All posts tagged: edges

Euro slumps, dollar index edges higher after PMI data

Euro slumps, dollar index edges higher after PMI data

Published by Sam

NEW YORK :The euro dropped against the dollar on Monday as business activity reports for the euro zone economy disappointed, briefly extending declines after U.S. data showed activity there held steady, and ahead of a flurry of Federal Reserve speakers this week. The soft euro zone data supported expectations for more interest rate cuts by the European Central Bank this year, with markets currently pricing in a roughly 77 per cent chance for a cut of at least 25 basis points (bps) at the central bank’s October meeting. A survey compiled by S&P Global showed euro zone business activity sharply contracted this month as the bloc’s dominant services industry flat-lined, while a downturn in manufacturing accelerated. The contractions appeared broad-based, with Germany’s decline deepening, while France returned to contraction following August’s boost from the Olympic Games. In contrast, U.S. business activity was steady in September, but average prices charged for goods and services rose at the fastest pace in six months, possibly pointing to an acceleration in inflation in coming months. The data comes after …

Interest rate held for sixth consecutive month – but edges closer to cut soon | Business News

Interest rate held for sixth consecutive month – but edges closer to cut soon | Business News

Published by Sam

The Bank of England has edged closer to a cut in interest rates, with another member of its nine-person Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voting for lower borrowing costs this month. While the MPC voted 7-2 to leave UK interest rates on hold at 5.25%, the change in the vote will be seen as a further sign that they could be coming down soon – perhaps as soon as next month. Money latest: Reaction to interest rates announcement Forecasts Alongside its rate decision, the Bank published new forecasts for the UK economy, which show that gross domestic product (GDP) is projected to be stronger this year and unemployment and inflation rates lower than previously expected. It said that the CPI rate of inflation was likely to drop to its 2% target imminently – though it would bounce a little higher afterwards. ‘Optimistic things are moving in the right direction’ Governor Andrew Bailey said: “We’ve had encouraging news on inflation and we think it will fall close to our 2% target in the next couple of months. …

Putin on our doorstep: Ukrainians watch as the frontline edges closer | Ukraine

Putin on our doorstep: Ukrainians watch as the frontline edges closer | Ukraine

Published by skeptic

It was a perfect May evening. Daria Karpinska and her friends sat in the corner of a five-a-side pitch and played cards. Nearby was their school. Swifts had returned to their village of Hrodivka and screeched in a sunny blue sky. Suddenly, a loud whoosh-whoosh noise interrupted the teenagers’ game of “fool”: the sound of a Grad missile. Seconds later came the boom of artillery. “It’s louder today than yesterday,” said 14-year-old Karpinska matter-of-factly. Nine miles (15km) away – across a green and blossom-white landscape dotted with slag heaps and wheelhouses – the Russians were advancing. In February, they captured the city of Avdiivka in eastern Ukraine. Last month, they launched a surprise attack and overran the small town of Ocheretyne, a railway hub. Last week, they gobbled up neighbouring villages. The frontline creeps ever closer to Hrodivka, a once peaceful community of 1,500 people, now on the brink of extinction. Drone footage shows destruction in Ukrainian village of Ocheretyne – video The teenagers are preparing to leave. “My family decided last week it was …

A Bill to Limit Canada’s Trade Negotiators on Farm Goods Edges Nearer to Law

A Bill to Limit Canada’s Trade Negotiators on Farm Goods Edges Nearer to Law

Published by Sam

Private members’ bills, particularly those from members of the Bloc Québécois, rarely make their way through the parliamentary process. But after passing the House of Commons with strong support from members of all parties, a bill from Yves Perron, who speaks for the Bloc on farming, handily passed a second vote in the unelected Senate on Tuesday. And perhaps even more surprising, it deals with a contentious issue: Canada’s supply management system, which controls production and sets minimum prices for dairy and poultry products as well as eggs. Many free-market economists and politicians cast supply management as a legalized price cartel that increases Canadians’ grocery bills. And in negotiations for every one of Canada’s major trade agreements in recent decades, the supply management system has emerged as one of the final sticking points. [Read from 2016: Safe for Now, Canadian Dairy Farmers Fret Over E.U. Trade Deal] If Mr. Perron’s bill makes it past the few remaining legislative hurdles and becomes law, it will bar Canada’s trade negotiators from offering any changes to supply management …

Louis Rees-Zammit’s rugby-to-NFL dream edges closer but huge obstacles remain | NFL

Louis Rees-Zammit’s rugby-to-NFL dream edges closer but huge obstacles remain | NFL

Published by skeptic

If ever there was a time, if ever there was a place, for Louis Rees-Zammit to chase his NFL dream, this is it. The former Welsh rugby union star is reportedly nearing a deal to join the Kansas City Chiefs, the back-to-back Super Bowl champions. Rees-Zammit is likely to join the team for their annual training camp, a kind of extended trial as he learns the rigors of the NFL. He will join a 90-man training camp roster that will eventually be whittled down to 53, with 16 further places up for grabs on the practice squad, in effect a reserve team. This season also marks the first time that teams will have an extra spot available on the practice squad carved out for players who have come through the league’s International Player Pathway program. Since the IPP was introduced, 37 international players have signed with teams and 18 remain on rosters. In other words, there is still a long way to go for Rees-Zammit even though this is a promising start. The transition from …

