U.S. says concerned about Myanmar's silence over where Reuters journalists are being held

The U.S. embassy in Myanmar said on Friday it was concerned that there had been no word on the whereabouts of two Reuters journalists three days after they were detained, and that authorities had not allowed their families to visit them. 

Myanmar’s Ministry of Information said on Wednesday that the reporters, Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, and two policemen, faced charges under the British colonial-era Official Secrets Act, though officials have since disclosed that they have not been charged. The 1923 law carries a maximum prison sentence of 14 years.

The journalists had worked on stories about a military crackdown in Rakhine state, which has triggered the flight of more than 600,000 Rohingya Muslims to southern Bangladesh since the end of August
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Thursday that the arrests were a signal that press freedom is shrinking in Myanmar and the international community must do all it can to get them released.

Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo went missing on Tuesday evening after they had been invited to meet police officials over dinner on the northern outskirts of Yangon.

Exclusive - Bankers may get notes to help push industry line on Brexit

Bankers may be given a cribsheet to help the industry push for close ties with the European Union following Brexit, according to a document drawn up for the organisation that promotes Britain as a financial centre. 

The document, reviewed by Reuters, points to growing concerns at the TheCityUK lobby group that its core messages on Brexit - that Britain must secure a transition deal and mutual market access with the EU or risk losing thousand of jobs - are getting muddied in the press and parliament

The document, drafted for a key TheCityUK working group on Brexit issues, refers to mounting concerns among members about the “prominence of ideas and proposals” that could undermine the financial sector’s “key messages and asks” on Brexit. 

Bankers have warned that London’s future as a top financial centre and tax source depends on maintaining close relations with the EU after Brexit. However, the UK government is indicating it may seek a trade deal similar to the one between Canada and the EU, which leaves out financial services.

U.N. chief says arrest of Reuters journalists shows erosion of press freedom in Myanmar

The arrest of two Reuters journalists in Yangon this week was a signal that press freedom is shrinking in Myanmar and the international community must do all it can to get them released, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Thursday.

Guterres said his main concern over Myanmar was the “dramatic violations of human rights” during a military crackdown in Rakhine State that forced more than 600,000 Rohingya Muslims to flee the country for southern Bangladesh, and the arrest of the journalists was probably related. 

Myanmar’s Ministry of Information said in a statement on Wednesday that the Reuters journalists and two policemen faced charges under the British colonial-era Official Secrets Act. The 1923 law carries a maximum prison sentence of 14 years.

The reporters “illegally acquired information with the intention to share it with foreign media”, the ministry said in its statement, which was accompanied by a photo of the two reporters in handcuffs.

Reuters President and Editor-in-Chief Stephen J. Adler said in a statement on Wednesday: “We are outraged by this blatant attack on press freedom. We call for authorities to release them immediately.” 

Euro zone businesses to start 2018 on near seven-year high

Businesses across the euro zone are ending 2017 on a near seven-year high, with demand and price pressures picking up and forward-looking indicators pointing to a busy start to 2018. 

The results of a key private sector survey on Thursday were better than economists polled by Reuters expected, with factories marking their best month in the survey’s two-decade history while services activity also accelerated.

December’s upbeat numbers come the month before the European Central Bank is set to cut in half its monthly asset purchases to 30 billion euros (£26.4 billion). The ECB meets later today and is likely to bump up some economic forecasts.

Despite a decade of ultra-loose policy, the ECB has failed to get inflation up to its target of just under 2 percent. So evidence in the latest survey of continuing price pressures, although a bit weaker than in November, will be welcomed.

The euro zone economy as a whole likely expanded 0.8 percent this quarter, IHS Markit said. If correct, that would be the strongest official quarterly growth rate since early 2015. 

Two Reuters journalists arrested in Myanmar: government

Two Reuters journalists were arrested on Tuesday evening in Myanmar’s main city, Yangon, a government spokesman said.

“Yes it is correct that they were arrested,” spokesman Zaw Htay said. “Not only your reporters, but also the policemen who were involved in that case. We will take action against those policemen and also the reporters.”

He did not say why the journalists, Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, had been arrested, provide details of the action they faced or explain what case he was referring to.

Reuters global communications chief Abbe Serphos said: “We are urgently seeking more information about the circumstances of their arrest and their current situation.”

 The U.S. embassy in Yangon said in a statement posted on its website on Wednesday evening that it was “deeply concerned by the highly irregular arrests of two Reuters reporters after they were invited to meet with police officials in Yangon last night”.

Fed set to raise interest rates, give more detail on balance sheet winddown

The U.S. Federal Reserve is widely expected to raise its benchmark interest rate this week due to a tightening labor market and may also provide more detail on its plans to shrink the mammoth bond portfolio it amassed to nurse the economic recovery.

The central bank is scheduled to release its decision at 2 p.m EDT (1800 GMT) on Wednesday at the conclusion of its two-day policy meeting. Fed Chair Janet Yellen is due to hold a press conference at 2:30 pm EDT (1830 GMT).

Economists polled by Reuters overwhelmingly see the Fed raising its benchmark rate to a target range of 1.00 to 1.25 percent this week.

The Fed embarked on its first tightening cycle in more than a decade in December 2015. A quarter percentage point interest rate rise on Wednesday would be the second nudge upwards this year following a similar move in March.

Since then, the unemployment rate has fallen to a 16-year low of 4.3 percent and economic growth appears to have reaccelerated following a lackluster first quarter.

However, other indicators of the economy's health have been more mixed. The Fed's preferred measure of underlying inflation has retreated to 1.5 percent from 1.8 percent earlier in 2017 and investors are growing increasingly doubtful policymakers will be able to stick to their anticipated pace of tightening of three interest rate rises this year and next.

There are also growing doubts on the size and scope of fiscal stimulus the Trump administration may inject into the U.S. economy with campaign promises on tax reform, financial regulation rollbacks and infrastructure spending either still on the drawing board or facing hurdles in Congress.

BOJ's Kuroda says won't raise bond yield targets now

Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said on Friday he does not expect the central bank to raise its bond yield targets now, and will look at underlying trend inflation in guiding monetary policy.

"If inflation in Japan accelerates sharply, at some point the BOJ may debate adjusting its interest-rate targets," Kuroda said at a Reuters Newsmaker event.

"When deciding on monetary policy, we must look at the underlying trend of inflation ... We won't change monetary policy just because oil price rises push up inflation," he said.