Municipal bond issuers are on tap to sell about $6 billion of new issues in early January, but there should be plenty of money from maturing issues and interest payments to easily absorb that amount, as well as volume going forward, says Kim Olsan, senior fixed income portfolio manager at NewSquare Capital.
Advocates for improving inland port infrastructure in the House and Senate are pushing bipartisan bills aimed at funneling more dollars from the Port Infrastructure Development Program to facilities on the Great Lakes as opposed to East and West coasts.
Financial stocks were lower in Wednesday afternoon trading, with the NYSE Financial Index shedding 0.5% and the State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF decreasing 0.3%. The Philadelphia Housing Index was falling 0.7%, and the State Street Real Estate Select Sector SPDR ETF retreated 0.6%. Bitcoin was declining 0.7% to $87,756, and the yield for 10-year US Treasuries was rising 3 basis poi...
Initial jobless claims decreased by 16,000 to 199,000 in the week ended Dec. 27, but the four-week moving average rose by 1,750 to 218,750 due to a 192,000 level in the week ended Nov. 29 rolling out of the calculation. Insured claims fell by 47,000 to 1.866 million in the week ended Dec. 20.
The Australian and New Zealand dollars have underperformed compared with G10 currencies in 2025, MUFG has noted. The NZD's weakness has been more pronounced, as it has only strengthened by 2%-3% against the US dollar while the dollar index has fallen by around 9%, wrote the bank in its 'G10 FX 2026 Outlook' note published this week.
Freddie Mac today released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey?, showing the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.15%. ?After starting the year close to 7%, the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage moved to its lowest level in 2025 this week, an encouraging sign for potential homebuyers heading into the new year,? said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac?s Chief Economist.
Sweden's krona has been the best-performing G10 currency in 2025, recording an outsized gain of around 19% against the US dollar, said MUFG. It has also outperformed the other Scandinavian currency, Norway's krone, pushing NOK/SEK back toward the lows last seen in early 2020 when the COVID-19 shock first hit the global economy.
Weekly applications for unemployment insurance unexpectedly declined into the final part of 2025, while continuing claims fell more than projected, US government data showed Wednesday. For the week through Dec. 27, the seasonally adjusted number of initial claims fell by 16,000 to 199,000, the Department of Labor said.
When Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine signed property tax reform bills, there was hope in Columbus it would appease voters who backed a push to abolish property taxes.
Canada is slated to release the October trade figures on Jan. 8, Scotiabank noted. The bank will watch for revisions that could impact Q3 gross domestic product, which was initially estimated at 2.6% quarter over quarter seasonally adjusted annual with possibly incomplete trade data. MT Newswires does not provide investment advice.
Sterling has underperformed relative to other European G10 currencies in 2025, said MUFG. EUR/GBP has trended higher for most of the year after establishing lows between 0.8200 and 0.8250 in late 2024/early 2025. MUFG expects the GBP to weaken further against the euro, with EUR/GBP rising closer to 0.9000 in 2026.
US equity futures were edging higher premarket Wednesday following a better-than-expected weekly US jobless claims report. Ahead of the last trading session of 2025, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were up 0.01%, while the S&P and Nasdaq futures were trading around 0.1% higher.
US initial jobless claims fell to a level of 199,000 in the week ended Dec. 27 from an upwardly revised 215,000 level in the previous week, compared with expectations for an increase to 218,000 in survey of analysts compiled by Bloomberg. The four-week moving average rose by 1,750 to 218,750 after falling by 500 to a level of 217,000 in the previous week.
Canada will release its Labour Force Survey for December on Jan. 9 at 8:30 a.m. ET, on the same day and time as the United States nonfarm payrolls, said Scotiabank. A small gain of 10,000 with a slight uptick in the unemployment rate to 6.6% could emerge, predicted the bank.
The US dollar was mixed against its major trading partners early Wednesday -- up versus the pound and yen, down versus the euro and Canadian dollar -- ahead of a light data schedule that leads into the New Year's Day holiday on Thursday.
Peru's central bank will be the only central bank holding a policy meeting next week, said Scotiabank. BCRP's decision on Jan. 8 is expected to be another hold at a reference rate of 4.25% for a fourth straight meeting, noted the bank. The consumer price index, which is due on Thursday, is unlikely to alter the pattern of readings in the lower half of the 1%-3% target range, stated Scotiabank.
Tunisia's central bank said its Executive Board decided on Tuesday to lower its key interest rate by 50 basis points, down to 7%, effective as of next Wednesday.
US equity indexes fell on Tuesday after Federal Open Market Committee minutes revealed that officials who voted to support a rate cut said "they could have supported keeping the target range unchanged."
Arbe Robotics (ARBE) said Tuesday it completed a $15.7 million private placement, via a follow-on offering as an expansion of the company's Series A convertible bonds. The company said that in June 2024 it announced the issuance of about $30 million in Series A convertible bonds, and in January 2025, $21.5 million of that amount was released from escrow after the conversion of the bonds to shares.
US equity indexes closed lower Tuesday after Federal Open Market Committee minutes showed that the decision to lower interest rates earlier this month was heavily contested. * The Federal Reserve released minutes Tuesday from a meeting earlier this month showing that the vote to lower rates was closer than the final tally suggested.
