Aurelia Butler

Colombian banking association Asobancaria suggested the central bank cut the reserves that financial institutions are required to hold, buy dollars at the spot market rate and allow foreign entities to purchase fixed-term certificates of deposit (CDTs).Analysts attribute the financial system’s decrease in liquidity to the government’s slower budgetary spending and higher tax collection. The funds are stored in the central bank and have not flowed into the economy.So far this year, the government has spent 47% of its planned budget, according to the finance ministry. However, some lawmakers warn some ministries have spent just 20%.Furthermore, banks are required to retain a certain level of reserves under Basel III, adding to the liquidity strain, Asobancaria said. “It’s necessary to adopt a series of measures to guarantee liquidity in accordance with the needs of the economy,” Asobancaria said in a report published on Tuesday.The liquidity needs of banks have seen commercial interest rates rise above the central bank’s benchmark rate of 13.25%. More

(Reuters) – A look at the day ahead in Asian markets from Jamie McGeever, financial markets columnist.Interest rate decisions and policy guidance from South Korea and Indonesia take center stage in Asia on Thursday, as investors also navigate the strong cross currents from global equity and bond markets the day before.World stocks and Wall Street jumped on Wednesday, lifted by optimism over Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA)’s earnings, and bond yields tumbled after dismal purchasing managers index reports from Europe cast doubt over central banks’ willingness to raise rates any further.The tech-led rally on Wall Street delivered the Nasdaq’s best day in a month, and the Nvidia mania appears to have been well-founded.The artificial intelligence chip making giant after the bell reported strong second quarter revenue and said it expects third-quarter revenue of about $16 billion, smashing analysts’ expectations of $12.6 billion.Asian stocks also enjoyed the Nvidia ride on Wednesday and are now up two days in a row for the first time this month. But no thanks to China – the blue chip Shanghai CSI 300 index tanked again as foreign investor selling extended to a 13th straight session, bringing total outflows to more than $10 billion.The MSCI Asia ex-Japan index is down 8% so far in August and on track for its biggest monthly loss since January 2016, when Chinese markets were in turmoil and the central bank was running down FX reserves to counter capital flight and support the yuan.Investors may go into Thursday in a ‘bad news is good news’ frame of mind, risk appetite strengthened by the sharp decline in bond yields after PMIs showed that service and manufacturing sector activity in Europe is shrinking rapidly.Good news that market-based borrowing costs are falling and that the Bank of England and European Central Bank may raise rates far less than expected – if at all – but bad news that growth appears to be crumbling.On the Asian policy front, the Bank of Korea is expected to leave its key policy rate unchanged at 3.50% for a fifth consecutive meeting on Thursday and hold it steady for the rest of this year.With inflation down to 2.3%, the lowest in over two years and close to the BOK’s 2.0% target, markets are betting that the tightening cycle is over.Bank Indonesia is also expected to keep its key interest rate steady, at 5.75% for the seventh consecutive meeting and for the rest of the year too.With Indonesia’s inflation last at a 16-month low of 3.08%, well within the 2% to 4% target range, the central bank’s focus is now on keeping the currency stable. The rupiah is currently hovering around last week’s five-month low of 15,359 per dollar.Here are key developments that could provide more direction to markets on Thursday:- South Korea interest rate decision- Indonesia interest rate decision- South Korea producer price inflation (July) (By Jamie McGeever; Editing by Josie Kao) More

