The U.S. Federal Reserve announced Friday it was seeking feedback on establishing limited "payment accounts" ?for some financial firms, that would ?grant access to Fed payments ?services for clearing and ?settling ?payments, but without the broader set of ?benefits currently provided ?to banks.
U.S. existing home sales increased modestly in November amid an easing in mortgage rates, but economic uncertainty is keeping potential buyers on the sidelines. The report from the National Association of Realtors on Friday also showed the inventory of previously owned homes fell from October to an eight-month low, limiting choices for those looking to buy.
The U.S. Federal Reserve announced Friday it was seeking feedback on establishing limited "payment ?accounts" for some financial firms, that ?would grant access to Fed ?payments services for clearing ?and ?settling payments, but without the broader set ?of benefits currently provided ?to banks.
U.S. existing home sales rose marginally in November as economic uncertainty and still-elevated mortgage rates curbed demand. Home sales increased 0.5% last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.13 million units, the National Association of Realtors said on Friday. Economists polled by Reuters ?had forecast home resales would rise to a rate of 4.15 million ?units.
CHICAGO, Dec. 19, 2025 ?Ziegler is pleased to announce the successful closing of Meadowlark Hills' $53,800,000 Series 2025 Bonds through the City of Manhattan, Kansas. Founded in 1975, Meadowlark is a single-site life plan community in Manhattan, Kansas with 359 units: 137 ILU Apartments, 50 ILU Duplexes & Cottages, 38 ALU Apartments, and a 134-bed SNF.
Existing-home sales increased by 0.5% in November, according to the National Association of REALTORS? Existing-Home Sales Report. Month-over-month sales increased in the Northeast and South, showed no change in the West, and fell in the Midwest. ?Existing-home sales increased for the third straight month due to lower mortgage rates this autumn,? said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun.
The pace of US existing home sales rose 0.5% to a 4.13 million seasonally adjusted annual rate in November from 4.11 million in October, compared with a larger expected increase to a 4.15 million rate in a survey compiled by Bloomberg, data from the National Association of Realtors released Friday showed.
US stocks look set to open little changed Friday's trading session as investors look ahead to economic data set for release later in the morning, including existing home sales and consumer sentiment readings. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were off 0.03%, S&P 500 futures were up 0.12%, and Nasdaq futures were moving 0.22% higher.
Bank of Montreal said Friday it sees positive, but sluggish, real consumer spending growth in 2026, following the release of complete retail sales figures for October and an estimate on it for November. Overall, BMO said it has been a mixed bag for Canadian consumers heading into 2026.
AM Best has revised the outlooks to positive from stable and affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of B++ and a Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of ?bbb+? of Min Xin Insurance Company Limited.
* Nike (NKE) slides as Q2 gross margins drop. * Oracle up as ByteDance agrees deal on TikTok US app. * Futures: S&P up 0.06%, Nasdaq up 0.20%, Dow down 0.03% By Sruthi Shankar and Shashwat Chauhan.
New York Federal Reserve President John Williams told CNBC on Friday he does not see an imminent need to follow last week's interest rate cut with another reduction in borrowing costs, adding that new inflation data is being buffeted by distortions.
Federal Reserve Bank of New ?York President John Williams ?said Friday that ?he did not ?see ?any imminent need to follow ?last ?week's interest rate cut with another ?easing.
* Conagra swings to quarterly loss due to impairment charge following stock price decline. * Reports Q2 sales in line with expectations, adjusted profit narrowly beat estimates. * Company continues to see 3% tariff hit on annual costs. By Neil J Kanatt.
The yen fell sharply on Friday as traders drove it towards levels that could trigger official buying after the Bank of Japan raised rates but did not offer much of a hint over future hikes. The yen fell against the dollar after the BOJ lifted its policy rate to 0.75% from 0.5% in a move that had been well telegraphed by policymakers, prompting traders to sell.
* BOJ raises rates as expected, Ueda's speech offers few hints. * Yen falls broadly, hits record low against euro. * Euro under pressure on lack of ECB outlook. * BoE cut much closer run than market expected; sterling steady. By Tom Westbrook and Amanda Cooper.
Russia's central bank Friday said its Board of Directors decided to cut the key rate by 50 basis points to 16.0%. The reduction was widely expected, wrote Scotiabank in a note to clients. Guidance noted that "monetary policy will remain tight for a long period" with inflation running at 6.6% year over year.
