$FOUR

By Stella Qiu and Alun John BEIJING/HONG KONG (Reuters) - Asian stocks slid on Thursday, tracking a steep Wall Street selloff, as investors worried about global inflation, China's zero-COVID policy and the Ukraine war, while the safe-haven dollar eased. European equity markets also looked set for another rough day. The pan-region Euro Stoxx 50 futures fell 0.52%, German DAX futures were down 0.63% while FTSE futures were 0.51% lower. Nasdaq futures eased 0.15%, although S&P500 futures reversed earlier losses to be 0.05% higher. Overnight on Wall Street, retail giant Target Corp (NYSE:TGT) warned of a bigger margin hit due to rising costs as it reported its quarterly profit had halved. Its shares plunged 24.88%. The Nasdaq fell almost 5% while the S&P 500 lost 4%.[.N] "The bounce on Tuesday was proven to have been 'too optimistic', thus the self-doubt stemming from the misjudgement only makes traders click the sell button even harder," said Hebe Chen, market analyst at IG. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan snapped four days of gains and slumped 1.8%, dragged down by a 1.5% loss for Australia's resource-heavy index, a 2.1% drop in Hong Kong stocks and a 0.3% retreat in mainland China's bluechips. Japan's Nikkei shed 1.7%. Tech giants listed in Hong Kong were hit particularly hard, with the index falling more than 3%. Tencent sank more than 6% after it reported no revenue growth in the first quarter, its worst performance since going public in 2004. China's technology sector is still reeling from a year-long government crackdown and slowing economic prospects stemming from Beijing's strict zero-COVID policy, even though soothing comments from Vice Premier Liu He to tech executives had buoyed sentiment on Wednesday. Two U.S. central bankers say they expect the Federal Reserve to downshift to a more measured pace of policy tightening after July as it seeks to quell inflation without lifting borrowing costs so high that they send the economy into recession. "It must be said that the concern for inflation has never gone away since we stepped into 2022. However, while things haven't reached the point of no return, they are seemingly heading in the direction of 'out of control'. That is probably the most worrying part for the market," IG's Chen said. The U.S. dollar, which had rallied on falling risk appetite, eased 0.15% against a basket of major currencies, after a 0.55% jump overnight that ended a three-day losing streak. The Aussie gained 0.8%, while New Zealand's kiwi bounced 0.6% to, as an easing in Shanghai's COVID lockdown helped sentiment. [FRX/] Data on Wednesday showed that British inflation surged to its highest annual rate since 1982 as energy bills soared, while Canadian inflation rose to 6.8% last month, largely driven by rising food and shelter prices. Bilal Hafeez, CEO of London-based research firm MacroHive, said there was a strong bias toward safe-haven assets right now, particularly cash. "There may be short-term bounces in equities like the last few days, but the big picture is that the era of low yields is over, and we are transitioning to a higher rates environment," Hafeez told the Reuters Global Markets Forum. "This will pressure all the markets that benefited from low yields - especially equities." U.S. Treasuries rallied overnight and were largely steady in Asia, leaving the yield on benchmark 10-year Treasury notes at 2.9076%. The two-year yield, which rises with traders' expectations of higher Fed fund rates, touched 2.6800% compared with a U.S. close of 2.667%. Oil prices recovered from early losses, as lingering fears over tight global supplies outweighed fears over slower economic growth. Brent crude rose 1.2% to $110.41 per barrel, while U.S. crude was up 0.8% to $110.48 a barrel. Gold was slightly lower. Spot gold was traded at $1814.88 per ounce. [GOL/]

Digital Euro Could Come Out Within Four Years, ECB's Panetta Says https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2022/05/16/digital-euro-could-come-out-within-four-years-ecbs-panetta-says/?utm_medium=referral&utm_source=rss&utm_campaign=headlines

**@PeterMcCormack:** I was offered a regular column with the FT. The first article was rewritten four times and watered down to nothing. I ended up refusing to post it with them.They have an agenda. I’ll post my original article up later today. https://t.co/QSLCCtNDru https://twitter.com/PeterMcCormack/status/1526117674014711809

Crypto capital gains one of four key areas for Australian Tax Office https://cointelegraph.com/news/crypto-capital-gains-one-of-four-key-areas-for-australian-tax-office

**@nytimesbusiness:** The settlement would resolve a legal fight in which the investors in the Skyloft student housing complex claimed they were defrauded by the firm’s CEO, who aggressively bought up properties in the past four years and neglected them, according to students. https://t.co/C9zrNGGyrb https://twitter.com/nytimesbusiness/status/1525657477542551552

**@WSJmarkets:** A look at Disney, WeWork, Twitter and four other stocks that moved on the week’s news. https://t.co/s9Qnf3m6cZ https://twitter.com/WSJmarkets/status/1525499198778613762

**@CNBC:** Sellers have four options if an Amazon return can't be sold as new. Watch what happens next: https://t.co/84B3qeRJge https://t.co/HNvQ2c9HTG https://twitter.com/CNBC/status/1525497665328398336

Story in FT: Tiger Global's Hedge fund assets have been so hard hit that the outfit has in four months erased about 2/3 of its gains since its launch in 2001 Really REEEKT

US Senate confirms Jerome Powell for another four years as Fed chair https://cointelegraph.com/news/us-senate-confirms-jerome-powell-for-another-four-years-as-fed-chair

lol I did it!!!! The perfect start. I have just finished my first run through the course which has taken me six months. So this week I flapped my fledgling wings and took a leap out of the nest into the semi real world of a demo account. I am proud to say I have a perfect record. Four trades and four losses. Yipppeeeee! @coulldc Hi David, I'm afraid that when I said the other day that I wouldn't bend anything I wasn't being strictly accurate cos I sure bent my beak when I crash landed. The good news is that I managed to identify some lessons so tomorrow is another day. Onwards and upwards (I hope) 😁

Hello! I am very new here and am still plugging my way through the education. By way of an introduction I thought I would speak about today’s CAD/JPY. I spent all day yesterday listening and reading the Relational Analysis module (still not finished) and was absolutely fascinated by this. Instead of taking random technical signals why not trade when you have a good reason to go in that direction? So this morning I loaded up TradingView with the Crude futures contract (C1) on one side and CAD/JPY on the other, both four hour charts. I noticed the CL1 contract looked a bit soft so I dug around and found out that last weeks crude oil inventories had been larger than expected and wondered if that was enough to have an effect in the market. Sure enough there was a MACD cross down and a nice red candle on CL1 so I decided to take a short if I got a signal.

By Florence Tan SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil prices slipped on Monday, along with stock markets in Asia, sparked by weak China data and fears a global recession could dampen oil demand, with investors eying European Union talks on a Russian oil embargo that could tighten global supplies. Brent crude lost 41 cents, or 0.4%, to $111.98 a barrel by 0603 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was at $109.24 a barrel, down 53 cents, or 0.5%. Both contracts briefly turned positive after falling more than $1 earlier in the session. "The broader risk-off sentiment sparked by the recession fears, and China's lockdowns are the major factors that pressure the oil price," CMC Markets analyst Tina Teng said. Global financial markets have also been spooked by concerns over interest rate hikes and recession worries as tighter and wider COVID-19 lockdowns in China led to slower export growth in the world's No. 2 economy in April. Crude imports by China, the world's top oil importer, rose nearly 7% in April from a year earlier although imports for the first four months fell 4.8% on year. A price cut by Saudi Arabia also reflected worries over global oil demand, Teng said. Saudi Arabia, world's top oil exporter, lowered crude prices for Asia and Europe for June on Sunday. EU RUSSIA OIL EMBARGO Last week, the European Commission proposed a phased embargo on Russian oil as part of its toughest-yet package of sanctions over the conflict in Ukraine, boosting Brent and WTI prices for the second straight week. However, the proposal requires a unanimous vote among EU members this week. The EU proposal was followed by a pledge by G7 nations on Sunday to ban or phase out Russian oil imports. Washington also imposed new sanctions against Gazprombank executives and other businesses. Japan, part of G7 and one of the world's top five crude importers, will ban Russian crude imports "in principle", Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said on Sunday. "It seems inevitable that both the EU and Japan will be competing for more non-Russia supplies in the future, and this is underpinning prices," said Jeffrey Halley, OANDA's senior analyst, in a note. Bulgaria's Deputy Prime Minister, however, said on Sunday that his country would veto EU oil sanctions on Russia if it does not get a derogation from the proposed ban. "The talks will continue tomorrow, on Tuesday too, a meeting of the leaders may be needed to conclude them. Our position is very clear. If there be a derogation for some of the countries, we want to get a derogation too," Vassilev told national BNT television. Bulgaria had earlier said it would seek an exemption from the proposed Russian oil ban if such opt-outs were allowed, but it was not clear if it was seeking a full exemption or a delay similar to the one proposed on Friday for Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic.

