US President Donald Trump has rattled economies and markets with his promise of imposing punitive tariffs on the nation’s largest trade partners. So far he’s implemented 10% levies on China; delayed plans to hit Mexico and Canada with a 25% duty tax; and indicated that he’s coming for the European Union next. Yet beyond all…
The US Federal Reserve’s favorite inflation gauge came in pretty plain vanilla Friday, perhaps pointing the way toward Wall Street’s favorite flavor: rate cuts. But even that bit of good news wasn’t enough to calm investors trying to read the tea leaves as to what the White House will or won’t do, means or doesn’t…
Amid Donald Trump’s chaotic, last-minute intervention into congressional negotiations about government funding, he has stumbled upon a good idea: He wants to abolish the debt ceiling. The debt ceiling, once a barely relevant bit of legal arcana, has become a dangerous weapon in American politics. It is currently due to expire in March, and the…
Rachel Reeves, as has often been the case since Labour took office in July, is the subject of several tricky news stories today. Her budget continues to attract criticism, while the Chinese spying scandal has put her at the center of a row about how the government should approach the foreign power. Firstly, the budget…
Oil held an advance as the US indicated that a softer market may allow for further sanctions on Russia’s energy sector. West Texas Intermediate traded above $70 a barrel, after rising 2.5% on Wednesday, while Brent closed near $73. US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said that relatively low prices might allow further action against Russia’s…
Bitcoin dropped almost 7% for a short while a day after an historic surge past $100,000 led some traders to hedge for a retreat. The digital asset fell as low as $92,144 on Friday before steadying at $97,325 at 9:05 a.m. in Singapore. Volatility hit the wider crypto market too amid a hiatus in a…
Municipal bonds jumped on Monday, following gains in the US Treasury market after Scott Bessent was named as President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for Treasury secretary, with traders betting the hedge fund manager will bring a Wall Street mindset to the role. Benchmark state and local government yields fell by as much as 7 basis points…
Markets are betting Scott Bessent will be a force for stability inside Trump’s administration. For starters, investors like that Trump didn’t make another risky Cabinet nomination. They view his Wall Street pedigree as a plus, expecting him to pursue measured policies and soften the edges of Trump’s more bombastic agenda. Source link
President-elect Donald Trump’s pick of Scott Bessent as Treasury secretary may give Beijing room to negotiate with the US over their trade tensions, in part due to his moderate stance on tariffs. Bessent, who runs macro hedge fund Key Square Group and was nominated on Friday, has described Trump’s threats of steep levies on Chinese…
A big theme in finance over the past two decades has been a shift in power away from investment banks that traditionally dominated the industry to the asset management firms that orbit it. Now, that’s reflected in the seat of government, too. By picking Scott Bessent as Treasury secretary, Donald Trump has chosen a Wall…