rate

Page: 8

0 0

Financial market ‘pause party’ makes Fed rate cut less likely

April 21, 2019

Traders work on the floor at the NYSE in New York
Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., April 18, 2019. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

April 21, 2019

By Howard Schneider and Trevor Hunnicutt

WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) – Risk-taking has been the rage since the Federal Reserve quit hiking interest rates at the end of last year. U.S. stocks are back near record highs and investors are stockpiling the lowest-grade corporate bonds with only a smidgen of extra compensation for the added risk.

That rebounding mood on Wall Street may be welcomed by a president that has been demanding the Fed cut rates after markets fell sharply last year, and complaining that even pausing at the current level is the wrong call.

But if anything the ‘pause party’ on Wall Street makes it even less likely that the U.S. central bank will cut rates. Recent positive news on retail sales and exports, which have eased concerns of a sharply slowing economy, makes the case for a rate cut even weaker.

Investors at least have gotten the message, and shifted from projecting a rate cut later this year to now putting the odds at only 50-50 that the Fed will move lower by early 2020.

Wall Street celebrates the Fed’s ‘pause: https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/mkt/11/9740/9650/Pasted%20Image.jpg

The state of financial markets, say some analysts, is evidence the Fed’s rate increases last year were on point, allowing the economy to continue growing while keeping risks in check. A rate cut at this stage would only be courting problems.

“The argument for why they should keep the possibility of a rate hike on the table is because of financial stability,” Citi chief economist Catherine Mann said in remarks on Wednesday to a conference on financial stability at the Levy Economics Institute of Bard College.

After a decade of near zero interest rates, “moving toward a constellation of asset prices that embodies risks is critical for getting us to a more stable financial market,” she said, noting that both equity prices and low-grade bond yields show a market that remains too sanguine.

In their critiques of the Fed, U.S. President Donald Trump, White House chief economic adviser Larry Kudlow, and possible Fed nominee Stephen Moore have argued that lower rates would allow faster growth and be in line with Trump’s economic plans. They contend that, with the risk of inflation low, the central bank does not need to maintain ‘insurance’ against it by keeping rates where they are.

     Overlooked in that analysis are the financial stability concerns steadily integrated into Fed policymaking since the 2007 to 2009 financial crisis. Mann spoke at a conference named in honor of economist Hyman Minsky, who explored how financial excess can build during good times, and unwind in catastrophic fashion. The downturn a decade ago showed just how deeply that dynamic can scar the real economy.

     Financial stability isn’t a formal mandate for the Fed, which under congressional legislation is supposed to maintain the twin goals of maximum employment and stable prices. But since the crisis the central bank has concluded that keeping financial markets on an even keel is a necessary condition for achieving the other two aims.

    That doesn’t mean an end of volatility or a guarantee of profits, but rather that risks are properly priced and that the use of leverage – investments made with borrowed money – is kept within safe limits.

Keeping an eye on stock valuations: https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/mkt/11/9738/9648/Pasted%20Image.jpg

     That’s a key reason why even policymakers focused on maintaining high levels of employment, like Boston Fed president Eric Rosengren, at times have taken on a hawkish tone in favor of rate increases. The worse outcome for workers, Rosengren and others have said, would be to let markets inflate too much, and crash again, even if that means risking a bit higher unemployment in the interim. 

Markets are currently “a little rich,” Rosengren said in recent remarks at Davidson College in North Carolina.

Though not enough to warrant a rate increase, he said, it does argue against a rate reduction. Overall, Fed officials including Chairman Jerome Powell say they feel financial risks are within a manageable range, something policymakers feel has been helped along by the rate increases to date.

The state of financial markets is “something that the Fed has to wrestle with,” Rosengren said. “It’s appropriate for interest rates to be paused right now.”

