Bonds & Stocks
The world’s biggest bond market got hammered as a solid US jobs report made traders dial back their bets on Federal Reserve rate cuts. A selloff in Treasuries drove yields up over 10 basis points, with swaps no longer pricing in a Fed reduction before December. Nonfarm payrolls advanced 272,000 — beating estimates — and wages accelerated. The unemployment rate increased to 4%.
Economy
Economists are divided over how many interest-rate cuts Federal Reserve officials will signal for 2024 at their policy meeting next week, following a pop in recent inflation figures. Policymakers are likely to back away from a longstanding forecast for three rate reductions this year, but it’s a close call on whether they will still pencil in two or not.
World
Some 90 countries will attend a Ukraine summit this weekend, Swiss officials said on Monday, but key countries from the so called Global South have still to confirm their attendance. “The list of participants is fluid until the last day,” President Viola Amherd told journalists on Monday in Bern. About half of the participating countries will be represented at the level of heads of state or government, Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis added.