Markets Overview

  • ASX SPI 200 futures down 0.6% to 7,216.00
  • Dow Average down 1.9% to 33,167.16
  • Aussie down 0.8% to 0.6854 per US$
  • U.S. 10-year yield rose 12.9bps to 3.9467%
  • Australia 3-year bond yield rose 2 bps to 3.56%
  • Australia 10-year bond yield rose 0.5 bps to 3.81%
  • Gold spot down 0.4% to $1,833.83
  • Brent futures down 1.3% to $82.95/bbl

Economic Events

  • 10:30: (AU) Jan. Westpac Leading Index MoM, prior -0.13%
  • 11:00: (AU) Australia to Sell A$900 Million 3.75% 2034 Bonds
  • 11:30: (AU) 4Q Wage Price Index QoQ, est. 1.0%, prior 1.0%
  • 11:30: (AU) 4Q Wage Price Index YoY, est. 3.5%, prior 3.1%
  • 11:30: (AU) 4Q Construction Work Done, est. 1.5%, prior 2.2%

A renewed surge in Treasury yields took the wind out of the stock market, with geopolitical tensions and dire forecasts from bellwethers Walmart Inc. and Home Depot Inc. also souring investors’ mood.

Wall Street’s growing fears that the Federal Reserve is nowhere near wrapping up its war against inflation — let alone pivoting — continued to burn bond investors who at one point were betting on rate cuts this year. As traders ramped up their Fed wagers, US yields reached new highs for 2023. And the last ones to join the so called “everything rally” — equities — are now giving signs of running out of steam.

In a selloff that engulfed every major group in the S&P 500, the gauge wiped out its monthly advance and had its worst slump since mid-December. Over 90% of its shares fell. The Dow Jones Industrial Average erased its 2023 gains. Tech stocks underperformed, with the Nasdaq 100 down more than 2%. Equity volatility, which had been stubbornly low earlier this year, continued to surge — with the so-called VIX near 23.

Other News

Heinz is looking for people to help the company find a treasure – but it’s not gold. After they learned that a man survived nearly a month at sea with nothing but ketchup and seasonings, the company said it wants to find him to help him buy a new boat.

But so far, they haven’t been able to find him.

In a virtual message in a bottle, the company put out a request for assistance on Instagram last week.

“To whoever finds this message, we need your help tracking down an amazing man with an amazing story. You may remember Elvis Francois as the brave sailor who survived on nothing but ketchup and spices while adrift at sea for 24 days. Well, Heinz wants to celebrate his safe return home and help him buy a new boat…but we can’t seem to find him,” the company said.

Francois, 47, was working on his boat in St. Maarten in December when he accidentally started drifting out to sea. The weather had suddenly changed, and he said in a video released by the Colombian Navy, who rescued him, that he had lost his ability to navigate.

“I tried to [go] back to port, but I lost track because it took me a while to mount the sail and fix the sail,” he said. “…I call my friends, my coworkers. They tried to contact me, but they lost service. There was nothing else I could do than sit down and wait.”

He wrote out the word “help” on the back of his boat, and he was eventually rescued – after 24 days with nothing but “a bottle of ketchup…garlic powder and Maggi [soup].”

A few days ago, the company said its search had “reached an impasse.” So far, they said, they’ve reached out to the government of Dominica, where Francois lives, as well as the Colombian Navy to try and find out where he may be and how they can get in touch with him.

“We’re setting this message adrift into the sea of the internet, because if anyone can help us find him, it’s you,” the company said. “If you or anyone you know can help us get in contact with Elvis Francois, please drop us a DM.”

In a statement to CBS News on Tuesday, a spokesperson for Heinz said that they want to “gift” Francois a “new state-of-the-art boat.” That boat, they said, will be “equipped with full navigational technology to avoid another disaster in the future.”

They said that it’s currently an international effort, with Heinz markets “around the world” getting involved.

(CBS News)

“We’re hoping to spread the word far and wide so Heinz can finally gift the new boat to Elvis,” the company said.