Corporate bond valuations look frothy: https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/mkt/11/9739/9649/Pasted%20Image.jpg

(Reporting by Howard Schneider and Trevor Hunnicut; Editing by Dan Burns and Andrea Ricci)

Source: OANN

0 0

UK financial services? It’s a family affair: report

April 21, 2019

FILE PHOTO: The financial district can be seen as a person runs in the sunshine on London's south bank
FILE PHOTO: The financial district seen from London’s south bank, Britain February 23, 2019. REUTERS/Henry Nicholls/File Photo

April 21, 2019

By Simon Jessop

LONDON (Reuters) – Nearly half of all people working in Britain’s financial services industry have followed their parents into the sector, more than three times the national average, research from consultants KPMG showed.

The finding comes as policymakers and investors push the industry to improve diversity in senior management and make firms more inclusive in an effort to improve corporate governance as well as shareholder returns.

The research revealed that forty-one percent of financial services staff had parents in the same sector against a national average of 12 percent. In insurance, the figure was even higher, at 54 percent.

“The fact that people in financial services are more than three times more likely than the national average to have followed in their parent’s career footsteps is staggering,” said Tim Howarth, head of financial services consulting at KPMG.

KPMG spoke to more than 1,500 people for the survey, a third of whom worked in the banking, insurance or asset management industry, while the rest were employed in a range of other sectors across the country.

The lack of diversity in the industry was a “huge challenge”, said John Mann, a lawmaker for the opposition Labour party who sits on the government committee responsible for overseeing the finance industry.

“Its biggest problem, by far, has been its cultural problem,” he told Reuters. “That’s what’s led to the collapse of a number of financial institutions. The cultural problems are reinforced by not bringing in a wider array of people.”

The finance industry is one of Britain’s biggest tax payers and has some of the country’s highest-paid jobs. Of those working in the sector, 87 percent said they liked their job, the report found, pipping the 82 percent satisfaction rate seen outside the industry.

Yet 65 percent of all the people surveyed by KPMG said they would not consider a role in financial services. Of these, 41 percent said it was because the industry “sounds boring”, while 16 percent cited a lack of contacts in the sector.

“There’s clearly a gap between what the public think, and the realities of working in financial services … that has to be addressed if we are to attract the diverse mix of skills and experiences needed to navigate the changes going on in financial services and society,” Howarth said.

The biggest driver for more than a third of the 500 financial services workers surveyed was the higher pay on offer.

Just 16 percent of the 1,000 non-financial services sector workers put money as their main motivation.

“We are always told that Millennials and Generation Z are more interested in their social impact than their finances, and so our sector has to get more imaginative in the way it attracts and retains staff,” KPMG Head of Financial Services Jon Holt said.

(Additional reporting by Iain Withers. Editing by Jane Merriman)

Source: OANN

0 0

Welcome for migrants cools in Mexican town weary of caravans

April 20, 2019

Central American migrants eat mangoes for breakfast as they walk during their journey towards the United States, in Mapastepec
Central American migrants eat mangoes for breakfast as they walk during their journey towards the United States, in Mapastepec, Mexico April 20, 2019. REUTERS/Jose Cabezas

April 20, 2019

By Jose Cortes

MAPASTEPEC, Mexico (Reuters) – So many migrants have stopped in the southern Mexican town of Mapastepec in recent months that longstanding public sympathy for Central Americans traveling northward is starting to wane.

Hundreds of migrants have been camped out for weeks in Mapastepec, where locals say six migrant caravans have arrived since last Easter. By far the biggest was a group of thousands in October that drew the anger of U.S. President Donald Trump.

Ana Gabriela Galvan, a local resident who helped to provide food to migrants in the October caravan, told Reuters the small town in the impoverished state of Chiapas, which borders Guatemala, felt overwhelmed by the number of Central Americans.

“It’s really bad, because they’re pouring onto our land,” she said, noting that some locals were reluctant to leave their homes. “They ask for money, and if you offer food, they don’t want it; they want money and sometimes you don’t have any.”

