Expansionary fiscal policy, Biden’s industrial policy and strong consumer spending are expected to outweigh higher interest rates and restrained growth, decreasing the likelihood of a recession in 2024, according to the UCLA Anderson Forecast. January’s drop in retail sales and housing starts was due more to the weather in the eastern U.S. than a pullback
Municipals were little changed Wednesday as two billion-dollar-plus deals from the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York and CommonSpirit Health took focus. U.S. Treasuries were weaker and equities were mixed. The two-year muni-to-Treasury ratio Wednesday was at 59%, the three-year at 59%, the five-year at 57%, the 10-year at 57% and the 30-year
The US has held secret talks with Iran this year in a bid to convince Tehran to use its influence over Yemen’s Houthi movement to end attacks on ships in the Red Sea, according to US and Iranian officials. The indirect negotiations, during which Washington also raised concerns about Iran’s expanding nuclear programme, took place
High-speed rail would win $205 billion of federal support over five years under a bill introduced last week that’s gained 30 co-sponsors, all Democrats, and support from high-speed rail and labor groups. Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Mass., and Rep. Suzan DelBene, D-Wash., introduced the American High-Speed Rail Act, H.R. 7600, to invest in the development of
Stay informed with free updates Simply sign up to the UK tax myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox. Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has said it could take “many parliaments” to realise his ambition to get rid of national insurance contributions, as the government fends off accusations from Labour that the project amounts to an
Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Rishi Sunak will attempt to block the takeover of the Telegraph by Abu Dhabi-backed RedBird IMI by changing the law to stop a foreign state buying a British news organisation. The UK prime minister will
Stifel has hired Joseph Narens, who spent a decade at Citi, to oversee the firm’s institutional high-yield trading across the firm’s municipal securities business line. Narens joined Stifel Wednesday as managing director and head of High Yield Municipal Trading. Prior to joining Stifel, Narens spent 10 years at Citi, most recently as the head of
Joe Biden plans to express serious concern over Nippon Steel’s proposed purchase of US Steel, a move that could threaten the deal’s progress and anger Japan, one of Washington’s closest allies. Biden will issue a statement about the Japanese group’s proposed $14.9bn acquisition of the Pennsylvania-headquartered steelmaker before Prime Minister Fumio Kishida arrives for a
Chicago plans to issue $80.865 million of senior lien airport revenue refunding bonds for Midway International Airport in a deal that would replace variable-rate debt and associated swaps with fixed-rate bonds. The pricing date is flexible, said city of Chicago Chief Financial Officer Jill Jaworski. “The Midway deal is day to day,” Jaworski said, adding
Stay informed with free updates Simply sign up to the US politics & policy myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox. The US House of Representatives has voted overwhelmingly to approve a bill that would ban app stores from distributing TikTok if its Chinese owner does not divest ownership of the video-sharing platform. Republicans
Parties to the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority bankruptcy are arguing the fairness of four deals and whether the participants’ votes for them should be disqualified. On Monday afternoon the Puerto Rico Oversight Board asked U.S. District Court Judge Laura Taylor Swain to reject Syncora Guarantee’s and GoldenTree Asset Management’s request for the classes’ votes
Stay informed with free updates Simply sign up to the War in Ukraine myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox. Ukraine has stepped up drone strikes on oil refineries deep inside Russia, in what officials depict as an intensifying effort to hit the country’s economy. In the second consecutive day of assaults on Russian
To address concerns about a healthcare shortage in western Wisconsin, Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers on Feb. 28 signed a bill that made available $15 million in healthcare grants to hospitals to help them provide services. The $15 million — which Evers, a Democrat, urged the state legislature’s Republican-controlled Joint Finance Committee to release immediately —
Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Stripe is in “no rush” to go public after the $65bn payments company returned to positive cash flow and raised its private market valuation. The company, a Silicon Valley bellwether, told its investors on Wednesday
Stay informed with free updates Simply sign up to the Russian politics myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox. Vladimir Putin has said Russia is prepared for a nuclear war, delivering a crude warning to the west as his army advances on the Ukrainian battlefield more than two years into its full-scale invasion. The
Stay informed with free updates Simply sign up to the US politics & policy myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox. Call it the banality of chaos. Here is a checklist of Donald Trump’s recent activity. He promised on day one of his presidency to let January 6 convicts out of jail, close the
With Keir Starmer’s Labour, political definition comes in a series of negatives. The greatest clarity is found in the things he has ruled out. And there are few issues where he has been more emphatic than what he does not intend to do about Brexit. The man who secured the Labour leadership with his stand
A For Sale sign is posted in front of a home for sale in San Marino, California on September 6, 2023. Frederic J. Brown | AFP | Getty Images Mortgage rates swung slightly lower last week, fueling a significant jump in mortgage demand for the second straight week. Total application volume rose 7.1%, compared with
Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Democrats are aiming to seize on Republican “financial disarray and leadership chaos” caused by Donald Trump’s takeover of the party’s apparatus, claiming it will give them an advantage in this year’s election. In a memo
Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. The chief executive of MBDA, Europe’s largest missile maker, has urged EU policymakers to ensure that the UK plays a role in the bloc’s new strategy to build up its defence industry as the region
Keeping state coffers stocked and liquid requires a delicate mix of analysis, hedging and listening, with an emphasis on remaining nimble over the coming months. “Over the last eighteen months, the Fed’s told you what the answer is, and the market has continually bet against them,” said Thomas Waters, chief investment officer, Pennsylvania Treasury. ”They’ve