By Richa Naidu and Jessica DiNapoli LONDON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - As shoppers pay more for anything from coffee to ketchup, some retailers have started to cut or cap the price of hundreds of products as they compete for customers and set themselves up to do battle in negotiations with major packaged food makers. Eurostat said on Friday that euro zone inflation for food, alcohol and tobacco rose by 6.4% in April versus last year, compared with a 5% increase in March, as the rising cost of living in Europe extends beyond expensive energy. The head of Leclerc, France's biggest retailer by market share, on Tuesday said it would identify the 120 items consumers buy most, including toilet paper, soap, rice and pasta, and create a "shield" whereby Leclerc will guarantee the price of those items from May 4 until July. Price increases have been anywhere between 6% and 20%. Pasta, for instance, has increased by 20%, as have some brands of coffee and chocolate, Michel-Edouard Leclerc said in an interview with French radio broadcaster franceinfo. In March, European governments, some facing elections this year, spent tens of billions of euros to shelter households from energy costs. There is little sign they will offer similar help with food bills, which are a smaller part of domestic expenditure, but politicians are nervous as household incomes are squeezed and consumer groups have warned the poorest are having to choose between heating their homes and eating properly. As almost everyone becomes more careful about how much they spend, supermarkets, which have experienced flat margins, are anxious to avoid losing customers to the competition. The CEO of British supermarket group Sainsbury's told reporters last week shoppers were "watching every penny". An analysis of a varied basket of goods created for Reuters by data firm Nielsen shows that prices for products including beer, bottled water and ketchup are rising sharply, in many cases extending big increases from last year. On average, Europe's shoppers are paying about 2 euros ($2.10) more for six essential food products, 8% higher than last year. Retailers charged 8.6% more for instant coffee in the four weeks to March 26, on average, while the price of baby milk rose by more than 21%. SHIELDS AND PRICE CUTS While Leclerc has promised to freeze some prices, across Europe, retailers are widely seeking to limit the inflation impact on the most essential items. A spokesperson for European retail and wholesale trade association EuroCommerce, which has more than 95 members, including Carrefour (EPA:CARR), Lidl and Marks & Spencer (OTC:MAKSY), said all were looking at price caps and cuts in some form, although it would depend on input costs on suppliers' margins. "Because of the very competitive nature of the grocery market, you will see other supermarket chains trying to keep prices down as much as they can," the spokesperson said. In Britain surging prices have caused the biggest squeeze on household incomes since at least the 1950s as grocery price inflation hit 5.2% in the four weeks to March 20, the highest level since April 2012, industry data last month showed. In response, supermarkets there, including Asda and Morrisons, have cut the prices of essential items. Although they have a cushion after lockdowns because people ate at home and spent more on buying ingredients, analysts expect full-year margins to be flat or decline slighly at European retailers, including Carrefour SA (OTC:CRRFY), Sainsbury's, Colruyt and Ahold Delhaize. They will look to recover some of the impact of price cuts in tough negotiations with the food production companies, which typically would have finished late last year in parts of Europe, but have dragged on as supply chain problems and inflation exacerbated by Russia's war in Ukraine has complicated agreement. The packaged food makers such as Mondelez (NASDAQ:MDLZ) and Unilever (NYSE:UL) are eager to raise prices as their margins have also shrunk while input prices have surged because of record commodity costs. Unilever, which makes Knorr chicken stock and Hellmann's mayonnaise, said last Thursday it raised prices in Europe by 5.4%, growing quarterly underlying sales for the region by 0.7%. Still, it forecast that its first-half margin would be between 16%-17%, down from 18.8% last year. "If you compare that with what's happening to people's energy bills, we feel that is quite responsible," Chief Executive Alan Jope told reporters. The company warned of further price hikes and said that unless it charged more, the "full impact" of higher input costs would be a 900-basis-point hit to its full-year margins. Dirk van de Put, CEO of Oreo-maker Mondelez, said last week that the company was approaching retailers in Europe about another price hike, after increasing prices earlier this year. Mondelez's first-quarter margin declined to 38.4% from 41%, the company said. Nestle, the world's biggest food maker, said last month it expected to grow sales around 5% this year after higher pet food, dairy and coffee prices. While sales revenues rise, some packaged food companies' branded products are losing market share to retailers with cheaper private label products, such as Aldi. Customers are stocking up, as the war in Ukraine raises the risk of shortages that will also drive prices further. "We observe higher sales across all our own brands and over all categories," Rolf Buyle, managing director international buying at ALDI Nord, told Reuters. "At the moment we especially have stockpiling effects in our pantry category such as oil, pasta, rice, canned food and flour." Unilever and Nestle declined to comment for this story. Mondelez did not respond to a request for comment and Leclerc could not be reached. ($1 = 0.9503 euros) ($1 = 7.0731 Danish crowns)

Matt Medved: The Four Factors That Make NFTs Successful https://www.coindesk.com/business/2022/05/03/matt-medved-the-four-factors-that-make-nfts-successful/?utm_medium=referral&utm_source=rss&utm_campaign=headlines

By Devik Jain (Reuters) - U.S. stocks were set for a lower open on Monday as growth stocks came under pressure again, with investor focus on the Federal Reserve meeting this week where policymakers are widely expected to raise interest rates. Megacap growth stocks slipped in premarket trading, with electric-car maker Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Inc down 1.6%. Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) fell 1.8%, set to extend sharp declines from last week. Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) slid 0.7% as the iPhone maker faced a possible hefty fine after EU antitrust regulators charged it with restricting rivals' access to its technology used for mobile wallets. Disappointing earnings forecasts from tech behemoths Amazon and Apple, as well hot inflation data spooked investors on Friday, pushing Wall Street to log its deepest daily losses since 2020. Fed policymakers look set to deliver a series of aggressive interest rate hikes at least until the summer, with traders seeing a 92.8% chance of a 50-basis point hike on Wednesday when the policy decision will be released. [IRPR] There won't be economic or dot plot projections at this meeting, but the market will pay close attention to Fed Chair Jerome Powell's press conference for clues on interest rates and balance sheet reduction. "Everyone knows (the rate hike) is coming ... what people are a little bit unsettled about is what is the guidance going to look like from Powell. Is the next meeting going to be 50 basis points again, or is it going to go up to 75 basis points," Thomas Hayes, chairman at Great Hill Capital in New York, said. The S&P 500 has fallen 13.3% so far in 2022, its steepest four-month decline to start any year since 1939, weighed down by rising bond yields, the conflict in Ukraine and pandemic-related lockdowns in China. At 8:11 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were down 25 points, or 0.08%, S&P 500 e-minis were down 12.5 points, or 0.3%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 60.25 points, or 0.47%. The quarterly earnings season has been better-than-expected so far. Of the 275 companies in the S&P 500 that have reported earnings till Friday, 80.4% have topped Wall Street's expectations. Drugmakers Pfizer Inc (NYSE:PFE) and Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) Inc, coffee chain Starbucks Corp (NASDAQ:SBUX), chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD) Inc and breakfast cereal maker Kellogg (NYSE:K) Co are some of the companies reporting results this week. Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ:ATVI) climbed 2.6% after Warren Buffett said Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRKa) Inc has taken a 9.5% stake in the "Call of Duty" game maker. Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) fell 1.6%, the most among energy stocks, as crude prices fell over 3% on concerns over weak economic growth in China. [O/R] Spirit Airlines (NYSE:SAVE) slid 9.4% after the ultra low cost carrier rejected JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ:JBLU) Corp's $33-per-share takeover offer, saying it had a low likelihood of winning approval from government regulators. JetBlue shares rose 2%. ISM manufacturing activity data for April is due at 10 a.m. ET.

By Alun John HONG KONG (Reuters) - Asian shares were set for their best day in six weeks on Friday led by Chinese tech stocks after reports of a possible resolution to the Sino-U.S. audit dispute, giving investors much needed respite from worries of a global economic slowdown. Still, a key regional share index was set for its worst month in nine as the Ukraine war and expectations for aggressive U.S. rate hikes in coming months have added to the anxieties, propelling the safe-haven dollar to near 20-year peaks. Hong Kong listed tech stocks rose as much as 10% on Friday as trading resumed after the lunchtime pause. Ecommerce players JD (NASDAQ:JD).com and Alibaba (NYSE:BABA) each rose as much as 15% and Meituan gained around 12%. All three are listed in both the U.S. and Hong Kong bourses. They and their peers' stock prices had been affected by U.S. moves to delist Chinese companies because Beijing restricted the U.S. audit regulator's access to their audit documents. Reports on Friday that a resolution to the dispute was in sight had driven the sharp gains, said Steven Leung executive director of institutional sales at brokerage UOB Kay Hian in Hong Kong. The gains from Chinese index heavyweights sent MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan 1.9% higher, which would be its best day since March 17. Also helping was the Politburo, the top decision-making body of China's Communist Party, saying China will step up policy support to stabilise the economy, and a strong Wall Street after robust earnings from Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) parent Meta Platforms had driven the Nasdaq 3% higher overnight. [.N] However, Nasdaq futures fell around 0.7% in Asia trade, pressured by disappointing earnings from Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) after market close. European futures rose 1.29% and FTSE futures advanced 0.86%. LONGER TERM FEARS Friday's gains marked a recovery to the brutal sell-offs in globally stocks in recent weeks. The Asian regional benchmark is heading for a 5.6%% drop for the month, its worst month since July 2021. Until Friday's gains, it was set for its worst month in two years. "There are four near term catalysts driving the market at the moment: U.S. earnings which we are about half way through, rising U.S. Treasury yields and lots of hawkish speak from the Fed, the war in Ukraine, and China policy," said Fook-Hien Yap, senior investment strategist at Standard Chartered (OTC:SCBFF) Wealth Management. Yap believes Asian shares have room to rise further as much of the bad news was already priced in, though a strong rally in risk assets like equities would need U.S. yields to steady. The benchmark 10 year yield finished the U.S. session at 2.8205%, having reached as high as 2.981% on April 20. The two year yield was at 2.6132%. [US/] They didn't trade in Asia on Friday due to the holiday in Tokyo. This week has also been a volatile one for currencies. The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against six major peers fell 0.38% to 103.27 on Friday due to the improved risk sentiment, but was still not far from Thursday's high of 103.93 - its highest level since late 2022. The index's current monthly gain of 5% would be its best since 2015. On top of the safety-bid for the dollar, the rally has also been fed by market expectations for 150 basis points of rate hikes in just three Federal Reserve meetings. The aggressive Fed tightening path, mainly to curtail sky high inflation, far out paces other global central banks. The dollar's recent gains have been most significant against the yen, and it swept past the key psychological 130 yen level on Thursday, setting a fresh 20 year high. [FRX/] Weakness in China's yuan gathered pace on Friday, putting the currency on track for its biggest monthly drop since 1994, pressured by broad dollar strength and lockdowns in many major cities to curb the spread of COVID-19. Oil prices remained choppy as traders grappled with the supply issues stemming from the war in Ukraine as well as the demand impact of lockdowns in China. Brent crude rose 0.9% on Friday to 108.56 per barrel, U.S. crude rose 0.65% to $106.02. [O/R] Spot gold rose 0.65% to $1906.7 an ounce. [GOL/]

By Sheila Dang and Akash Sriram (Reuters) - Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR) reported stronger than expected user growth in what could be its last quarter as a public company after agreeing to a $44-billion buyout by billionaire Elon Musk. But overall revenue and advertising sales fell short of analyst estimates, due to the ongoing war in Ukraine. Shares rose 1% in early trading. The results lay out Musk's challenges in improving the social media platform's business to match its influence on news and culture. Twitter has long faced criticism for its sluggish pace of product launches. Musk has tweeted suggestions ranging from releasing a widely-demanded edit button to making the Twitter algorithm open-source. When Musk closes the deal, he will be overseeing a company that has had long-standing struggles with internal dysfunction, indecision and lack of accountability, Reuters previously reported according to eight current and former Twitter employees. Daily active users on Twitter rose to 229 million in the first quarter ended March 31, from 199 million a year earlier. The figure beat analyst expectations of 226.8 million daily active users. Facebook-owner Meta Platforms also reported a return to user growth on Wednesday, which helped propel social media stocks higher. Twitter said an internal error resulted in the company overstating quarterly user numbers by about 1.5 million between the fourth quarter of 2020 to the end of 2021. The company said it also overstated the figures in 2019, but was unable to provide data. Given the pending acquisition, Twitter said it would not provide any forward looking guidance and was withdrawing all previous goals and outlook. The company last year announced it aimed to double annual revenue and grow to 315 million users by 2023, as former CEO Jack Dorsey aimed to signal a reset on years of product stagnation. Total revenue in the first quarter was $1.2 billion, compared with analysts' average estimate of $1.23 billion, according to IBES data from Refinitiv. The company earns the majority of its revenue from selling digital ads on the website and app. Twitter paused ads in Ukraine and Russia in February amid the ongoing invasion, which the Kremlin calls a "special military operation." "The macro environment is becoming hostile with advertisers curbing their spending as they deal with inflation, which is running at a four-decade high," said Haris Anwar, senior analyst at Investing.com. Musk has said that Twitter should not serve advertising, which would allow the platform to have more control over its content policies. Advertisers generally prefer strong content moderation, to help prevent their brand from appearing next to unsuitable content. Its net income rose to $513.3 million, or 61 cents per share, from $68 million, 8 cents per share, a year earlier.

Four years on, Telegram’s blockchain project gains ground in Africa https://cointelegraph.com/news/four-years-on-telegram-s-blockchain-project-gains-ground-in-africa

Moonbirds fly into NFT top spot with $290M sold in four days https://cointelegraph.com/news/moonbirds-fly-into-nft-top-spot-with-290m-sold-in-four-days

**@nytimesbusiness:** The New York Times reviewed nearly 500 Russian-language articles mentioning Fox News between July and late March. Here are four ways Russian media has used Fox News to bolster the government’s narrative about the war: https://t.co/nPfExrLKlv https://twitter.com/nytimesbusiness/status/1515042289416085507

Shiba Inu, Solana Tokens Among Four Added to Robinhood https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2022/04/12/shiba-inu-solana-tokens-among-four-added-to-robinhood/?utm_medium=referral&utm_source=rss&utm_campaign=headlines

4 clever crypto scams to beware — Dubai OTC trader Amin Rad https://cointelegraph.com/magazine/2022/04/08/four-clever-crypto-scams-beware-dubai-otc-trader-amin-rad