Following a surge in apprehensions of Central Americans trying to enter the United States, Trump last month threatened to close the U.S.-Mexico border if the Mexican government did not stop illegal immigration right away.

The administration of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has stepped up migrant detentions and tightened access to humanitarian visas, slowing the flow of caravans north and leaving hundreds of people in Mapastepec.

The humanitarian visas allow migrants to stay temporarily and get jobs. The documents also make it easier for them to travel through the country or seek longer residence.

According to government social development agency Coneval, Chiapas in 2015 had the highest poverty rate of Mexico’s 32 regions, at 72.5 percent. Some 20,000 people live in Mapastepec, the seat of a municipality of the same name where poverty levels were fractionally higher than the state average in 2015.

A month ago, a large knot of migrants began forming in Mapastepec when the National Migration Institute closed its main office in the nearby city of Tapachula. The closure prompted hundreds to travel north to the sweltering town on the Pacific coast where the agency has a smaller outpost.

Since then, bedraggled groups of men, women and children have been staying in and around a local sports stadium, hoping to be issued humanitarian visas.

Central Americans today make up the bulk of undocumented migrants arrested on the U.S. border.

Southern Mexico has long sent thousands of migrants north and support for them has traditionally been strong there. Concentrations of Central American migrants on Mexico’s northern border caused tensions in the city of Tijuana when caravans arrived late last year.

CONCERNED MEXICANS

Recent studies show that while Mexicans still have sympathy for migrants, many are concerned that Mexico will not be able to cope with the arrival of thousands of people from Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador fleeing violence and poverty at home.

A survey of around 500 adults in February by the Center of Public Opinion at the University of the Valley of Mexico (UVM) found that 83 percent of respondents believed the Central American migrants could cause problems for Mexico.

Rising crime, increased poverty and a decline in social services were the top risks identified by the poll.

Offered a binary choice on what should be done, 62 percent of those polled said Mexico should be stricter with migrants entering its territory. The other 38 percent said Mexico should help to develop Central America, as Lopez Obrador argues.

The study did not publish a margin of error.

Jesus Salvador Quintana, a senior official at the National Human Rights Commission, said in Mapastepec the body had noticed a decrease in assistance from the public but urged people to keep helping the migrants on their often arduous journeys.

“There are children, pregnant women, whole families that sometimes need this humanitarian aid,” he told Reuters.

Anabel Quintero, a young Honduran mother in Mapastepec, said when her caravan passed through the nearby town of Huixtla some shops closed rather than sell to migrants seeking medicine for sick children.

“It’s a bad feeling,” she said. “They told us they didn’t want us sleeping in the park, and we had to leave.”

Residents of Mapastepec are also running out of patience.

Street vendor Brenda Marisol Ballesteros told Reuters it was time for authorities to move the migrants onward.

“Why?,” she said. “Because things are in a real mess.”

(Additional reporting by Roberto Ramirez in Huixtla; Editing by Dave Graham and Cynthia Osterman)

Source: OANN

0 0

China to show new warships as Beijing flexes military muscle on navy anniversary

April 20, 2019

A female soldier of the PLA Navy stand stands guard at a news conference in Qingdao
A female soldier of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy stands guard at a news conference ahead of the 70th anniversary of the founding of Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy, in Qingdao, China, April 20, 2019. REUTERS/Jason Lee

April 20, 2019

By Ben Blanchard

QINGDAO, China (Reuters) – China will show off new warships including nuclear submarines and destroyers at a parade next week marking 70 years since its navy’s founding, a senior commander said on Saturday, as Beijing flexes its increasingly well-equipped military muscle.

President Xi Jinping is overseeing a sweeping plan to refurbish the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) by developing everything from stealth jets to aircraft carriers as China ramps up its presence in the South China Sea and around self-ruled Taiwan.

The navy has been a key beneficiary of the modernization plan as China looks to project power far from the country’s shores and protect its trading routes and citizens overseas.

