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Greenback in market’s focus as USDX sits around 92.61

Greenback in market’s focus as USDX sits around 92.61

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The greenback continued to remain in the forex spotlight on Wednesday afternoon as the US Congress deliberated further on a stimulus package for the flagging economy.

No deal has yet been struck by the legislature, where lawmakers have split along largely partisan lines.

The US dollar index, which monitors the performance of the currency in conjunction with several others from around the world, was spotted at 92.61 at one stage over the day.

On Wednesday afternoon, it was revealed that jobs growth in the all-important US services sector had gone down even compared to last month.

According to figures from the Institute for Supply Management, the employment index in non-manufacturing sectors went down to 42.1 over the course of July.

This reflected a dip from its previous position of 43.1 in June, and suggests that the US economy is far from recovered from the pandemic at the moment.

One possible effect of this news for the dollar is that it gets dragged further down in the coming days due to fears over the health of the economy.

Another is that it could spur lawmakers in Congress into action – a development that, if it materialises, could turn the dollar’s fortunes around.

The currency action was also taking place against a backdrop of problems for US bond yields.

The value of these have gone down in recent weeks alongside the decline in the value of the dollar.

The dollar’s dip came after a period of strength for the currency during the earlier stages of the pandemic – it was in demand for a while due to its high liquidity.

Those days, however, appear to be over – for now.

Elsewhere around the world, the British pound was up by 0.1% against the single European currency.

It was noted at 90.22 pence in this pair at one stage.

The euro, which has often emerged victorious in the forex markets in the last fortnight, also now has some challenges ahead.

On Friday of this week, for example, a significant insight into the state of the French labour market is due to be published.

The country’s preliminary nonfarm payrolls for Q2 2020 are due to come out at 6:45am GMT.

On a quarter-on-quarter basis, these are expected to go from -2% to -2.2%.

Later in the day on Friday, there will be a global trade balance figure from Italy as well as one focusing specifically on Italy’s trade balance with the EU.

The nature of the relationship between Italy and the wider EU has been subject to some scrutiny recently, meaning that euro traders may watch this release.

However, with the recent Europe-wide stimulus package being interpreted as a sign of closer fiscal union between states such as Italy and the wealthier northern states, some traders may want to keep a close eye on the relationship between the two.

The post Greenback in market’s focus as USDX sits around 92.61 appeared first on Forextraders.com.

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Carl Icahn sues Illumina board members over Grail acquisition

Activist investor Carl Icahn has sued Illumina and its board of directors over the company’s $7.1 billion acquisition of Grail, according to a complaint…

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Activist investor Carl Icahn has sued Illumina and its board of directors over the company’s $7.1 billion acquisition of Grail, according to a complaint on Tuesday.

Carl Icahn

The lawsuit, which accuses the defendants of breaching their fiduciary duties, was filed in the Delaware Court of Chancery and is sealed for now.

In a statement, Icahn said throughout his long career, he had never found it necessary to sue a board “until today.”

“I have done so today in light of, among other things, the board’s unconscionable and egregious actions relating to closing the acquisition of Grail without regulatory approval, thus putting Illumina, a great company, in harm’s way,” Icahn said in the statement.

An Illumina spokeswoman said the company is reviewing the complaint.

Last week, the European Commission ordered Illumina to divest Grail. Months earlier, the regulatory bloc fined Illumina $476 million for buying Grail without regulators giving the OK.

Illumina’s prior CEO, Francis deSouza, stepped down in the aftermath of Icahn’s proxy campaign against the company. Illumina recently named Jacob Thaysen as CEO.

“I continue to believe in the company’s long-term potential and I have full faith in Illumina’s new CEO, and its employees,” said Icahn in the statement.

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UK to target potential AI threats at planned November summit

The summit scheduled for Nov. 1-2 will place significant emphasis on the potential existential threat that AI represents, a concern shared by several legislators.

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The summit scheduled for Nov. 1-2 will place significant emphasis on the potential existential threat that AI represents, a concern shared by several legislators.

The United Kingdom (U.K.) will be hosting the world's inaugural international summit on artificial intelligence (AI) safety in Nov. 2023. This event seeks to establish the U.K.'s presence as a mediator between the United States, China and the European Union in the critical field of technology, post-Brexit.

The summit scheduled for Nov. 1-2 will place significant emphasis on the potential existential threat that AI represents, a concern shared by numerous legislators. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who envisions the U.K. as a center for AI safety, has also expressed apprehensions about AI being exploited by criminals and terrorists for the development of weapons of mass destruction.

Sunak will be the host for approximately 100 attendees at Bletchley Park. Among the distinguished guests will be U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, alongside Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis, who will be joined by a gathering of legislators, AI visionaries, and scholars.

The summit's objective is to initiate a global conversation on AI regulation, as the agenda released by the U.K. government for the event this week encompasses talks regarding the unpredictable progress of technology and the risk of human loss of control over it.

A group of influential members of parliament (MPs) in the United Kingdom had earlier advised the government to collaborate with democratic allies to address the potential misuse of artificial intelligence (AI), emphasizing London’s aim to be a key player in advancing emerging technology.

Related: Google requests dismissal of AI data scraping class-action suit

In the weeks after Sunak announced the summit, Google published an analysis suggesting further investment in AI would provide a 400-billion-pound ($488 billion) boost to Britain's economy by 2030, while OpenAI announced it would open its first office outside of the U.S. in London.

In August 2023, Cointelegraph reported that British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is set to spend 100 million pounds ($130 million) to buy thousands of computer chips to power artificial intelligence amid a global shortage and race for computing power.

Magazine: ‘AI has killed the industry’: EasyTranslate boss on adapting to change

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The Focus Of China’s Belt And Road Initiative

The Focus Of China’s Belt And Road Initiative

In hosting its third Belt and Road Initiative Forum on Tuesday and Wednesday of this week,…

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The Focus Of China's Belt And Road Initiative

In hosting its third Belt and Road Initiative Forum on Tuesday and Wednesday of this week, China is welcoming representatives from around 130 countries for a diplomatic event focused on Xi Jinping's now ten-year-old signature policy.

While coming in for criticism related to the "accentuated debt distress" it has put some countries under, Statista's Martin Armstrong notes that the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has created $1.01 trillion worth of investment and construction projects in 148 countries around the world.

You will find more infographics at Statista

Figures from the Green Finance & Development Center show that BRI investment in 2021 (and all previous years) was centered largely on the energy sector, which received a total of $22.3 billion.

Transport closely followed as a key focus in 2021, with $16.4 billion. The sectors with the largest annual growth though were 'health' (246 percent) and 'utilities' (192 percent).

Tyler Durden Wed, 10/18/2023 - 04:15

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