HALISTER1: INSIDE ASIA: Regional Currencies Weaken on Risk-Off, Oil Plunge

INSIDE ASIA: Regional Currencies Weaken on Risk-Off, Oil Plunge

(Bloomberg) -- Japanese yen the lone gainer among Asian currencies after talks between world’s biggest oil producers in Doha fail to reach an agreement on limiting output.
  • Malaysia’s ringgit falls most, down 1.0%, followed by Aussie dollar and Korean won
  • Ringgit vulnerable to risk-off sentiment, BBH currency strategist Masashi Murata says
    • Malaysia confident about reaching 4-4.5% economic growth target this year, central bank governor Zeti said over the weekend; adds that ringgit would be stronger if it accurately reflected fundamentals
  • Japan’s 20-year yield falls to record low while yen, seen as a safe haven by investors, gains for second day; a second quake struck southern Japan early Saturday, measuring 7.3 magnitude; economic impact of quakes April 14-16 may be as much as 7t yen ($66b): Bloomberg Intelligence; government will take all necessary measures for disaster relief, Prime Minister Abe says
  • Aussie falls after failed oil talks; “Lack of agreement from Doha has hit commodity currencies lower,” Westpac’s head of currency and commodity strategy Robert Rennie says
  • Singapore dollar declines after data showed non-oil domestic exports dropped 15.6% in March from year earlier, biggest slide since February 2013; median forecast was for 12.3% decline
  • Onshore and offshore yuan decline; People’s Bank of China raises reference rate for first time since Wednesday
    • New home prices, excluding affordable housing, rose on- month in March in 62 out of 70 cities tracked by China’s statistics bureau; was 47 cities in February
  • Kiwi weakens versus dollar; New Zealand’s consumer prices increased 0.2% in first quarter from prior three months, more than median estimate for 0.1% increase
  • Won drops; South Korea’s economy needs fundamental remedies rather than short-term stimulus, says Choi Woon Youl, lawmaker-elect for the opposition Minjoo Party; Bank of Korea meeting on April 19, see preview here
    • North Korea is ready to conduct another nuclear test at any time: South Korea Defense Ministry
  • Rupee’s one-month forwards steady; India’s wholesale prices may have fallen 0.70% on-year in March following 0.91% drop prior month, according to Bloomberg survey before data today
  • Taiwan dollar slips; new government is studying use of carbon emissions as measuring base for collecting commodity tax on oil, gas, cement from currently measuring by weight, Commercial Times reports
  • U.S. Treasuries rise, with yield on 10-year bonds falling 2 bps to 1.729%; St. Louis Fed President Bullard says data support arguments for patience in assessing whether to lift key U.S. rate: FT; Brazil’s lower house of Congress votes in favor of Rousseff impeachment
Alert: HALISTER1
Source: BFW (Bloomberg First Word)

People
Robert Rennie (Westpac Banking Corp)

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HALISTER1: BANK OF KOREA PREVIEW: USD/KRW Eyes 200-DMA If Stance Is Dovish

BANK OF KOREA PREVIEW: USD/KRW Eyes 200-DMA If Stance Is Dovish

(Bloomberg) -- USD/KRW may test 200-DMA resistance in near-term if Bank of Korea adopts dovish stance at its meeting tomorrow, Bloomberg strategist David Finnerty writes.
  • Three of 20 economists in Bloomberg survey expect BOK to cut 7-day repo rate by 25 bps, while remaining 17 predict it will keep at 1.50%
  • BOK Gov. Lee said last month South Korea’s 2016 economic growth likely to fall below 3% initial forecast, although concerns about economic situation seem to have eased somewhat thanks to improvement in confidence and recovery in oil
  • Lee said there were requests for BOK to do more monetary easing like developed nations that are adopting QE or negative rates, but Korea’s growth and inflation rate is higher than those countries, indicating he doesn’t support a rate cut at the moment
  • Continued weak export growth may encourage central bank to adopt dovish stance; exports fell 8.2% y/y in March, 15th consecutive month of y/y declines
  • New board members who are believed to be dovish will join BOK on April 20; their first rate decision is due in May
  • NOTE: David Finnerty is an FX strategist who writes for Bloomberg. The observations he makes are his own and are not intended as investment advice.
Alert: HALISTER1
Source: BFW (Bloomberg First Word)

Tickers
1206Z KS (Bank of Korea/The)

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HALISTER: Verizon Said to Lead Bids for Yahoo, Wall Street Journal Reports

Verizon Said to Lead Bids for Yahoo, Wall Street Journal Reports

Alert: HALISTER
Source: BN (Bloomberg News)

Tickers
VZ US (Verizon Communications Inc)
YHOO US (Yahoo! Inc)
DMGT LN (Daily Mail & General Trust PLC)

People
Marissa Mayer (Yahoo! Inc)
Marni Walden (Verizon Communications Inc)
Timothy Armstrong (AOL Inc)

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HALISTER: Verizon Said to Move Ahead With Preliminary Bid for Yahoo: WSJ

Verizon Said to Move Ahead With Preliminary Bid for Yahoo: WSJ

(Bloomberg) -- Co. among handful of firms moving ahead with offers to buy Yahoo or parts of it , WSJ reports, citing unidentified people familiar.
  • Verizon still working to determine opening bid for Yahoo as of Friday
  • Bain, TPG, Advent International interested in bids
  • KKR expressed interest; unclear if it will place a bid
  • Daily Mail & General Trust still in talks with PE firms to become partners on a bid
  • Time Inc. decided not to bid after concluding that turning around YHOO would be too difficult: WSJ cites one person familiar
  • Alphabet, Comcast, AT&T, IAC also decided not to make a bid
  • Yahoo declined to comment to WSJ
Alert: HALISTER
Source: BFW (Bloomberg First Word)

Tickers
VZ US (Verizon Communications Inc)
YHOO US (Yahoo! Inc)
T US (AT&T Inc)
13620Z US (Advent International Corp)
GOOG US (Alphabet Inc)

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HALISTER: China Tax Rules to Cool Gray Market for Danone, A2 Baby Formula

China Tax Rules to Cool Gray Market for Danone, A2 Baby Formula

Alert: HALISTER
Source: BN (Bloomberg News)

Tickers
BN FP (Danone SA)
BAL AU (Bellamy's Australia Ltd)
ATM NZ (a2 Milk Co Ltd)

People
Christine Peng (UBS Securities LLC)
Geoffrey Babidge (a2 Milk Co Ltd)
James Bascand (Forsyth Barr Ltd)
Jordan Rogers (UBS Securities LLC)
Laura McBain (Bellamy's Australia Ltd)

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UUID: 7947283