Morning B
Habby Memorial Day back at ya.
Thought we wuz gonna get a day off
BBQ yesterday
Currency Wars Return: China Hikes FX Reserve Ratio For First Time In 14 Years In Bid To Weaken Yuan
The signs were clear last Thursday when China's PBOC held an unexpected, improvised meeting with major forex market players after which the central bank published a vague if ominous-sounding statement that the yuan exchange rate "can’t be used as a tool to stimulate exports via depreciation nor to offset impact of rising commodity prices via appreciation." While many had been looking in the rearview mirror, discussing the recent surge in the yuan, and speculating that the PBOC meeting was merely a warning from Beijing that the marcantilist nation (which in recent years has specialized in exporting deadly viruses in the pursuit of a grand reset) wouldn't look too fondly on more appreciation...... the reality is that the PBOC's verbal jawboning against a stronger yuan (and by extension, against a weaker dollar) was a warning for more tangible action on Tuesday, when shortly after the offshore Yuan spiked above 6.36 a little after 4am ET, the PBOC unexpectedly announced that for the first time in 14 years, it would hike the required-reserve ratio on foreign currency deposits at financial institutions from 5% to 7% effective from June 15, in an attempt to slow the yuan's appreciation, in line with official rhetoric.
This was the first FX RRR hike since May 2007, after its appreciation following yuan reform in 2005-cap#2
Banks will now have to hold extra dollars with the PBOC instead of making loans or selling the dollars for yuan in the interbank market, with the latter likely to pressure the PBOC to absorb it in the form of funds outstanding for foreign exchange. The central bank may be reluctant to do that in order to avoid explicit FX intervention and unnecessary yuan liquidity injections in exchange.
Predictably, the announcement hit the yuan, with the offshore yuan sliding from 6.355 to 6.375 before resuming its upward crawl...... as traders realized that the RRR hike would have limited impact on the yuan’s exchange rate over the longer term, since it does not shift fundamental factors driving yuan strength, such as the difference in policy stances of the PBOC and the Federal Reserve, with China far tighter (for now).
Meanwhile, banks will probably reduce USD interest rates they offer to offset the increased reserve requirement, pushing the yield advantage further in favor of yuan deposits. This may encourage corporates and households to convert existing FX deposits into yuan; exporters may also decide to convert more of their foreign currency receipts into yuan rather than hold them as FX deposits.
https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/currency-wars-return-china-hikes-fx-reserve-ratio-first-time-14-years-bid-weaken-yuan
roger
Scientists successfully test cancer-killing 'Trojan Horse' drug
A “Trojan Horse” drug that can kill cancer and bacterial cells without damaging nearby healthy tissue has been successfully tested by scientists.
Scientists at the University of Edinburgh combined the tiny cancer-killing molecule SeNBD with a chemical food compound to trick malignant cells into ingesting it. The peer-reviewed experimental study was carried out on zebrafish and human cells, but researchers say more studies are needed to confirm if it is a safe and swift method of treating early-stage cancer and drug-resistant bacteria. Cancerous cells are “greedy” and need to consume high amounts of food for energy and they typically ingest more than healthy cells, said the University of Edinburgh. By coupling SeNBD with a chemical food compound it becomes the “ideal prey for harmful cells” which ingest it “without being alerted to its toxic nature”. The drug was invented by University of Edinburgh researchers who compared it to a Trojan Horse, and its effects to a “metabolic warhead”.
SeNBD is also a light-activated photosensitiser, meaning it kills cells only after it is turned on by visible light. This means a surgeon can precisely decide when they want to activate the drug, reducing the chances of it destroying healthy tissues and avoiding side-effects like hair loss caused by other anti-cancer agents, said the university.
The findings are published in the journal Nature Communications. Lead researcher Professor Marc Vendrell, chair of translational chemistry and Biomedical Imaging at the University of Edinburgh, said: “This research represents an important advance in the design of new therapies that can be simply activated by light irradiation, which is generally very safe.
“SeNBD is one of the smallest photosensitisers ever made and its use as a ‘Trojan horse’ opens many new opportunities in interventional medicine for killing harmful cells without affecting surrounding healthy tissue.”
Dr Sam Benson, a post-doctoral researcher at the university, said the mechanism of the drug’s delivery means it is delivered through the “front door of the cell” rather than having to “find a way to batter through the cell’s defences”.
The legend of the Trojan Horse is a Greek myth where soldiers offered the city of Troy a giant wooden horse in a bid to secure safe passage home, only for the structure to house Greek warriors who opened the city's insurmountable gates and sacked the city.
https://www.itv.com/news/2021-05-31/scientists-successfully-test-cancer-killing-trojan-horse-drug
U.S. Marines @USMC
#MemorialDay is a day to remember and honor the service members who never made it out of uniform; the ones who paid the ultimate sacrifice.
#MemorialDay2021#HonorThem
https://twitter.com/USMC/status/1399342551577018371