Last month, Beijing unveiled a target of 7.5 percent rise in defense spending for this year, a slower rate than last year but still outpacing China’s economic growth target.

Deputy naval commander Qiu Yanpeng told reporters in the eastern city of Qingdao that Tuesday’s naval parade – likely to be overseen by Xi himself, though China has not confirmed that – will feature 32 vessels and 39 aircraft.

“The PLA Navy ship and aircraft to be revealed are the Liaoning aircraft carrier, new types of nuclear submarines, new types of destroyers, as well as fighter aircraft,” Qiu said, without giving details. “Some ships will be revealed for the first time.”

The Liaoning, the country’s first carrier, was bought second-hand from Ukraine in 1998 and refitted in China.

It’s not clear if China’s second carrier, an as-yet unnamed ship developed and built purely in China, will also take part, but in the past few days state media has run stories praising recent sea trials.

Around a dozen foreign navies are also taking part. While Qiu did not give an exact number, China has announced the parade would include ships from Russia, Singapore, India, Thailand and Vietnam – which frequently complains of Chinese military activity in the disputed South China Sea.

China’s last naval battles were with the Vietnamese in the South China Sea, in 1974 and 1988, though these were relatively minor skirmishes.

Chinese navy ships have also participated in international anti-piracy patrols off Somalia’s coast since late 2008.

STRONG NAVY ‘ESSENTIAL’

Qiu reiterated China’s frequent stance that its armed forces are not a threat to anyone and that no matter what happens it will never “pursue hegemony”.

“It is fair to say that the PLA Navy has not brought war or turbulence to any place,” Qiu said.

But China has been scared by its past and needs good defenses at sea, he added.

“A strong navy is essential for building a strong maritime country,” Qiu said. “From 1840 to 1949, China was invaded by foreign powers from the sea more than 470 times, which caused untold suffering and deep wounds to the Chinese nation.”

China has frequently had to rebuff concerns about its military intentions, especially as military spending continues to scale new heights.

Beijing says it has nothing to hide, and has invited foreign media to cover next week’s naval parade and related activities, including a keynote speech by navy chief Shen Jinlong, who is close to Xi.

Zhang Junshe, a researcher at the PLA’s Naval Research Academy, told reporters after Qiu had spoken that inviting foreign navies to take part in the parade was a sign of China’s openness and self-confidence, noting China had also done this for the 60th anniversary in 2009.

“New nuclear submarines and new warships will be shown – this further goes to show that China’s navy is open and transparent,” said Zhang.

(Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Additional reporting by John Ruwitch in SHANGHAI; Editing by Kenneth Maxwell)

Source: OANN

0 0

MLB notebook: Suspensions issued over Royals-White Sox melee

April 19, 2019

MLB: Kansas City Royals at Chicago White Sox
Apr 17, 2019; Chicago, IL, USA; Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Brad Keller (56) throws a pitch against the Chicago White Sox during the first inning at Guaranteed Rate Field. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-USA TODAY Sports

April 20, 2019

Kansas City pitcher Brad Keller, Chicago White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson and manager Rick Renteria received suspensions for taking part in a benches-clearing incident between the teams on Wednesday.

Joe Torre, chief baseball officer for Major League Baseball, announced the suspensions on Friday.

Keller was suspended for five games and fined an undisclosed amount for intentionally throwing at Anderson. Anderson and Renteria both were suspended one game and also fined an undisclosed amount for their actions during the skirmish.

Renteria served his suspension Friday night when the White Sox took on the Tigers in Detroit. The suspensions for Keller and Anderson are delayed pending appeals.

–Mets ace Jacob deGrom was scratched from his scheduled Saturday start and instead will undergo an MRI exam after his right elbow was “barking,” according to New York manager Mickey Callaway.

Callaway told reporters that deGrom felt pain while playing catch on Thursday. The Mets sent deGrom back to New York on Friday.

Callaway said the team would proceed cautiously with deGrom, who underwent Tommy John surgery in 2010. DeGrom, the reigning National League Cy Young Award winner, was roughed up badly in each of his last two starts to see his ERA soar to 3.68.