Coalition stalwart edges pro-EU opponent in first round – POLITICO

Coalition stalwart edges pro-EU opponent in first round – POLITICO

Published by skeptic

Pellegrini previously served as Slovak prime minister in 2018 after Fico was forced from office amid a scandal over the murders that year of investigative journalist Ján Kuciak and his fiancée, Martina Kušnírová. “Let’s enjoy this experience,” Pellegrini said as the polls closed on Saturday. The speaker, who only agreed to a single debate with Korčok before the first round, promised to hold “several duels, as it should be” with his opponent before the second round, and “not to succumb” to an aggressive campaign style. Korčok was foreign minister under the chaotic 2020-2023 government of political maverick Igor Matovič. Before that, he served as Slovakia’s permanent representative to the EU; head of delegation for the country’s 2003 accession talks to NATO; and ambassador to Germany and the U.S. “I should say honestly that I need to reach out more to voters who supported the government parties,” Korčok said from his Bratislava election headquarters as the early count was released. “It’s clear that they’re not satisfied with how this government is ruling, where it’s taking Slovakia.” …

Angela Rayner on roots, rough edges and being ready for power: ‘You can’t go through the childhood I had and not have any fallout’ | Angela Rayner

Angela Rayner on roots, rough edges and being ready for power: ‘You can’t go through the childhood I had and not have any fallout’ | Angela Rayner

Published by skeptic

Angela Rayner’s office in Westminster is part walk-in wardrobe, part sixth form common room. An inflatable karaoke mic is attached to a bust of Keir Hardie by the fireplace; glitter shoes line the fleur de lis carpet. There are iced doughnuts, a crystal pint glass, a grinning photo of two freckled schoolboys. I’m reminded of that 2022 craze, “bring your whole self to work”. Labour’s deputy leader – Ange, as she refers to herself – is at the centre, arms raised in greeting like a cheer. She’s in Lincoln green, a military-style dress with epaulettes. “The Tories accused me of being in camouflage because I blended in with the colour of all the stuff in parliament,” she roars. Nothing about Rayner blends in. Not only is she 5ft 10in, broad Manc, hair the copper of a tarnished coin, but she was raised in abject deprivation on a Stockport council estate, left school with no qualifications, was pregnant at 16, a grandmother by 37. She compliments my bag, thanks her adviser for the tea (“Most of …

Daniel Suarez edges Blaney, Busch in thrilling 3-wide finish to claim Cup Series win at Atlanta

Daniel Suarez edges Blaney, Busch in thrilling 3-wide finish to claim Cup Series win at Atlanta

Published by skeptic

HAMPTON, Ga. (AP) — Daniel Suarez edged Ryan Blaney and Kyle Busch in a three-wide finish to win a crashed-filled NASCAR Cup Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Sunday. Busch, who won Saturday’s Trucks race, moved to the middle between Blaney, the 2023 Cup champion, and Suarez to set up the dramatic finish. Suarez, 32, earned his second career Cup win in his Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet. Blaney was second, only 0.003 seconds behind, and Busch was third. There were 10 cautions and an Atlanta-record 47 lead changes. A massive pileup of at least 16 cars on the second lap was the biggest in the history of Atlanta Motor Speedway and set the pace for a procession of wrecks. The crash left many cars heavily taped for the remainder of the afternoon. The intensity picked up when Austin Cindric went to the bottom of the track in his Team Penske Ford for a four-wide pass to take the lead with 50 laps remaining. Tight racing led to the eighth caution of the day when Kyle …

Safely Navigating the Sharp Edges of Hypercompetitiveness

Safely Navigating the Sharp Edges of Hypercompetitiveness

Published by skeptic

Source: Inna Mykatas/Pexels “I did then what I knew how to do. Now that I know better, I do better.” –Maya Angelou High-achieving women, by nature, are competitive. It’s what drives them to envision and achieve their goals. By learning from their failures, they become better and more accomplished. However, a competitive mindset can have a dark underbelly. As a tennis player and former gymnast, I follow these two sports, and the impact of competitiveness on high-achieving athletes is undeniable. In the past few years, the pressure has led female athletes at the height of their careers, such as Naomi Osaka and Simone Biles, to take extended breaks from their sports, citing their mental health as the primary reason. Fortunately, they’ve recently returned, seeming happier and healthier, but the point remains that high levels of competitiveness can have some very sharp edges. The Wide (and Dangerous) World of Competitiveness From Little League to grades to college acceptances, salaries, performance reviews, and many things in between, competitiveness is engrained in Western individualistic societies from a young …