Bloomberg Daybreak: Asia Edition

Business and finance news from the Asia-Pacific.

The yen's sharp drop after the Federal Reserve's hawkish hike is raising the stakes for the Bank of Japan's policy meeting Friday, with strategists warning the currency could weaken further unless officials convince markets that more tightening is coming. The Fed lifted borrowing costs Wednesday for the first time since 2023 and projected further increases, prompting traders to price three additional hikes by the middle of next year. That threatens to keep the US-Japan rate gap wide even as the BOJ is expected to raise its own policy rate this week. We speak to Bloomberg's FX and Rates Strategist David Finnerty.

And for more reaction to the Fed's decision, Bloomberg's David Ingles spoke to Former St. Louis Fed President James Bullard from the sidelines of the BNP Paribas APAC Global Markets Conference.

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Business and finance news from the Asia-Pacific.

The Federal Reserve is expected to lift interest rates on Wednesday for the first time since 2023 as policymakers lose confidence that inflation will cool sufficiently without at least a nudge from the central bank. Meantime, bond traders have piled into bearish positions ahead of Wednesday's Federal Reserve meeting, betting that the Treasury selloff driving yields to their highest in almost two decades will continue. The benchmark US 10-year yield rose to its highest level since 2007 on Tuesday as traders braced for the Fed to hike interest rates in response to inflation worries. We speak to Lianting Tu, Bloomberg's Managing Editor for Asia Equities.

And for more on the market outlook ahead of the Fed's Decision, Bloomberg's David Ingles and Yvonne Man spoke to BNP Paribas Global Head of Markets 360 and Chief Economist Luigi Speranza.

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Business and finance news from the Asia-Pacific.

Investors are also assessing the outlook for technology shares after global equities retreated Monday following calls from leading AI developers for a slower pace of advances in the field. MSCI's Asia Pacific equities gauge slipped 0.1% on Tuesday after the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index tumbled 5.9% — its biggest drop in more than two months. We speak to Sunny Bangia, he covers Asia Equities for Bloomberg News.

And for more on the debate on AI safety and regulation, Bloomberg's Haidi Stroud-Watts spoke to University of New South Wales Scientia Professor of AI Toby Walsh.

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Business and finance news from the Asia-Pacific.

Central banks from much of the Group of Seven face a pivotal week as mounting inflation risks heap pressure on them to raise interest rates. The US will be most closely watched in the wake of a higher-than-expected core inflation reading, which stoked investor bets that Fed Chairman Kevin Warsh and his colleagues will raise their benchmark rate. Meantime, the Reserve Bank of Australia is set to have their rate decision later in the month. We speak to James McIntyre, Bloomberg Economist for Australia and New Zealand.

Plus - Asian stocks and US equity-index futures retreated after major artificial intelligence companies called for a slowdown in the technology's development, raising concerns about a sector that has powered this year's rally. Oil rose. Bloomberg's Haidi Stroud-Watts spoke to Vasu Menon, Managing Director, Investment Strategy, OCBC.

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Bloomberg Daybreak Weekend with Host Nathan Hager take a look at some of the stories we'll be tracking in the coming week.

• In the US – a look ahead to the next FOMC decision, along with a focus on 3 stocks for the week ahead.
• In the UK – a look ahead to Sweden’s general election.
• In Asia – a look ahead to the next monetary policy decision from the Bank of Japan.

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Business and finance news from the Asia-Pacific.

Asian stocks dropped, tracking losses on Wall Street, as surging oil prices stoked concern that inflation will accelerate. Brent crude held above $101 a barrel. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index slipped 1.3%, with benchmark gauges in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Australia all declining. The S&P 500 Index slid 0.5% on Wednesday, while the Nasdaq 100 Index dropped 0.3%, weighed down by losses in Nvidia Corp., Amazon.com Inc. and Alphabet Inc. Brent climbed as high as $101.94 before paring its gains, as Iran vowed it was prepared for a more intense war after hostilities flared across the Middle East. At the same time, the Treasury 10-year yield held near Wednesday's high of 4.85%, a level last seen in late 2023, after the US government's plan to buy up to $6 billion of longer-dated debt disappointed investors who had expected a larger increase. We speak to Lianting Tu, Bloomberg's Managing Editor for Asia Equities.

For more analysis on the markets, Bloomberg's Avril Hong spoke to Eastspring Investments Portfolio Manager Christina Woon.

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Business and finance news from the Asia-Pacific.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent challenged traders to counter his efforts to strengthen Japan's currency, saying when he makes market calls these days he's effectively doing so with inside information. Bessent, a former hedge fund executive, was reviewing occasions when he's intervened in markets, including the joint purchases of yen he mounted with Japan's government on July 31. While the yen initially jumped, gains ebbed in subsequent sessions, in part as traders highlighted the Treasury's limited firepower to deploy in foreign-exchange purchases. We spoke to Bloomberg MLIV Strategist Mark Cranfield.

And - One of the largest institutions in South Korea, KB Financial Group, will be holding its KBFG Korea Conference. Bloomberg's Stephen Engle spoke to Gavekal CEO Louis-Vincent Gave.

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Business and finance news from the Asia-Pacific.

The yen extended Monday's rally to reach the strongest level since February, aided by rising expectations of a Bank of Japan interest-rate increase next week. Gains in South Korean chip stocks helped support Asian equities. Japan's currency rose as much as 0.8% to 153.16 per dollar after appreciating 1.2% on Monday. The latest advance suggests the currency's rally set in motion by the intervention push from Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama may be taking on a life of its own. We speak to Bloomberg's MLIV Strategist David Savage.

And - Sapporo Breweries is shifting some production to the US from Canada due to 50% tariffs imposed on beer exports from the country, Chief Strategy Officer Rieko Shofu said. In an EXCLUSIVE conversation with Bloomberg's Shery Ahn, Shofu discussed how the No. 1 Asian beer brand in the US is impacted by tariffs, as well as the Iran war. 

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Business and finance news from the Asia-Pacific.

Asian stocks rose after US technology shares advanced on Friday. Oil climbed after the US and Iran traded tanker attacks in the Strait of Hormuz. Bloomberg's Paul Allen spoke to Daan Struyven,  Goldman Sachs Co-head of Global Commodities Research.

And - in the US last Friday, yields were marginlly higher, more so at the front-end of the Treasury curve, given a very strong employment report for August. The American economy added 162,000 jobs last month. The data sparked a re-rating of expectations on a Fed rate hike later this month. Up next for investors is this weeks US CPI data. The Fed's September rate decision hinges in part of the data. Bloomberg's Avril Hong spoke to Deepali Bhargava, ING Head of Research and Chief Economist for APAC.

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Bloomberg Daybreak Weekend with Host Nathan Hager take a look at some of the stories we'll be tracking in the coming week.

• In the US – a look ahead to the U.S CPI and PPI reports and a focus on 3 stocks for the week ahead.
• In the UK – a look ahead to the next decision from the European Central Bank.
• In Asia – a look ahead to the 18th BRICS Summit in India.

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