Fed’s Preferred Inflation Gauge Up 6.4% in February to Four-Decade High https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2022/03/31/feds-preferred-inflation-gauge-up-64-in-february-to-four-decade-high/?utm_medium=referral&utm_source=rss&utm_campaign=headlines

**@CNBC:** S&P 500 falls slightly on Wednesday after four straight days of gains https://t.co/IrlmBzRuZS https://twitter.com/CNBC/status/1509215560990707713

othe rthan the big four china us india russia nobody make enough ferts

Powell is about to become one of the four Horses of the apocalypse as far as market is concerned. along with bullard, walker etc

By Gary McWilliams and Erwin Seba (Reuters) - Union workers were removed from a Chevron Corp (NYSE:CVX) oil refinery near San Francisco hours ahead of a deadline to begin the first labor strike at the gasoline producing plant in more than 40 years. More than 500 United Steelworkers members were bussed out of the plant Sunday evening and replaced by non-union staff. No new contract talks are planned, said USW Local 5 First Vice President B.K. White in an interview. The existing labor contract at the Richmond, California, refinery expired Feb. 1 and efforts since then failed to reach agreement. The union twice voted to reject the company's offers. "The union’s demands exceeded what the company believes to be reasonable and moved beyond what was agreed to as part of the national pattern bargaining agreement," Chevron spokesperson Tyler Kruzich said. Chevron, he said, "is committed to continuing to negotiate toward an agreement" and has taken steps to continue normal operations at the facility. The last strike at the 245,000 barrel-per-day plant, which produces gasoline, jet fuel and diesel fuel, took place in 1980 as part of a nation-wide walkout. NEGOTIATIONS FAR APART "We are far apart" in reaching an agreement, said the USW's White. "It’s hard to negotiate when one side sees flesh and bone and other side sees the bottom line," he added. The USW local has asked for a 5% pay increase above that agreed last month by its peers because of the higher cost of living in the San Francisco Bay Area. It also wants the company to add staffing to reduce the 60-70 hours that union members must sometimes work, White said. The USW and most U.S. refiners last month reached a national agreement that provides a 12% pay raise over four years to the union's about 30,000 members at U.S. oil and chemical companies. Each local union separately negotiates a contract covering plant-specific issues, and Richmond workers have twice voted down Chevron proposals. Chevron non-union employees began taking control of refinery operations manned by union workers about 5 p.m. on Sunday, said White. HIGH FUEL PRICES California has some of the highest fuel prices in the nation with a gallon of unleaded regular gasoline on Sunday selling for $5.847 and a gallon of diesel for $6.258, according to motorist group AAA. On Saturday, the union had advised machinists to go to the refinery and remove their personal tools before the contract extension expires. Union members twice voted to reject Chevron proposals. The last vote, completed on Saturday, was overwhelmingly against what was called the company's last, best and final offer, according to messages posted on-line by USW Local 5.

When Biden speaks with Xi tomorrow, I hope he tells him to kiss our American ass. And tell your buddy Putin too. Time to punch the bullies in the face or hit them between the eyes with a two by four. Enough.

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ConsenSys raises $450M in Series D funding, doubles valuation in four months https://cointelegraph.com/news/consensys-raises-450m-in-series-d-funding-doubles-valuation-in-four-months

> *SEC Investigating Potential Audit Independence Violations at Big Four Accounting Firms, Sources Say -- WSJ > *Regulator Investigating Potential Conflicts of Interest Related to Sale of Non-Audit Services, Sources Say -- WSJ > *SEC Sent Requests for Information to Deloitte & Touche, Ernst & Young, KPMG, and PricewaterhouseCoopers, Sources Say -- WSJ

By Rowena Edwards LONDON (Reuters) -Oil prices tumbled to their lowest in almost three weeks on Tuesday as supply disruption fears eased and surging COVID-19 cases in China spurred demand concerns. Brent futures were down $7.89, or 7.3%, at $99.01 a barrel by 1446 GMT while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was down $7.97, or 7.7%, at $95.04. Brent fell as low as $97.44 and WTI hit $93.54, their lowest since Feb. 25. The steep decline followed a statement from Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, saying that Moscow is in favour of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal resuming as soon as possible. The talks to revive the nuclear accord, which would lead to sanctions on Iran's oil sector being lifted and allow Tehran to resume crude exports, had recently stalled because of Russian demands. Prices extended losses from the previous day's 5% decline as a Ukrainian negotiator said on Tuesday that talks with Russia over a ceasefire and withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine are ongoing. Meanwhile, Western sanctions against Russia have failed to deter China and India from buying Russian crude. A steep jump in daily COVID-19 infections in China added further price pressure. The U.S. Federal Reserve, meanwhile, is widely expected to raise interest rates by 25 basis points on Wednesday for the first time in four years to fight soaring inflation. Such a move could strengthen the U.S. dollar and dampen demand for commodities priced in the currency. Brent has lost almost $40 since 14-year highs reached on March 7. WTI, meanwhile, has fallen by more than $30. However, Tuesday's steep price decline surprised several analysts. "With the fundamental situation hardly changed, and with the tensions and uncertainties around the war in Ukraine still high, it is puzzling to witness the risk premium evaporate so swiftly," said Julius Baer analyst Norbert Rucker. In addition to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, spare crude production capacity remains limited from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, collectively known as OPEC+. "As the oil market tightness persists through the medium term, we believe the elevated risk premium in oil prices will remain," JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM) said on Tuesday.

And here are the four indices GBP/YEN/USD/EUR on daily

By Devik Jain and Sabahatjahan Contractor (Reuters) - Wall Street's main indexes fell on Thursday, with technology stocks leading the declines after data showed consumer prices surged in February, cementing the case for an interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve later this month. The Labor Department's report showed consumer prices shot up 7.9% year-on-year, the sharpest annual spike in 40 years. While the numbers matched economists' expectations, investors feared that inflation would accelerate further in the coming months as Russia's war against Ukraine drives up the costs of oil and other commodities. Nine of the 11 major S&P sectors declined, with technology, down 1.9%, falling the most after leading a Wall Street rally in the previous session. Chipmakers fell 2.2%. Energy shares rose 1.2% after taking a breather on Wednesday. [O/R] "Bottom line is inflation is elevated and there's more to come," said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Spartan Capital Securities. "I was looking for inflation to peak in the second quarter but now that depends on oil. Perhaps we won't see any relief until the end of the year." Fed Chair Jerome Powell last week said he would back a quarter point rate increase when the U.S. central bank meets next week and would be "prepared to move more aggressively" later, if inflation does not abate as fast as expected. Traders now see a 95% probability of a 25-basis-point hike by the Fed in its March meeting. [IRPR] Big banks fell, with Citigroup (NYSE:C) down 2.1%. Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:GS) said it was closing its operations in Russia, becoming the first major Wall Street bank to exit the country following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. Meanwhile, talks between Russia and Ukraine yielded no progress as the war entered the third week on Thursday. At 09:55 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 246.12 points, or 0.74%, at 33,040.13, the S&P 500 was down 39.51 points, or 0.92%, at 4,238.37, and the Nasdaq Composite was down 190.70 points, or 1.44%, at 13,064.84. Megacap growth stocks Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ:MSFT), Meta Platforms and Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Inc all slipped more than 1%, while Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) Corp and Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) dropped over 2.5% each. Shares of Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN) jumped 4.8% after its board approved a 20-for-1 split of the e-commerce giant's common stock and authorized a $10 billion buyback plan. Declining issues outnumbered advancers 2.71-to-1 on the NYSE and 3.10-to-1 on the Nasdaq. The S&P index recorded one new 52-week high and four new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 14 new highs and 79 new lows.

