WORLDWIDE : HEADLINES
Israel, UAE to normalize relations in shift in Mideast politics; West Bank annexations on hold
DUBAI/JERUSALEM/WASHINGTON – Israel and the United Arab Emirates announced on Thursday that they will normalise diplomatic ties and forge a broad new relationship, a move that reshapes the order of Middle East politics from the Palestinian issue to the fight against Iran.
Under the accord, which U.S. President Donald Trump helped broker, Israel agreed to suspend its planned annexation of areas of the occupied West Bank. It also firms up opposition to regional power Iran, which the UAE, Israel and the United States view as the main threat in the conflict-riven Middle East.
Israel had signed peace agreements with Egypt in 1979 and Jordan in 1994. But the UAE, along with most other Arab nations, did not recognise Israel and had no formal diplomatic or economic relations with it until now. It becomes the first Gulf Arab country to reach such a deal with the Jewish state.
Officials from the three countries called the accord “historic” and a breakthrough toward peace. But Palestinian leaders, apparently taken by surprise, denounced it as a “stab in the back” to their cause.
Full coverage: REUTERS
Australia central bank chief says fiscal stimulus needed to revive coronavirus-stricken economy
SYDNEY – Australia’s central bank on Friday called on all levels of government to “put all shoulders to the wheel” to fund the spending desperately needed to generate jobs and drag the economy out of its deepest recession in about a century.
Having slashed its cash rate to a record low 0.25% and implemented a bond buying programme in mid-March, Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) Governor Philip Lowe said there were limits to what monetary policy could do.
“We could make some adjustments to the package we introduced in March. I don’t think at the moment we would get any traction from making adjustments,” Lowe said, before a parliamentary economics committee.
“If we get to the point where we think that we would get traction and make a difference to jobs and economic performance then we’re prepared to do it. I think right at the moment we’re not at that point.”
Full coverage: REUTERS
WORLDWIDE : FINANCE / ECONOMY / STOCK MARKET
Dollar drifts higher as caution returns to currency markets
SINGAPORE – The dollar drifted higher on Friday, helped by strong U.S. jobs data as well as firmer global demand for safe-havens amid concerns about the coronavirus recovery, setting the currency up to potentially snap a seven-week losing streak.
Early moves in the Asia session were modest as traders awaited Chinese trade data due around 0200 GMT. A rise in industrial output and a solid rebound in retail sales are expected and a downside surprise could hurt regional currencies.
The dollar traded firmly against the risk-sensitive Australian and New Zealand dollars, with the Aussie subdued after the central bank governor emphasised the long road back to recovery in testimony before parliament.
The Aussie AUD=D3 was last 0.2% softer at $0.7138 and has settled in to a range around that level after pulling back from a 18-month high hit a week ago.
The kiwi NZD=D3 was under pressure at $0.6537 as the country faces a fresh COVID-19 outbreak and after dovish comments from the central bank this week. Other majors were mostly flat, but the euro EUR=EBS hovered above $1.18.
Full coverage: REUTERS
Oil prices rise, head for weekly gain amid cautious hopes for fuel demand recovery
TOKYO – Oil prices advanced on Friday and were heading for a second week of gains amid growing confidence that demand for fuel is starting to pick up despite the coronavirus pandemic that has slammed economies worldwide.
Brent crude LCOc1 was up 14 cents, or 0.3%, at $45.10 by 0043 GMT, heading for a gain of about 1.6% this week.
West Texas Intermediate CLc1 had gained 12 cents, or 0.3%, to $42.36. The U.S. benchmark is heading for a gain of nearly 3% this week.
Full coverage: REUTERS
Asian shares to pause ahead of China data, U.S. ‘altitude sickness’
BOSTON – Asian shares were set for a largely flat start on Friday as markets weighed a pause in Wall Street’s multi-month stock rebound and awaited the release of Chinese economic data later in the session.
Australian S&P/ASX 200 futures were down 0.05%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 futures were up 0.06% after the Nikkei 225 index closed up 1.78% at 23,249.61 on Thursday. The futures contract is down 0.11% from that close . Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index futures were down 0.13%.
The S&P 500 ended slightly lower on Thursday after briefly trading above its record closing high level for a second day, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average also dipped in the wake of a disappointing forecast from Cisco Systems Inc. The Nasdaq Composite, boosted by Apple Inc, nudged higher.
E-mini futures for the S&P 500 rose 0.13%. MSCI’s gauge of stocks across the globe shed 0.04%.
The dollar index fell 0.141%. The Japanese yen weakened 0.03% versus the greenback at 106.96 per dollar; The Australian dollar rose 0.03% versus the greenback at $0.715 and the offshore Chinese yuan weakened to 6.9485 per dollar.
Full coverage: REUTERS
