2025-04-23 02:05
WASHINGTON, April 22 (Reuters) - Paul Atkins, who was sworn in as the chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission at the White House on Tuesday, said his top priority will be to have a firm foundation for digital assets and keep politics out of securities laws. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/sec-chair-atkins-top-priority-is-have-firm-foundation-digital-assets-2025-04-23/
2025-04-23 01:55
CEO says Banorte to sell or fuse Bineo 'A lot of people' have come knocking, he says Banorte to heed government's calls to cut rates First-quarter profits up 8% year-on-year MEXICO CITY, April 22 (Reuters) - Executives of Mexican lender Banorte said on Tuesday it would either sell or fuse year-old fintech Bineo, part of a larger overhaul of the bank's digital strategy to cut costs and simplify operations. CEO Marcos Ramirez told journalists that Bineo, which lost 289 million pesos ($14.12 million) in the first quarter, could be brought under the Banorte umbrella or sold. A decision should be made this year, he added. Sign up here. If Bineo were fused into Banorte, it would bring its clients and technology with it, Ramirez said, and could face a name change. He conceded that option would be the "most convenient" for the firm. Alternatively, Banorte could sell Bineo's banking license for around what Banorte has invested in the fintech - some $100 million - Ramirez added. "We've heard from a lot of people who've come knocking," he said, though he did not name any potential buyers. Buying a license has become a common way for would-be banks in Mexico to cut through years of red tape. In 2022, Citi bought Deutsche Bank's license to continue operating its corporate and investment banking units in the country as part of its split from local retail unit Banamex. Analysts at J.P. Morgan said the market could take the Bineo divestment favorably, given it "has been a headwind to earnings per share." Going forward, the consolidation would mean Banorte's digital initiatives, including its Rappi credit card venture and Banorte Movil app, "act as a single highway instead of three separate lanes," Ramirez said. Last week, Banorte bought out the remaining stake in RappiCard's holding company for $50 million. The deal also gives Banorte exclusive rights to offer Rappi cards for 15 years. FURTHER GROWTH AHEAD Ramirez said that Banorte would not back down from its expected loan book growth for the year, of around 10%, despite fears that Mexico could be hit with a recession. Banorte still expects Latin America's No. 2 economy to eke out some growth. "Banorte has always bet on Mexico," he said. "In times of crisis, Banorte always grows." Ramirez added that Banorte was "all in" on President Claudia Sheinbaum's calls for banks to lower their lending rates, and that the firm would adjust its rates in line with the central bank's monetary policy decisions. In March, Mexico's central bank brought its benchmark rate to its lowest level since September 2022 with a 50-basis-point cut. The outlook from Ramirez comes after Banorte reported first-quarter profits up 8% as internal demand boosted its loan book growth. Net profit for the group climbed to 15.29 billion pesos ($747.3 million), just above an LSEG-compiled estimate of 15.04 billion pesos, from revenues up 10% to 40.58 billion pesos, also slightly above the LSEG estimate. ($1 = 20.4604 pesos at end-March) https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/mexican-lender-banortes-profit-climbs-8-first-quarter-expanded-loan-book-2025-04-22/
2025-04-23 01:01
Trump's criticism of Fed rate policy remains pointed Market reacts positively to Trump's de-escalation Trump says China tariffs will fall substantially after a deal WASHINGTON, April 22 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump on Tuesday backed off from threats to fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell after days of intensifying criticisms of the central bank chief for not cutting interest rates. "I have no intention of firing him," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Tuesday. "I would like to see him be a little more active in terms of his idea to lower interest rates," he added. Sign up here. The de-escalation drew an immediate thumbs up from Wall Street, as equity index futures jumped by nearly 2% on the resumption of trading on Tuesday evening. Stocks, bonds and the U.S. dollar had all slumped on Monday after Trump over the Easter holiday weekend repeatedly attacked Powell for not cutting interest rates further since the president resumed office in January. “Whether this reflects Monday’s brutal foretaste of what would happen in markets if he did try to fire Powell, or was the plan all along, it is a clear positive," wrote Evercore ISI Vice Chairman Krishna Guha. “It materially reduces the likelihood of worst case outcomes including stagflation and the morphing of the tariff crisis into a sovereign debt crisis, though these risks remain.” Also during his question-and-answer volley with reporters on Tuesday, Trump expressed optimism that a trade deal with China could "substantially" cut tariffs, which also provided a boost for investors. He said a deal would result in "substantially" lower tariffs on Chinese goods, suggesting that a final deal will not "be anywhere near" current tariff rates. But "it won't be zero," he added. The combination of the rocky rollout of Trump's tariffs and, more recently, his repeated barbs at Powell