**@nytimesbusiness:** Workers at another Buffalo-area Starbucks voted to unionize, bringing the total number of company-owned stores with a union to four. Votes at two more Buffalo-area stores are scheduled to be counted this afternoon. https://t.co/id28rsi6E1 https://twitter.com/nytimesbusiness/status/1501669450621329409

‘Big Four’ South Korean Crypto Exchanges Say They’ve Blocked Russian Users https://cryptonews.com/news/big-four-south-korean-crypto-exchanges-say-theyve-blocked-russian-users.htm

ON WEDNESDAY, FOUR RUSSIAN FIGHTER JETS VIOLATED SWEDISH AIRSPACE - SWEDISH ARMED FORCES.

EURCHF is running with a double stop loss . I do not want to work to much , as we are doing 8 this week . Four more starting tomorrow .

$FCX working on four white soldiers rare

By Natalia Zinets KYIV (Reuters) -Missiles pounded the Ukrainian capital on Friday as Russian forces pressed their advance and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy pleaded with the international community to do more, saying sanctions announced so far were not enough. Air raid sirens wailed over Kyiv amid unconfirmed reports that a Russian plane had been shot down and crashed into a building a day after Russian President Vladimir Putin launched an invasion that has shocked the world. A senior Ukrainian official said Russian forces would enter areas just outside the capital, Kyiv, later on Friday and that Ukrainian troops were defending positions on four fronts despite being outnumbered. An estimated 100,000 people fled as explosions and gunfire rocked major cities. Dozens have been reported killed. Russian troops seized the Chernobyl former nuclear power plant north of Kyiv as they advanced on the city from Belarus. U.S. and Ukrainian officials say Russia aims to capture Kyiv and topple the government, which Putin regards as a puppet of the United States. Zelenskiy said he understood Russian troops were coming for him but vowed to stay in Kyiv. "(The) enemy has marked me down as the number one target," Zelenskiy said in a video message. "My family is the number two target. They want to destroy Ukraine politically by destroying the head of state." "I will stay in the capital. My family is also in Ukraine." Russia launched its invasion by land, air and sea on Thursday following a declaration of war by Putin, in the biggest attack on a European state since World War Two. Putin says Russia is carrying out "a special military operation" to stop the Ukrainian government from committing genocide against its own people - an accusation the West calls baseless. He also says Ukraine is an illegitimate state whose lands historically belong to Russia. Ukrainian forces downed an enemy aircraft over Kyiv early on Friday, which then crashed into a residential building and set it ablaze, said Anton Herashchenko, an adviser to the interior minister. It was unclear whether the aircraft was manned or whether it could be a missile. Kyiv municipal authorities said at least eight people were injured when the object crashed into an apartment block. "Horrific Russian rocket strikes on Kyiv," Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba wrote on Twitter (NYSE:TWTR). "Last time our capital experienced anything like this was in 1941 when it was attacked by Nazi Germany." Authorities said intense fighting was under way in the city of Sumy in the northeast. A border post in the southeastern Zaporizhzhya region had been hit by missiles, causing deaths and injuries among border guards, and air raid sirens sounded over the city of Lviv in the west of the country. Asked if he was worried about Zelenskiy's safety, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told CBS: "To the best of my knowledge, President Zelenskiy remains in Ukraine at his post, and of course we're concerned for the safety of all of our friends in Ukraine - government officials and others." SANCTIONS BUILD A democratic nation of 44 million people, Ukraine voted for independence at the fall of the Soviet Union and has recently stepped up efforts to join the NATO military alliance and the European Union, aspirations that infuriate Moscow. The United States, Britain, Japan, Canada, Australia and the EU unveiled more sanctions on Moscow on top of penalties earlier this week, including a move by Germany to halt an $11 billion gas pipeline from Russia. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell described the bloc's measures as "the harshest package of sanctions we have ever implemented". China came under pressure over its refusal to call Russia's assault an invasion. U.S. President Joe Biden, speaking to reporters at the White House, said: "Any nation that countenances Russia's naked aggression against Ukraine will be stained by association." He declined to comment directly on China's position. The U.N. Security Council will vote on Friday on a draft resolution that would condemn Russia's invasion and require Moscow's immediate withdrawal. However, Moscow can veto the measure, and it was unclear how China would vote. around the world. Oil prices soared as much as $2 per barrel on Friday as markets brace for the impact of trade sanctions on major crude exporter Russia. U.S. wheat futures hit their highest in nearly 14 years, corn hovered near an eight-month peak and soybeans rebounded on fears of grain supply disruptions from the key Black Sea region. Airlines were also facing disruptions, with Japan Airlines cancelling its Thursday evening flight to Moscow and Britain closing its airspace to Russian carriers.

By Natalia Zinets and Aleksandar Vasovic KYIV/MARIUPOL, Ukraine (Reuters) - Russian forces invaded Ukraine on Thursday in a massed assault by land, sea and air, the biggest attack by one state against another in Europe since World War Two. Missiles rained down. Ukraine reported columns of troops pouring across its borders from Russia and Belarus and landing on the coast from the Black and Azov seas. Ukrainian troops fought Russian forces along practically the entire border, and fierce fighting was taking place in the regions of Sumy, Kharkiv, Kherson, Odessa and at a military airport near Kyiv, an adviser to the presidential office said. Explosions were heard before dawn and throughout the morning in the capital Kyiv, a city of 3 million people. Gunfire rattled, sirens blared, and the highway out of the city choked with traffic as residents fled. The assault brought a calamitous end to weeks of fruitless diplomatic efforts by Western leaders to avert war, their worst fears about Russian President Vladimir Putin's ambitions realised. "Russia treacherously attacked our state in the morning, as Nazi Germany did in the WW2 years," tweeted Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. "Russia has embarked on a path of evil, but Ukraine is defending itself & won't give up its freedom no matter what Moscow thinks." Calling on Ukrainians to defend their country, he said arms would be given to anyone prepared to fight. He also urged Russians to take to the streets to protest against their government's actions. U.S. President Joe Biden called the Russian action an "unprovoked and unjustified attack". EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said the bloc would impose a new round of sanctions that would hit Russia's economy severely. EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell said: "These are among the darkest hours of Europe since the Second World War." RUSSIAN BOMBING In an early-morning declaration of war, Putin said he had ordered "a special military operation" to protect people, including Russian citizens, subjected to "genocide" in Ukraine - an accusation the West calls baseless propaganda. "And for this we will strive for the demilitarisation and denazification of Ukraine," Putin said. "Russia cannot feel safe, develop, and exist with a constant threat emanating from the territory of modern Ukraine" He added: "All responsibility for bloodshed will be on the conscience of the ruling regime in Ukraine." A resident of Kharkiv, Ukraine's second biggest city and close to the Russian border, said windows in apartment blocks were shaking from constant blasts. Blasts could be heard in the southern port of Mariupol, near a frontline held by Russian-backed separatists. On a highway leading out, a Ukrainian armoured column thundered along the road, with soldiers atop turrets smiling and flashing victory signs to cars which honked their horns in support. Civilians in Mariupol packed bags: "We are going into hiding," a woman said. Ukrainian officials said Russian helicopters attacked Gostomel, a military airport near Kyiv, and Ukraine downed three of them. Ukrainian border officials said the Russians were trying to penetrate Kyiv region and the Zhytomyr region on the Belarusian border, and they were using Grad rockets. Initial unconfirmed reports of casualties included Ukrainian civilians killed by Russian bombardment and border guards defending the frontier. Regional authorities of Ukraine's southern Odessa region said 18 people were killed in a missile attack. At least six people were killed in Brovary, a town near Kyiv, authorities there said. Ukraine reported five people killed when one plane was shot down. Ukraine's military said it had destroyed four Russian tanks on a road near Kharkiv, killed 50 troops near a town in Luhansk region and downed six Russian warplanes in the east. Russia denied reports its aircraft or armoured vehicles had been destroyed. Russian-backed separatists claimed to have downed two Ukrainian planes. 'RUSSIA ALONE IS RESPONSIBLE' Even with a full-blown invasion under way, Putin's ultimate aim is obscure. He said he did not plan a military occupation, only to disarm Ukraine and purge it of nationalists. The outright annexation of such a vast hostile country could be beyond Russia's military capabilities. But if the aim is just to replace Zelenskiy's government, it is hard to see Ukrainians accepting any new leadership Russia might try to install. "I think we must fight all those who invade our country so strongly," said one man stuck in traffic trying to leave Kyiv. "I would hang every single one of them from bridges." Biden has ruled out sending U.S. troops to defend Ukraine, but Washington has reinforced NATO allies in the region with extra troops and planes. The West has pledged to impose severe sanctions. "Russia alone is responsible for the death and destruction this attack will bring, and the United States and its Allies and partners will respond in a united and decisive way," Biden said. Russia is one of the world's biggest energy producers, and both it and Ukraine are among the top exporters of grain. War and sanctions will disrupt economies around the world already facing a supply crisis as they emerge from the pandemic. Stocks and bond yields plunged; the dollar and gold soared. Brent oil surged past $100/barrel for the first time since 2014. [MKTS/GLOB] At least three major buyers of Russian oil said they had been denied letters of credit from Western banks, needed for shipments to go ahead. A democratic country of 44 million people, Ukraine is Europe's biggest country by area after Russia itself. It voted overwhelmingly for independence at the fall of the Soviet Union, and aims to join NATO and the European Union, aspirations that infuriate Moscow. Putin, who denied for months he was planning an invasion, has called Ukraine an artificial construct carved from Russia by its enemies, a characterisation Ukrainians see as an attempt to erase their more than 1,000-year-old history. While many Ukrainians, particularly in the east, speak Russian as a native language, virtually all identify as a separate nationality. 'WE'RE AFRAID' Queues of people waited to withdraw money and buy supplies of food and water in Kyiv. Cars stretched for dozens of kilometres (miles) on the highway leading from the capital west towards Poland, where Western countries have prepared for the likelihood of hundreds of thousands of refugees. "We're afraid of bombardments," said Oxana, trying to flee and stuck in her car with her three-year-old daughter on the backseat. "This is so scary." Three hours after Putin gave his order, Russia's defence ministry said it had taken out military infrastructure at Ukrainian air bases and degraded its air defences. Earlier, Ukrainian media reported that military command centres in Kyiv and Kharkiv had been struck by missiles, while Russian troops had landed at Odessa and Mariupol. Russia announced it was shutting all shipping in the Azov Sea. Russia controls the strait leading into the sea where Ukraine has ports including Mariupol. Ukraine appealed to Turkey to bar Russian ships from the straits connecting the Black Sea to the Mediterranean. In Russia, where state media have for weeks been airing footage of purported Ukrainian attacks that Western countries call crudely staged fakes, the broadcast regulator said all news outlets must cite only official Russian sources on Ukraine. An activist who called for anti-war demonstrations was detained.

