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  • The economic cloud over the fed’s half-point rate cut

    Federal Reserve Board Governor Michelle Bowman.Julia Nikhinson/Bloomberg The Federal Reserve cited slower price growth and a softer labor market in its decision to lower interest rates by a half percentage point this week, but one policymaker sees those trends differently.  Fed Gov. Michelle Bowman voted against the decision Wednesday, noting that she would have preferred…

  • Britain’s ultra-wealthy are threatening to exit en masse ahead of proposed tax changes

    Street scene in Old Bond Street, Mayfair, London, United Kingdom. Pawel Libera | The Image Bank | Getty Images LONDON — Monaco, Italy, Switzerland, Dubai. They’re just a few of the destinations trying to lure away the U.K.’s uber wealthy ahead of proposed changes to the country’s divisive non-dom tax regime. Almost two-thirds (63%) of…

  • Munis in their own lane as markets digest Fed cut

    Municipals were steady to weaker in spots Thursday, as U.S. Treasury yields rose five years and out and equities rallied. The two-year muni-to-Treasury ratio Thursday was at 64%, the three-year at 66%, the five-year at 66%, the 10-year at 70% and the 30-year at 86%, according to Refinitiv Municipal Market Data’s 3 p.m. EST read.…

  • Activist investor says Masimo’s Joe Kiani ousted from board

    Mercedes-Benz lowered its full-year earnings outlook, blaming the weaker projections on China’s worsening macroeconomic conditions. The company on Thursday said its car division now anticipated the return on sales to be in the range of 7.5 per cent to 8.5 per cent, down from its previous expectation of 10 per cent to 11 per cent.…

  • Muni leaders surprised by aggressive rate cut

    A larger than expected federal funds rate cut on Wednesday caught a lot of market experts off guard.  “I was surprised by the size of the cut,” said Vikram Rai, head of municipal markets strategy for Wells Fargo.  ”I was expecting 25 basis points, but you can rationalize 25 or 50.  Muni investors have waited for this,…

  • August home sales drop more than expected, as prices set a new record

    Sales of previously owned homes fell 2.5% in August from July, to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 3.86 million units, according to the National Association of Realtors. That is slightly lower than what analysts expected. Sales were 4.2% lower than August 2023. It marks three straight months of sales below the 4 million mark,…

  • Bank of England holds rates at 5%

    Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. The Bank of England has held interest rates at 5 per cent after inflation remained steady in August, but indicated it may lower borrowing costs again as soon as November. The Monetary Policy Committee’s eight-to-one…

  • Empire State Development Corp. brings state sales tax revenue bonds

    The Empire State Development Corp. is set to sell $335.7 million of state sales tax revenue bonds on Thursday. The competitive deal is the only sizable offering from a New York state issuer on this week’s calendar, a contrast to the billion-dollar deals the state’s issuers have sold in recent months.  It was a week…

  • SEC warns advisors: play by the rules

    The Securities and Exchange Commission’s Office of Municipal Securities director Dave Sanchez has a warning for advisors working on municipal market-adjacent deals like public-private partnerships or workforce housing: we’re watching you. Issuers, though not responsible for their municipal advisors, should be proactive in ensuring the firms are playing by the rules, said Sanchez, speaking Tuesday…

  • Point72’s Steve Cohen is stepping back from trading his own book

    Steven Cohen, Chairman and CEO of Point72 Asset Management and majority owner of the New York Mets, attends a news conference at Citi Field, the home stadium of MLB’s New York Mets, which is being used for coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccination site, in Queens, New York, February 10, 2021. Brendan McDermid | Reuters Billionaire investor…

  • Your favorite stocks may soon be quoted in half-penny increments, which could cut trading costs

    Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange during afternoon trading on September 05, 2024 in New York City. Michael M. Santiago | Getty Images Investors may soon see their favorite stocks quoted in half-penny increments. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission will vote Wednesday to change the minimum pricing increment for…

  • The Fed is poised for its first rate cut in years, but it may be too soon to refinance your mortgage

    Andresr | E+ | Getty Images The Federal Reserve is poised to make its first interest rate cut in years on Wednesday. But homeowners shouldn’t bet on the move as an opportunity to immediately refinance their mortgage. That’s because “a lot of these rate cuts are already priced in,” Chen Zhao, the economic research lead…

  • Inflation and interest rates tracker: see how your country compares

    Inflation has started to show signs of easing from the multi-decade highs reached in many countries following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The latest figures for most of the world’s largest economies still make for worrying reading, with price pressures remaining high as the war in Ukraine continues to keep energy and food prices elevated.…

  • New-issues price into firmer market ahead of rates decision

    Municipals were steady to slightly firmer in spots with several large new-issues pricing in the primary as U.S. Treasury yields fell and equities were mixed as market participants await the FOMC rate decision Wednesday. “It’s all but a sure thing that the Fed will cut this week, but by how much is still up for…

  • Nine killed and thousands injured as Hizbollah pagers explode in Lebanon

    Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Pagers belonging to Hizbollah members exploded across Lebanon on Tuesday, the militant group said, killing at least eight people and injuring more than 2,700 in an apparent sabotage of the low-tech systems it uses to…

  • Franklin County, Ohio, will refund Build America Bonds

    Franklin County, Ohio, will issue $138.2 million of lease revenue anticipation refunding bonds through the Franklin County Convention Facilities Authority to refund or redeem outstanding Build America Bonds. The proceeds of the Series 2024 refunding bonds will also be used to consolidate the existing rental reserve and debt service reserve fund into a restructured rental…

  • Op-ed: Here’s why a sale of Bausch + Lomb could lead to a windfall for Bausch Health investors

    In this article BLCO-CA BHC-CA Follow your favorite stocksCREATE FREE ACCOUNT CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – MAY 05: Bausch + Lomb eye vitamins are offered for sale at a drug store on May 05, 2022 in Chicago, Illinois. Bausch + Lomb parent company Bausch Health is spinning off the eye-care company with an upcoming IPO which will…

  • This 38-year-old is financially independent with passive income. Here’s how he built a 7-figure real estate portfolio

    Shu Matsuo Post, 38, built a $2 million real estate portfolio, according to documents seen by CNBC Make It. Courtesy of Shu Matsuo Post The idea of financial independence can mean different things to different people, but one common way to define it is having enough money that you no longer need to rely on…

  • Guam airport authority bringing $62M Baa2-rated deal

    The authority that runs Guam’s lone commercial airport is pricing a $62.4 million Baa2-rated deal that will fund a tender offer of some of its outstanding taxable bonds Tuesday. The Antonio B. Won Pat International Airport Authority is the issuer. Barclays is the underwriter and Montague DeRose and Associates is the municipal advisor. Guam’s airport…

  • FOMC preview: 25 bp cut now, but what’s next?

    With a 25-basis-point cut in the federal funds rate widely expected at the Federal Open Market Committee meeting Tuesday and Wednesday, economists are pondering what happens after that while they eagerly await the release of the Summary of Economic Projections. Although some have kept a chance of a larger cut in play. “Bond markets have…

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