and the Fed had rattled investors and intensified selling of U.S. assets including stocks, U.S. Treasuries and the dollar. Trump's broadsides were often accompanied by threatening remarks, such as last week's social media posting that Powell's termination as Fed chair "cannot come fast enough" and more personal jabs, such as calling Powell "a major loser." The threats spooked financial markets that view the Fed's independence as critical to underpinning its credibility as the world's most influential central bank and a cornerstone of global financial stability. But while Trump seems to have set aside those threats for now, his criticisms of Fed rate policy remain just as pointed. "We think that it's a perfect time to lower the rate, and we'd like to see our chairman be early or on time, as opposed to late," Trump said. OLD FEUD Trump's sour grapes with Powell date back to the Republican's first term in the White House. Trump elevated Powell from a Fed Board of Governors member to the central bank's head but was soon irritated by ongoing rate increases under Powell's watch. Trump openly mused about firing Powell, but was ultimately dissuaded by his advisers. Whether Trump has the authority is unclear. Powell, for his part, insists that the Federal Reserve Act of 1913 that created the central bank will not allow it. Trump, meanwhile, has said that if he wanted Powell out, he would be gone "real fast." The law stipulates that the seven Fed governors, appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate to staggered 14-year terms, can only be removed for "cause" - long thought to mean misconduct, not policy disagreement. That said, the law omits reference to limits on removal from its description of the four-year term of the Fed chair, who is one of the seven governors. Trump's harsh rhetoric came alongside court cases now proceeding over his firing of officials from other independent federal boards and agencies. Those are being watched closely in Fed circles as potential proxies for whether Trump has the authority to fire Fed officials long presumed to be able to pursue monetary policy free from political influence. The Fed lowered interest rates by a percentage point late last year to the current range of 4.25% to 4.50%, but has held them unchanged in the two policy meetings convened since Trump returned to the White House. The Fed's next rate-setting meeting is in two weeks. Fed policymakers are concerned that the aggressive tariffs rolled out by Trump since early February could rekindle inflation that they had already found harder than expected to return to their 2% target. At the same time, policymakers worry their job could be complicated further if tariffs slow growth and drive up unemployment while also pressuring up inflation. The result is a wait-and-see posture regarding further rate cuts, though most policymakers still see some rate reductions as likely later this year. Interest rate futures traders pared bets on Fed policy easing after Trump's remarks, and now are pricing three quarter-point interest-rate cuts by year's end, versus the four seen as earlier as more likely. So far, "hard data" measures of the U.S. economy such as employment and retail sales reports have shown resilience, but surveys of households and businesses have shown rapidly deteriorating confidence. The consensus now among economists is that risks are skewed broadly to the downside from here as the effects of tariffs begin to stack up. The International Monetary Fund on Tuesday slashed its outlook for both U.S. and global growth this year, with Trump's tariffs policy the central reason behind the downgrade. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-no-plans-fire-fed-chair-powell-wants-lower-rates-2025-04-22/
2025-04-23 00:58
US stocks end higher amid tariff optimism Trump softens tone on Fed Chair Powell Dollar bounces against euro, other currencies NEW YORK, April 23 (Reuters) - Major stock indexes rose, the dollar gained against the euro and other currencies while safe-haven gold dropped on Wednesday as the Trump administration signaled a willingness to de-escalate its trade war with China. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that high tariffs between the United States and China are not sustainable, while U.S. President Donald Trump signaled he was open to easing trade tensions between the world's two largest economies. Sign up here. A person familiar with the conversations said the White House is open to discussing a significant rate cut on Chinese imports in order to advance negotiations with Beijing but will not do so alone. Adding to the upbeat market tone, Trump late on Tuesday backed off from threats to fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. "A softening of the stance on tariffs and trade policy with China and maybe a signal of willingness to try to find a deal, to walk back from the peak tensions, is exactly what the market wants to hear," said Jim Baird, chief investment officer at Plante Moran Financial Advisors in Southfield, Michigan. Trump's multi-front tariff war has roiled markets in recent weeks as investors worried it could push the economy into recession, while his criticism of Powell has added to investor concerns about U.S. assets. Some earnings news in the U.S. and elsewhere also buoyed stocks on Wednesday. Boeing (BA.N) , opens new tab shares rose 6.1% after the company reported a smaller-than-expected quarterly loss. