News in Brief
US bank shares fall
REUTERS – Shares of U.S. banks fell with some investors pointing to worries that a flood of Treasury bill issuance following the raising of the U.S. debt ceiling would drain liquidity from lenders.
The U.S. government is expected to issue $1 trillion or more of short-term debt to replenish its Treasury General Account (TGA) or cash reserves that were depleted during the political haggling over the debt ceiling.
China asks big banks to cut deposit rates
BLOOMBERG – Chinese authorities asked the nation’s biggest banks to lower their deposit rates for at least the second time in less than a year, according to people familiar with the matter, marking an effort to boost the world’s second-largest economy.
State-owned lenders including Bank of China Ltd., Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd. and Bank of Communications Co. were last week advised to cut rates on a range of products, including on demand deposits by 5 basis points and three-year and five-year time deposits by at least 10 basis points, said the people.
WB lifts 2023 global growth forecasts
CNBC – The World Bank on Tuesday raised its 2023 global growth forecast as the U.S. but said higher interest rates would cause a larger-than-expected drag next year.
Real global GDP is set to climb 2.1% this year, the World Bank said in its latest Global Economic Prospects report. That’s up from a 1.7% forecast issued in January but well below the 2022 growth rate of 3.1%.