‘No vacations in war’

Citigroup says the carry trade is back, but with a key difference: hedge funds are borrowing US dollars rather than the yen for their wagers on emerging markets. Investors have ramped up bets for more than three quarter points of interest-rate cuts from the Federal Reserve this year. Combined with the Bank of Japan’s hike in July, that’s damaged the old model of wagering on robust US growth and rock-bottom Japanese borrowing costs. In a carry trade, investors borrow in currencies where interest rates are low and park the proceeds in riskier assets where rates are high. Now, hedge funds using the strategy are picking the dollar over the yen as the funding currency, given the prospect of diverging rates in the US and Japan. “We’ve seen our positioning sentiment on the US dollar starting to turn much more bearish,” said Kristjan Kasikov, Citigroup’s global head of FX quantitative investor solutions. “An environment where people are speculating about rate cuts has fueled risk appetite.” —David E. Rovella

A number of Ukraine’s NATO allies are said to be falling short on pledges to accelerate deliveries of air-defense systems and other military equipment to fend off Russia’s 2 1/2-year old full-scale invasion. Several North Atlantic Treaty Organization allies have yet to follow through with commitments they reaffirmed at the alliance’s summit in Washington last month. Those include pledges to send at least five additional long-range systems. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy renewed calls for urgent help from allies as his forces launched a surprise incursion into Russian territory this month. The president, who has lamented that fresh US weapons supplies were taking too long to reach the front, reinforced the plea for faster deliveries this week. “There are no vacations in war,” Zelenskiy said.

Wells Fargo agreed to sell most of its commercial mortgage servicing business to Trimont, ceding the title of biggest US commercial and multifamily mortgage servicer to the Atlanta-based firm. Trimont will buy Wells Fargo’s non-agency third-party commercial mortgage servicing business. The firms didn’t include terms for the deal, which they expect to complete early next year, but Trimont Chief Executive Officer Bill Sexton said his firm will take over servicing for about $475 billion of loans.

The European Union said Tuesday it plans to introduce an additional 9% tariff on Teslas imported from China, as it notified automakers of its draft decision to move forward with definitive tariffs on electric vehicles shipped from the country. The bloc disclosed its latest move to try to counter subsidies Beijing provided to the industry, with officials saying they will continue to consult with manufacturers ahead of a member state vote on the tariffs. Oddly though, the new tariff is a relief for Tesla.

France’s caretaker government is preparing a stable budget for next year that would help the country meet a target to narrow its deficit below 3% of economic output by 2027. France’s public finances are under close scrutiny after last year’s budget deficit came in much wider than expected, leading to a reprimand from the European Union in the form of a so-called Excessive Deficit Procedure that requires remedial action and can lead to fines for noncompliance. Emmanuel Macron’s June decision to call snap legislative elections added to uncertainty for investors by delivering a divided lower house with no group capable of forming a new government. Macron has yet to pick a new prime minister.

A senior leader at Rivian’s sole factory plans to leave the company, the latest in a wave of executive departures in recent months at the electric-vehicle maker. Tim Fallon, Rivian’s vice president of manufacturing operations, was named as head of manufacturing in North America by Stellantis, effective Sept. 2. Rivian shares fell 33 cents to $13.20 in New York. The stock had declined about 42% this year through Monday’s close. Fallon’s departure adds to more than a half-dozen high-level leaders who have left in recent months, including at least four C-suite executives

Apple will make the most expensive iPhone Pro and Pro Max models in India for the first time this year, a milestone for the US company and the Asian country’s manufacturing sector. The production of Apple’s entire iPhone range in India is a major landmark for the US tech giant’s local push that started gathering steam in 2021, helped by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s financial incentives to attract high-end manufacturing. Apple still makes the vast majority of iPhones in China, but it’s gradually diversifying beyond that country.

Popular Thai politician Pita Limjaroenrat is returning to Harvard University, where he will take up a fellowship and share his lessons from a period of political turmoil that saw his party win a general election only to be disbanded a year later. The 43-year-old former leader of the now-disbanded Move Forward Party will become a Democracy Fellow at Harvard Kennedy School, from where he graduated 13 years ago.

Law enforcement says illegal activity is thriving in the Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone, a glimmering city of crime at the very heart of the most famously lawless place on Earth. In the zone, scammers, drugrunners and human traffickers allegedly operate with impunity. For Inside the Dark World of Asia’s Golden Triangle, Bloomberg Originals traveled to the triangle and the zone to see how one man came to rule.

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