One of the world’s most influential financiers, Larry Fink, has expressed his support for Sir Keir Starmer, the leader of the Labour Party. Fink praised Starmer for bringing the party back to the center ground after the leadership years of Jeremy Corbyn. Fink also hopes that Labour’s transformation is a sign that the era of populism, exemplified by figures like Donald Trump, is coming to an end in politics.
Larry Fink, the chairman and CEO of BlackRock, the largest fund manager in the world with $8.5 trillion in assets, stated in an interview with the Wall Street Journal, “I was in the UK and I spent time with both parties — the Conservatives and Labour party — and I’m very pleased to see how the Labour party in the UK went from an extremist party with a Marxist leader to Keir Starmer who has shown real strength as a moderate Labour party.
“That actually has given me hope that the pendulum went so far,” Fink continued. “If you think about the UK — the UK was the one that started the high level populism through Brexit and then the populism here led to Donald Trump being president.
“I hope the UK – we will see what happens if Keir Starmer gets elected – but I believe that’s a measurement of hope.”
Larry Fink, a lifelong supporter of the Democrats, rarely makes interventions in UK politics. A spokesperson for BlackRock clarified that Fink was offering his observations on the transformation of the Labour Party and not endorsing any particular political party.
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What happened overnight
Asian shares slid as risk aversion prevailed due to mounting worries over Middle East conflict, while the bond sell-off intensified, taking Treasury yields to fresh 16-year highs ahead of a keenly awaited speech from Fed Chair Jerome Powell.
Investors sought safer assets, keeping gold prices near two-month peaks and the dollar firm. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 1.4%.
Wall Street stocks ended sharply after a mixed batch of quarterly corporate results pushed Treasury yields higher.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average sank 0.98% to 33,665.08. The S&P 500 lost 1.34% to 4,314.6 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.62% to 13,314.30.
Asian stocks are set to slide following US peers lower, driven by the continued sell-off in Treasuries and increasing tensions in the Middle East.
Australian shares fell at the open while futures contracts in Japan and Hong Kong pointed to early losses. Oil steadied after extending its rally in the previous session with the US suspending some sanctions on Venezuelan output. Gold also extended gains amid demand for safe-haven assets. The precious metal has now risen over 4% in the last five days.
Australian and New Zealand bond yields surged in early trading after rates on Treasuries climbed Wednesday, pushing the dollar higher. Fed Bank of New York President John Williams said interest rates will have to stay at restrictive levels “for some time” to bring inflation back to the central bank’s target.
Meanwhile, traders are preparing for turbulent yen trading amid growing concerns that Japanese authorities will intervene to support the weakening currency as it approaches the 150 per dollar level.
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