–The New York Yankees signed veteran first baseman Logan Morrison to a minor league contract. MLB.com reported that Morrison has an opt-out date of July 1. He reportedly will make $1 million if added to the big league roster.

Morrison, 31, was an unsigned free agent after batting .186 with 15 homers and 39 RBIs in 95 games for the Minnesota Twins last season. He suffered a torn labrum and underwent season-ending surgery in August.

The signing of Morrison gives the Yankees insurance in case a foot injury suffered by first baseman Greg Bird turns to out be more serious than expected. Bird is one of 12 Yankees on the injured list.

–The Boston Red Sox placed infielder Eduardo Nunez on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to April 18, due to a mid-back strain. Nunez, 31, is batting .159 with five RBIs in 17 games this season.

The team also designated right-hander Erasmo Ramirez for assignment and recalled infielders Tzu-Wei Lin and Michael Chavis from Triple-A Pawtucket.

–Field Level Media

Source: OANN

0 0

Space Fire Extinguisher That ‘Sucks’ Flames in Development

April 19, 2019

A research team in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Toyohashi University of Technology has developed new concept of fire extinguisher optimized for space-use, named Vacuum Extinguish Method (VEM).

VEM is based on the completely “reverse” operation of widely-used fire extinguisher, namely, spraying extinguisher agent(s) into the firing point. VEM is sucking the flame as well as combustion product, even fire source, by vacuum into the vacuum chamber to remove the firing matters from the space of interest. This reverse concept shall be suitable for the special environments that are highly enclosed (such as space vehicles or types of space transportation, submarines, and types of deep sea submersed vehicles) to prevent or suppress spreading the harmful combustion products such as fume, particulate matters, toxic gas component across the entire enclosed cabin. This is especially advantageous for space use, preferable in an extreme vacuum environment. This work is a collaborative research with the Hokkaido and Shinshu Universities. The results of our research were posted on-line in the special issue of Fire Technology; Spacecraft Fire Safety on April 16, 2019.

At present, fire extinguishers used in spacecraft or space stations in the US, Japan, Europe and Russia are mainly CO2-spraying gas extinguishers, although water mist was partially considered as an alternative. The CO2 extinguisher was preferred because its fire-fighting performance has been promised for electric fire (which is the main cause of fire in space) in the past experience on earth. However, we must notice that the spraying type of extinguisher is not the best choice for space-environment because of the limited volume inside the cabin and the increase of CO2 concentration, assuming it is adopted. It is, therefore, necessary to wear an O2 mask before the device’s extinguisher process is executed, which causes a delay of action and allow the fire to grow. In addition, while spraying CO2 gas toward the firing zone, the harmful combustible products as well as CO2 gas shall spread across the cabin. Such spreading harmful gas components (even CO2) might be eventually trapped by the filter during the air-recirculation procedure. However, an enormous amount of time is obviously necessary to collect all such harmful gas components so that the mission would be delayed accordingly. Furthermore, the CO2 filter wears out and requires replacement; consequently, large amount of stock for replacement would be needed for longer space mission (likely to go-to-Mars). On earth, contrarily, such issues are not critical, therefore, we focused our attention on the discovering the best alternative for space.

Alex Jones reveals the truth behind China’s exploration of the dark side of the moon, an adventure that, in all likelihood, has already been carried out by covert, American run space programs.

VEM is a state-of-art concept newly proposed by our team, which is basically a “reverse” operation to fight fire. It is based on the suction of the combustible products and the flame (even the firing source) with vacuum, and the collecting them into a vacuum container (vacuum chamber) to be isolated. In case fire continues in the chamber, we can adopt any fire extinguisher procedures when necessary. Should this method be successful, the pre-process of fire-fighting (putting O2 mask on) would be excluded to manage the time for taking proper action. In addition, the product gas would be effectively removed from the cabin to reduce damage to the filter. Though this method sounds odd on earth, it might be most preferable for space use.

