Aurelia Butler

BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) -Argentina’s latest economy minister, Sergio Massa, stressed the need to boost hard currency reserves on Thursday, pointing to new debt repurchase operations that could help, as well as advances in talks with the country’s key farm sector.President Alberto Fernandez tapped Massa as economy minister a couple of weeks ago, making him the country’s third economic chief in barely a month, amid a severe economic slump fueled by sky-high inflation and growing street protests.”We’re negotiating three (debt) repurchase agreement mechanisms,” Massa said during a speech at a think tank event in Buenos Aires. He noted that banks from Asia, Europe and the United States are taking part in the talks and have made offers.”We’re proposing they unify the offers to buy back debt and strengthen our reserves,” he added, but did not elaborate.The minister also touted “unexpected” good news on employment, announcing a 6.7% jobless rate ahead of the national statistics agency INDEC’s expected second-quarter figure next month. The ministry later confirmed that the figure Massa provided corresponds to the April-to-June period. Argentina’s unemployment rate stood at 7.0% in the first quarter.Referring to ongoing talks with key farm sector leaders, Massa expressed hope that faster grains exports would be achieved, in another push to bring in more dollars to the central bank’s coffers, but did not go into specifics.He said that since Wednesday, grains exporters have been speeding up pre-financing plans.The minister, a former congressional leader from the ruling center-left Peronist coalition, plans to travel to the United States next month to meet with finance leaders at the International Monetary Fund, according to Jorge Arguello, the South American country’s ambassador to Washington, who spoke at the same event sponsored by the Council of the Americas.The early September trip will mark Massa’s first foreign travel as the so-called superminister overseeing agricultural, industrial and trade policy.In Washington, Massa will also meet with officials at the U.S. Department of the Treasury, the White House and private banks, said Arguello.Massa’s meetings with the IMF come as the organization carries out its regularly scheduled review of Argentina’s $44 billion debt deal signed in March.The quarterly review closes in September and is used to finalize new disbursements from the international lender.The Argentine government is scrambling to meet foreign reserve targets set out by the IMF agreement in order to trigger some debt forgiveness. Massa held high-stakes talks last week with the powerful farm and rural sector leaders in a push to boost reserves via stalled agricultural exports. More