* BoJ hikes to 30-year high, signals more. * Fed policymakers see one rate cut in 2026. * BoE follows Fed into cautious easing. * ECB executes 'uncertain' pause, avoids guidance. By Naomi Rovnick and Alun John. LONDON, Dec 19 - Central banks in big economies are signalling a change of stance as the Bank of Japan raised interest rates to a 30-year high on Friday.
Canada will release retail sales data for October and preliminary November at 8:30 a.m. ET on Friday, said Bank of Montreal. The retail sales report will give the bank the last piece of data for the October real gross domestic product "puzzle." Spending is likely to be little changed in the month, or down a modest 0.5% excluding autos. Volumes should nudge higher in the month.
The US dollar rose against its major trading partners early Friday ahead of the release of existing home sales data for November and the final University of Michigan consumer sentiment reading for December, both at 10:00 am ET.
Conagra Brands (CAG) maintained its annual sales and profit forecasts ?on Friday, as pressured consumer ?spending and stiff ?competition weigh on ?demand ?for its pantry staples such ?as Slim ?Jim meat snacks and Act ?II ?popcorn.
A vague outlook from Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda on Friday has given investors the nerve to add to their bets against the yen, which could soon put Japan's currency back at uncomfortably low levels for a government concerned it may already be too cheap.
* Nike (NKE) slides as Q2 gross margins drop. * Oracle up as ByteDance agrees deal on TikTok US app. * Futures: S&P up 0.12%, Nasdaq up 0.24%, Dow down 0.06% By Sruthi Shankar and Shashwat Chauhan.
* Key rate cut is in line with expectations. * Inflation expected below 6% in 2025, hit target in 2027. * Putin says he did not interfere in bank's decision. * Phone-in shows some Russians question inflation figures. By Elena Fabrichnaya and Gleb Bryanski.
Nova Scotia's December 2025 forecast update revised the provincial budget balance for fiscal year 2025-26 to a deficit $1.47 billion, or 2.1% of nominal GDP, after accounting for contingencies, said Scotiabank.
Brazil's current account deficit ?reached $4.943 billion ?in November, ?central bank ?data showed ?on Friday, ?in ?line with the $4.95 ?billion ?shortfall forecast ?by economists polled by Reuters. The ?country attracted $9.82 billion in foreign ?direct investment ?in the month, ?well above the $6.5 billion forecast in the poll.
Commerzbank in its "European Sunrise" note of Friday highlighted: Markets: United States Treasuries recover into New York close, resume downtrend overnight, long end leads the Japanese government bond sell-off. Fed: Chicago Federal Reserve President Austan Goolsbee says the November inflation report contained a "lot to like" after voting to stay put at last FOMC decision.
* BOJ raises rates as expected, Ueda's speech offers few hints. * Yen falls broadly, hits record low against euro. * Euro under pressure on lack of ECB outlook. * BoE cut much closer run than market expected; sterling steady. By Tom Westbrook and Amanda Cooper.
* Futures: S&P up 0.2%, Nasdaq up 0.4%, Dow flat. U.S. stock index futures edged higher on Friday, as technology shares extended their rebound from a selloff earlier this week, while Nike (NKE) tumbled after weak China sales weighed on its quarterly results.
US futures were edging higher pre-bell Friday as lower-than-expected US inflation data fueled hopes for a Federal rate cut. The US seasonally adjusted consumer price index, a measure of inflation, rose by 2.7% in November from a year earlier, below expectations for a 3.1% increase in a survey conducted by Bloomberg.
* Markets see steady rates in 2026. * Policymakers warn about large growth, inflation risks. * Some still see downside risks. European Central Bank policymakers warned on Friday about oversized risks around their latest economic projections, making the case for caution in setting policy and not taking the option of another interest rate cut off the table just yet.
* AI jitters, Fed interest rate path among key year-end factors. * GDP, consumer confidence reports to shed more light on economy. * S&P 500 set for double-digit percentage gains in 2025, despite shaky December. By Lewis Krauskopf. NEW YORK, Dec 19 - Investors hoping for traditional holiday cheer for the U.S. stock market are encountering turbulence that could keep markets on edge into year-end.
