* Consumer sentiment index falls to an all-time low of 49.8 this month. * Twelve-month inflation expectations increase sharply. * Gasoline and diesel prices surge after Strait of Hormuz disruption. By Lucia Mutikani. U.S. consumer sentiment fell to a record low in April as households shrugged off a ceasefire in the war with Iran, remaining focused on the inflation fallout from the conflict.
UK's main stock indexes recorded weekly losses as investors assessed tentative signs of renewed U.S.-Iran peace talks, while a Bank of England warning that global stocks could face pressure also weighed on sentiment. The blue-chip FTSE 100 index ended 0.8% lower to 10,379.08 points.
The Justice Department is closing its investigation into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro said on Friday, removing an obstacle to the confirmation of Kevin Warsh, President Donald Trump's pick to lead the central bank.
US consumer sentiment improved from an initial April estimate, but remained at a record low as near-term inflation expectations logged the biggest monthly increase in a year, final University of Michigan survey results showed Friday. The main sentiment index fell 6.6% to 49.8 from last month. The index remained at an all-time low despite the upward revision, Jefferies said in a note.
Commitment to Community Investment through FHLB Dallas Programs Sparks Honor. The Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas has named Pine Bluff, Arkansas-based Simmons Bank as its 2026 Community Area Revitalization Efforts Award recipient. This press release features multimedia.
* Gold set to fall more than 2% on the week. * Iranian Foreign Minister to arrive in Pakistan - source. * Oil, dollar, Treasury yields, all set for weekly gain. By Ishaan Arora. April 24 - Gold rose on Friday, but was on track for its first weekly loss in the last five weeks, as lingering inflation concerns and the uncertain state of the U.S.-Iran war kept markets on edge.
The Justice Department is closing its investigation into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro said on Friday, removing an obstacle to the confirmation of Kevin Warsh, President Donald Trump's pick to lead the central bank.
U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro said in a social media post Friday morning that the Justice Department is closing its investigation into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, clearing a path for Kevin Warsh to be confirmed as Powell's replacement.
The Federal Reserve's Inspector General, an in-house watchdog, said Friday it is continuing with its ongoing work to oversee issues around a renovation of the central bank's headquarters. "In July of last year, the OIG announced that it was conducting an evaluation of the Board's building renovation project," a spokesperson for the Fed IG said.
AM Best has affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of A- and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Ratings of ?a-? of the members of Argo Group. Lastly, AM Best has withdrawn the Long-Term ICR of ?bbb-? of Argo Group US, Inc.. At the time of the withdrawal, the outlook on the ratings was stable.
Euro zone short-dated government bond yields were set for their biggest weekly rise in more than a month as tensions over the Strait of Hormuz spurred energy prices higher, stoking inflation fears and European Central Bank rate hike expectations.
* Pirro asks Fed watchdog to take over investigation. * Probe had stalled confirmation of Trump's central bank pick. * Judge found no evidence of a crime. By Andrew Goudsward, Howard Schneider and Ann Saphir.
The Justice Department is closing its investigation into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro said on Friday, removing an obstacle to the confirmation of Kevin Warsh, President Donald Trump's pick to lead the central bank.
The Justice Department is closing its investigation into cost overruns in renovations at the Federal Reserve under Chairman Jerome Powell, U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro said on Friday. Pirro said the Inspector General of the Federal Reserve has been asked to scrutinize the building costs.
U.S. consumer sentiment fell to a record low in April as households shrugged off a ceasefire in the war with Iran, remaining focused on the inflation fallout from the conflict. The University of Michigan's Surveys of Consumers said its Consumer Sentiment Index dropped to a final reading of 49.8 this month, an all-time low.
U.S. consumer sentiment fell to a record low in April as the war with Iran fanned inflation fears, a survey showed on Friday. The University of Michigan's Surveys of Consumers said its Consumer Sentiment Index dropped to a final reading of an alltime low of 49.8 this month. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the index at 48.0. It was at 53.3 in March.