By Carolyn Cohn LONDON (Reuters) - Global stocks hit three-week lows and oil rose on Monday as worries increased that Russia will invade Ukraine. Russian forces killed a group of five saboteurs who breached the country's southwest border from Ukraine on Monday, news agencies quoted the military as saying, an accusation that Kyiv dismissed as the latest in a series of fakes. Kyiv and the West fear that a border incident near eastern Ukraine could be used as a pretext for Moscow to attack its neighbour. Russia denies such plans. Markets are on high alert for any escalation in the crisis. MSCI's world equity index fell 0.4% to 700.11, with Monday's public holiday in the United States, which will keep Wall Street closed, thinning trade and adding to the volatility. S&P 500 stock futures fell 0.66%. Nasdaq futures dropped 1.2%. European stocks dropped 1.65% to their lowest in more than four months. British stocks fell 0.5%. Shares in companies exposed to Russia and Ukraine fell heavily. U.S. stock futures and European stocks lost earlier gains made on news that U.S. President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin had agreed in principle to hold a summit on the Ukraine crisis. The Kremlin said there were no concrete plans in place for a summit, though a call or meeting could be set up at any time. "The Kremlin made clear today that they are in no rush for a summit with Biden," said Tim Ash, strategist at BlueBay Asset Management. British foreign minister Liz Truss said she was stepping up preparations with allies for a worst-case scenario, adding that a Russian invasion of Ukraine was highly likely. In a reminder of the stakes, Reuters reported Biden had prepared a package of sanctions that includes barring U.S. financial institutions from processing transactions for major Russian banks. The rouble slid nearly 3% against the dollar and Russian shares slumped 9% their lowest in 14 months. The U.S. dollar index dipped 0.1% to 95.668, well short of a 1-1/2 year high of 97.441 hit last month. The euro was little changed at $1.1327, while yields on German 10-year government bonds, seen as Europe's safest asset, hit two-week lows at 0.185%. [FRX/] A preliminary Purchasing Managers' Index survey showed the euro zone economy rebounded sharply this month as an easing of coronavirus restrictions gave a boost to the dominant service industry. "A Russian invasion of Ukraine would make the job of central banks across Europe much harder," said Matteo Cominetta, senior economist at Barings Investment Institute. "Investors should position for even higher uncertainty and probability of policy mistakes." Markets are also expecting aggressive policy tightening by the U.S. Federal Reserve as inflation runs rampant. The Fed's favoured measure of core inflation is due out later this week and is forecast to show an annual rise of 5.1% - the fastest pace since the early 1980s. At least six Fed officials are set to speak this week and markets will be hyper-sensitive to their views on a possible hike of 50 basis points in March. Recent commentary has leant against such a drastic step and futures have scaled back the chance of a half-point rise to around 20% from well above 50% a week ago. In oil markets, Brent crude rose by $1 to $94.41 on the Ukraine crisis, while U.S. crude also gained $1 to $91.98. Oil had suffered its first weekly loss in two months last week, taking it off seven-year highs, amid signs of progress on an Iran deal that could release new supply into the market. Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said "significant progress" had been made in talks to revive Iran's 2015 nuclear agreement on Monday after a senior European Union official said on Friday that a deal was "very, very close". [O/R] Gold has benefited from its status as one of the oldest of safe harbours, climbing to nine-month highs of $1,908 an ounce, before dropping back to $1,893 an ounce. [GOL/]