An ex-student, Mr. Taichi Usuki who was master course student at Hokkaido University supervised by Prof. Yuji Nakamura, investigated the feasibility of this concept and formulated the explanation of how it could be implemented. Three types of extinction modes were found and each extinction mode was controlled by a suction flow rate. Recently, the article summarizing this concept was accepted to be published at a special issue, “Spacecraft Fire Safety” in Fire Technology, which is a prominent international journal in the fire community.

(Photo by NASA)

The leader of the research team, Professor Yuji Nakamura, said, “The idea initially emerged through unreserved discussions with US researchers. Though the test of the concept was simple to implement and confirm, however, systematic study to show its performance such as formulate the performance based on a mathematical model was arduous. With the assistance of ex-student, Mr. Usuki, and the collaborator, Prof. Wakatsuki, the concept was confirmed and the complete test device was successfully developed. Controlled vacuuming was introduced by an ejector system and all devices were activated with sensors in the test to improve reproducibility substantially. Fascinating flame suction images (direct photograph and Schlieren imaging) show the result and provide rich images on how the process should be modeled. At present, space agencies are wary to introduce this concept because no such device was developed and tested by them. It is understandable that their decision-making is frequently based on safety so that older technologies which are well-distributed and reassuring are approved. However, it does not mean that the new concept has no possibility of being considered. Emerging technological concepts frequently require constant proposal presentations to be recognized. We will continue to refine and present the concept.”

The research team expects VEM to be an upcoming technique in future space missions and that the concept would also be applicable for extinguishing certain unusual fire which is severe and unmanageable with currently-used extinguishers such as metal powder fire. It is also expected to be applied for the fire in clean rooms (e.g., operating room), where the spraying fire-fighting agents would cause severe damage to the structure and equipment to have large delay of reactivation. It is expected that the main role of researcher is to propose the new idea scientifically. Moreover, some years later, the concept may possibly be a component of a live product. In the future, long-term space mission will be critically considered and effective, then fire safety strategy requires reconsideration. Moreover, because a non-specialist like a newly recruited astronaut may be involved in activities in space hotel, space travel etc., easy-to-use emergency devices will be mandatory. Putting O2 mask prior to the firefighting does not sound appropriate. This concept would eventually become a new standard fire-fighting device in space. Potentially, for in house use, a “new” vacuum cleaner may have special options with this fire extinguisher. Sounds ridiculous? Maybe not.

This work was supported by Grants-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research, The Ministry of Education, Science, Sports and Culture (No. 25560160).

New research indicates that organ donors are still conscious even when having their organs removed for donation. Mike Adams hosts and exposes the organ harvesting industry.

Source: InfoWars

0 0

Nearly Half Of Millennials Wouldn’t Invest In Stocks Even If They Had The Money

April 19, 2019

As the American equity market roars back toward its all-time highs, a majority of the millennial generation is probably learning the true meaning of FOMO, because as study after study has showed, those who came of age immediately before, during and after the financial crisis were so scarred by the experience that they refused to ever buy in to the equity market. 

Overall, equity ownership among American adults remains 8% below its pre-crisis levels.

Of course, the factors behind the millennial generation’s inability to accumulate wealth are myriad: Stagnant wages, crushing student loan debt and widening inequality are just a few reasons why the savings rate among those under the age of 35 is basically nil. And when they do invest, they appear doomed to repeat the mistakes of the not-too-distant past, favoring get-rich-quick bubble plays like marijuana stocks and bitcoin over blue-chip stalwarts like Apple.

But while most would probably chalk millennials’ aversion to investing up to the fact that they don’t have any savings or income to spare, one recent study suggested that even if they had the money, they wouldn’t put it in stocks.

Lexington Law, a firm that offers services to help people fix their credit, asked 1,000 millennials how they would invest $10,000 if they had it to spare.

