks in a row, its longest best run since 2014. Again, time for a snap back?Attention this week turns to the Federal Reserve and Bank of England policy meetings, and in Asia, the BOJ on Friday. BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda’s hawkish remarks last weekend seem like a long time ago now. The yen has surrendered all its gains and on Friday slid to a new low for the year at almost 148.00 per dollar.The 10-year Japanese Government Bond yield, on the other hand, closed on Friday around 0.72%, its highest close since December 2013. The currency and JGB markets are sending different signals, and both will be seeking more clarity from the BOJ on Friday.Here are key developments that could provide more direction to markets on Monday:- Singapore exports (August)- China foreign minister Li visits Moscow- ECB’s de Guindos and Panetta speak (By Jamie McGeever; Editing by Diane Craft) More

Sir Keir Starmer has promised to seek a major rewrite of Britain’s Brexit deal in 2025 if Labour win the next general election, saying he owes it to his children to rebuild relations with the EU.Starmer told the Financial Times that he would put a closer trading relationship with Brussels and a new partnership with business at the heart of his efforts to bolster Britain’s economic growth.Britain’s Trade and Cooperation Agreement with the EU, negotiated by former premier Boris Johnson, is due for review in 2025 and Starmer said he saw this as an “important” moment to reset relations.“Almost everyone recognises the deal Johnson struck is not a good deal — it’s far too thin,” he said in an interview. “As we go into 2025 we will attempt to get a much better deal for the UK.”Starmer was speaking at a conference of centre-left leaders in Montreal. The trip was part of an effort by the Labour leader, whose party currently enjoys typical poll leads of 15-20 per cent over the ruling Conservatives, to present himself as a prime minister-in-waiting. On Saturday he held talks with Canada’s prime minister, Justin Trudeau, and on Tuesday he will travel to Paris for talks with French president Emmanuel Macron, in which post-Brexit relations will feature heavily.Starmer has already said he wants to improve the Brexit deal by striking a veterinary agreement with the EU — reducing onerous border checks on animals and food — along with an agreement on the recognition of professional qualifications.Speaking on the margins of the Global Progress Action conference this weekend, he said: “I think there’s more that can be achieved across the board.” He talked about closer ties in areas such as security, innovation and research; some Labour figures have discussed trying to improve youth mobility and closer co-operation in energy. But Starmer reiterated his decision to rule out rejoining the customs union, the single market or the EU itself. Asked if he would seek to remove friction on other forms of trade, he said: “I do think we can have a closer trading relationship as well. That’s subject to further discussion.”It is far from clear whether the EU would wish to renegotiate the trade deal, which only came into force in 2021, particularly if it involved Britain selectively choosing only parts of the single market. Many in Brussels see the 2025 review as simply a tidying-up exercise. But Starmer said: “We have to make it work. That’s not a question of going back in. But I refuse to accept that we can’t make it work. I think about those future generations when I say that. “I say that as a dad. I’ve got a 15-year-old boy and a 12-year-old girl. I’m not going to let them grow up in a world where all I’ve got to say to them about their future is, it’s going to be worse than it might otherwise have been. I’ve got an utter determination to make this work.”Separately, Starmer said that his plans for funding the party’s wider economic programme would not require new taxes on the rich. “We haven’t had significant growth for 13 years,” he said. “We have to turn that around. It’s an in-principle error to go to tax rather than growth as your first priority.” More

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