Finance, in brief

China's central bank cut the rate on one of its cheap loans to the big state-owned policy banks, from 1.75% to 1.5%, on Tuesday. [1][3]

Those banks lend the money on for public works, and it can now also pay for water networks, power grids, computing networks and underground pipelines. [2][3]

From 1 October China's government will pay one percentage point a year of the interest on a first home loan, for up to five years. [1][3] It is the first step of its kind across the whole country. [1]

The loan can be up to 1 million yuan, about $140,000, for a home of no more than 120 square metres costing no more than 1.5 million yuan. [2]

China's central bank says one point is about a third off today's first-home mortgage rate. [2]

The help is aimed at smaller cities, where Dow Jones, a news service, reports homes are cheaper and there are more homes than buyers. [2] An economist at ANZ, an Australian bank, said 1.5 million yuan would probably buy a home only in a smaller, third-tier city, not in the biggest ones. [1]

China's central bank will also lend banks 200 billion yuan more for loans to technology firms, and 500 billion more for farms and small businesses. [1][2]

It left its main interest rate where it was. [1] Reuters says rising US rates could pull money out of China, and its banks already earn less on each loan than before. [1]

Goldman Sachs, a US investment bank, expects no cut in China's main rate this year because bank margins are so thin. [6]

On Wednesday China's official factory survey read 50.1 for September, up from 49.8. [4] Above 50 means business grew; it had shrunk for the two months before. [4]

Makers of equipment and high-tech goods led, helped by demand for AI hardware. [5] A private survey found service firms grew and hired for a fifth month, but cut their prices for the first time in four months. [7]

China's economy grew 4.3% in April to June, its slowest in more than three years. [4] Home prices have fallen about 20% or more since 2021, AP reports. [3]

Why it matters. Watch home sales in China's smaller cities from October: the help runs for one year, and Goldman Sachs says some buyers may simply buy sooner rather than buy more. [5][2]

The yearly interest on the US government's 30-year bond reached 5.613% on Tuesday, its highest since June 2002, by the count of Tradeweb, a bond-trading platform. [10][12] The 10-year rate, a benchmark for borrowing across the US economy, reached 5.289%, just under its 2007 peak of 5.303%. [10] It is on course to rise nearly half a point in September, the most in a month for about two years. [11] German and French 10-year rates hit 17-year and 18-year highs this week. [11]

Why it matters. When these rates rise, new mortgages, company loans and government debts all cost more. [11] A strategist at Saxo, a Danish investment bank, said the very low rates seen after the 2008 financial crisis now look much harder to return to. [11]

The Reserve Bank of Australia, the country's central bank, raised its main rate by a quarter point to 4.6% on Tuesday, its fourth rise this year. [15] The board's decision was unanimous. [17] It named new disruptions to oil supply, and said growth and inflation had both come in higher than expected. [15] Governor Michele Bullock said the board had also discussed holding, and she hoped four rises would be enough. [16]

Why it matters. The Australian dollar fell below 70 US cents after her press conference, near its weakest since late July. [16] Before she spoke, one model based on market prices put the chance of a fifth rise in November at about 44%. [17]

John Williams, who runs the New York branch of the US central bank, said late on Tuesday there was no need for urgency before its October meeting. [12] Traders' odds of a rate rise in October fell to 49%, from 71% on Monday, by a measure from CME Group, a big US exchange. [12] The two-year US rate, which follows the US central bank closely, slipped to 4.889%. [11] On Wednesday the bank's favourite price gauge is expected to show prices up 3.7% in a year. [12]

Why it matters. The US central bank raised rates on 16 September for the first time in three years. [35] The 30-year rate still rose on Tuesday, and a Saxo strategist said the rise is now about much more than the next few meetings. [13][11]

Saudi Arabia began loading tankers at Yanbu, its Red Sea port, again on Tuesday, after repairing the East-West pipeline that drones damaged earlier this month. [20][21] The pipeline now carries about 3.5 million barrels a day, against about 4 million before. [21] Oil exports from Middle East producers reached 16.3 million barrels a day in September, the most since the war with Iran began in late February. [20] Brent crude fell 2.6% to $102.59 a barrel on Tuesday. [13]

Why it matters. It rose again on Wednesday after President Trump denied offering Iran any sanctions relief, and it is heading for a 14% gain in September. [20] Kpler, a data firm, says the world is still short 1 to 2 million barrels a day. [21]

The US dollar is on course for a 2% gain against other currencies in September, helped by rising US rates, Reuters reported. [11] The Wall Street Journal put the gain at about 1.5%, after two months of falls. [13] The euro traded near a 16-month low at $1.1336, and the British pound is set to lose 2.4% this month. [11] The Japanese yen held near 157 to the dollar. [11]

Why it matters. Traders are wary of selling the yen because Japan and the US could act together to lift it. [11] A dearer dollar makes oil, which is priced in dollars, cost more in countries that pay in other money.

