Latest news with #financialmarkets
CTV News
40 minutes ago
- Business
- CTV News
Global equity funds log biggest outflows in three months on Mideast tensions
Flames rise from an oil storage facility after it appeared to have been hit by an Israeli strike in Tehran, Iran, early Sunday, June 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi) Global equity funds recorded net outflows of $19.82 billion for the week ended June 18, the largest in three months, as escalating Middle East tensions and lingering uncertainty over U.S. trade policies dampened investor sentiment. Investors divested a net US$19.82 billion from global equity funds during the week, according to LSEG Lipper data. U.S. equity funds led regional outflows with net sales of US$18.43 billion, their steepest withdrawal in three months. Asia saw outflows of US$2.86 billion, while Europe recorded net inflows of US$640 million. Despite broader outflows, equity sectoral funds attracted US$573 million in net inflows, the fourth straight week of purchases. Tech and industrials led sectoral gains with a net US$1.5 billion and US$752 million in inflows, respectively, while financials saw nearly US$1.5 billion of net outflows. Global bond funds were popular for the ninth consecutive week, attracting around US$13.13 billion in net inflows. Euro-denominated bond funds drew US$3.07 billion in net inflows, following US$7.97 billion of inflows in the prior week. Investors also lapped up short-term and high-yield bond funds, which garnered US$2.93 billion and US$1.94 billion, respectively. In contrast, investors pulled out a net US$2.7 billion from money market funds after about US$4.1 billion of net sales in the previous week. Demand for gold and precious metals commodity funds surged to the highest in two months during the week as these funds received US$2.84 billion in net inflows. Emerging market bond funds attracted net inflows of US$2.5 billion, with demand extending to an eighth successive week. Investors, however, withdrew US$234 million from equity funds, according to data for 29,726 funds. --- Reporting by Gaurav Dogra in Bengaluru; Editing by Harikrishnan Nair
Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
US created eye-popping number of new millionaires in 2024, report finds
The U.S. had new millionaires emerge at quite a clip last year. UBS said its Global Wealth Report, released Wednesday, found America gained more than 379,000 new millionaires in 2024. It notched the biggest increase in new millionaires "in absolute growth terms" out of the dozens of markets that UBS looked at around the world last year, and the equivalent of over 1,000 people reached millionaire status each day, the report said. The total number of millionaires in the U.S. climbed 1.5% in 2024, hitting 23.8 million, according to the report. That figure accounts for 40% of all millionaires in the world. Behind the U.S., mainland China, France, Japan and Germany had the highest number of millionaires in 2024, at roughly 6.33 million, 2.9 million, 2.73 million and 2.68 million, respectively, according to the report. Read On The Fox Business App Overall, the world gained over 684,000 new millionaires in 2024, a jump of 1.2% from the year before, UBS said. Global wealth was also on the rise in 2024, climbing 4.6%, according to the report. Goodbye Nyc, Hello Miami: Why Millionaires Are Flocking To South Florida "Growth in wealth was tilted strongly towards North America, driven by a stable U.S. dollar and buoyant financial markets," UBS said. "Eastern Europe performed exceptionally well last year, too." Regionally, the Americas boasted the highest average wealth per adult last year, at $311,846, according to the report. The region covering Europe, the Middle East and Africa averaged $167,696 per adult, while average wealth per adult in the Asia-Pacific came in at $66,808. The subregion of North America clocked in at $593,347 for average wealth per adult in 2024, higher than the next wealthiest subregion, Oceania, by over $90,600, the report showed. UBS predicted North America and Greater China will be the "main drivers of global wealth growth" in the coming five years. Click Here To Read More On Fox Business It also projected that the world will have 5.34 million more new millionaires by article source: US created eye-popping number of new millionaires in 2024, report finds Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Times
11 hours ago
- Business
- Times
AI developing faster than market regulator can make rules, FCA warns
Ever-faster artificial intelligence trading 'bots' may make it harder for regulators to monitor markets and prove when rules are being breached, the boss of the City regulator has warned. Nikhil Rathi, chief executive of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) since 2020, said the rising use of AI in the financial world meant that 'clean markets' could be more difficult to achieve in the future. 'What will clean markets mean in the future with more autonomous agents operating, trading at phenomenal speeds across the globe, and how can you prove abuse in that environment? I think that's something that's going to hit us in the next few years,' he said. A 'clean market' is one in which prices are set by genuine supply and demand forces, not by cheating or manipulation. In a clean market every participant — whether that is big banks, hedge funds or retail investors — play by the same rules, have timely access to accurate information and cannot secretly distort prices through tricks such as insider trading, spoofing orders or spreading false rumours.