The Federal Open Market Committee meeting minutes showed the decision was closer than the vote indicated, with "a few" voters suggesting they would have supported no change at the meeting.
Federal Reserve officials appeared to be markedly divided over the potential monetary policy path ahead amid continued concerns about high inflation and labor market weakness, minutes from the central bank's Dec. 9-10 meeting showed Tuesday.
US equity indexes fell ahead of the close on Tuesday, after Federal Open Market Committee minutes showed that a decision to lower rates earlier this month was a close call. The minutes revealed that several of the officials who voted to support a rate cut said that the decision was "finely balanced or that they could have supported keeping the target range unchanged."
While most Federal Open Market Committee participants supported lowering the target rate range for the federal funds rate at the Dec. 9-10 meeting, minutes of the meeting released Tuesday showed that decision to lower rates was a tighter call than previously suggested and that there was considerable disagreement of the path of policy going forward.
"The upgrade to Baa3 recognizes the city's fiscal stability under the current casino taxation format," as well as rapid debt defeasance, the rating agency said.
US benchmark equity indexes were largely unchanged intraday in the penultimate session of the year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.1% at 48,415.8 after midday Tuesday. US markets will be closed Thursday for New Year's Day, reopening Friday. The Federal Reserve was scheduled to release minutes of its December monetary policy meeting at 2 pm ET.
Financial stocks were decreasing in Tuesday afternoon trading, with the NYSE Financial Index fractionally lower and the State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF down 0.2%. The Philadelphia Housing Index was shedding 0.4%, and the State Street Real Estate Select Sector SPDR ETF rose 0.1%. Bitcoin was increasing 1.4% to $88,347, and the yield for 10-year US Treasuries was slightly higher at ...
Financial stocks were decreasing in Tuesday afternoon trading, with the NYSE Financial Index fractionally lower and the State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF down 0.2%. The Philadelphia Housing Index was shedding 0.4%, and the State Street Real Estate Select Sector SPDR ETF rose 0.1%. Bitcoin was increasing 1.4% to $88,347, and the yield for 10-year US Treasuries was slightly higher at ...
Canada activity slowed in mid-2025, but the worst appears to be over, said UBS. Gross domestic product growth is tracking below 2%, wrote the bank in its "Global Economics and Markets Outlook" note of November. Labor market conditions softened notably through mid-2025, which, in the bank's view, is a key factor behind the recent policy easing by the Bank of Canada.
The loss of federal jobs combined with delays in accessing employment data are contributing to flat revenue estimates for the Washington, D.C., government.
Activity in Texas' services sector continued to contract in December, though less than expected, amid near-zero readings for employment and part-time employment, the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas said Tuesday. The general business activity index fell to a reading of minus 3.3 this month from minus 2.3 in November, compared with expectations for a minus 4.6 print in a survey compiled by Bloomberg.
European stock markets closed higher on Tuesday with the Stoxx Europe 600 up 0.7%, Germany's DAX gaining 0.6%, the FTSE 100 advancing 0.8%, France's CAC rising 0.7%, and the Swiss Market Index adding 0.2%. In economic news, Spain's annual change in the consumer price index was 2.9% in December, down from 3% last month, according to the country's statistics office INE.
Nomura expects the Bank of Canada to maintain its policy rate of 2.25% through 2026. While the balance of risks around growth remains skewed to the downside, the risk profile around inflation raises the bar for additional easing, wrote the bank in its "Global Macro Outlook 2026" note of ec. 11.
US home prices increased sequentially in October, although the annual growth rate was among the weakest since the middle of 2023, S&P Global (SPGI) division S&P Dow Jones Indices said Tuesday. The S&P Cotality Case-Shiller Index, formerly known as the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Index, rose 0.4% month-on-month in October after seasonal adjustments, following a 0.2% gain in September.
The Swiss franc has been the second-best performing G10 currency in 2025, strengthening sharply by around 14% against the US dollar while remaining relatively stable against the euro, said MUFG.
The Case-Shiller National Home Price index fell by 0.2% in October before seasonal adjustment following a 0.3% decrease in September. National home prices were up 1.4% year-over-year, up from 1.3% in September.
The FHFA's measure of home prices rose by 0.4% in October after a revised 0.1% decrease in the previous month, well above a 0.1% gain expected in a survey compiled by Bloomberg. Prices were up 1.7% from a year earlier in October. Home prices rose in October in seven of the nine US regions, led by a 1% increase in the West South Central region.
US equity futures were flat pre-bell Tuesday but trending downward amid low trading volume as wary investors looked ahead to remarks from the Federal Reserve's latest policy meeting. Dow Jones, S&P 500, and Nasdaq futures were all treading water. Later in the day, the Federal Open Market Committee will release a summary of its most recent policy meeting.
Spain's core consumer price index inflation held firmer than expected at 2.6% year over year, while the consensus was 2.5% consensus and the previous reading 2.6%, said Scotiabank after Tuesday's CPI data. On a month-over-month basis, it was up by about 0.4% in seasonally unadjusted terms, noted the bank.
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.
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