Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong has urged the public to remain calm and united following a knife attack on Father Christopher Lee , a priest at St Joseph’s Church in Bukit Timah on Saturday. In a social media post, Wong expressed his shock and sadness over the attack, emphasizing that violence has no place in the country. He also called for support and solidarity, stating, "We must uphold the safety and sanctity of our places of worship." The incident occurred during the 5:30 pm Mass , when a 37-year-old Singaporean Sinhalese man , armed with a knife, attacked Father Lee. Fortunately, several parishioners managed to disarm the suspect before he could cause further harm. The assailant, who has a history of serious offenses and drug-related crimes, was arrested by police. Preliminary investigations suggest the attack was not terrorism-related, and the suspect acted alone. Father Lee is currently receiving treatment at National University Hospital and is in stable co
Hedge funds are increasingly divided on their positions in the Japanese yen as the US Federal Reserve (Fed) and Bank of Japan (BOJ) prepare for key meetings that will shape the currency's near-term path.
The yen saw a dramatic start to the week, briefly surging beyond the critical 140-per-dollar level, prompting a reassessment among investors. While some short-term funds opted to lock in profits before this week's monetary policy decisions, others are considering increasing their long-yen positions on the expectation of a significant interest rate cut by the Fed.
"We have seen some longer-term players squaring up the long-yen positions they put on earlier," said Antony Foster, head of Group-of-10 spot trading at Nomura Holdings Inc in London. "But there is still speculative interest in adding to downside dollar and cross-yen positions."
Data from the Tokyo Financial Exchange’s FX trading platform, Click 365, shows that net-long positions for the yen against the dollar decreased to a four-month low on Monday, as margin traders unwound their bullish bets on the Japanese currency. Despite this, the yen has gained over 4% this month against the dollar amid expectations that the US central bank will start cutting interest rates this week.
At 5:01 pm in Tokyo, the yen was little changed at 140.64. Traders are now closely monitoring US retail sales data, which could influence market expectations for a potential 50 basis-point rate cut by the Fed on Wednesday.
However, holding long-yen positions carries risks. If the Fed does not implement a large cut, the dollar could rebound sharply. Current swap market pricing suggests about a 74% probability of a 50 basis-point Fed rate cut.
“The dollar and dollar spot index have been under pressure as market pricing has reached quite extreme levels,” noted Martin Whetton, head of financial markets strategy at Westpac Banking Corp. “The risk in the short term is [that] the market gets some sort of disappointment, which may lead to position unwinds across various asset classes.”
As the meetings approach, the stakes are high for traders navigating the volatile landscape of currency markets.
Comments
Post a Comment