Christine Lagarde, head of the European Central Bank, told the European Parliament that inflation in the countries using the euro will rise further because of dearer energy. [19] She said there is little sign yet of energy costs spreading to other prices. [19] Wages have not responded much, and long-term rates have risen notably, which will slow growth, she said. [18] In Britain, deputy governor Dave Ramsden said the Bank of England may have to raise its rate if price pressures build. [19]

Why it matters. The ECB, which sets rates for the euro, still plans what Lagarde calls a measured response to the energy shock. [18] Higher rates on government debt in Germany and France already make borrowing dearer across Europe. [11]

The S&P 500, an index of 500 big US companies, slipped 0.2% on Tuesday to 7,670.84, as long-term rates rose again. [8] In Asia on Wednesday, Japan's Nikkei share index rose 1.3%, and SoftBank, an investor in OpenAI, jumped about 6%. [8] South Korea's Kospi share index is heading for a 1.4% gain in September, in the same month that US 10-year rates jumped. [11] A strategist at Citi, a big US bank, said growth in total spending, prices included, is keeping investors hopeful about company profits. [11]

Why it matters. Reuters said shares have so far been helped by strong company earnings and hopes for AI. [11] An economist at Interactive Brokers, an online broker, said interest in protection against a fall is rising. [12]

Shares in Fair Isaac, the company behind the FICO credit score, fell as much as 29% on Tuesday, to $595.19. [26] Bill Pulte, who runs the US Federal Housing Finance Agency, said Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, two government-backed companies that buy home loans from lenders, will price loans on one grid that includes VantageScore, a rival score. [26][27] A day earlier Rocket Mortgage, a big US lender, said it would use VantageScore first for all eligible loans. [26] FICO had been the only score for these government-backed loans since the mid-1990s. [26]

Why it matters. Business Insider said borrowers may get better prices if their credit history is read more widely. [26] Fair Isaac's shares are down 64% this year. [26]

The average 30-year fixed US home loan reached 7.58% on Tuesday, the highest since November 2023, CNBC reported. [12] Bankrate, another tracker, put it at 7.33%. [35] Rates had dipped below 6% in late February, the lowest in more than three years. [35] Cotality, a data firm, says owners could borrow $11.5 trillion against their homes, but new home-equity loans in April to June used less than 0.1% of it. [34]

Why it matters. Owners who locked in a low rate have little reason to move, Cotality's economist said. [34] A second loan now would cost them far more than their first. [34]

Anthropic, the AI company that makes Claude, expects to spend at least $518 billion on computing over a decade with six partners, its share-sale papers show, Reuters reported. [29] About 80% of that cannot be cancelled or must be paid however much it uses. [29] The biggest parts are at least $111.1 billion with Google and $110 billion with Amazon, over seven to ten years. [29] It also carries about $161.2 billion of equipment leases linked to Broadcom, a chip designer. [29]

Why it matters. Anthropic says it needs the deals because computing power is now the main limit on AI. [29] The papers say Google, Amazon and Microsoft are at once its investors, customers, suppliers and rivals, whose interests may not match its own. [29]

Carnival, a cruise company, reported record revenue of $8.44 billion for the three months to August, above the $8.30 billion analysts expected. [23] It raised its profit forecast for the year to about $2.24 a share. [23] Bookings and prices for 2027 are at record levels, and customer deposits reached a record for the time of year, $7.6 billion. [25] Its shares rose nearly 13%, and rivals Royal Caribbean and Norwegian rose 6% and 5%. [23]

Why it matters. Carnival is the only big US cruise line that usually buys no protection against fuel prices, yet it beat its forecast by raising ticket prices and cutting other costs. [23][24] Reuters said wealthier travellers keep paying for trips despite the war. [23]

Indonesia's currency, the rupiah, weakened past 18,000 to the US dollar on Tuesday for the first time since 4 August. [28] Asian currencies fell as rising US rates drew money to US assets, and oil stayed dear. [28] The same day, a new rule let shares on Indonesia's stock exchange trade as low as 1 rupiah, down from 50, and some fell 14%, close to the daily limit. [28] Indonesia's main share index is down roughly 30% this year. [28]

Why it matters. An economist at Trimegah, an Indonesian broker, also blamed heavy bond buying by Bank Indonesia, the country's central bank: when bond rates are held down, he said, the pressure moves into the currency. [28] The exchange lowered the price floor to help trading after MSCI, which runs global share indexes, raised concerns in January. [28]

Traders are watching US plans that could limit diesel sales abroad, Reuters reported. [20] Such a limit could leave too much diesel inside the US and make its refiners process less crude. [20] That helped push the gap between Brent and WTI, the US oil price, to its widest in four months: $103.73 against $89.72 early on Wednesday. [20] President Trump is also considering allowing sales of red-dyed diesel instead of a ban, to ease prices before November's elections. [20]

Why it matters. Red-dyed diesel is fuel normally kept for farms and machines off the road. Diesel moves trucks, trains and farm machines, so its price feeds into the cost of most things that are shipped.