Bloomberg
a day ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Mideast Financiers Grow Fearful of Possible US Strike On Iran
Even against the backdrop of a regional conflict that began in 2023, the Middle East's main business hubs saw a steady stream of financial workers and firms because the wealthiest Gulf petrostates remained largely insulated. But as hostilities between Israel and Iran have surged and the possibility of a US strike on Iran has risen, global financiers have become increasingly concerned about potential fallouts in neighboring countries.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Global shares decline as tensions simmer in the Middle East
Global shares retreated on Thursday as worries persisted about conflict in the Middle East. On the seventh day of a conflict that began with a surprise wave of Israeli airstrikes targeting military sites, senior officers and nuclear scientists, Iranian state media reported that Iran's foreign minister planned to meet his European counterparts in Geneva. Meanwhile, Israel carried out strikes on Iran's Arak heavy water reactor, in its latest attack on Iran's sprawling nuclear programme. The escalating warfare has shaken financial markets. France's CAC 40 slipped 0.8% in early trading to 7,593.06. In Germany, the DAX fell 0.9% to 23,141.82. Britain's FTSE 100 lost 0.5% to 8,797.24. The futures for the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average were 0.4% lower. The Federal Reserve opted on Wednesday to keep its key interest rate unchanged, while its policymakers signalled that they still expect to cut rates twice this year. They project that US president Donald Trump's higher import duties will fuel inflation. They also expect growth to slow and unemployment to edge higher. The Bank of England likewise kept its key interest rate unchanged at 4.25% at its meeting on Thursday, after cutting it twice this year. Switzerland's central bank cut its target interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point to zero on Thursday, saying that inflationary pressures have eased. It is among many central banks opting to go ahead and ease the cost of borrowing as uncertainty over Mr Trump's tariffs and geopolitical crises threaten global growth. In Asian trading, Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 shed 1.0% to finish at 38,488.34. Shares in Japan's Nippon Steel Corp jumped 2.3% after it announced that its acquisition of US Steel, which met US government opposition for more than a year, was finally completed. Hong Kong's Hang Seng dropped 2.0% to 23,237.74 on heavy selling of tech-related shares, while the Shanghai Composite lost 0.8% to 3,362.11. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was little changed at 8,523.70 and in South Korea, the Kospi rose 0.2% to 2,977.74. US financial markets were closed on Thursday for the Juneteenth holiday, an annual federal holiday in the US. So far, US inflation has remained relatively tame, and it is near the Fed's target of 2%. But economists have been warning it may take months to feel the effects of tariffs. And inflation has been feeling upwards pressure recently from a spurt in oil prices because ofIsrael's fighting with Iran. Fed officials are waiting to see how big Mr Trump's tariffs will ultimately be, what they will affect and whether they will drive a one-time increase to inflation or something more dangerous. There is also still deep uncertainty about how much tariffs will grind down on the economy's growth. 'Because the economy is still solid, we can take the time to actually see what's going to happen,' Fed chair Jerome Powell said. 'We'll make smarter and better decisions if we just wait a couple months or however long it takes to get a sense of really what is going to be the passthrough of inflation and what are going to be the effects on spending and hiring and all those things,' he said. In other dealings early on Thursday, benchmark US crude rose 13 cents to 73.63 US dollars. Brent crude, the international standard, advanced 7 cents to 76.77 dollars a barrel. Oil prices have been yo-yoing as fears rise and ebb that the conflict between Israel and Iran could disrupt the global flow of crude. Iran is a major producer of oil and also sits on the narrow Strait of Hormuz, through which much of the world's crude passes. In currency trading, the US dollar rose to 145.46 Japanese yen from 145.13 yen. The euro cost 1.1476 dollars, down from 1.1484 dollars.