The University of Michigan consumer sentiment index was revised upwards Friday to a reading of 49.8 for April from the 47.6 print in the preliminary estimate, compared with expectations for a smaller upward revision to 48.5 in a survey compiled by Bloomberg. The index was still below the final reading of 53.3 in March.
* Dollar supported by safe-haven demand amid unresolved US-Israel-Iran conflict. * Central banks expected to maintain cautious stance, with key policy meetings ahead. * Japan signals readiness to intervene in FX market, warns against speculation. By Karen Brettell and Lucy Raitano.
AM Best has downgraded the Financial Strength Rating to B++ from A- and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating to ?bbb? from ?a-? of Fenchurch General Insurance Company. The ratings reflect Fenchurch?s balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses as very strong, as well as its adequate operating performance, limited business profile and marginal enterprise risk management.
* Gold hits lowest since April 13, set to fall more than 2% on the week. * Iran Foreign Minister to arrive in Pakistan for talks - source. * Oil, dollar, Treasury yields, all set for weekly gain. By Ishaan Arora. Gold prices edged higher on Friday but were on course for their first weekly loss in five, as inflation concerns remained heightened on the impasse in the Iran war.
Kaspi.kz said Friday it has issued $600 million of 5.9% senior unsecured notes due 2031. The five-year offering was oversubscribed by 3.5 times, attracting about 130 institutional investors, the company said. Proceeds from the transaction will be used for general corporate purposes and will further strengthen liquidity, Kaspi.kz said.
The European Central Bank will hold its deposit rate on April 30 but hike it in June, according to just over half of economists polled by Reuters, in a bid to prevent a war-fuelled energy shock from knocking the euro zone economy off balance.
Swiss National Bank Chairman Martin Schlegel defended the central bank's investment approach on Friday, after campaigners from Minneapolis called on the central bank to offload its $1.1 billion investment in Palantir Technologies (PLTR). Schlegel said he could not comment on individual stocks but said the SNB's massive foreign currency portfolio was designed to serve its monetary policy.
Brazil's central bank did not accept any offers in a spot U.S. dollar auction and a reverse FX swap auction it had called for Friday, according to statements published on its website. The bank had announced on Thursday it would offer up to $1 billion in the spot auction and 20,000 contracts in the reverse swap operation, which is equivalent to buying U.S. dollars in the futures market.
The Bank of Canada will hold its overnight rate steady next week and through the rest of the year, according to a majority of economists polled by Reuters, most of whom stuck to the same outlook they had before the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran.
* Dollar gains as stalled US-Iran talks sustain Middle East tensions. * Major currencies largely steady. * Traders watch oil prices for direction. * Central bank heavy week looms. By Lucy Raitano and Satoshi Sugiyama.
Joint Stock Company Kaspi.kz announces the successful issuance of its 2031 senior unsecured Notes for a total amount of $600 million. The transaction ? the second since the company achieved Investment Grade status ? was met with strong demand from approximately 130 institutional investors and was 3.5x oversubscribed.
BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes predicts Bitcoin will hit $145,000 by year end as the Federal Reserve quietly expands its balance sheet by $40 billion per month and wartime spending forces commercial banks to print money. Hayes said the Fed?s balance sheet is expanding at approximately $40 billion per month through reserve management purchases, despite all the inflation concerns.
The US dollar fell against its major trading partners early Friday ahead of the release of the final University of Michigan consumer sentiment reading for April at 10:00 am ET and the Kansas City Federal Reserve's services reading for April at 11:00 am ET. The St. Louis Fed is expected to update its GDP nowcast estimate for Q1 around midday.
Brazil's current account deficit totaled $6.036 billion in March, central bank data showed on Friday, exceeding the $5.489 billion shortfall expected by economists in a Reuters poll. Foreign direct investment for the month reached $6.037, falling short of the $7 billion forecast in the poll.