Nearly half – 46% – said they wouldn’t put the money in stocks.

Only one in three respondents said they would rely on a financial advisor, reflecting a distrust of financial ‘professionals’ that has lingered since the crash.

And although a slightly higher percentage of men than women said they would rely on their own advice, most expressed a lack of confidence in their investing acumen that was reflective of their lack of acumen.

As the study’s authors  argued, this distrust in the financial system isn’t terribly surprising.

Considering the effects of the last market crash, it’s not terribly surprising that 46 percent of adults aged 25 to 34 said they wouldn’t invest in the stock market. Many of the financial institutions that played a role in the last recession continue to operate as investment banks today. Though employment and wages are up, the crisis hasn’t been forgotten.

We wonder if their attitudes would be different if Congress and the Fed didn’t step in to bail out banks and the wealthy while leaving average working Americans to shoulder the brunt of the consequences?

Source: InfoWars

0 0

U.S. housing starts fall to near to two-year low; permits weak

April 19, 2019

Construction worker builds a single family home in San Diego, California
FILE PHOTO: A construction worker builds a single family home in San Diego, California, U.S. February 15, 2017. Picture taken February 15, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Blake

April 19, 2019

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – U.S. homebuilding dropped to a near two-year low in March, pulled down by persistent weakness in the single-family housing segment, suggesting the housing market continued to struggle despite declining mortgage rates.

Housing starts fell 0.3 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.139 million units last month, the lowest level since May 2017, the Commerce Department said on Friday.

Data for February was revised down to show homebuilding tumbling to a pace of 1.142 million units instead of the previously reported 1.162 million-unit rate.

Building permits fell 1.7 percent to a rate of 1.269 million units in March, the lowest in five months. Building permits have now declined for three straight month. Permits for single-family housing dropped to a more than 1-1/2 year low in March, a bad omen for starts in the coming months.

Economists polled by Reuters had forecast housing starts increasing to a pace of 1.230 million units in March.

The prolonged weakness in homebuilding likely reflects land and labor shortages, as well as expensive building materials.

A survey on Tuesday showed that though builders reported strong demand for new homes, they continued to highlight “affordability concerns stemming from a chronic shortage of construction workers and buildable lots.”

The 30-year fixed mortgage rate has dropped from a peak of about 4.94 percent in November to around 4.12 percent, according to data from mortgage finance agency Freddie Mac. Declining mortgage rates reflect a recent decision by the Federal Reserve to suspend its three-year monetary policy tightening campaign.

The housing market hit a soft patch last year, with investment in homebuilding contracting 0.3 percent, the weakest performance since 2010.

Single-family homebuilding, which accounts for the largest share of the housing market, dropped 0.4 percent to a rate of 785,000 units in March, the lowest level since September 2016.

Single-family homebuilding fell in the South and Midwest, but rose in the Northeast and South. The sharp drop in the Midwest likely reflected flooding in the region.

Permits to build single-family homes dropped 1.1 percent to a rate of 808,000 units in March, the lowest since August 2017. Single-family home building permits have now declined for four straight months.

Starts for the volatile multi-family housing segment were unchanged at a rate of 354,00 units in March. Permits for the construction of multi-family homes dropped 2.7 percent to a pace of 461,00 units last month.

(Reporting By Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Andrea Ricci)

Source: OANN

0 0

Japan’s March factory output to shrink, BOJ seen keeping policy unchanged: Reuters poll

April 19, 2019

FILE PHOTO: A worker cycles near a factory at the Keihin industrial zone in Kawasaki
FILE PHOTO: A worker cycles near a factory at the Keihin industrial zone in Kawasaki, Japan February 28, 2017. REUTERS/Issei Kato

April 19, 2019

TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s March factory output is forecast to have slipped for the first time in two months, a Reuters poll showed on Friday, though the central bank is expected to stand pat on policy as it bets on a gradual economic recovery despite rising risks to growth.

