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Havens are in favor, the Qatar spat enters mediation and Apple unveils new stuff. Here are some of the things people in markets are talking about today.
Good havens
Markets reek of caution ahead of Thursday's big day. The yen rose to its strongest in more than a month, and gold's on a tear thanks to Middle Eastern tensions and Chinese consumers alike. Ten-year Treasury yields fell near to their lowest since November, while equities retreated. The subdued mood isn't all due to risk-off: Europe's benchmark share index's starkest drop in a week was led by Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche Holding AG after one of its drug studies disappointed.
Trump does diplomacy
President Donald Trump wants to “de-escalate” the Qatar crisis and is committed to holding talks with all parties, White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders told reporters on Monday. (The president's weekend efforts at diplomacy weren't so well received, with some British lawmakers now seeking to uninvite him from the terror-struck capital.) Today, Kuwait's ruler Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah will travel to Saudi Arabia to try to mediate an end to the dispute engulfing Qatar and its neighbors, according to an official with knowledge of the matter. Read more about the 22-year old roots of the crisis here.
South Africa shrinks; Australia holds
South Africa's slipped into a recession for the first time since 2009, as gross domestic product shrank at an annualized 0.7 percent in the first quarter, when economists had been predicting a 1 percent expansion. They were better at gauging the Reserve Bank of Australia's next move: the central bank didn't disappoint the 26 analysts who foresaw no change to the country's benchmark interest rate, which stands at a record low 1.5 percent.
Cupertino shuffle
In an effort to catch up with similar offerings from Alphabet Inc. and Amazon.com Inc., the world's most revered gadget-maker is inviting its Siri digital assistant into your home. Apple Inc.'s $349 HomePod device is focused on music, and intended to help it double services revenue (which also includes products like iCloud and Apple Music) to around $50 billion by 2020. Meanwhile, Tesla Inc. shares hit a record at yesterday's close, amid confusion over Elon Musk's underpants.
Coming up...
It's still all about Thursday. President Donald Trump won't invoke executive privilege to stop former FBI Director James Comey from testifying to the Senate on June 8, according to the White House. Comey's due to field questions about investigations into Russian meddling in the U.S. election that could ensnare Trump as well as his current and former associates.
What we've been reading
This is what's caught our eye over the last 24 hours.
- Bulls and bears can't both be right.
- China's banks are reshaping the sovereign bond market.
- Your hour-by-hour guide to the U.K. election.
- Now Macron needs to win France's parliamentary elections.
- Ariana Grande accomplishes what Trump can't.
- JPMorgan has a simple theory for low volatility.
- For equities, this ain't your grandfather's Tory Party.
To contact the author of this story: Isobel Finkel in Istanbul at ifinkel1@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Joe Weisenthal at jweisenthal@bloomberg.net, Sid Verma
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