The Overnight News Roundup

Feb 18, 2025

PiQ and Zack Eiseman provide you with a consolidated roundup of the overnight news that matters most to markets.

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MACRO:

Fed's Waller (voter) made a modest hawkish shift in his stance, noting as it stands the data is not supporting a reduction in rates, making no reference to his January guidance that cuts could start several months from now and that three or four cuts could be appropriate this year. However, he did still say disinflation and rate cuts are expected to resume this year, and that policy uncertainty shouldn't dissuade more cuts, downplaying tariff inflation effects. (Newswires)
Republican senators are trying to curb the influence of Trump trade adviser Peter Navarro, who has been a driving force behind the administration’s aggressive tariff policies. Lawmakers hope that confirming trade officials Jamieson Greer and Howard Lutnick will bring more nuance to trade policies. (WSJ)
Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency is seeking access to data systems within the Internal Revenue Service that house personal taxpayer information. Access had yet to be given, but one of the people noted that it was being considered by some in the agency as an urgent goal by the DOGE team. (WSJ)
AUD is little changed after the RBA cut its Cash Rate by 25bps to 4.10%, as expected, but said the board remains cautious on prospects for further policy easing. Governor Bullock also sounded caution on the prospect of further cuts in post-meeting remarks. (Newswires)
An RBA analysis shows Australia’s economy will take only a limited hit from US tariffs on China even if they are increased by 40 ppts more than the Bank’s central scenario. (BBG)
BoJ Governor Ueda said in parliament on Tuesday that the sharp volatility seen in currency and stock markets last summer was mainly caused by investors' concern over weak U.S. jobs data and the risk of a slowdown in the U.S. economy. He did concede that the BoJ's policy stance had not been clear enough and that was also part of the reason. (RTRS)
Japan's government approved new targets to cut the country's greenhouse gas emissions through 2040, alongside a revised energy plan and an updated industrial policy for the same period. (RTRS)
China's state planner said Tuesday that 'precise' policies are to be implemented to help ease difficulties faced by private companies. Said China will further break down barriers to market access and revise the negative list for market access as soon as possible. Plans to speed up preparations for the implementation of the private economy promotion law. (Newsquawk)
A selloff in China’s bonds extended into a fifth day amid signs investors are shifting some funds to stocks and seeking out higher yields in the short-term money market. (BBG)
Chinese investors’ zeal for AI-related assets fanned by DeepSeek has spread to convertible bonds, sending the CSI Convertible Bond index to its highest in more than two years. (BBG)
BofA is the latest bank to get behind China's stock market, saying the market moves from 'tradable' to 'investable', noting tailwinds from DeepSeek's AI breakthrough to better-than-expected U.S. relations. (RTRS)
GBP found some strength after UK pay growth picked up to the highest level in eight months and employment unexpectedly rose, figures likely to keep the BOE wary over future interest-rate cuts. (BBG)
GBP OIS continuing to fully price the next 25bp BoE cut by June after this morning's jobs data, with 57bp of easing seen by y/e (vs. 59bp on Monday). (@MrMBrown)
UK Chancellor Reeves is to tell cabinet ministers to conduct a full audit of Britain’s 130 or so regulators to ensure they are working to boost growth, including looking at whether some should be scrapped. (FT)
Germany's labour market has been profiled in the FT ahead of Sunday's elections, noting the country has lost almost a quarter of a million manufacturing jobs since COVID as companies and politicians sound the alarm that Europe’s industrial heartland is suffering an irreversible decline. (FT)
Bank of Korea Governor said the Bank remains in an easing cycle and authorities will review a variety of factors including the currency and economic momentum when they set rates next week. (BBG)
Vietnam’s parliament formally approved a plan for the biggest government overhaul in decades, a move that will slash thousands of jobs and radically streamline a bloated bureaucracy. (BBG)
S&P announced Argentina's local currency sovereign rating has been lowered to 'SD' after debt exchanges, while the 'CCC' foreign currency rating was affirmed. (RTRS)
Goldman Sachs on Monday raised its year-end 2025 gold price forecast to $3,100 per ounce, up from $2,890, citing sustained central bank demand. (RTRS)
US gas exports are the most likely beneficiaries of a pledge by Donald Trump and Narendra Modi to make India a leading buyer of American energy, analysts said. (FT)