The poll of 17 economists predicted the Bank of Japan will retain its massive stimulus as well as the short-term interest rate target at minus 0.1 percent, while also maintaining its pledge to guide 10-year government bond yields around zero percent at its April 24-25 meeting.

The BOJ is facing a daunting task in its years-long efforts to help push up inflation toward its 2 percent goal, with a slowdown in global growth and trade making its task even more difficult.

Factories have been under strain in the past few months, and the poll forecast industrial production to have slipped 0.1 percent in March from the previous month after it rose 0.7 percent in February.

“Exports are weakening due to the global economic slowdown, which appears to have impacted on factory output,” said Yoshiki Shinke, chief economist at Dai-Ichi Life Research Institute.

“The economy is either at a temporarily lull or worsening slightly. But it requires more data to assess whether the economy contracted in the first quarter.”

The trade ministry will publish the factory output at 8:50 a.m. April 26, Japan time (2350 GMT April 25).

Data on the nation’s retail sector, due at the same time with the factory output numbers, is projected to show sales rising 0.8 percent last month from a year earlier, the poll found, accelerating from a 0.4 percent increase in February.

Recent gains in oil prices appear to have supported fuel retailers and demand from inbound tourists likely also boosted the overall retail sales, analysts said.

Yet the positive retail impulse would need to be sustained for some months to help boost inflation and overall consumption.

Indeed, the BOJ is expected to forecast next week that inflation will remain below its 2 percent target through the fiscal year that ends in March 2022, sources say.

The central bank is also seen sticking to its view that Japan’s economy will emerge from a soft patch and resume a moderate expansion in the second half of 2019.

“We forecast the BOJ won’t largely change its economic view, so the central bank will likely keep its current pace of stimulus policy,” said Shuji Tonouchi, senior market economist at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities.

The poll also found Tokyo’s core consumer prices (CPI) index, which includes oil products but excludes fresh food prices, rose 1.1 percent in April from a year earlier, the same pace as in March.

Price gains in oil related products probably contributed to Tokyo’s core CPI, while falls in costs of electricity and city gas weighed on the index, analysts said.

The poll showed the jobless rate pushed up to 2.4 percent in March from 2.3 percent in February, and the jobs-to-applicants ratio improved to 1.64, which would be an over 40-year high, from 1.63 in February.

The government will publish Tokyo’s core CPI and jobs data at 8:30 a.m. on April 26 (2330 GMT on April 25).

(Reporting by Kaori Kaneko; Editing by Shri Navaratnam)

Source: OANN

0 0

Report: Immigration Fuels Growth in 10 Percent of US

April 18, 2019

About one in 10 U.S. counties grew last year because of immigration, bolstering communities amid a birth rate decline, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Citing new census figures released Thursday, the Journal reported the share of U.S. population growth attributable to immigrants hit 48% for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2018, up from 35% in fiscal 2011.

The rise comes as separate figures showing the general fertility rate in 2017 for women age 15-44 was 60.2 births per 1,000 women — the lowest since the government began tracking it more than 100 years ago, the Journal reported.

“We have a situation where U.S. fertility rates are really low and we’re not actively adding to the workforce through natural increase,” Aparna Mathur of the conservative think tank American Enterprise Institute told the Journal.

“We cannot afford to talk about immigrants as bad for the U.S. economy.”

For the last fiscal year, 298 of the nation’s 3,142 counties grew primarily because of immigration instead of a surplus of births over deaths, and from people moving around the country, according to the new Census Bureau figures.

That is up from 247 counties in 2011, the earliest data in the figures released Thursday.

These counties include parts of large metro areas as well as some of their suburban counties.

Fourteen states and the District of Columbia drew on immigration for more than half of their growth last fiscal year, including Florida, Kansas, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Virginia, the Journal reported.

In 44% of U.S. counties last fiscal year, the population fell from the year before, according to the new Census Bureau county population estimates.

Source: NewsMax America

Current track

Title

Artist