By Tom Westbrook SINGAPORE (Reuters) - The dollar bounced on Thursday after a Russian news report of mortar fire in eastern Ukraine jangled market nerves and sent investors in to safe havens. Russia-backed rebels accused Ukrainian forces of shelling their territory in violation of agreements aimed at ending conflict in the contested Donbass area, the RIA news agency said, a report later denied by Ukraine. Russia has massed more than 100,000 troops close to Ukraine's borders and the West has threatened Russia with new sanctions if it attacks. The euro fell as much as 0.4% as traders immediately saw risks of a wider war. But Ukraine's denial and the location of the reported attack within already contested territory calmed things and the euro last sat at $1.1354. The risk-sensitive Australian dollar lost as much as 0.6% before settling 0.2% lower at $0.7185. The safe-haven yen rose about 0.1% to 115.29 per dollar. "There is a lot of anxiety," said Bank of Singapore strategist Moh Siong Sim. "It's not clear whether it's some local event or something which could flare up...right now such headlines are keeping the markets a bit nervous." The Russian rouble, which has been sensitive to the prospect of war as sanctions loom on Russia, fell 0.7%. The standoff on Europe's eastern edge is one of the deepest crises in East-West relations for decades. Earlier in the day, a U.S. official said Russia was increasing troop numbers near its border with Ukraine rather than withdrawing, as Moscow claimed. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, also said Russia could "launch a false pretext at any moment" to justify an invasion, something Russia has dismissed. Safe-haven Treasuries rallied and U.S. stock futures fell with the mood, though the lack of clarity around the situation capped larger moves. [MKTS/GLOB] The U.S. dollar index was up 0.1% to 95.927. JAPAN DEFICIT Economic data also added some support to the dollar on Thursday, offsetting some overnight softness when minutes from the Federal Reserve's last meeting were less hawkish than some investors had expected. Data showed Japan ran its biggest trade deficit in a single month in eight years in January, and that follows Europe's trade gap widening in December as energy prices surge. Rates expectations held the kiwi and sterling steady. The New Zealand dollar was last flat at $0.6685 after touching a one-week high of $0.6703. A 25 basis point (bp) rate hike in New Zealand is fully priced for next week, with swaps trade pointing to a better-than-one-in-four chance of a 50 bps hike. March hike expectations are also holding sterling firm and it was last steady at $1.3580. Ahead on Thursday, speeches from Bank of Spain Governor Pablo Hernández de Cos and European Central Bank (ECB) chief economist Philip Lane at 0800 GMT and 1400 GMT, respectively, will be closely watched for clues on the ECB outlook. Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard speaks at 1600 GMT and U.S. jobless claims and the Philadelphia Fed manufacturing survey are also due. ======================================================== Currency bid prices at 0649 GMT Description RIC Last U.S. Close Pct Change YTD Pct High Bid Low Bid Previous Change Session Euro/Dollar $1.1357 $1.1373 -0.14% -0.10% +1.1385 +1.1323 Dollar/Yen 115.3100 115.4550 -0.11% +0.27% +115.5300 +115.1450 Euro/Yen 130.96 131.30 -0.26% +0.49% +131.4900 +130.4200 Dollar/Swiss 0.9223 0.9222 -0.02% +1.08% +0.9229 +0.9215 Sterling/Dollar 1.3581 1.3583 -0.02% +0.41% +1.3597 +1.3557 Dollar/Canadian 1.2709 1.2694 +0.15% +0.55% +1.2734 +1.2680 Aussie/Dollar 0.7189 0.7197 -0.13% -1.12% +0.7215 +0.7151 NZ Dollar/Dollar 0.6686 0.6680 +0.10% -2.31% +0.6704 +0.6660 All spots Tokyo spots Europe spots Volatilities Tokyo Forex market info from BOJ

UKRAINE'S MILITARY FORCES HAVE FIRED MORTAR SHELLS AND GRENADES AT FOUR LPR COMMUNITIES - SPUTNIK.

By Doina Chiacu and Alexander Marrow WASHINGTON/MOSCOW (Reuters) -The United States and NATO said Russia was still building up troops around Ukraine on Wednesday despite Moscow's insistence it was pulling back, questioning President Vladimir Putin's stated desire to negotiate a solution to the crisis. In Ukraine, where people raised flags and played the national anthem to show unity against fears of an invasion, the government said a cyber attack that hit the defence ministry was the worst of its kind that the country had seen. It pointed the finger towards Russia, which denied involvement. The Russian defence ministry said its forces were pulling back after exercises in southern and western military districts near Ukraine - part of a huge Russian build-up that was accompanied by demands for sweeping security guarantees from the United States and NATO. It published video that it said showed tanks, infantry fighting vehicles and self-propelled artillery units leaving the Crimean peninsula, which Moscow seized from Ukraine in 2014. But U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said key Russian units were moving towards the border, not away. "There's what Russia says. And then there's what Russia does. And we haven't seen any pullback of its forces," Blinken said in an interview on MSNBC. "We continue to see critical units moving toward the border, not away from the border." What Washington wanted to see was exactly the opposite, he said. "We need to see these forces moving away." A senior Western intelligence official said Russian military exercises were at their peak and the risk of Russian aggression against Ukraine would remain high for the rest of February. "There are no credible signs at this point that there will be any kind of military de-escalation," the official said on condition of anonymity, adding that Russia could still attack Ukraine "with essentially no, or little-to-no, warning". NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said a pullout would be welcome but that moving troops and tanks back and forth did not amount to proof it was really happening. "We have not seen any withdrawal of Russian forces. And of course, that contradicts the message of diplomatic efforts," Stoltenberg said before a meeting of the alliance in Brussels. "What we see is that they have increased the number of troops and more troops are on their way. So, so far, no de-escalation." The Kremlin said NATO's assessment was wrong. Moscow's ambassador to Ireland said forces in western Russia would be back to their normal positions within three to four weeks. World stockmarkets crept higher for the second day in a row and Russian shares and the rouble gained ground as investors welcomed the apparent easing in tension, despite the Western scepticism. Russia says it never planned to attack Ukraine but wants to lay down "red lines" to prevent its neighbour from joining NATO, which it sees as a threat to its own security. The Kremlin said Putin was keen to negotiate with the United States, which has offered discussions on arms control and confidence-building measures while ruling out a veto on future NATO membership for Ukraine. 'CREATING TENSION' Russia has accused the United States and Britain of hysterical war propaganda after their repeated warnings of a possible attack and reports in some Western media that it would happen on Wednesday. Both countries have cast doubt on whether the Russian troop pullback is for real, with U.S. President Joe Biden saying on Tuesday that more than 150,000 Russian troops were still massed near Ukraine's borders and an invasion remained "distinctly possible". Germany also said it wanted proof. China, which has cultivated closer ties with Russia as both countries have come under increasing criticism from the West, accused the United States of "playing up the threat of warfare and creating tension". Military analysts say a key indicator of a significant pullback will be whether field hospitals and fuel stores are dismantled and units from Russia's far east, which are taking part in huge exercises in Belarus this week, return to their bases thousands of miles away. Russia security specialist Mark Galeotti said the absence of any Russian attack should not be interpreted as meaning that "Putin blinked". "Nothing has changed on the ground in any meaningful way. Putin could have invaded yesterday, he can still do so tomorrow," he wrote on Twitter (NYSE:TWTR). DAY OF UNITY Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he did not see any sign of a Russian troop withdrawal. "When the troops do withdraw everyone will see that.. but for now, it’s just a statement," the BBC quoted him as saying during a visit to western Ukraine. Zelenskiy designated Wednesday a patriotic holiday in response to Western media reports that Russia could invade on that day. "No one can love our home as we can. And only we, together, can protect our home," he said earlier The defence ministry said hackers were still bombarding its website and had succeeded in finding vulnerabilities in the programming code. Traffic was being rerouted to servers in the United States while the issue was being fixed, it said. A senior Ukrainian security official said the only country that would be interested in such cyber attacks was Russia. The Kremlin denied that Russia was involved but said it was not surprised that Ukraine would blame Moscow. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin had "taken note" of a request from Russia's parliament on Tuesday for him to recognise the "independence" of two breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine where Russian-backed separatists have been fighting Ukrainian government forces since 2014. But he said that would not be line with the 2014-15 Minsk agreements aimed at ending the conflict, in which Ukraine says some 15,000 people have been killed. The comment appeared to indicate that Putin would not rush into recognising the separatist areas but might keep such an option in reserve. Blinken said such a step would undermine Ukraine’s sovereignty, violate international law, call into question Russia’s stated commitment to continue to engage in diplomacy and "necessitate a swift and firm response from the United States in full coordination with our Allies and partners".