Germany's economic recovery from three years of stagnation will get only a subdued start next year, picking up pace later on the back of higher government spending, the Bundesbank predicted on Friday in a biannual update of its economic projections.
* Wall Street futures point to gains after tech-led rally. * BOJ hikes 25 bps, signals further tightening ahead. * Japanese bond yields jump, Dollar gains 1% on yen, By Iain Withers and Wayne Cole.
An economic slowdown in Russia this year to 1% ?growth from 4.3% in ?2024 was the result of ?conscious actions ?by the ?central bank to bring ?down the inflation ?rate, President Vladimir Putin said on ?Friday. Putin ?told ?his annual press conference that, as a result ?of these actions, the inflation rate will slow to between 5.5% and 5.7% ?in ?2025 from 9.5% last year.
* Central banks' policy paths diverge. * Ukraine secures financial support from EU. * US-Venezuela tensions loom over LatAm. By Niket Nishant. Emerging market assets were on track for weekly losses after heightened geopolitical tensions and a slate of central bank decisions tempered optimism, despite tame inflation data in the United States.
* Sterling steady against euro, dollar after BoE rate cut. * BoJ rate hike prompts yen sell-off, boosting pound. * BoE's cautious stance on further rate cuts amid high inflation. By Amanda Cooper.
Japan's 10-year government bond yield jumped to a 26-year peak on Friday after the Bank of Japan raised interest rates to a three-decade high and signalled more policy tightening. However, the yen quickly reversed an initial knee-jerk rise and fell as much as 0.7% to 156.71 per U.S. dollar by 0754 GMT, shortly after BOJ Governor Kazuo ?Ueda's post-meeting news conference ended.
* BOJ raises rates as expected, Ueda's speech offers few hints. * Yen falls broadly, hits record low against euro. * Euro under pressure on lack of ECB outlook. * BoE cut much closer run than market expected; sterling steady. By Tom Westbrook.
The Japanese government revised down its view on public investment but largely kept its overall outlook on the economy intact in a monthly report published on Friday.
The Japanese government revised down its view on public investment but largely kept its overall outlook on the economy intact in a monthly report published on Friday.
China is expected to leave benchmark lending rates unchanged for a seventh consecutive month in December, a Reuters survey showed, despite a depressed economy and deepening woes in the property sector.
The Bank of Japan has raised its interest rates on Friday to levels unseen in three decades and signalled readiness for further hikes, taking another landmark step in ending decades of huge monetary support and near-zero borrowing costs. In a widely expected move, the BOJ raised short-term interest rates to 0.75% from 0.5% in the first increase since January.
The Bank of Japan raised interest rates on Friday to levels unseen in three decades and signalled its readiness for further hikes, taking ?another landmark step in ending decades of huge monetary support ?and near-zero borrowing costs. In a widely expected move, ?the BOJ raised short-term interest rates ?to 0.75% ?from 0.5% in the first increase since January.
By Kevin Buckland. Japan's 10-year government bond yield jumped to a 26-year peak on Friday after the Bank of Japan raised interest rates to a three-decade high and signalled more policy tightening. The Nikkei share average rose, led by artificial intelligence-linked stocks after U.S. peers rallied overnight following blowout forecasts from ?chipmaker Micron.
* BOJ raises rates as expected, yen eases. * Focus turns to BOJ Governor Ueda's press conference at 0630 GMT. * Euro under pressure on lack of ECB outlook. * BoE cut much closer run than market expected; sterling steady. By Tom Westbrook.
In general the bond market is volatile, and fixed income securities carry interest rate risk. (As interest rates rise, bond prices usually fall, and vice versa. This effect is usually more pronounced for longer-term securities.) Fixed income securities also carry inflation risk and credit and default risks for both issuers and counterparties. Unlike individual bonds, most bond funds do not have a maturity date, so avoiding losses caused by price volatility by holding them until maturity is not possible.
Lower-quality debt securities generally offer higher yields, but also involve greater risk of default or price changes due to potential changes in the credit quality of the issuer. Any fixed income security sold or redeemed prior to maturity may be subject to loss.
Before investing, consider the funds' investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses. Contact Fidelity for a prospectus or, if available, a summary prospectus containing this information. Read it carefully.
Log In Required
Publication Date