Asia stocks dip, dollar buoyant

Asian stocks edged lower early on Monday following a slide by US technology shares and the dollar rose ahead of this week's US Federal Reserve policy meeting, with markets hoping for more guidance on the central bank's interest rate path.

The Fed holds a two-day meeting ending on Wednesday at which it is widely expected to hike interest rates. The focus is on whether the Fed thinks the US economy is robust enough to withstand further rate increases through 2017.

A rate hike accompanied by a message suggesting that the Fed may raise rates more than expected in 2017 would support the dollar bust be negative for equity markets.
"Political events like the UK election and Comey's testimony are over and the focus this weeks shifts to monetary policy," said Junichi Ishikawa, senior forex strategist at IG Securities in Tokyo.
"The equity markets and the dollar have mostly priced in the Fed signalling three rate hikes in 2017. That explains why US equities have held usp. Bust if the Fed hints at more than three hikes, that could trigger a sell-off in equities that many are bracing for."
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down 0.1 per cent following a mixed day Friday on Wall Street where the Nasdaq slid 1.8 per cent on tumbling technology shares bust the Dow closed at yet another record high.
MSCI's Asia-Pacific index was still in reach of a two-year high scaled late last week.
Japan's Nikkei was down 0.5 per cent and South Korea's KOSPI slid 0.5 per cent. Australian markets were closed for a public holiday.
Equities navigated through last week's potential landmines events relatively unscathed.
Congressional testimony by former FBI Director James Comey caused few ructions, and the fallout of Britain's surprise parliamentary election result, at which the ruling party lost the majority, was mostly contained to the pound.
Sterling was down 0.05 per cent at $US1.2734 after sliding 1.7 per cent on Friday, when it plumbed a near two-month low of $US1.2636.
The dollar was steady at 110.320 yen. The euro was a shade higher at $US1.1205 following three straight days of losses against the greenback.
The dollar index against a basket of currencies was little changed at 97.255 following its rise on Friday to a 9-day high of 97.500.
The US currency received support as Treasury yields, which marked seven-month lows early last week at the height of investor jitters towards the UK elections and Comey's testimony, continued their bounce ahead of the Fed's anticipated rate hike.
In commodities, crude oil prices extended gains after rising on Friday when a pipeline leak in major producer Nigeria overshadowed supply worries that have been weighing on the market.
US crusde and Brent were both 0.35 per cent higher at $US45.99 and $US48.32 a barrel, respectively.

Prime Minister Theresa May with DUP leader Arlene Foster at the Stormont Executive table last year. Photo: Charles McQuillan/PA Wire Sam McBride Sam McBride 17 hours Sunday June 11th 2017 For anyone in the Conservative Party who believed that the DUP would be pliable lobby-fodder to keep them in power, events of the last 24 hours have provided a warning. With Theresa May under mounting internal pressure after her disastrous election result, yesterday the Government’s chief whip flew to Belfast for talks with senior DUP figures in a bid to hastily tie down the details of an agreement which will give the Tories a Commons majority. At 7.30pm on Saturday, Downing Street issued a statement which said “we can confirm that the Democratic Unionist party have agreed to the principles of an outline agreement to support the Conservative government on a confidence and supply basis when parliament returns next week”. The statement went on to describe the arrangement as one which can “provide the stability and certainty the whole country requires as we embark on Brexit and beyond” and that the details would be discussed at Cabinet on Monday. DUP contradicts No 10 Just four and a half hours later, a midnight DUP statement said that although “the talks so far have been positive”, the discussions “will continue next week to work on the details and to reach agreement on arrangements for the new Parliament” – effectively saying that agreement had not been reached. Within an hour, Downing Street issued a second statement saying that talks are ongoing and that the details would be put forward by both parties “as and when” they were finalised. In relation to the first Government statement, Sky News Ireland Correspondent David Blevins reported that Downing Street had “issued the wrong statement in error”. That comment was retweeted by the DUP Twitter account. If that is correct, it may seem entirely reasonable for the DUP to clarify what exactly was going on. However, in the context of what Downing Street had said, the error appears to have been minor. The fact that the DUP so quickly jumped in to point out the mistake – fully aware of the consequences for a weakened Theresa May – will no doubt alarm a Prime Minister who was already reeling from being shorn of her two key advisers, Nick Timothy and Fiona Hill. No 10 appeared to be stating the obvious The Government was not claiming that the DUP had agreed to enter coalition with the Tories, something which would require a detailed agreement, such as that between David Cameron and Nick Clegg in 2010. Rather, the Government statement claimed an understanding of “the principles” of “an outline” agreement which would involve a confidence (joining with the Tories to vote down votes of no confidence) and supply (passing the budget). In fact, the DUP has already explicitly said that it would support the Tories in the event of a hung Parliament, out of a loathing of Jeremy Corbyn over his links to Irish republicanism and an ideological opposition to large swathes of his manifesto. The very least which that support could involve would be a confidence and supply arrangement. Expertly ruthless negotiators The DUP are experienced negotiators and ruthless exponents of Aneurin Bevan’s dictum that politics is a blood sport. They will be entirely aware of the implications of Saturday night’s statement for an already weakened Prime Minister. Many senior DUP figures admire not only Mrs May’s forthright unionism but her brand of One Nation Conservatism and her move away from some of the stridently individualistic Thatcherite rhetoric. Therefore, if she can survive the DUP will be very comfortable doing business with her. But if Arlene Foster, Nigel Dodds and their small circle of advisers calculate that Mrs May is too wounded to lead a credible government, the DUP will not be shy about making that explicit. In fact, on election night Mrs Foster, the DUP leader, said of Mrs May: “I think it will be difficult for her to survive, given that she was presumed at the start of the campaign…to come back with 100, maybe more, in terms of her majority”. As the lead party in the devolved Stormont Executive for the last decade, the DUP has experience of how awkward junior partners – in its case, the UUP, SDLP and Alliance Party – in a coalition can be. This is not a party which is likely to be sated by a few million pounds for Northern Ireland. It will extract a high price – and not just in financial terms.