By Marc Jones LONDON (Reuters) - Stock markets stumbled on Tuesday as Wall Street opened lower, Europe gave up gains built on bumper BP (NYSE:BP) profits, while the euro was pegged back as the European Central Bank tried to cool interest rate hike expectations. Wall Street saw a groggy restart on disappointing Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) earnings, another slump in Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) owner Meta's shares and the collapse of Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA)'s mega deal to buy the firm that designs chips for the likes of Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL). Europe also turned red again although oil and mining shares were still clinging to positive territory after FTSE-listed BP reported a whopping $12.8 billion annual profit thanks to soaring gas and oil prices. (EU) It was BP's highest profit in eight years, working out at staggering $24,353 a minute - more than someone on minimum wages in major economies would earn in a year. It had also helped traders brush off Washington slapping warnings on another 33 Chinese firms and the sight of the 10-year U.S. Treasury yield - the most influential driver of global borrowing costs - hitting a new 2-year high. [.SS] Currency and bond market traders are currently laser-focused on which central banks will hike their interest rates the fastest and furthest this year following the rapid rise in global inflation. "Central banks globally have all engaged in a hawkish pivot," said BlueBay Asset Management's David Riley. "As their tolerance for higher inflation persistently is less than previously signalled we are shifting to a regime where there will be more macro volatility." Comments from ECB President Lagarde on Monday that there was currently no need for major monetary policy tightening weakened the euro for a second consecutive day. It had initially nudged down the bond yields - a proxy for borrowing costs - for high-debt countries such as Italy, Greece and Spain, although that reversed as Spain's ECB council member, Pablo Hernandez de Cos, spoke on Tuesday about gradual tightening. Italian government bonds duly whipsawed, with the 10-year yield first falling to 1.78% before rearing right back up to 1.85%. [GVD/EUR] CHOPPY CHINA U.S. stocks made a subdued open on Wall Street after the earnings disappointments and a fresh 1.2% drop in Facebook owner Meta's shares after billionaire investor Peter Thiel decided to step down from the company's board. Focus is also on inflation data this week that could offer more clues on the Fed's first post-COVID rate hike. Pfizer fell 3.7% in early trading as the drugmaker's forecasts for its COVID-19 vaccine and antiviral pills fell short of Wall Street estimates, while Coty (NYSE:COTY) jumped 3% after raising its forecasts. Asia's session had been volatile overnight too. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares ended flat overall but blue chip Chinese stocks dropped to a 19-month low after big tech firms' heavy losses and U.S. export warnings on 33 new Chinese firms. [.SS] (HK) The prospect of global rates rising had pushed Japanese government bond yields up too, while those on benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasuries briefly touched 1.96%. Back in the currency market Russia's rouble hit a four-week high after marathon talks between President Vladimir Putin and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron have kept up hopes that war in Ukraine will be avoided. It helped oil come off Monday's seven-year high of $94 on Monday. It was trading lower at $92 also ahead of the resumption of indirect talks in Vienna later between the United States and Iran, which may revive a nuclear agreement that could eventually allow more oil exports from the OPEC producer. A deal could allow over 1 million barrels per day of Iranian oil, equal to over 1% of global supply, back onto the market, though that was still a distant possibility. Brent crude was down $1.30, or 1.4%, at $91.37 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude fell $1.55, or 1.4%, at $89.95. Eight rounds of indirect talks between Tehran and Washington since April have yet to result in an agreement on resuming the 2015 nuclear deal. Differences remain about the speed and scope of lifting sanctions on Tehran.

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By Bansari Mayur Kamdar (Reuters) - The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq rose on Monday after a week of choppy trading spurred on by mixed quarterly results from big technology companies, while Peloton jumped on media reports of interest from potential buyers including Amazon. Five of the 11 major S&P sectors advanced, with consumer discretionary stocks leading morning gains. The tech-heavy Nasdaq had a choppy start to February after Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) owner Meta Platforms lost $200 billion from its market value on disappointing results last week, while Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN) gained just as much on plans of hiking its Prime subscription rate. "Markets finished out pretty decently last week after a tough month of January, so it does seem that you had capitulation on that Monday, and since then the market is trying to work its way up," said Thomas Hayes, managing member at Great Hill Capital LLC in New York. "Higher earnings are helpful in the sense that estimates finally ticked up." Of the 278 companies in the S&P 500 that have posted earnings as of Friday, 78.4% reported above analysts' expectations, according to Refinitiv data. Meatpacker Tyson Foods Inc (NYSE:TSN) climbed 10.3% after its first-quarter profit nearly doubled and surged past estimates, boosted by higher prices. Peloton Interactive (NASDAQ:PTON) Inc jumped 28.4% on media reports that Amazon and Nike (NYSE:NKE) are exploring potential buyout offers for the exercise bike maker. At 09:47 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 70.00 points, or 0.20%, at 35,019.74, the S&P 500 was up 5.66 points, or 0.13%, at 4,506.19, and the Nasdaq Composite was up 104.79 points, or 0.74%, at 14,202.80. An unexpectedly strong jobs report last week raised concerns about aggressive policy tightening by the U.S. Federal Reserve, ahead of key inflation data for January that is due on Thursday. Markets are now pricing in a one-in-three chance the Fed might hike by a full 50 basis points in March and the prospect of rates reaching 1.5% by year end. [FEDWATCH] Budget airline Frontier Group Holdings fell 2.9% after agreeing to buy rival Spirit Airlines (NYSE:SAVE) Inc in a $2.9 billion deal. Spirit Airlines surged 15.2%, while other carriers United Airlines Holdings (NASDAQ:UAL) Inc, Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) and American Airlines (NASDAQ:AAL) Group Inc rose about 3% each. U.S.-listed shares of China's Alibaba (NYSE:BABA) Group Holding fell 6.3% after the company registered an additional 1 billion American depositary shares, raising speculation that it could allow large shareholder SoftBank Group Corp to sell its stake more easily. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.42-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and a 2.29-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq. The S&P index recorded two new 52-week highs and four new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 18 new highs and 25 new lows.

By Geoffrey Smith Investing.com -- U.S. stock markets fell sharply at the opening on Thursday, pulled down by a slump in Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:FB) stock after its disappointing earnings update on Wednesday. The Facebook owner opened down 26%, reversing all its gains of the last 20 months, after the company reported its first-ever quarterly decline in active users and forecast a squeeze on profits this year from heavy investment plans and from Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL)'s privacy policy changes that came into effect last year. Absent a recovery, that will be the biggest one-day loss in market capitalization for any company ever. By 9:40 AM ET (1440 GMT), the Nasdaq Composite was down 1.9%, while the S&P 500 was down 1.2%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, less exposed to longer-duration growth stocks such as Meta, fell only 218 points, or 0.6%, to 35,412. The main indices had enjoyed a four-day winning streak prior to Thursday. Meta's report revived familiar fears about the stretched valuations of many technology stocks, illustrating that the kind of collapse that has become commonplace in 'profitless tech' is also possible even in stocks that have consistently thrown out cash in recent years. Meta's slump comes only a week after streaming giant Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) issued a similar shock warning, and only a day after PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) fell by over 20% in response to a profit warning of its own. PayPal stock shed another 3.8% in early trading on Thursday. Almost inevitably, Meta's results had their most direct impact on Snap (NYSE:SNAP) stock. The Snapchat parent has faced similar issues of slowing growth and is still unprofitable. Its stock had fallen over 20% in response to its previous quarter's results, and it fell another 20% on Thursday. Spotify (NYSE:SPOT) stock also fell 18% to a 21-month low after warning of a coming slowdown in user growth. Snap reports after the close, along with Amazon. Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) stock, which peaked in November, fell another 6.2% as investors adjusted for the risk of a similar disappointment. Analysts have fretted that rising labor costs and the reopening of the retail sector may pressure the fourth quarter's earnings for the e-commerce giant. However, like Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), it has a highly profitable Cloud-hosting division to prop up earnings. On a more positive note, data released earlier suggested that the labor market was on track to put behind it the soft patch caused by the wave of Omicron-variant Covid-19 in January. Initial jobless claims fell by more than expected to 238,000, their lowest in three weeks, while unit labor costs rose by much less than expected in the fourth quarter, alleviating fears of entrenched inflation. ULCs across the economy rose only 0.3% from the third quarter, rather than the 1.2% rise expected. There was also a slight drop in the prices paid component of the Institute for Supply Management's non-manufacturing index, suggesting that inflationary pressures may be close to peaking. Also defying the gloom was T-Mobile (NASDAQ:TMUS) stock, after the cellular carrier reported a buoyant fourth quarter and upgraded its estimate for savings from its merger with Sprint. T-Mobile rose as much as 10% before retracting to be up 8.8%.