Bloomberg: The Asia Trade 05/15/2025
"Bloomberg: The Asia Trade" brings you everything you need to know to get ahead as the trading day begins in Asia. Bloomberg TV is live from Singapore and Sydney with Avril Hong and Haidi Stroud-Watts, getting insight and analysis from newsmakers and industry leaders on the biggest stories shaping global markets. (Source: Bloomberg)
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Yahoo
29 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Trump blasts Rand Paul as ‘crazy' for resisting tax-cut bill over debt limit
(Bloomberg) — President Donald Trump attacked fiscal conservative Rand Paul as 'crazy' Tuesday morning as he pressed reluctant Republican senators to move forward swiftly with his massive tax and spending package. Where the Wild Children's Museums Are Billionaire Steve Cohen Wants NY to Expand Taxpayer-Backed Ferry The Economic Benefits of Paying Workers to Move At London's New Design Museum, Visitors Get Hands-On Access LA City Council Passes Budget That Trims Police, Fire Spending The Kentucky senator earlier said on CNBC that he wouldn't vote for the president's signature legislation because it would increase the legal US debt limit. 'I'm just not for that. That's not conservative,' said Paul, who also has argued the tax measure would add too much to the national debt. Trump quickly responded with a series of social media posts, saying the senator 'never has any practical or constructive ideas. His ideas are actually crazy (losers!)' While most outside economists have forecast the House version of the legislation would add trillions of dollars to the US debt over 10 years, the White House has claimed that the tax bill would pay for itself in part through economic growth. Trump and Republican leaders have said they have no choice but to add the debt ceiling to the tax bill in order to ensure smooth passage and avoid a payment default as soon as August. Paul posted a response to Trump, saying he favors the tax cuts but 'I also want to see the $5 trillion in new debt removed from the bill,' adding at least three other Republican senators agreed with him, enough to block the legislation. YouTube Is Swallowing TV Whole, and It's Coming for the Sitcom Millions of Americans Are Obsessed With This Japanese Barbecue Sauce Mark Zuckerberg Loves MAGA Now. Will MAGA Ever Love Him Back? Trump Considers Deporting Migrants to Rwanda After the UK Decides Not To Will Small Business Owners Knock Down Trump's Mighty Tariffs? ©2025 Bloomberg L.P. By subscribing, you are agreeing to Yahoo's Terms and Privacy Policy Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Trump Team Signals It Wants to Keep Control of Fannie, Freddie to Boost Budget
(Bloomberg) -- Signs are emerging that the Trump administration may be less willing to give up control of mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac than investors have bargained for, as policymakers scrounge for ways to close US budget gaps. Where the Wild Children's Museums Are Billionaire Steve Cohen Wants NY to Expand Taxpayer-Backed Ferry The Economic Benefits of Paying Workers to Move At London's New Design Museum, Visitors Get Hands-On Access LA City Council Passes Budget That Trims Police, Fire Spending In recent social media posts, Donald Trump said he's exploring the sale of new shares in the two companies, which play a key role in determining how much Americans pay for home loans — but he also made clear the government will keep a strong oversight role. And in recent interviews, Federal Housing Finance Agency director William Pulte said the administration is considering a public offering without actually exiting conservatorship, the quasi-government ownership imposed on the two companies since a 2008 bailout. 'Maybe there's a way to take these companies public and use these companies for what they are, which are assets for the American people,' Pulte said Monday in an appearance on Fox Business. The comments suggest the administration could choose a different outcome for the two mortgage giants than the one it pursued during the first Trump administration. Back then, the goal was to minimize government involvement. Now the goal may be to generate as much cash as possible for the US, potentially to help fund tax cuts. 'Until two weeks ago, we thought Trump would pick up where he left off,' said Jim Parrott, nonresident fellow at the Urban Institute and former housing policy adviser to President Barack Obama. Instead, the plan may be to keep substantial control and generate revenue for other policy priorities, he said. 'That is a dramatic shift in focus,' Parrott said. This might deeply disappoint Wall Street investors such as Pershing Square Capital Management's Bill Ackman who've been counting on a windfall if Fannie and Freddie are set free. Since Trump's election win, shares of Fannie Mae have been up some 700%, hovering near their highest levels in two decades. The bet is that removing the so-called government-sponsored enterprises or GSEs from conservatorship will unleash a torrent of pent-up earnings power. Fannie Mae stock dropped 4.6% to $10.28 at 9:32 a.m. in New York trading. To be sure, administration officials say many alternatives are still on the table for the two firms, which together control $7.8 trillion in assets and last year generated $29 billion in profits. Pulte said last week the government is 'studying all different options' for the companies' future, and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Bloomberg last month his agency is studying privatization — but said other policies will come first, such as trade and peace deals. The first Trump administration made strides toward ending conservatorship, for example by stopping a provision that swept all their profits to the government and thus allowing them to build capital. And after leaving office, Trump wrote in 2021 that he would have quickly ordered the release of Fannie and Freddie from conservatorship had it not been for rules that prevented him from doing so at the time. The US Supreme Court struck down those rules in 2021, freeing Trump's hand. But the priorities may be different now, at least judging by early signals from the administration. Mortgage Rates Sensitive to rising interest rates, Pulte and Bessent have repeatedly stressed the importance of keeping mortgage costs in check. That's a risk if the conservatorship ends, because US backing helps Fannie and Freddie keep interest rates down on home loans. At the same time, scary-looking budget deficits may be creating a greater incentive to use the GSEs to generate funds for the Treasury, rather than private investors. A spokesperson at the FHFA, which oversees Fannie and Freddie, confirmed the agency is studying how to take the companies public should the president decide to pursue such an offering. This includes potentially taking them public while still in conservatorship, the spokesperson said. 