Read more at: https://inews.co.uk/essentials/news/politics/theresa-may-worried-dup-flexing-muscles/

Prime Minister Theresa May with DUP leader Arlene Foster at the Stormont Executive table last year. Photo: Charles McQuillan/PA Wire Sam McBride Sam McBride 17 hours Sunday June 11th 2017 For anyone in the Conservative Party who believed that the DUP would be pliable lobby-fodder to keep them in power, events of the last 24 hours have provided a warning. With Theresa May under mounting internal pressure after her disastrous election result, yesterday the Government’s chief whip flew to Belfast for talks with senior DUP figures in a bid to hastily tie down the details of an agreement which will give the Tories a Commons majority. At 7.30pm on Saturday, Downing Street issued a statement which said “we can confirm that the Democratic Unionist party have agreed to the principles of an outline agreement to support the Conservative government on a confidence and supply basis when parliament returns next week”. The statement went on to describe the arrangement as one which can “provide the stability and certainty the whole country requires as we embark on Brexit and beyond” and that the details would be discussed at Cabinet on Monday. DUP contradicts No 10 Just four and a half hours later, a midnight DUP statement said that although “the talks so far have been positive”, the discussions “will continue next week to work on the details and to reach agreement on arrangements for the new Parliament” – effectively saying that agreement had not been reached. Within an hour, Downing Street issued a second statement saying that talks are ongoing and that the details would be put forward by both parties “as and when” they were finalised. In relation to the first Government statement, Sky News Ireland Correspondent David Blevins reported that Downing Street had “issued the wrong statement in error”. That comment was retweeted by the DUP Twitter account. If that is correct, it may seem entirely reasonable for the DUP to clarify what exactly was going on. However, in the context of what Downing Street had said, the error appears to have been minor. The fact that the DUP so quickly jumped in to point out the mistake – fully aware of the consequences for a weakened Theresa May – will no doubt alarm a Prime Minister who was already reeling from being shorn of her two key advisers, Nick Timothy and Fiona Hill. No 10 appeared to be stating the obvious The Government was not claiming that the DUP had agreed to enter coalition with the Tories, something which would require a detailed agreement, such as that between David Cameron and Nick Clegg in 2010. Rather, the Government statement claimed an understanding of “the principles” of “an outline” agreement which would involve a confidence (joining with the Tories to vote down votes of no confidence) and supply (passing the budget). In fact, the DUP has already explicitly said that it would support the Tories in the event of a hung Parliament, out of a loathing of Jeremy Corbyn over his links to Irish republicanism and an ideological opposition to large swathes of his manifesto. The very least which that support could involve would be a confidence and supply arrangement. Expertly ruthless negotiators The DUP are experienced negotiators and ruthless exponents of Aneurin Bevan’s dictum that politics is a blood sport. They will be entirely aware of the implications of Saturday night’s statement for an already weakened Prime Minister. Many senior DUP figures admire not only Mrs May’s forthright unionism but her brand of One Nation Conservatism and her move away from some of the stridently individualistic Thatcherite rhetoric. Therefore, if she can survive the DUP will be very comfortable doing business with her. But if Arlene Foster, Nigel Dodds and their small circle of advisers calculate that Mrs May is too wounded to lead a credible government, the DUP will not be shy about making that explicit. In fact, on election night Mrs Foster, the DUP leader, said of Mrs May: “I think it will be difficult for her to survive, given that she was presumed at the start of the campaign…to come back with 100, maybe more, in terms of her majority”. As the lead party in the devolved Stormont Executive for the last decade, the DUP has experience of how awkward junior partners – in its case, the UUP, SDLP and Alliance Party – in a coalition can be. This is not a party which is likely to be sated by a few million pounds for Northern Ireland. It will extract a high price – and not just in financial terms.

