Reuters US Economy

By Shankar Ramakrishnan and Sinead Cruise NEW YORK/LONDON (Reuters) – A financial product that enables banks to shed risk from loan portfolios is gaining more popularity among lenders in the United States, with investors and lawyers devising new structures to broaden its appeal. In deals known as credit risk transfers, banks effectively buy insurance from …

Analysis-Wall Street explores novel ways to repackage bank loan risk Read More »

By Niket Nishant and Nupur Anand (Reuters) -Regional U.S. bank stocks sank on Wednesday, dragged down by a 37% plunge in the shares of New York Community Bancorp after it cut its dividend and posted a surprise loss, renewing fears over the health of similar lenders. The KBW Regional Banking Index fell by nearly 4%, …

US bank stocks sink after New York Community Bancorp cuts dividend Read More »

NEW YORK (Reuters) -The Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged on Wednesday but took a major step towards lowering them in coming months in a policy statement that tempered inflation concerns with other risks to the economy and dropped a longstanding reference to possible further hikes in borrowing costs. MARKET REACTION: STOCKS: The S&P 500 …

Fed holds rates steady, says more confidence needed in inflation slowdown Read More »

By Mike Dolan LONDON (Reuters) – What if booming U.S. stock markets are only getting started? After two years of catastrophizing about inflation, credit squeezes, debt, recession and conflict, investors have been blindsided by a serene U.S. expansion and record high stock indexes. And some are now pondering whether they may even have been hedged …

Column-Another burst higher? Investors ponder positives: Mike Dolan Read More »

By Lewis Krauskopf NEW YORK (Reuters) – Earnings reports this week from five of the so-called Magnificent Seven stocks are putting a renewed focus on risks from the group’s outsize weighting in the S&P 500, while their collective strength continues pushing U.S. equities to record highs. Last year, eye-popping gains for the huge tech and …

Analysis-Megacap stocks keep lifting US market, but worries over their dominance grow Read More »

By Yoruk Bahceli and Harry Robertson AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – Euro zone governments sold a record amount of bonds directly to investors in January, seeing the highest demand ever, as hopes grow for interest rate cuts to support a weakening economy. This is in stark contrast to worries around high government funding needs in 2023, especially …

Analysis-Euro area governments smash bond sale records in hefty funding year Read More »

A look at the day ahead in European and global markets from Rae Wee Signs of a hawkish tilt by the Bank of Japan prodded a bit of life out of that country’s bond and currency markets on Wednesday, while most investors stayed focused on what Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell may have to say …

Marketmind: BOJ waxes hawkish but Powell at centre stage Read More »

BRASILIA (Reuters) -Brazil expects its public debt to surge by as much as 13.5% in 2024 and aims to progress in its lengthening while projecting a greater presence in the international debt market this year, said the Treasury on Tuesday. Public debt is expected to range between 7 trillion reais and 7.4 trillion reais in …

Brazil sees 2024 public debt growth of up to 13.5%, eyes increased external issuance Read More »

NEW YORK/LONDON (Reuters) – JPMorgan has delayed a key decision on whether to lift the weighting of Venezuela’s bonds in its widely-followed EMBI index series by a month, with the next update due by Feb. 29. The move came as the United States reintroduced some sanctions on Venezuela after President Nicolas Maduro’s main opposition rival, …

JPMorgan extends Venezuela’s ‘watch period’ in benchmark bond index Read More »

By Lucia Mutikani WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. job openings unexpectedly increased in December and data for the prior month was revised higher, suggesting that the labor market likely remains too strong for the Federal Reserve to start cutting interest rates in the first quarter. Nevertheless, the labor market is gradually cooling, with the report from …

US job openings unexpectedly rise, but resignations decreasing Read More »