Economy

BRASILIA (Reuters) – Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva nominated Nilton David, head trader at Bradesco bank, to serve as the next monetary policy director at the central bank starting in January, the institution said on Friday.The appointment was accompanied by two additional nominations, all of which must still be confirmed by the Senate. They will mark a shift in the makeup of the nine-member committee responsible for setting borrowing costs, as Lula’s picks will secure a majority starting next year. According to the central bank statement, Lula selected Gilneu Vivan, the current head of the central bank’s financial system regulation department, to succeed Otavio Damaso as director of regulation.Additionally, Izabela Correa, currently public integrity secretary at the Comptroller-General Office, was chosen to replace Carolina Barros as director of institutional relations.A law granting the central bank autonomy, passed in 2021, decoupled the terms of the president of the republic from those of the central bank’s top officials. Currently, the committee is made up of four members chosen by Lula and five by his predecessor, former right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro. The balance will shift to 7-2 in January.If confirmed by senators, David will replace Gabriel Galipolo, who is set to take over as central bank governor from Roberto Campos Neto, also in January.Before joining Bradesco, David served as head of the Brazil and Mexico trading desk at Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) and has also held positions at institutions such as Canvas Capital, Citi and Barclays (LON:BARC).Lula has been a vocal critic of Campos Neto since taking office last year, with members of his Workers Party repeatedly calling for intervention in the foreign-exchange market to mitigate the sharp depreciation of the country’s currency – a decision currently overseen by Galipolo and soon to be handled by his successor.Focus has largely centered on the monetary policy role, as it oversees the foreign-exchange desk and is typically filled by someone with extensive financial market experience. More

Freeland made her remarks when asked by reporters about U.S. and Canadian fears that China could use the agreement as a back door to export cheap goods into North America.The most populous Canadian province, Ontario, proposed booting Mexico from the free-trade pact and signing a bilateral agreement with the U.S., which is home to three-fourths of Canada’s total exports.”We think that today, there is an opportunity for all of the (USMCA) countries to work together to have a fully aligned policy on China, to protect all of our workers and to ensure that we are supporting each other in this really important effort,” Freeland said.Canada and the United States have slapped tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles and steel, citing what they call Beijing’s deliberate policy of over-capacity.Freeland reiterated that Canada’s preference was for the USMCA deal to remain a three-nation pact. More

NEW YORK/LONDON (Reuters) -Global stock markets rallied on Friday, with Wall Street crowning November with its biggest monthly gain in a year on post-election growth hopes, while the dollar eased amid prospects for firmer rates in Japan and easing in Europe. U.S. trading was thin the day after Thanksgiving. Many investors made it a long weekend and stocks and bonds closed early, so most month-end position adjustments were done before the holiday.The S&P 500 rose 0.56% to mark the best monthly gain since November 2023 of 5.14%, while the Nasdaq’s 0.83% rise Friday secured a 6.2% gain for the month, it’s best since May.MSCI’s broad gauge of world stocks rose 0.52%, also securing the best month since May. Donald Trump’s Nov. 5 election victory and pledges of tax cuts, deregulation and import tariffs have supercharged investors’ expectations for U.S. and Wall Street stocks to keep outperforming other regions. U.S. tech shares are also benefiting from an artificial intelligence investing craze. Speculation about Japanese rate hikes drove a rebound for the yen, which ended with the biggest weekly gain vs the buck since July. The dollar fell 1.25% on the day to 149.65 yen. It delved 149.46 yen in late trade, the lowest since Oct. 21, under pressure after Japan’s government finalised a stimulus budget and inflation in Tokyo came in hotter than economists expected. The dollar index, which measures the currency against six major rivals, fell 0.26% to 105.79, ending the week 1.4% lower thanks to a sudden rebound for the euro, which had been lurching towards the key $1 marker on tariff fears and a bleak euro zone outlookThe outlook for lower U.S. rates has also weighed on the dollar. Trump’s import tariffs could boost U.S. inflation, Federal Reserve officials have turned cautious on rate cuts while futures traders put odds that the Fed will cut rates another 25 basis points at December’s meeting at 65%. However, for 2025 they see less chance that the central bank will continue to bring rates down at the same pace as this year. “The dollar is a little bit weaker. That’s helpful for the multinationals in the S&P 500,” said Quincy Krosby, chief global strategist, LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) in Charlotte, North Carolina.Trump has pledged immediate 25% tariffs on all products from Mexico and Canada when he takes office in January and an additional 10% on imports from China, a major trading partner for Asian economies and euro zone export powerhouse Germany. “President-elect Trump has called out Canada, Mexico, and China for now, but Europe is not far down the list,” strategists at BCA Research said, recommending investors limit their exposure to European stocks and favour German government bonds. The euro wrapped the day up 0.21% at $1.0575. It has recovered from crushing losses since the Nov. 5 U.S. election to gain 1.25% this week, supported by data on Friday showing higher euro zone inflation, limiting bets for deep European Central Bank rate cuts. Europe’s STOXX share index rose 0.58%, while Europe’s broad FTSEurofirst 300 index rose 12.65 points, or 0.63%. Asian and emerging market stocks sustained the deepest blows from tariff fears. While Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index eased a bit on Friday, it ended November off 2.23%, even though Japan was not singled out as a tariff target. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan showed a 2.35% loss for the month. Traders have fully priced a 25-bps European Central Bank rate cut to 3% in December, although hawkish remarks from board member Isabel Schnabel this week dampened speculation about a 50 bps reduction. The yield on the benchmark U.S. 10-year notes fell 6.8 basis points to 4.174%. Investors bought government bonds this week after Trump nominated hedge fund manager and Wall Street veteran Scott Bessent for Treasury Secretary, easing fears about excessive U.S. borrowing. U.S. crude fell 0.42% to $68.43 a barrel and Brent fell to $73.06 per barrel, down 0.3% on the day after the Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire deal in Lebanon eased supply fears, while gold rose 0.42% to $2,652.09 an ounce. In cryptocurrencies, bitcoin gained 2.23% to $97,252.72. More

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Gross Domestic Product (GDP) rose 1% on a seasonally adjusted annualized rate (SAAR) in Q3, well below the BoC’s October estimate of 1.5%. The central bank had initially projected growth as high as 2.8% in July.Citi analysts pointed to uneven economic trends given household consumption grew 3.5% in the quarter on robust goods and services spending, with government expenditure also providing a boost.However, business investment fell sharply, with machinery and equipment investment plummeting 27.7%.Analyst said recent fiscal measures, including a sales tax holiday and household rebates, could sustain consumer spending in the coming months “but increased uncertainty around US trade actions could weigh further on investment.”Analyst anticipates BoC to conclude in December that restrictive interest rates are overly suppressing demand, which will likely increase the chances of a 50-basis-point rate cut, bringing rates to the upper range of the neutral rate.The BoC’s next policy announcement is scheduled for December 11. More

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