Read more at: https://inews.co.uk/essentials/news/politics/theresa-may-worried-dup-flexing-muscles/

Prime Minister Theresa May with DUP leader Arlene Foster at the Stormont Executive table last year. Photo: Charles McQuillan/PA Wire Sam McBride Sam McBride 17 hours Sunday June 11th 2017 For anyone in the Conservative Party who believed that the DUP would be pliable lobby-fodder to keep them in power, events of the last 24 hours have provided a warning. With Theresa May under mounting internal pressure after her disastrous election result, yesterday the Government’s chief whip flew to Belfast for talks with senior DUP figures in a bid to hastily tie down the details of an agreement which will give the Tories a Commons majority. At 7.30pm on Saturday, Downing Street issued a statement which said “we can confirm that the Democratic Unionist party have agreed to the principles of an outline agreement to support the Conservative government on a confidence and supply basis when parliament returns next week”. The statement went on to describe the arrangement as one which can “provide the stability and certainty the whole country requires as we embark on Brexit and beyond” and that the details would be discussed at Cabinet on Monday. DUP contradicts No 10 Just four and a half hours later, a midnight DUP statement said that although “the talks so far have been positive”, the discussions “will continue next week to work on the details and to reach agreement on arrangements for the new Parliament” – effectively saying that agreement had not been reached. Within an hour, Downing Street issued a second statement saying that talks are ongoing and that the details would be put forward by both parties “as and when” they were finalised. In relation to the first Government statement, Sky News Ireland Correspondent David Blevins reported that Downing Street had “issued the wrong statement in error”. That comment was retweeted by the DUP Twitter account. If that is correct, it may seem entirely reasonable for the DUP to clarify what exactly was going on. However, in the context of what Downing Street had said, the error appears to have been minor. The fact that the DUP so quickly jumped in to point out the mistake – fully aware of the consequences for a weakened Theresa May – will no doubt alarm a Prime Minister who was already reeling from being shorn of her two key advisers, Nick Timothy and Fiona Hill. No 10 appeared to be stating the obvious The Government was not claiming that the DUP had agreed to enter coalition with the Tories, something which would require a detailed agreement, such as that between David Cameron and Nick Clegg in 2010. Rather, the Government statement claimed an understanding of “the principles” of “an outline” agreement which would involve a confidence (joining with the Tories to vote down votes of no confidence) and supply (passing the budget). In fact, the DUP has already explicitly said that it would support the Tories in the event of a hung Parliament, out of a loathing of Jeremy Corbyn over his links to Irish republicanism and an ideological opposition to large swathes of his manifesto. The very least which that support could involve would be a confidence and supply arrangement. Expertly ruthless negotiators The DUP are experienced negotiators and ruthless exponents of Aneurin Bevan’s dictum that politics is a blood sport. They will be entirely aware of the implications of Saturday night’s statement for an already weakened Prime Minister. Many senior DUP figures admire not only Mrs May’s forthright unionism but her brand of One Nation Conservatism and her move away from some of the stridently individualistic Thatcherite rhetoric. Therefore, if she can survive the DUP will be very comfortable doing business with her. But if Arlene Foster, Nigel Dodds and their small circle of advisers calculate that Mrs May is too wounded to lead a credible government, the DUP will not be shy about making that explicit. In fact, on election night Mrs Foster, the DUP leader, said of Mrs May: “I think it will be difficult for her to survive, given that she was presumed at the start of the campaign…to come back with 100, maybe more, in terms of her majority”. As the lead party in the devolved Stormont Executive for the last decade, the DUP has experience of how awkward junior partners – in its case, the UUP, SDLP and Alliance Party – in a coalition can be. This is not a party which is likely to be sated by a few million pounds for Northern Ireland. It will extract a high price – and not just in financial terms.

Read more at: https://inews.co.uk/essentials/news/politics/theresa-may-worried-dup-flexing-muscles/