Bob Bryar's troubled final tweets revealed before My Chemical Romance drummer's deathThe People’s Bank of China has spent much of 2024 locking horns with bond bulls. Yet when treasury yields dipped to record lows this week, officials stayed quiet. That’s in part because there’s less concern about rampant speculation, but also because the insatiable appetite for sovereign debt fits nicely with Beijing’s plan to sell more of it. That resets the bar for intervention. A dire economic outlook in the first half of the year helped fuel the bond rally. The yuan was testing its one-year low against the dollar while the benchmark CSI300 stock index .CSI300 dipped to a five-year nadir. Investors flocked to safe havens. But whenever the 10-year yield CN240011= dived towards 2%, the central bank would cry foul. It warned that smaller banks’ rising sovereign bond holdings were creating excessive risk, and even went as far as short-selling long-term government bonds to try to push yields up. The intervention did not cool the bond rally, though. Beijing’s stimulus package did. After the PBOC started implementing it in late September, yields rebounded and the CSI300 surged more than 30% within a month. Yet as reality sank in about how little the measures could meaningfully boost growth, capital started to find its way back to bonds from stocks. In the past two months, the yield on the 10-year benchmark dipped 20 basis points, hitting a record low this week. There’s less official fuss, though, because some key issues have changed. First, the bond funds and banks doing much of the buying now appear to be long-term bondholders, not speculators. More importantly, low yields work in Beijing’s favour. Citing sources, Caixin Globalreported the government is planning to raise at least 2 trillion yuan in each of the next three years to finance its stimulus measures. The lower the bond bulls drive yields, the less it will have to pay in interest on the new debt. It’s a tricky balancing act, though. Regulators are expected to meet later this month at the Central Economic Work Conference to map out plans for 2025. Investors will be looking for measures that support the stock and property markets as well as faster economic growth. If those don’t materialise, they’re likely to flock to the bond market as a safe haven. CITIC Securities 600030.SS is already projecting the benchmark yield to drop to as low as 1.6% next year. If investors’ economic doom-and-gloom scenarios are the driving force, Beijing is likely to intervene once again. The yield on China’s benchmark 10-year government bond dropped below 2% on Dec. 2 to hit its lowest point since records began in 2002. Using data from China Central Depository & Clearing, Reuters reported it’s only one of a handful of times that the yield has been below 2%. Source: Reuters Breakingviews (Editing by Antony Currie and Aditya Srivastav)
Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More info The third famous face of this year's season of I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here! was sent packing this evening (Monday, December 2) following two weeks in the Australian jungle. After lasting 17 nights in camp, singer Tulisa Contostavlos was voted out by ITV viewers, leaving fans in complete shock. Taking to X, formerly known as Twitter, one fan said: “Ohh no, not Tulisa #ImACeleb”. A second added: “Oh nah, I'm actually livid. How has Tulisa gone?? She's my queen!! #imaceleb”. Another said: “Wow...wasn’t expecting Tulisa to be gone #ImACeleb” Meanwhile, a viewer added: “This is why it's so hard to see anyone left to go. I didn't think Tulisa would go before the final week #imacelebrity #ImACeleb.” A fourth fan remarked: "Gutted Tulisa’s gone. I'm not going to watch now #imaceleb.” An annoyed fan said, "I am GUTTED for Tulisa. There’s no way she’s got fewer votes than some of the others in there. Plus, the lack of airtime she’s had has been ridiculous #ImACeleb." “I don't know who I thought was leaving tonight, but Tulisa certainly wasn’t the one - I'm shocked #ImACeleb," someone shared. Ant and Dec told the camp either Tulisa or Strictly Come Dancing star Oti Mabuse would be leaving camp - but the latter is safe for now. After saying farewell to the other celebrities, Tulisa told the Geordie duo: "I'm not going to lie, it is tough in there. So leaving is a happy thing, I am not going to lie." She added: "I just think you're gonna be more grateful for the food you eat, the people around you. You don't realise how good you've had it. "[I've learned] just to stay strong with my convictions, it can be testing in here. So just be yourself." When asked about not being able to hold in her screams during the show, the N-Dubz star admitted: "I thought I could hold my scream down for a long period, and it would only come out closer to the end." Her exit comes a day after BBC Radio 1 DJ Dean McCullough was the second star to be evicted from the series. Dean had to face a series of Bushtucker Trials during his time on the show, and when he met with hosts Ant and Dec to look at his highlight reel, he revealed who he'd like to see win this programme. He confirmed he would love to see social media star GK Barry be crowned Queen of the Jungle. His eviction came 24 hours after Loose Women star Jane Moore became the first celebrity to be voted off the show. The 62-year-old bounded out from camp with Ant and Dec, admitting she'll "look back on this experience with the fondest of fond memories." She told Dec after being greeted by her loved ones on the show's famous wooden bridge: "It's such a weird and magical experience. People always say it's the best experience of your life - I wouldn't quite put it that way with the rain. I've never been so soaked in all my life constantly. But all those guys are absolutely wonderful people, and I've loved getting to know them all." I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here! continues tomorrow night at 9pm on ITV and ITVX.