Good morning. An aircraft said to be carrying notorious warlord Yevgeny Prigozhin, whose Wagner group launched a failed mutiny in June, has crashed on a flight from Moscow to St Petersburg, according to Russian officials.All 10 people on the plane, including three crew members, died in the crash, Russia’s emergency ministry said, according to state newswire RIA Novosti. Russian officials said a man with Prigozhin’s name was among the passengers, without elaborating further.Grey Zone, a Wagner-connected Telegram channel, also reported Prigozhin’s death late on Wednesday: “The head of the Wagner Group, a hero of Russia and true patriot . . . died as a result of the actions of traitors to Russia.” The social media account also claimed Russian anti-aircraft defences had shot down the plane.US president Joe Biden told reporters he did not “know for a fact what happened” but was “not surprised”. He added: “Not much happens in Russia that Putin’s not behind.” Here are more details on this developing story. And here are two more stories I recommend on Russia and its war in Ukraine: ‘General Armageddon’ fired: Russia’s army has dismissed Sergei Surovikin, a prominent general, as head of its aerospace forces amid a crackdown on potential Wagner sympathisers following the paramilitary group’s failed mutiny in June.Proposed asset swap: Russia is offering to swap western investors’ stranded assets in the country for some Russian assets frozen by the west following President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. Here’s what else I’m keeping tabs on today:Fukushima water: Japan is set to begin releasing radioactive water from the destroyed Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, a plan that has triggered a backlash in the region including from China. US: Donald Trump is expected to surrender to authorities in Georgia to face racketeering and other charges relating to his effort to overturn the 2020 election.Trade: G20 trade ministers meet in Jaipur, India. UK trade secretary Kemi Badenoch will be in attendance, part of a trip aimed at resolving “significant” barriers to a trade deal between Britain and India. Results: Weibo, Air New Zealand and Qantas Airways report. Five more top stories1. India has landed an uncrewed spacecraft near the Moon’s unexplored South Pole, a milestone in the country’s efforts to become an international power in space exploration. Wednesday’s successful landing made India the first country to reach the Moon’s South Pole, and came days after a Russian attempt to land in the uncharted region ended in failure. Read more on the historic Chandrayaan-3 mission. 2. Singapore authorities have requested documents from at least 10 banks as they widen one of the city-state’s biggest-ever money laundering and fraud investigations. Public prosecutors told a court on Wednesday that they were seeking documents from financial institutions used by 10 people who were arrested last week and charged in the $1bn (US$737mn) money laundering and fraud case. Here’s what we know. 3. Nvidia’s revenue more than doubled in the latest quarter on soaring demand for the chips needed to train the latest artificial intelligence models, outstripping even the heightened estimates that had spread on Wall Street in recent days. Read more on the AI chipmaker’s results.4. Apollo Global Management has been sued over a $570mn tax payout to its top executives as part of a shake-up aimed at distancing the private equity firm from its scandal-plagued founder Leon Black. A shareholder lawsuit filed on Wednesday alleged that Black and his co-founders, Marc Rowan and Josh Harris, “concocted a series of untenable justifications” for the windfall payout. Here are more details on the lawsuit. 5. Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund is set to invest $1bn in Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s retail unit, valuing the shopping company at $100bn. The $450bn Qatar Investment Authority would take a 0.99 per cent stake in Reliance Retail Ventures Limited, the Reliance Industries subsidiary announced, as it bets on India’s middle class growing more prosperous. The Big Read

Buoyed by petrodollar windfalls, oil-rich Gulf states are determined to chart their own courses in an era of polarising, shifting global dynamics. At the forefront are Saudi Arabia, the world’s top oil exporter, and the United Arab Emirates, the region’s dominant trade hub. The common theme in both Gulf powerhouses is one of self-assured, assertive leaders who are redefining their relationship with the US and increasingly turning to Asia.We’re also reading . . . South Korean business: Prosecutor-turned-president Yoon Suk Yeol — once famous for investigating corporate malfeasance — has pardoned convicted company leaders while in office. But the state has intervened elsewhere. Neurotech: Researchers have developed brain implants that they say are much more effective than previous devices at giving a voice to people who cannot speak.Gillian Tett: The ability of some wealthy US families to gain privileged access to elite universities is one example of our deeply tangled thinking about “gifts”.Chart of the dayGlobal stock markets have lost about $3tn in value this month, as a “witches’ brew” of gloomy Chinese economic data and surging US borrowing costs sour investor sentiment after a bumper start to the year. Take a break from the newsJérôme Haslin is Michelin’s chief test driver, tasked with developing new rubber for the wheels of cars built by clients including Ferrari, Aston Martin and Porsche. The “king of tread” takes the FT’s Charlie Thomas ice drifting at Michelin’s Arctic Proving Ground in Ivalo, Finland in this thrill of a read.

Michelin chief test driver Jérome Haslin at its Arctic Proving Ground in Ivalo, Finland © Charlie Thomas

Additional contributions from Tee Zhuo and Leah Quinn More