A federal judge in Florida has given the US Department of Justice one week to suggest redactions to the affidavit justifying the search of Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort last week, paving the way for parts of the document to become publicly available. The move by Judge Bruce Reinhart came during a highly anticipated court hearing in West Palm Beach on Thursday that pitted federal prosecutors, who argued to keep the affidavit under seal, against US media organisations who want it unsealed because of the huge public interest in the case. The affidavit — a detailed explanation by the justice department of the reasons for seeking a search warrant at the former president’s property — has remained under wraps since the FBI raid took place on August 8. Not only have media organisations called for its public release, but so have many congressional Republicans, in the hope of shining more light on the rationale behind the justice department’s move to search Trump’s home. The DoJ had argued against any release of the affidavit, on the grounds that it could compromise the investigation and impede co-operation from witnesses in this and other probes. Federal prosecutors also said the document would have to be heavily redacted if it were to be released because of the nature of the investigation, which involves highly classified materials retained by Trump after leaving the White House.Reinhart rejected the argument that the affidavit should remain “fully sealed”, saying he was “not prepared” to keep it that way — suggesting he is tempted to partially unseal it with some level of redaction. Last week, he allowed the search warrant and the list of items recovered by the FBI at Trump’s home to be made public. Those documents showed that federal prosecutors were investigating the former president for improperly handling information related to national defence in violation of the Espionage Act, as well as obstruction of justice and tampering with government records.Thank you for reading FirstFT Asia. Here’s the rest of the day’s news. — AmandaFive more stories in the news1. Erdoğan backs peace talks between Kyiv and Moscow Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said he supports peace talks between Kyiv and Moscow after meeting President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Ukraine. Erdoğan has pursued a balancing act between the two countries, condemning the invasion and selling Ukraine combat drones but refusing to impose sanctions against Russia. 2. Trump Organization’s former CFO pleads guilty in tax case Allen Weisselberg has pleaded guilty to all 15 counts related to his time working as chief financial officer for the Trump Organization. In a deal struck with Manhattan prosecutors, Weisselberg will serve five months in jail and a possible five-year probation contingent on him testifying truthfully in an upcoming trial of the Trump Organization if called upon.3. Turkey surprises with interest rate cut as inflation soars Despite inflation of nearly 80 per cent, Turkey’s central bank slashed its interest rate by 100 basis points. The move shocked markets and goes against the trend of central banks raising borrowing costs to rein in global inflation. Rising prices and concerns over the central bank’s monetary policies have already caused the lira to drop more than 25 per cent this year. Emerging Markets: Central banks across emerging markets are implementing large rate rises as they scramble to tame rampant inflation and fast-depreciating local currencies. Ghana’s central bank just raised interest rates by 300 basis points, its largest increase in two decades. 4. US college sports league Big Ten inks $7.5bn media rights deal Top US media companies CBS, NBC, and Fox have agreed to pay a record $7.5bn contract to show Big Ten college sports for seven years. The deal comes as the US college sports industry experiences tremendous upheaval and loosens restrictions on sponsorships. 5. China boosts coal usage as extreme heat triggers power shortages Beijing pledges support for its coal sector as a months-long heatwave and drought reduce hydropower generation and threaten electricity supplies. Companies including Tesla and state-owned carmaker SAIC Motor have reported supply chain problems from power shortages. The days aheadEconomic data Japan will release July inflation data, while the UK reports monthly retail and trade figures. Germany will publish July producer price index (PPI) figures for industrial products.Japan’s consumer price index is expected to rise a record 2.4 per cent year-over-year, surpassing the central bank’s 2 per cent inflation target for a fourth month. (Reuters)Global inflation tracker: Inflation has hit decade highs in many countries. See how your country compares on rising prices. UK transport strikes Rail, tube, and bus walkouts will continue to the end of the week, with three unions planned to strike for pay rises to combat inflation. It’s one of many walkouts this summer, which marks the biggest industrial action on the UK’s public transport network in a generation.Montenegro no-confidence vote Prime minister Dritan Abazović’s minority government faces a no-confidence vote today after Abazović signed a controversial agreement with the powerful Serbian Orthodox church. The agreement was opposed by human rights activists and pro-western parties. (Euronews)What else we’re readingHow South Korea learned to love private equity Twenty-five years after Asia’s financial crisis, South Korea’s private equity deal value is at a record high of almost $30bn, surpassing Japan by $2bn. Seoul’s private equity achievements reflect the transformation of the country’s once tumultuous relationship with foreign capital.

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Odesa struggles back to life after lifting of Russia’s port blockade A tentative optimism has returned to Odesa after a multilateral deal last month resumed grain shipments to global markets. Odesa’s port is one of the most crucial international supply routes for grain and has been choked off since Russia’s invasion in February, sending global food prices soaring.The village wedding caught in the Taliban’s battle for Kabul In August 2021, people in Dost Kol — a hamlet in the hills an hour west of Kabul — prepared to celebrate the wedding of Mohammad Ullah to a bride from a neighbouring village. But the next 24 hours brought tragedy.TikTok’s extraordinary rise signals a more multipolar internet Popular in over 150 countries, TikTok has left the West Coast’s finest and fastest in the dust. The coolest app for younger users, TikTok’s rise might come to symbolise a moment in the evolution of cyber space: the Sinicisation of the global internet, writes John Thornhill.Food & drinkRavinder Bhogal presents a menu that is a taste of Sicily, from caponata to pasta with sardines and apricot ricotta cake, all borrowed from a christening she gatecrashed this summer.

Gastronomically speaking, Sicily is the meeting place of at least two major traditions, the Arab and the southern Italian © Aaron Graubar More

