Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority staff came under fire from their own auditor general for misleading communications and a “breach of transparency” regarding cost overruns and delays on the $12.2 billion San Jose extension of the Bay Area Rapid Transit District. The project would extend BART, a commuter railway, through downtown San Jose into Santa
Month: January 2024
Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Until this week, the UK economy looked increasingly set for a smooth “soft landing”, with inflation dropping sharply and early signs of growth picking up. But data releases in the past few days have added
A delivery man delivers packages in a Los Angeles neighborhood on January 17, 2024. Frederic J. Brown | AFP | Getty Images Sales of previously owned homes fell 1% in December compared with November to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 3.78 million units, according to the National Association of Realtors. Sales were 6.2% lower
A trial over Missouri’s first-of-their-kind ESG investment rules will go ahead after a federal judge this month rejected the state’s motion to dismiss. The Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association sued the Show Me State last August over a pair of four-month-old anti-environmental, social and governance securities rules. The measures require advisors and broker-dealers to
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt is set to be handed a multibillion-pound boost by official forecasters next week, paving the way for a package of pre-election tax cuts. Leading economists predict that lower UK borrowing costs could give Hunt significantly more fiscal headroom in his March 6 Budget, paving the way for income tax cuts or further
Municipal bonds were slightly weaker Friday ahead of an $8.4 billion new-issue calendar and the last full week of January. U.S. Treasuries were mixed on the day while equities saw another session of gains as markets continue to digest the unlikelihood of any Federal Reserve rate cuts in the first quarter. Triple-A yields rose two
Stay informed with free updates Simply sign up to the Private equity myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox. Private equity executives are predicting a sharp increase in takeover activity as buyout firms that have held on to investments in the hope of higher prices finally begin to capitulate. There has been a marked
Former U.S. President Donald Trump arrives to speak to the press after attending the civil fraud trial against the Trump Organization in New York State Supreme Court, in New York City on Jan. 11, 2024. John Lamparski | AFP | Getty Images The top court in New York State on Tuesday rejected an appeal by
HilltopSecurities hired six former UBS professionals as part of a wider plan to expand its public finance footprint. “We remain committed to adding professionals nationwide to our public finance business who offer a full product solution set to their clients,” said Brad Winges, president of HilltopSecurities. “This is the first group of many hires that
Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. UK chancellor Jeremy Hunt has signalled he wants to cut taxes further in the coming months and left open the possibility of holding two Budgets ahead of this year’s general election. Hunt said on Thursday
Municipals were weaker Thursday amid another busy new-issue day while municipal bond mutual funds reported inflows. U.S. Treasuries yields rose and equities were up near the close. Muni yields rose up to eight basis points, depending on the scale, while UST yields rose up to six basis points at 30 years. The two-year muni-to-Treasury ratio
Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. The US has launched strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen for the fourth time as the Iran-backed rebel group continues to target commercial ships transiting the Red Sea. US Central Command forces on Wednesday conducted
A home is constructed at a housing development on June 21, 2023 in Lemont, Illinois. Scott Olson | Getty Images Homebuilder sentiment improved in January, jumping 7 points to 44 on the National Association of Home Builders monthly index. Anything below 50 is still considered negative, but the index has now moved 10 points higher
Lake Erie College, a small private school in Ohio, entered into a forbearance agreement with bondholders after the school didn’t meet certain covenants it agreed to as part of a debt sale. The Painesville, Ohio-based institution, which has just over 700 undergraduate students, is the latest small college to see its financial struggles extend into
Rishi Sunak’s election supremo Isaac Levido this week issued a stark warning to Tory MPs, telling them: “Divided parties fail.” But the Conservative rebellion over the government’s Rwanda asylum bill over the last 48 hours is an ominous sign for the prime minister that the warning is not being heeded. Tory MPs may have pulled
Municipals faced rising yields in the secondary market Wednesday while large new-issues priced in the primary market. U.S. Treasuries were weaker again, and equities saw more losses. The Investment Company Institute Wednesday reported large inflows into municipal bond mutual funds for the week ending Jan. 10, with investors adding $2.066 billion to funds following $77
Stay informed with free updates Simply sign up to the UK inflation myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox. UK inflation unexpectedly accelerated in December raising questions over how soon the Bank of England will start cutting interest rates. Consumer prices rose at an annual rate of 4 per cent in December, up from
Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., January 9, 2024. Brendan Mcdermid | Reuters The crystal ball is cloudy this year my friends. In the past it was easier to come up with my annual list of predictions, even if it turns out I was wrong. Heading
Prospective home buyers visit a home for sale during an Open House in a neighborhood in Clarksburg, Maryland on September 3, 2023. Homeownership feels increasingly out of reach for younger generations of Americans, who are squeezed by student debt and childcare costs in an era of slower economic growth. The pressures come as President Joe
The Federal Reserve should be able to “methodically and carefully” lower its interest rate target this year, if inflation continues to moderate, Federal Reserve Gov. Christopher Waller said Tuesday. “When the time is right to begin lowering rates, I believe it can and should be lowered methodically and carefully,” Waller said in a Brookings event.
Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Two deputy Conservative party chairs quit on Tuesday as Rishi Sunak suffered the biggest revolt of his premiership, with 60 rebel Tory MPs attempting to force him to toughen up his Rwanda legislation. Lee Anderson
Munis were slightly weaker to start the holiday-shortened ahead of several large new issues, but the asset class outperformed U.S. Treasuries on the day. Equities saw losses. Muni yields were cut up to four basis points, depending on the scale, while UST yields rose eight to 11 basis points. Munis have “struggled to get out
Chesnot | Getty Images The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday approved rule changes to allow the creation of bitcoin exchange-traded funds in the U.S., a long-awaited move that will give regular investors access to the controversial and volatile cryptocurrency. The decision will likely lead to the conversion of the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, which
Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Fujitsu will contribute to the compensation of sub-postmasters affected by the Post Office Horizon scandal, according to the head of its European division. Paul Patterson said there was a “moral obligation for the company to
Fg Trade | E+ | Getty Images Rising inventory is helping push rent prices down. For young adults, building credit is a smart step to take as they prepare to enter the rental housing market. The median U.S. asking rent price in December was $1,964, a 0.8% decline from a year ago, according to real
Municipal bond insurance grew 10.4% year-over-year in 2023 leading to the highest market penetration rate since 2008, despite a drop in overall bond volume. While municipal issuance ended 2023 slightly down, demand for bond insurance continued to grow as market participants turned to it for investor confidence, increased market liquidity and enhanced credit ratings. The
Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Donald Trump is expected to win the first ballot of the 2024 presidential race, as voters in Iowa gather on Monday night for caucuses that will set the pace for the Republican campaign for the
The Chicago Board of Education on Wednesday saw its issuer rating and debt ratings from Moody’s Investors Service upgraded a notch, to Ba1 from Ba2 — still speculative grade, but one level below investment-grade status. The rating outlook remains positive after the upgrade. Moody’s cited improvements in Chicago Public Schools’ operating fund net cash balance,
Chesnot | Getty Images The Securities and Exchange Commission pushed for bitcoin ETFs to have a key difference from major stock funds, and that decision’s impact on how the funds trade will only become clear over time. The bitcoin funds that launched on Thursday are using a share redemption process that turns the underlying crypto
Stay informed with free updates Simply sign up to the Artificial intelligence myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox. Global leaders need a co-ordinated response to the challenges posed by AI, the chair of the world’s banking watchdog said, as he warned that the fast-developing technology “could change the course of history, not necessarily