Swiss National Bank Chairman Martin Schlegel defended the central bank's investment approach on Friday, after campaigners from Minneapolis called on the central bank to offload its $1.1 billion investment in Palantir
Technologies (PLTR). Schlegel said he could not comment on individual stocks but said the SNB's massive foreign currency portfolio was designed to serve its monetary policy.
The Swiss National Bank has no plans to alter the level of its gold reserves, chairman Martin Schlegel said at the central bank's shareholders' meeting on Friday. The SNB holds 1,040 tonnes of gold, 70% of which it stores in Switzerland and 30% abroad, Schlegel told the event in Bern. "We have no plans either to increase or to reduce our gold holdings.
Nomura said it expects the Bank of Canada to leave the policy rate unchanged at Wednesday's policy meeting. The BoC is slated to release its policy decision at 9:45 a.m. ET on Wednesday. Governor Tiff Macklem is unlikely to provide directional guidance and is likely to stress two-sided risks, noted Nomura.
Euro zone short-dated government bond yields were headed for their biggest weekly rise in over a month as tensions over the Strait of Hormuz spurred energy prices higher, stoking inflation fears and European Central Bank rate hike expectations.
* Central bank raises 2026 average oil price forecast by 45% * Blames one-off factors for economic contraction. * Leaves 2026 economic growth forecast unchanged. * Warns of risks from Middle East, global price pressures. By Elena Fabrichnaya and Gleb Bryanski.
Commerzbank in its "European Sunrise" note of Friday highlighted: Markets: United States Treasury yields spike on Strait of Hormuz fears, then partially recover, continue to bear flatten in Asia. U.S. Banks: The Federal Reserve and FDIC finalized changes to relax the leverage ratio for community banks.
A scorching U.S. stock rally faces a test from a mammoth week of corporate results led by major technology companies, along with a Federal Reserve meeting that could mark the end of Jerome Powell's tenure as head of the U.S. central bank. Equity indexes have soared this month, rebounding from worries about economic fallout from the Middle East conflict to mint record highs.
Federal Reserve Chair nominee Kevin Warsh has called for a major rethink of how to measure inflation, but he may have less trouble finding new ideas at the central bank than in choosing from an expanding set of alternate models, measures and forecasts designed to understand how the price level is changing. One month of recent data shows the dilemma.
* Microsoft (MSFT), Alphabet, Amazon (AMZN), Apple (AAPL), Meta all set to report. * Over one-third of S&P 500 companies due to post results. * Fed meeting on Wednesday could be Powell's last as chair. * Q1 GDP, PCE inflation data also due in coming week. By Lewis Krauskopf.
* Fed has multiple ways to measure "underlying" inflation. * Warsh proposes reforms with no guarantee new frameworks will do better. * AI's impact on productivity and inflation remains uncertain, Fed officials and Warsh agree. By Howard Schneider.
* Central banks intervene as EM currencies weaken, inflation and debt risks rise. * Mozambique debt downgraded by Fitch, IMF to discuss new loan in June. * S&P Global Ratings warns African sovereign credit risks likely to worsen. * US imposes preliminary anti-dumping duties on solar imports from India, Indonesia, Laos. By Johann M Cherian.
* Gold prices hit their lowest since April 13. * Oil, dollar, Treasury yields rise; on track for weekly gains. * Israel and Lebanon extend ceasefire for 3 weeks. * Trump says he is in no hurry for a deal with Iran. By Pablo Sinha.
The Swiss National Bank should sell its $1.1 billion stake in Palantir Technologies (PLTR), campaigners from Minneapolis said at a meeting of the central bank on Friday, citing the firm's involvement in U.S. immigration enforcement operations.
* Campaigners urge SNB to sell $1.1 billion Palantir (PLTR) stake. * Palantir (PLTR) under scrutiny over Minneapolis immigration crackdown. * Critics travelled to Switzerland to pressure Swiss central bank. * Palantir (PLTR) says its technology has safeguards to prevent overreach. By John Revill.
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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