ANKARA (Reuters) – Turkey’s central bank shocked markets on Thursday by cutting its main interest rate by 100 basis points to 13%, saying it needed to keep driving economic growth despite inflation hitting nearly 80% and a monetary tightening trend among its peers worldwide. The lira dropped as much as 1.2% to 18.15 per dollar as the bank took its latest step down the unorthodox policy path advocated by President Tayyip Erdogan that aims to provide targeted cheap credit to help boost Turkish exports. There had been virtually no signal that another rate cut was in the works and no economist polled by Reuters had predicted one, given that inflation has soared to 24-year highs, eating deeply into Turks’ earnings and savings. The bank had held its main rate at 14% for the past seven months after cutting it by 500 basis points towards the end of last year. That policy easing sparked a currency crisis in December that sent inflation soaring.The rate cuts long urged by Erdogan – who holds sway over the bank after ousting several of its governors in recent years – have left real interest rates in deeply negative territory and have accelerated a cost-of-living crisis for Turkish households.Analysts expressed dismay at the decision. JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM) said in a note the move was “opportunistic,” driven by a recent increase in forex reserves “alongside a weak global environment and sharp rise in local lending rates” that is weighing on economic activity.But the current policy mix “will eventually either lead to a policy reversal or to an economic downturn,” the note said. Sticking to Erdogan’s unorthodox plan: https://tmsnrt.rs/3MRUHzr The central bank’s policy-setting committee said it needed to act because leading indicators pointed to a loss of economic momentum in the third quarter.”It is important that financial conditions remain supportive to preserve the growth momentum in industrial production and the positive trend in employment in a period of increasing uncertainties regarding global growth as well as escalating geopolitical risk,” it said in a statement.The new policy rate “is adequate under the current outlook”, it said, adding the growing gap between its policy rate and rising loan rates was reducing “the effectiveness of monetary transmission”.”We think the macroeconomic policy mix in Turkey has become more unsustainable with today’s rate cut,” wrote Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) analysts in a note in which they forecast annualised inflation to rise to more than 90% and only ease to near 75% by year-end with the help of base effects.”We recognise substantial upside risk to our forecast,” the note added.Both Goldman and JPMorgan expect no more rate cuts in the near future, and JPMorgan sees a rate hike to 25% in the first quarter of 2023 and real rates to turn positive in the second half of next year.The currency crisis last year saw the lira fall 44% against the dollar, stoking inflation via imports. The currency has lost a further 27% so far this year while inflation hit 79.60% in July, partly stoked by fallout from the war in Ukraine. The lira on Thursday broke through 18 to the dollar for the first time since December and set a record closing low of 18.089. AGAINST THE GRAINWith supply constraints, consumer demand and fallout from the war stoking inflation globally, central banks across developed and emerging markets are jacking up interest rates. Turkey’s inflation rate is among the highest worldwide while its real interest rate, at minus 67%, is among the lowest.Ozge Arslan, a teacher in Istanbul, said rising electricity and natural gas bills had forced her family to reduce their oven and kettle use and to take shorter showers. Opinion polls show such concerns have hit the popularity of Erdogan, who faces a tough election by mid-2023.He has made little mention of interest rates since June 6, when he said Turkey would continue cutting rather than raising them.The bank said inflation is driven by the lagged effects of rising energy prices, pricing formations not supported by economic fundamentals, and negative supply shocks.It repeated that disinflation should begin thanks to steps the bank and other authorities have taken to cool some forms of credit, along with an eventual end to the war. In the Reuters poll, all 14 economists had expected the benchmark one-week repo rate to remain unchanged this week. Only one economist predicted a cut later in the year.The bank last month raised its year-end inflation expectation to 60.4%, compared to economists’ median estimate of 70%. It sees inflation peaking near 90% this autumn. More

BOGOTA (Reuters) – An expected slowing of Colombia’s economic growth and more gradual rise in inflation suggest a lesser need for interest rate hikes as rates get closer to peaking, central bank board member Roberto Steiner said on Thursday.The bank’s board has raised the benchmark interest rate by 725 basis points since September, taking it to 9%, the highest since February 2009. Policymakers accelerated rate rises in June and July with 150 basis point increases, the steepest in 24 years.Inflation in the Andean country was 10.21% in the 12 months to July, the highest since 2000.While the Colombian economy expanded a more-than-expected 12.6% in the second quarter and is set to grow 6.9% this year, analysts and policymakers agree there are signs of slowing expansion.The bank’s technical team has predicted the economy will grow 1.1% in 2023.”The deceleration of economic activity is evident and will continue to be so next year, the lesser rhythm of growth in some prices, including the price of food, suggests that the need for an aggressive pull-back of monetary stimulus has lessened,” Steiner said on the sidelines of a banking conference in Cartagena.”So I think we’re closing in on the limit of what the macroeconomic situation says should be the monetary policy stance,” he said.His comments are aligned with analysts polled in a central bank survey, who said the board would take rates to 10% before the year ends. “The interest rate today is less than the rate of inflation, but it is a rate that is significantly higher than expectations for inflation on a reasonable timeline,” Steiner added.The board will next vote on the rate on Sept. 30. More