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) , opens new tab rose 419.59 points, or 1.07%, to 39,606.57, the S&P 500 (.SPX) , opens new tab rose 88.10 points, or 1.67%, to 5,375.86 and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) , opens new tab rose 407.63 points, or 2.50%, to 16,708.05. Shares of Tesla (TSLA.O) , opens new tab jumped 5.4% even though the company reported results that missed analyst forecasts. Tesla boss Elon Musk said on a call with analysts he would significantly reduce his involvement in work at the Department of Government Efficiency from next month to focus more on his many companies. Among the 11 major sectors of the S&P 500, tech (.SPLRCT) , opens new tab and consumer discretionary (.SPLRCD) , opens new tab notched the biggest percentage gains, while consumer staples (.SPLRCS) , opens new tab and energy (.SPNY) , opens new tab lagged. MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe (.MIWD00000PUS) , opens new tab rose 11.95 points, or 1.50%, to 808.21. The pan-European STOXX 600 (.STOXX) , opens new tab index ended up 1.78%. After hitting record highs in recent sessions, spot gold slipped 3% to $3,281.6 an ounce. The dollar climbed 1.27% against the yen to 143.435 . Against the Swiss franc , the dollar was last 1.32% stronger at 0.8298. The euro eased 0.86% to $1.132, pulling back from the $1.15 levels earlier this week which marked a high of roughly 3-1/2-years. Benchmark 10-year yields - which move inversely to prices - declined meaningfully earlier on Wednesday, in a partial reversal of the concerns that hit investors over the past few weeks because of Trump's changing trade and economic policies. The bond rally, though, lost some steam during the day as economic data released on Wednesday was mixed, with some surprises to the upside. Among them, a U.S. Department of Commerce reading of home sales for March was stronger than anticipated. Benchmark 10-year Treasury yields were last at 4.385%, a touch lower than on Tuesday. Further out, 30-year yields declined by about five basis points to 4.83%. Citadel's founder and CEO Kenneth Griffin said that Trump's administration needs to be careful about potential damage to the creditworthiness of U.S. Treasuries. Oil ended lower, with U.S. crude falling $1.40 to settle at $62.27 a barrel, while Brent crude declined $1.32 to settle at $66.12. https://www.reuters.com/markets/global-markets-wrapup-1-2025-04-23/
2025-04-23 00:55
April 22 (Reuters) - Brandon Lutnick, son of U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and chair of brokerage Cantor Fitzgerald, is partnering with SoftBank (9984.T) , opens new tab, Tether and Bitfinex to create a multibillion-dollar bitcoin acquisition vehicle, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday. The vehicle, Cantor Equity Partners, will use the cash to create a new firm, called 21 Capital. It will receive $3 billion in bitcoin from the other cryptocurrency investors and trading firms, the report added, citing unnamed sources. Sign up here. Tether would contribute $1.5 billion of bitcoin, while SoftBank and Bitfinex would contribute $900 million and $600 million, respectively, of the digital currency, according to the report. FT said the announcement was likely to come in the next few weeks. However, it added that the deal could still fail and the numbers could change. Howard Lutnick, the billionaire who was the CEO of Cantor for 40 years, stepped down last month to run President Donald Trump's commerce department. His sons, Brandon and Kyle Lutnick took over as chairman and executive vice chairman of the brokerage, respectively. Trump has promised to be the "crypto president," the one who will popularize its mainstream use in America. He has said he backs crypto because it can improve the banking system and increase the dominance of the U.S. dollar. Cantor, SoftBank, Tether and Bitfinex did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment. https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/cantor-nears-3-billion-crypto-venture-with-softbank-tether-ft-reports-2025-04-23/
2025-04-23 00:37
SAO PAULO, April 22 (Reuters) - JBS SA (JBSS3.SA) , opens new tab, the world's largest meatpacker, called a shareholder meeting for May 23 to vote on its plan to list shares on the New York Stock Exchange, it said in a securities filing on Tuesday. The U.S. listing, which has been in the works for years, would provide access to a broader pool of investors and possibly aid JBS, which is now primarily listed in Brazil, in raising its valuation closer to its industry peers. Sign up here. Under JBS' "dual listing" proposal, its shareholders would receive one Brazilian Depositary Receipt of JBS N.V., the entity which to be listed in New York, for every two JBS' shares they own. Last month, JBS' second largest shareholder, the equity arm of Brazil's development bank, BNDESPar, said it would abstain from voting at the upcoming shareholders meeting. The announcement boosted JBS' share price because there was uncertainty about whether BNDESPar would endorse JBS' U.S. listing strategy. Reuters had reported last week, citing a regulatory document filed with the U.S. market regulator, that JBS' board of directors could convene the meeting for May 23. In a separate statement on Tuesday, JBS said its U.S. shares could start to be offered in the U.S market as soon as June. https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/brazils-jbs-calls-shareholder-meeting-vote-us-listing-plan-2025-04-23/