India buys about 90% of its crude oil from abroad, and much of it has come from the Gulf. [22] Some Gulf crude has cost Indian refiners about $10 a barrel above the world price, once extra charges are added, Moneycontrol, an Indian financial news site, reported. [22] Russia, India's biggest supplier, is sending less: September imports were expected at about 1.75 million barrels a day, the lowest since April. [22] Qatar supplied about 41% of India's liquefied gas in 2024-25. [22]

Why it matters. If the Strait of Hormuz reopens, India would pay less to ship and insure its oil and gas, the report said. [22] President Trump turned down Iran's offer to reopen it last weekend. [8]

The US Education Department gave federal student-loan borrowers until 31 December to sign up for automatic payments and get a cut of one percentage point in their interest rate. [33] Nearly 2 million borrowers have signed up since the offer began in June, it said. [33] The cut is temporary and ends on 30 June 2028. [33] Rates on new federal student loans range from 6.5% to more than 9%. [33]

Why it matters. The department says the offer should help borrowers keep up with its new repayment plan, which requires on-time payments. [33] Some borrowers have reported higher monthly bills since the older SAVE plan, which had lower payments, ended. [33]

Steve Wynn, a casino owner, and Wilbur Ross, commerce secretary in Donald Trump's first term, sued New York State on Monday over a new tax on luxury second homes in New York City. [32] They say it is unconstitutional because it targets people who live mainly in other states. [32] Ross could owe more than $83,000 and Wynn more than $183,000. [32] On Tuesday a judge, in a separate case, ordered the city to restart how it decides who must pay. [32]

Why it matters. The tax, backed by Mayor Zohran Mamdani, is expected to raise $500 million a year from pricey homes that are not the owner's main home. [32] The city says it will ask the court to pause the ruling. [32]

Jim Farley, chief executive of Ford, said on Tuesday the US must be extremely careful about how Chinese carmakers enter its market. [36] He said it is too late for Europe, where Chinese brands' share of car sales went from almost nothing in 2020 to 12% in August. [37] China is expected to export about 12 million cars this year, up from about 3 million in 2022. [36] The US keeps Chinese cars out with a ban on their software and tariffs above 100%. [36]

Why it matters. Ford itself works with CATL, a Chinese battery maker, and with Geely, a Chinese carmaker, on electric cars for Europe. [36] President Trump said this month he might accept Chinese carmakers that build their cars in the US. [37]

Investors asked to take out only 2% of the shares in Goldman Sachs' $18.2 billion private credit fund in its latest quarterly window, down from 3.2%. [30] Private credit funds lend straight to companies, and investors can usually leave only a little at a time, up to 5% a quarter. [30] At the biggest rival funds, requests ranged from 10% to more than 16% of shares. [30]

Why it matters. Fears that software companies that borrowed heavily from these funds would be hurt by AI drove the exits earlier this year. [30] Goldman's fund said those fears have begun to ease. [30]

Foreign companies put 49.8 billion rand, about $3 billion, straight into South African businesses in April to June, up from 20.3 billion rand the quarter before, the South African Reserve Bank said on Tuesday. [31] Most of the rise came from one telecoms company borrowing from its foreign parent. [31] Foreign investors also sold 34.2 billion rand of South African shares and bought 25.1 billion rand of its bonds. [31]

Why it matters. Money put straight into companies tends to stay longer than money that trades shares. The South African Reserve Bank did not name the telecoms company because the deal was not public. [31]

Shares in Summit Therapeutics, a US drug company, jumped 22.4% before the market opened on Tuesday. [14] It said AstraZeneca, the British drugmaker, will invest $2 billion in it. [14] The two will run studies testing their cancer treatments together. [14]

Why it matters. AstraZeneca is investing in Summit rather than buying it, so Summit stays a separate company. [14]

Shares in Shein, the online fast-fashion seller, fell 11.7% in Hong Kong on Tuesday. [9] It reported that its adjusted profit for the latest quarter fell 67% from a year before. [9]

Why it matters. Adjusted profit is the company's own measure, which leaves out costs it treats as one-offs.