A week which has witnessed political upheavals across the world, affecting the fortunes of big businesses which thrive on global capital, is set to get more interesting as the Federal Reserve, the U.S. central bank meets on Tuesday and Wednesday, in Washington.
Revision in the interest rate is on the cards, with two hikes expected in 2017 according to 43 economists surveyed by Bloomberg. Here are the major business stories from across the world:
Indian shares fall ahead of inflation data, Fed meet
Indian shares fell on Monday as investors booked profits in recent outperformers including lenders ahead of inflation data due later in the day, while sentiment was cautious ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve policy meeting this week. The broader NSE index was down 0.51 percent at 9618.55 as of 0643 GMT, while the benchmark BSE index was 0.53 percent lower at 31096.40. Banking and IT stocks took a tumble as the Nifty IT and PSU banking indices fell by 1.23 and 1.34% respectively. Wipro Ltd. lost as much as 3.04% to its lowest in over two weeks.
CPI data to be released today
Inflation in India is expected to have cooled to a new record low of 2.60 percent in May, a Reuters poll found, which could add pressure on the Reserve Bank of India to cut interest rates later in the year. Consumer Price Index (CPI) data is expected to be out later in the day.
Asian markets open in the red
Asian markets were also lower - with MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan down 0.8 percent - as shares of electronic products makers fell on caution ahead of the Fed, which is expected to raise rates and signal further increases this year.
Oil prices driven up by futures bets, but market remains bloated
Oil prices rose on Monday as futures traders bet the market may have bottomed after recent falls, even as physical markets remain bloated, especially from a relentless rise in U.S. drilling. Brent crude futures were at $48.29 per barrel at 0651 GMT, up 14 cents, or 0.3 percent, from their last close. The rise in long positions comes after Brent and WTI crude fell by around 10 percent below their openings of May 25, when an OPEC-led policy to cut output was extended to cover the first quarter of 2018.
Telecoms and cable group Altice strikes partnership deal with Netflix
Altice and Netflix signed a global partnership deal in France, Portugal, Israel and Dominican Republic. The agreement with Netflix follows Altice's significant investment in content and sport through Altice studio's original creations, acquisitions of series and movies rights, and local and global distribution partnerships. France will be the first Altice territory to launch Netflix.
Iraq cancels food import tender
Iraqs state grains board is believed to have cancelled an international tender to buy at least 50,000 tonnes of wheat and no purchase has been made, European traders said on Monday. Only hard wheat from the United States, Canada or Australia was sought. Just three companies participated, while 10 or more trading houses have in the past regularly taken part in Iraq's wheat tenders.
Bank of France maintains French Q2 GDP growth forecast at 0.5%
The Bank of France on Monday maintained its earlier estimate for second-quarter French gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 0.5 percent, and forecast a pick up in the services and construction sectors for June.The central bank's business climate survey for the manufacturing industry gave a reading of 105 points, stable compared to the April reading, which was revised up to 105 points as well for the highest level in six years.
India's Cadila Healthcare hits record high on U.S. FDA approval
The shares of Cadila Healthcare Ltd rose as much as 2.99% to a record high of ₹557.00.The company said on Saturday that Nesher Pharmaceuticals, a unit of Cadila's U.S. arm Zydus Pharmaceuticals USA, gots final nod from FDA to market Nystatin Topical Powder.
Spanish stock market regulator bans short-selling over Liberbank for a month
Spanish stock market regulator CNMV said on Monday it would ban short sales on trading stocks of Liberbank initially for one month. The stock regulator said this measure was taken after considering the recent stock performance of Liberbank in the aftermath of Banco Popular's rescue by the Single Resolution Board. Liberbank has lost more than 40 percent of its stock value in the last 10 trading session after closing down 17.6 percent on Friday.
Total and Ecoslops sign an agreement to establish maritime oil refinery
French energy giant, Total, and Ecoslops signed an agreement to establish a maritime oil residue processing unit near Marseilles. Construction work is expected to start during Q2.
Nippon Steel to set April-June coking coal prices off spot price indexes
Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corp, Japan's biggest steelmaker, has ended quarterly negotiations with Australian suppliers over coking coal prices for April to June and will set quarterly prices based on spot price indexes, a spokesman said on Monday.The move suggests the end of the decades-old fixed price settlement mechanism between Japanese steelmakers and global miners and follows recent swings of the prices of the key steel-making ingredient.
Thailand's May tourist arrivals up 4.6%
International tourist arrivals in Thailand rose 4.6% in May from a year earlier, with revenues up 6.9%, but a strong baht could impact the lucrative industry, the tourism and sports ministry said on Monday. The number of foreign tourists stood at 2.59 million in May, led by visitors from China, Malaysia, India, Russia and the United States, generating revenue of 125 billion baht ($3.67 billion), Pongpanu Svetarundra, the ministry's permanent-secretary, said in a statement.