Some Dems frustrated
Betty White Forever: New stamp will honor the much-beloved 'Golden Girls' actorWASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump said he can't guarantee that his promised tariffs on key U.S. foreign trade partners won't raise prices for American consumers and he suggested once more that some political rivals and federal officials who pursued legal cases against him should be imprisoned. The president-elect, in a wide-ranging interview with NBC's “Meet the Press” that aired Sunday, also touched on monetary policy, immigration, abortion and health care, and U.S. involvement in Ukraine, Israel and elsewhere. Trump often mixed declarative statements with caveats, at one point cautioning “things do change.” A look at some of the issues covered: Trump has threatened broad trade penalties, but said he didn’t believe economists' predictions that added costs on those imported goods for American companies would lead to higher prices for U.S. consumers. He stopped short of a pledge that U.S. households won't be paying more as they shop. “I can’t guarantee anything. I can’t guarantee tomorrow,” Trump said, seeming to open the door to accepting the reality of how import levies typically work as goods reach the retail market. That's a different approach from Trump's typical speeches throughout the 2024 campaign, when he framed his election as a sure way to curb inflation. In the interview, Trump defended tariffs generally, saying they are "going to make us rich.” He has pledged that, on his first day in office in January, he would impose 25% tariffs on all goods imported from Mexico and Canada unless those countries satisfactorily stop illegal immigration and the flow of illegal drugs such as fentanyl into the United States. He also has threatened additional tariffs on China to help force that country to crack down on fentanyl production. ”All I want to do is I want to have a level, fast, but fair playing field,” Trump said. He offered conflicting statements on how he would approach the justice system after winning election despite being convicted of 34 felonies in a New York state court and being indicted in other cases for his handling of national security secrets and efforts to overturn his 2020 loss to Democrat Joe Biden. “Honestly, they should go to jail,” Trump said of members of Congress who investigated the Capitol riot by his supporters who wanted him to remain in power. The president-elect underscored his contention that he can use the justice system against others, including special prosecutor Jack Smith, who led the case on Trump’s role in the siege on Jan. 6, 2021. Trump confirmed his plan to pardon supporters who were convicted for their roles in the riot, saying he would take that action on his first day in office. As for the idea of revenge driving potential prosecutions, Trump said: “I have the absolute right. I’m the chief law enforcement officer, you do know that. I’m the president. But I’m not interested in that." At the same time, Trump singled out lawmakers on a special House committee who had investigated the insurrection, citing Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., and former Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo. “Cheney was behind it ... so was Bennie Thompson and everybody on that committee,” Trump said. Asked specifically whether he would direct his administration to pursue cases, he said, “No,” and suggested he did not expect the FBI to quickly undertake investigations into his political enemies. But at another point, Trump said he would leave the matter up to Pam Bondi, his pick as attorney general. “I want her to do what she wants to do,” he said. Such threats, regardless of Trump's inconsistencies, have been taken seriously enough by many top Democrats that Biden is considering issuing blanket, preemptive pardons to protect key members of his outgoing administration. Trump did seemingly back off his campaign rhetoric calling for Biden to be investigated, saying, “I’m not looking to go back into the past.” Trump repeatedly mentioned his promises to seal the U.S.-Mexico border and deport millions of people who are in the U.S. illegally through a mass deportation program. “I think you have to do it,” he said. He suggested he would try to use executive action to end “birthright” citizenship under which people born in the U.S. are considered citizens — although such protections are spelled out in the Constitution. Asked specifically about the future for people who were brought into the country illegally as children and have been shielded from deportation in recent years, Trump said, “I want to work something out,” indicating he might seek a solution with Congress. But Trump also said he does not “want to be breaking up families” of mixed legal status, “so the only way you don’t break up the family is you keep them together and you have to send them all back.” Long a critic of NATO members for not spending more on their own defense, Trump said he “absolutely” would remain in the alliance “if they pay their bills.” Pressed on whether he would withdraw if he were dissatisfied with allies’ commitments, Trump said he wants the U.S. treated “fairly” on trade and defense. He waffled on a NATO priority of containing Russia and President Vladimir Putin. Trump suggested Ukraine should prepare for less U.S. aid in its defense against Putin’s invasion. “Possibly. Yeah, probably. Sure,” Trump said of reducing Ukraine assistance from Washington. Separately, Trump has called for an immediate ceasefire . Asked about Putin, Trump said initially that he has not talked to the Russian leader since Election Day last month, but then hedged: “I haven’t spoken to him recently.” Trump said when pressed, adding that he did not want to “impede the negotiation.” The president-elect said he has no intention, at least for now, of asking Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell to step down before Powell's term ends in 2028. Trump said during the campaign that presidents should have more say in Fed policy , including interest rates. Trump did not offer any job assurances for FBI Director Christopher Wray, whose term is to end in 2027. Asked about Wray, Trump said: “Well, I mean, it would sort of seem pretty obvious” that if the Senate confirms Kash Patel as his pick for FBI chief, then “he’s going to be taking somebody’s place, right? Somebody is the man that you’re talking about.” Trump promised that the government efficiency effort led by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy will not threaten Social Security. “We're not touching Social Security, other than we make it more efficient,” he said. He added that “we're not raising ages or any of that stuff.” He was not so specific about abortion or his long-promised overhaul of the Affordable Care Act. On abortion, Trump continued his inconsistencies and said he would “probably” not move to restrict access to the abortion pills that now account for a majority of pregnancy terminations, according to the Guttmacher Institute, which supports abortion rights. But pressed on whether he would commit to that position, Trump replied, “Well, I commit. I mean, are -- things do -- things change. I think they change.” Reprising a line from his Sept. 10 debate against Vice President Kamala Harris, Trump again said he had “concepts” of a plan to substitute for the 2010 Affordable Care Act, which he called “lousy health care.” He added a promise that any Trump version would maintain insurance protections for Americans with preexisting health conditions. He did not explain how such a design would be different from the status quo or how he could deliver on his desire for “better health care for less money.” Barrow reported from Atlanta. Associated Press writers Adriana Gomez Licon in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and Jill Colvin and Michelle L. Price in New York contributed to this report.
Tulsa fires coach Kevin Wilson a day after blowout loss to South Florida