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GEOPOLITICAL:

European and Ukrainian officials told the FT that Zelensky may have made a strategic error by not including any specifics on his mineral rights pitch. “It was written as a lure for Trump. But the lack of detail meant Trump could essentially name his price.” (FT)
Russia’s sovereign wealth fund chief Kirill Dmitriev said he has already met with several members of the Trump team in Riyadh on Monday. “All I can say is they’re great problem-solvers. And I think President Trump is a great problem-solver,” he said. (CNN via Newsquawk)
French President Macron said that he talked with U.S. President Trump and Ukraine's President Zelenskiy after meeting European leaders earlier on Monday. "Work will continue based on the European Commission’s proposals, both in supporting Ukraine and in developing and investing in our defense," Macron said, adding that they will continue these discussions in the coming days. (RTRS)
US President Trump announced on Truth Social that U.S. forces carried out a precision airstrike in Syria over the weekend, targeting a member of Al-Qaeda. (Truth)

EQUITIES:

OpenAI is considering granting special voting rights to its non-profit board to preserve the power of its directors, as the ChatGPT-maker fends off an unsolicited takeover bid from Elon Musk. If implemented, the special voting rights would allow the non-profit board to overrule major investors, including backers like Microsoft and, ensuring it retains decision-making power, (FT)
Apple is conducting a quiet pivot to India and wants to diversify its supply chain beyond China. (FT via Newsquawk)
Tesla said on Tuesday it has started mass production of the revamped version of its Model Y in its Shanghai factory. (RTRS)
Southwest Airlines is slated to shed 15% of its corporate workforce, eliminating about 1,750 jobs in an effort to cut costs and streamline the carrier’s operations. (WSJ)
WSJ have profiled the luxury sector in China, highlighting sluggish sales amongst industry leaders such as LVMH and Kering. Analysts warn the period of strong growth is likely over, with much more modest expectations needing to be set for the sector from here. (WSJ)
Tiger Brokers said on Tuesday it embedded DeepSeek's model into its AI-powered chatbot, as brokerages and money managers race to capitalise on the Chinese start-up's AI breakthrough, and develop use cases for the financial industry. (RTRS)
Acer will hike laptop prices 10% in March due to US tariffs affecting products made in China, and the Co. will move more production out of China and to the US and other locations. (UDN via @dnystedt)
Samsung Electronics plans to fill a third of board seats with semiconductor specialists as it aims to revive its flagging chip division, where shareholders will vote in March on a new board of directors. (Chosun article dated Feb 17th via @dnystedt)
LG Electronics has started roadshows to meet potential investors in the IPO of its Indian unit. (BBG)
BHP sees signs of economic recovery in China and central bank rate cuts reviving demand for steel and copper but flagged risks to global growth from potential trade tensions, as it logged its lowest first-half profit in six years. (RTRS)
BHP expects to find other buyers for potash from a new mine that it is building in Canada if the U.S. follows through on a threat to hit its neighbor with tariffs, saying American farmers would be the ones hurt by the policy. (WSJ)
Woodside Energy has held talks with several potential buyers of stakes in its Louisiana LNG plant, including Tokyo Gas, Japan's JERA, and Saudi Aramco-backed MidOcean Energy. (RTRS)
Honda is reportedly willing to re-enter merger or partnership discussions with Nissan, but only if Nissan’s current CEO, Makoto Uchida, steps down. (FT)
HSBC has laid off around 40 investment bankers in Hong Kong, as part of a global restructuring exercise at the Asia-focused lender to cut costs. (RTRS)
Antofagasta fell short on FY revenue and EPS metric expectations, but said the company remains optimistic about copper demand despite supply constraints. (RTRS)