Stock market tumbles on mixed US earnings

By Jenniffer B. Austria

PHILIPPINE stocks ended the week in the red, tracking the movement of the US markets.

The 30-company Philippine Stock Exchange index slipped 52.66 points, or 0.79 percent, to close at 6,625.26, while the broader all-shares index also declined 20.08 points to 3,526.92.

“Philippine equities tumbled on a mixed batch of US earnings reports, adding some precaution that the US economy is not out of the woods yet,”

PSEi July 28, 2023

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Regina Capital Management Corp. head of sales Luis Limlingan said. Philstocks Financial Inc. research analyst Claire Alviar said investors took more gains Friday. while awaiting for strong catalyst to drive the market.

Alviar said market participation was also weak, with value turnover at P2.67 billion.

Meanwhile, the yen fluctuated Friday after Japan’s central bank tweaked its ultra-loose monetary policy, while other Asian stocks were mixed after forecastbeating US data revived concerns the Federal Reserve could hike interest rates further.

After a closely watched meeting, the Bank of Japan said it would allow “greater flexibility” in government bond markets, having allowed them to move

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SAN FRANCISCO, United States—

A fired Twitter product manager said Elon Musk ran the company newly renamed X by instinct not data, surrounded by sycophants with his mood changing unpredictably.

Esther Crawford, whose picture sleeping in a Twitter office late last year made her a viral sensation, shared her thoughts on Wednesday in a lengthy post at X.

“I disagree with many of his decisions and am surprised by his willingness to burn so much down, but with enough money and time, something new and innovative may emerge,” Crawford said in the post.

Crawford joined Twitter when it bought her startup in 2020, before Musk bought the social media platform for $44 billion.

“In person Elon is oddly charming and he’s genuinely funny,” Crawford said.

“The challenge is his personality and demeanor can turn on a dime going from excited to angry.”

Twitter employees feared being called into meetings with him or having to deliver negative news, according to Crawford.

“At times it felt like the inner circle was too zealous and fanatical in their unwavering support of everything he said,” Crawford wrote.

“Product and business decisions were nearly always the result of him following his gut instinct, and he didn’t seem compelled to seek out or rely on a lot of data or expertise to inform it.” AFP in a tight band in a process known as yields curve control. But on Friday it said that while it would maintain that range, its upper and lower limits would be used as references, rather than being rigid.

The move means rates in Japan would be allowed to rise more than previously.

The yen swung after the announcement, weakening to as much as 141.32 per dollar and strengthening to 138.07.

The currency has been hammered for more than a year as the BoJ refused to shift from its loose policy, even as central banks around the world pushed up interest rates to fight surging inflation. However, with prices picking up at home and the yen struggling, pressure has been growing on the bank to change tack.

The Nikkei 225 index sank more than two percent on the prospect of higher borrowing costs before paring the losses by the close.

“The BoJ’s decision to tweak their yield curve control was broadly in line with what the market had anticipated, but probably not as hawkish as previously feared,” said Khoon Goh, of Australia and New Zealand Banking Group.

“Market reaction has been very choppy as it is not a straightforward decision to digest.”

Traders had been on edge ahead of the announcement due to fears that tighter monetary policy would see Japanese investors -- the biggest foreign owners of US Treasuries with vast holdings of other global assets -- move their cash back