The headlines followed by the global financial media last night and this morning are as follows:

1. The cooling of US inflation for the first time in six months has reassured Fed officials who want to cut interest rates this year.

2. ESG fund clearing sweeps the American ETF market.

3. Goldman Sachs has entered the high rating market for the third time since March this year.

4. Fed official Kashkari: interest rates may need to be maintained at current levels for some time.

5. Disney CEO Edgar: Disney is "drastically" cutting its investment in traditional television

6. Qiaoshui CEO warns investors not to be overconfident in the ever-changing geopolitical environment

The cooling of US inflation for the first time in six months has reassured Fed officials who want to cut interest rates this year.

A measure of underlying US inflation cooled for the first time in six months in April20prouletteFor Fed officials seeking to start cutting interest rates this year, this is undoubtedly a small step in the right direction.

The so-called core consumer price index, which excludes food and energy costs, is up 0% from March, according to official data released on Wednesday.20proulette.3%. The index had exceeded expectations three times in a row, raising concerns that inflation had become entrenched. The year-on-year increase also fell to its slowest pace in three years, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The Fed is trying to disrupt price pressures by weakening demand across the economy. A separate report released on Wednesday showed that retail sales stagnated in April as high borrowing costs and rising household debt prompted consumers to be more cautious.

While the data may give the Fed some hope that inflation is resuming its downward trend, officials will want to see more data to build the confidence they need to start thinking about cutting interest rates. Chairman Jerome Powell said Tuesday that the Fed needs to be patient to let restrictive policies work. Some policy makers do not expect interest rates to be cut this year at all.

ESG Fund Clearing sweeps US ETF Market

The US exchange traded fund (ETF) market, which focuses on ESG, is struggling.

Shaheen Contractor, a senior ESG analyst, said at least 27 ETF positions classified as environmental, social and governance principles (ESG) had been liquidated so far this year. By comparison, there were only 36 cases in the whole of last year.

The prospect is not optimistic. The contractor says the trend is likely to continue, especially if there is strong opposition from the Republican leadership to the investment strategy.

"complex themes that are difficult to raise money are at greatest risk," she said.

Against the backdrop of increasing fund closures, only two ESG ETF have been launched in the Americas this year, the fewest since tracking the data about five years ago. The number of fund issuance fell from a peak of 124 for the whole of 2021, according to contractors.

Goldman Sachs has entered the high rating market for the third time since March this year.

A subsidiary of Goldman Sachs Group Inc. On Wednesday began its second investment-grade bond sale in the past two months after it failed to issue bonds for five years.

Goldman Sachs Bank of America (Goldman Sachs Bank USA) is promoting fixed-floating rate notes and floating rate notes, according to a person familiar with the matter. The company sold $3 billion of such bonds in March, its first bond sale since 2019.

The person, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the fixed-floating portion of the latest deal could yield 0.9 percentage points higher than Treasuries because they are not authorized to talk about it. Representatives of Goldman Sachs, which oversaw the bond sale, could not immediately be reached for comment.

Fed official Kashkari: interest rates may need to be maintained at current levels for some time.

Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank President Neel Kashkari reiterated that the Fed may need to keep interest rates at current levels for a while. He also questioned the constraining impact of interest rates on the U. S. economy.

"in my opinion, the biggest uncertainty is how much downward pressure monetary policy puts on the economy," Kashkari said at an event in Bismarck, North Dakota on Wednesday. This is an unknown number, and we don't know for sure. This tells me that we may need to stay here longer until we figure out where underlying inflation is going before we come to a conclusion. "

The Minneapolis Fed president said last week that the Fed was likely to keep interest rates unchanged "for an extended period of time". Since July last year, the Fed has kept interest rates unchanged from their current 23-year high.

Fed officials have delayed expectations of the timing of the first rate cut, stressing the need to keep borrowing costs high for longer amid disappointing inflation data. The latest figures released on Wednesday showed that price increases, excluding food and energy, fell in April for the first time in six months.

Disney CEO Edgar: Disney is "slashing" its investment in traditional television

Bob Iger, chief executive of Disney, said the media giant planned to "significantly" reduce its investment in linear television to make its streaming division a sustainable and profitable one.

Last summer, Mr. Iger said he would take a "comprehensive" look at the entertainment giant's traditional TV assets, hinting at possible strategic options, including a sale.

Iger said on Wednesday that the company had analyzed and determined that cable TV "will not be a growth business, but it could be an important part of our ability to attract consumers."

Qiaoshui CEO warns investors not to be overconfident in the changing geopolitical environment

Bar Dea told the Qatar Economic Forum that Qiaoshui had been working with clients to conduct stress tests on their portfolios at a time of global tensions.

"I think the biggest mistake investors make is overconfidence," he said at a conference in Doha. "my advice to investors is not to use the strategies of the past 10 to 15 years in the next 10 to 15 years."

Nir Bar Dea, chief executive of Qiaoshui, said investors needed to build resilient portfolios given the current geopolitical tensions affecting global markets.

Bar Dea was named Bridgewater's sole CEO last year and quickly launched an ambitious strategy to improve the company's profitability by limiting the size of its flagship fund, investing more money and talent into artificial intelligence, and expanding in Asia and stock markets.