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Newly appointed Japan’s Finance Minister (FM) Satsuki Katayama refuses to comment when asked about whether the Bank of Japan (BoJ) will hike interest rates further.  

Shareholders have raised opposition to CoreWeave’s acquisition of Core Scientific saying the price is too low.

She is due to deliver a keynote address at 1100 GMT as part of the Norges Bank Climate Conference. Right after, she will be participating in a moderated conversation with former US vice president Al Gore. The conference centers around discussing the impact of climate change and the energy transition on the macroeconomy and financial markets. Her address and conversation is scheduled for about an hour.

Given the backdrop above, I wouldn’t expect any material remarks on monetary policy from Lagarde. And even if there were any, she won’t tell us anything we don’t already know with the ECB on pause mode until year-end.

This article was written by Justin Low at investinglive.com.

The Pound Sterling (GBP) extends its losing streak against the US Dollar (USD) for the third trading day on Tuesday. The GBP/USD pair slides further to near 1.3370 as the US Dollar extends its recovery move amid growing expectations that the United States (US) and China will reach a trade deal soon.

Dow Jones futures fall 0.18% to trade near 46,800 during European hours, ahead of the opening of the United States (US) regular session on Tuesday. The S&P 500 futures decline 0.14% to trade around 6,760, while Nasdaq 100 futures lose 0.16% to trade near 25,250 at the time of writing.

Dow Jones futures fall 0.18% to trade near 46,800 during European hours, ahead of the opening of the United States (US) regular session on Tuesday. The S&P 500 futures decline 0.14% to trade around 6,760, while Nasdaq 100 futures lose 0.16% to trade near 25,250 at the time of writing.

EUR/USD moves lower for the third consecutive day on Tuesday, trading near the 1.1625 area at the time of writing, after having peaked at 1.1728 on Friday.

European Central Bank (ECB) Chief Economist Philip Lane said in a speech in Ireland on Tuesday that the unusual combination of sell-off in United States (US) treasury securities and a weakening US Dollar (USD) has made more difficult for Euro area banks to rely on their USD-denominated liquid assets

One can say that the easy part is over for Sanae Takaichi. Even though there has been some turbulence in the past few weeks, she finally got her wish to become Japan’s first ever female prime minister at the third time of asking. Now that she’s in the hot seat, the real challenge begins.

So, what are the key things that Takaichi has to address from hereon?

Party politics aside, her more immediate challenges will center around preparing for a supplementary budget to counter rising prices and also reducing the number of seats in Japan’s lower house by 10%. The latter is part of the coalition agreement with the Nippon Ishin party. While tough, these are hardly the most difficult of tasks that she has to manage.

In the bigger picture, Takaichi also has to deal with what comes next with the trade deal between the US and Japan. And adding to that, she also has to address the slowing and aging economy. Being a fiscal dove, she wants to push the agenda of tax cuts and increased government spending to bolster the economy. But with Japan’s debt levels already being a cause of concern for investors, how is she going to balance all of that out? That not to mention her premiership is coming at a tedious time for the BOJ, who are pushing to raise interest rates.

Her victory today marks a historic moment in Japanese politics. However, it might end up being short-lived if she can’t manage to appease the LDP’s new ruling coalition partner and also if she fails to find solutions to the party’s struggles in recent years. Four prime ministers in the last five years is an indictment that Takaichi will be in for a rough ride as prime minister.

This article was written by Justin Low at investinglive.com.

Here is what you need to know on Tuesday, October 21: