Aurelia Butler

(Reuters) – A look at the day ahead in Asian markets. Asian markets on Tuesday will be hoping to rebound from Monday’s fairly lackluster start to the week, with Japanese equities particularly well-positioned to move up a gear or two after the yen slid to its lowest level in nearly three months.The dollar leaped nearly 1% to 150.90 yen, its highest since Aug. 1. It was the most notable aspect of the greenback’s broad rise on Monday to its strongest level against a basket of major currencies in nearly three months.The yen’s correlation with Japanese stocks has turned deeply negative over the past month or so, meaning when the yen weakens stocks tend to rise, and vice versa.The simple rolling 25-day correlation between dollar/yen and the Nikkei 225 index is now the most inverse since 2005. On that basis, the yen’s latest dip should mean a leg up for the Nikkei, right?A buoyant dollar, however, is not good news for emerging markets, especially when accompanied by rising Treasury yields. And U.S. bond yields are rising.The 10-year yield rose 11 basis points to a three-month high of 4.19% on Monday. Inflation concerns? Debt and deficit concerns? Election concerns? Strong growth? Whatever the mix, it is a tightening of financial conditions that is often a red flag for emerging markets.According to Bespoke Investment Group, of the 35 times the Fed has cut rates since 1994, the increase of more than 50 bps in the 10-year yield after the most recent cut ranks as the third largest. Chinese markets have had a positive start to the week after the People’s Bank of China cut benchmark lending rates by 25 bps and after Beijing flagged new measures to support innovative tech companies.Export figures from Taiwan were a reminder, however, of China’s economic predicament. Export orders in September fell short of expectations due to faltering demand from top trading partner China. Tuesday’s calendar in Asia is light, with Hong Kong consumer inflation, South Korean producer price inflation and New Zealand trade the main highlights. Pipeline price pressures in South Korea appear to be cooling pretty rapidly. Annual PPI in August slumped to 1.6% from 2.6% in July – the steepest month-to-month fall since May last year – and monthly PPI has been negative in two of the last three months.The International Monetary Fund and World Bank October meetings get underway in Washington, with finance ministry and central bank officials from around the world descending on the U.S. capital to discuss economic and policy issues. There will be a flurry of press conferences, panel discussions and bilateral meetings over the coming days that will undoubtedly yield market-moving headlines.Here are key developments that could provide more direction to markets on Tuesday:- Hong Kong consumer price inflation (September)- South Korea producer price inflation (September)- Reserve Bank of New Zealand assistant governor Karen Silk speaks More

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Higher prices are here to stay, which adds to economic pain also stemming from slow growth and high debt, the International Monetary Fund’s managing director, Kristalina Georgieva, said on Monday.”The pain we all feel because prices have gone up is here to stay, and a higher level of prices makes many people around the world quite angry too,” she said in a speech at the Bretton Woods Conference.”We are faced with this unforgiving combination of slow growth and high debt.”She said the world economy is performing reasonably well, but cautioned that concerns remain. “Trade is growing slightly slower than global growth,” she added.The IMF will update its global growth forecasts on Tuesday. While Georgieva did not specify, she said growth is expected to be above 3%.The IMF’s 2024 global real gross domestic product growth forecast is at 3.2% and for 2025 it stands at 3.3%.She added that climate risks are hurting some countries’ economic prospects.The IMF and World Bank annual meetings which started on Monday are expected to draw more than 10,000 people from finance ministries, central banks and civil society groups. Topics under discussion include ways to boost patchy global growth, deal with debt distress and finance the transition to green energy. More

BOGOTA (Reuters) – During this month’s U.N. Biodiversity Summit, known as COP16, in the Colombian city of Cali, nearly 200 countries will be debating how they can save nature from the current rapid rate of destruction.Here is what to watch for:NATIONAL ACTION PLANSTwo years after brokering the world’s landmark Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, countries now must spell out how they plan to meet more than two dozen globally agreed goals. They include setting 30% of their territories aside for conservation, slashing subsidies for businesses that harm nature, and mandating that companies report their environmental impact.Countries are expected to submit those national biodiversity plans, known as NBSAPs, by the start of the Cali summit that runs from Oct. 21 to Nov. 1.Delegates will use the submissions to gauge how much progress has been made since the COP15 summit in 2022 and what needs to be prioritized going forward.GENETIC INFORMATIONGenetic information taken from plants, animals and microbes can be used in researching and developing new medications, cosmetics or other commercial compounds.Historically, national laws and the 2010 Nagoya Protocol focused on how to pay the country of origin for the sharing of physical samples. But now that genomes can be sequenced in hours, rather than years, the amount of digital genetic information shared online has exploded and is increasingly divorced from original samples.The summit aims to establish a global multilateral system for paying for access to that data, called digital sequence information (DSI), with negotiators telling reporters in August that they expect an agreement during COP16.A deal would likely spell out when payments are required, by whom, and where the money should go. Companies are hoping that the possible deal will eliminate the legal uncertainties of working with DNA sequences.INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIESCOP16 host country Colombia has put the inclusion of Indigenous and traditional communities at the center of its agenda in Cali. The U.N. office for the Convention on Biodiversity – which oversees implementation of the original 1992 nature pact – has called for special protections to be given to Indigenous groups in voluntary isolation, stressing these communities’ role in protecting nature.COP16 will look to finalize a new program for including traditional knowledge in national conservation plans and decisions.Summit negotiators will also discuss the possible creation of a permanent body on Indigenous issues to ensure that these groups are represented in the U.N. decision-making on biodiversity.BOOSTING FINANCEWealthy nations agreed at COP15 in Montreal in 2022 to contribute at least $20 billion annually starting in 2025 toward helping developing countries meet their nature goals, with the target rising to $30 billion by 2030.Up to now, biodiversity aid has fallen short of those levels. Governments provided about $15.4 billion to helping developing countries on biodiversity in 2022, up from $11.4 billion in 2021, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).In Cali, both governments and companies are expected to announce further funding efforts, while also discussing new mechanisms for channeling money toward nature.OVERLAPS WITH CLIMATE CHANGE While countries have traditionally discussed global climate efforts separately from biodiversity, leaders are increasingly looking at ways of addressing both sets of goals simultaneously. After all, the two issues – climate change and nature loss – are deeply interrelated. Safeguarding nature helps to curb climate change, while global warming is also destroying biodiversity and driving extinctions. Experts say that COP16 must raise pressure ahead of November’s COP29 climate summit in Baku, Azerbaijan, for better recognition of the role of nature in fighting climate change. More