(Reuters) -The Federal Reserve needs to keep raising borrowing costs to bring high inflation under control, a string of U.S. central bank officials said on Thursday, even as they debated how fast and how high to lift them.St. Louis Fed President James Bullard, who was among the central bank’s earliest advocates last year of a more muscular response to fast-building price pressures, said that given the strength of the economy he is currently leaning toward supporting a third straight 75-basis-point interest rate hike in September.”I don’t really see why you want to drag out interest rate increases into next year,” Bullard told the Wall Street Journal, saying he would like to get the Fed’s benchmark overnight interest rate to a target range of 3.75% to 4.00% by the end of this year. The Fed’s policy rate is currently 2.25%-2.50%.Earlier on Thursday, San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly said hiking rates by 50 or 75 basis points at the Fed’s next policy meeting on Sept. 20-21 would be a “reasonable” way to get short-term borrowing costs to “a little bit above” 3% by the end of this year, and on their way to a little bit higher in 2023. The exact pace would depend on employment data, which has shown brisk growth in recent months, and inflation, Daly told CNN International. Inflation, by the Fed’s preferred measure, is running at more than three times the central bank’s 2% target.With the global economic slowdown acting as a headwind on U.S. growth, she said “we have to take that into consideration as we ensure that we don’t overdo policy.”Fresh data on Thursday showing a dip in the number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits last week added to evidence that, save for the fast-cooling housing market, the economy is holding up despite the steepest round of Fed rate hikes since the 1980s.’DEFINITELY PREMATURE’Investors may get a better read on the Fed’s likely actions in coming months next Friday, Aug. 26, when Fed Chair Jerome Powell gives a highly anticipated speech on the economic outlook at the annual global central bankers’ conference in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Powell last month held the door open to another “unusually large” rate hike at the Fed’s next meeting, but also said “it likely will become appropriate to slow the pace of increases” to give policymakers time to take stock of how higher borrowing costs are affecting the economy.Fed officials’ remarks Thursday suggest an emerging split https://graphics.reuters.com/USA-ECONOMY/FED/lgpdwawwzvo in the central bank between those who want to push rates higher quickly, and those who are more cautious because of potential damage to the job market and the risk of a rise in the U.S. unemployment rate, now at 3.5%. But both Bullard and Daly said they felt that once rates get to a certain level, the Fed will not quickly reverse course. Bullard said market expectations of rate cuts were “definitely premature.” Daly said she supported a “raise-and-hold” strategy. “The worst thing you can have as a business or a consumer is to have rates go up and then come rapidly down… it just causes a lot of caution and uncertainty,” Daly said. “I do think we want to not have this idea that we’ll have this large hump-shaped rate path where we’ll ratchet up really rapidly this year and then cut aggressively next year – that’s not what’s on my mind.”Trading in futures contracts tied to the Fed’s policy rate suggested investors see that rate rising to a range of 3.50%-3.75% by March of next year, but then starting to fall a few months later.Speaking at a separate event, Kansas City Fed President Esther George said she and her colleagues would continue to debate the question of how fast to raise rates, but that they would not stop tightening policy until they are “completely convinced” that inflation is coming down.The recent easing of U.S. financial conditions, including a surge in stock prices, may have been based on an overly optimistic sense that inflation was peaking and the pace of interest rate increases was likely to slow, she said.Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari, the most hawkish of Fed policymakers, said the central bank needs to “urgently” bring down inflation. “The question right now is, can we bring inflation down without triggering a recession?” he said at an event in Wayzata, Minnesota. “And my answer to that question is, I don’t know.” More

(Reuters) – Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell will address the annual global central banking conference in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, on Aug. 26, a highly anticipated speech that could signal how high U.S. borrowing costs may go and how long they will need to stay there to bring down soaring inflation.Powell, in what will be his fifth year speaking at the event, will talk about the economic outlook at 10 a.m EDT (1400 GMT), the U.S. central bank said on Thursday. More