Us Treasuries News

The U.S. trade deficit fell for the first time in six years in 2019 as the White House’s trade war with China curbed the import bill, keeping the economy on a moderate growth path despite a slowdown in consumer spending and weak business investment.The report from the Commerce Department on Wednesday also showed the Trump administration’s “America First” agenda decreased the flow of goods last year, with exports posting their first decline since 2016. President Donald Trump, who has dubbed himself “the tariff man…

China and the United States sank into a deepening trade conflict that roiled financial markets Tuesday after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to impose tariffs on an additional $200 billion of Chinese products, prompting Beijing to accuse Washington of starting a trade war.Trump said Monday his threat was retaliation for China's decision to raise tariffs on $50 billion of U.S. goods over the weekend, a move that itself was in response to additional U.S. tariffs on Chinese…

Prices for Eurobonds from many commodity-exporting emerging markets have fallen sharply this week on fears that the latest metals price reversal will hit the ability to repay debt, especially in some African countries. A major casualty of the metals price plunge is Glencore , whose bonds and shares have tanked to a record low. Almost a third of the mining and trading firm's value was wiped out on Monday alone. The moves underscore the challenges faced by economies and companies exposed to the sector and to China's slowdown. Fears of job cuts by Glencore and other mining firms are weighing on the assets of producing nations, especially Zambia whose kwacha currency plunged 17 percent on Monday to record lows.

The Steamship Mutual Underwriting Association (Bermuda)  achieved a combined ratio of 78.6% for the 2014-2015 policy year, one of the strongest results in its 100-plus years of existence. Free reserves increased by US$75 million to US$376.2 million and the financial year combined ratio was 78.6%, one of the strongest results in the Club’s history. For the 2014/15 policy year, when compared to the preceding year, the Club again experienced fewer claims in the layers below US$250,000 but the average cost of such claims rose by 7%. The number of larger claims was similar to that experienced in recent years but their average cost was significantly lower and the Club incurred only one claim on the Pool.

At their board meeting on October 22, the directors of the Steamship Mutual reviewed the club’s open policy years, as well as claims in earlier years, and considered the premium ratings required for the 2014 policy year. On the basis of owned claims reported to date, the overall value of claims for the current policy year is expected to be high, continuing the trend of recent years. It was noted that the total value of claims in the layer up to $250,000 is marginally below last year…