'In any scenario, we will ensure the mortgage-backed securities market is safe and sound and that there is no upward pressure on rates,' the spokesperson added. 'Little Flummoxed' Ironically, retaining substantial control could complicate efforts to sell off the government's stakes for significant amounts of value. To extract cash, the government would need to generate lots of enthusiasm from private investors as part of a public offering — but they'd be interested only if the US surrendered more control. 'We're still a little flummoxed by Pulte's comments about taking the GSEs public but not necessarily privatizing,' wrote strategists including Nicholas Maciunas at JPMorgan in a Friday note. 'If the goal is to sell off the Treasury stake, potentially raising hundreds of billions of dollars to pay down the U.S. debt, we'd think that private investors would want the government's involvement to be somewhat lighter than today.' For now, any would-be windfall for the US isn't reflected in accounting by the Congressional Budget Office, the scorekeeper legislators rely upon to estimate how proposed laws would affect the government's budget. The CBO's analysts have indicated they won't adjust the value assigned to the government's GSE stakes until plans for ending conservatorship are concrete. Trump's insistence that he would keep the government's 'implicit guarantee' of Fannie and Freddie could also inhibit efforts to change the CBO's stance. 'There is uncertainty around the CBOs treatment of the GSEs but the president's plan to keep providing Fannie and Freddie with a financial lifeline may mean they continue to view the two companies as obligations of the government, and thus refrain from writing up their financial value in its scoring,' said Ankur Mehta, a strategist at Citigroup Inc. --With assistance from Norah Mulinda. (Updates with Tuesday's stock trading in the eighth paragraph.) YouTube Is Swallowing TV Whole, and It's Coming for the Sitcom Millions of Americans Are Obsessed With This Japanese Barbecue Sauce Mark Zuckerberg Loves MAGA Now. Will MAGA Ever Love Him Back? Trump Considers Deporting Migrants to Rwanda After the UK Decides Not To Will Small Business Owners Knock Down Trump's Mighty Tariffs? ©2025 Bloomberg L.P.
Newsweek
an hour ago
- Newsweek
Doritos and Other Snack Foods Could Soon Carry Warning Labels in Texas
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. A Texas bill aimed at requiring warning labels on packaged foods containing certain additives, including popular snacks like Doritos and M&Ms, has advanced to the governor's desk after being passed by the state legislature. Newsweek contacted Texas Governor Greg Abbott and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for comment on Tuesday outside of regular office hours via email and online inquiry form respectively. Why It Matters If enacted, Texas would become one of the first states to require such disclosures, potentially reshaping national food industry standards as companies often choose to implement changes mandated by major states nationwide to avoid regulatory overlap. Bloomberg said the legislation becoming law would be "one of the most substantive victories yet" for Kennedy's Make America Health Again movement. What To Know Senate Bill 25, passed unanimously in the Texas State Senate, mandates labels on products containing any of more than 40 additives which are currently legal under federal U.S. standards but banned or require warnings in other major Western nations or bodies. Ingredients covered by the list include synthetic dyes, titanium dioxide, bleached flour, partially hydrogenated oils, melatonin, and various food colorings. The label must state: "This product contains an artificial color, chemical, or food additive that is banned in Australia, Canada, the European Union, or the United Kingdom." Impacted products would include Nacho Cheese Doritos, PepsiCo Inc.'s Mountain Dew and Mars Inc.'s M&Ms, according to Bloomberg due to their use of synthetic dyes. Republican Governor Greg Abbott has not yet publicly stated whether he will sign the bill into law. Packages of Doritos chips are displayed on a store shelf on April 23, 2025 in San Anselmo, California (main) and the Texas state flag during the first round of the Valero Texas Open at TPC... Packages of Doritos chips are displayed on a store shelf on April 23, 2025 in San Anselmo, California (main) and the Texas state flag during the first round of the Valero Texas Open at TPC San Antonio on March 30, 2023 in San Antonio, Texas (insert). More Justin Sullivan/Mike Mulholland/GETTY Enforcement will be managed by the state attorney general, and violations may incur penalties of up to $50,000 per violation plus reimbursement for enforcement costs. The legislation also establishes a state nutrition advisory committee, mandates 30 minutes of daily physical activity during the school day for grades below six, and instructs Texas schools to implement new nutrition education curricula. Senate Bill 25 was filed by Republican Senator Lois Kolkhorst and prioritized by Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick. Speaking to Bloomberg, Texas state Rep. Lacey Hull, one of the bill's sponsors in the House, said she received a supportive call from Kennedy after the bill passed the Texas Legislature. What People Are Saying Speaking to Bloomberg, Abbott's press secretary Andrew Mahaleris said: "Governor Abbott will continue to work with the legislature to ensure Texans have access to healthy foods to care for themselves and their families and will thoughtfully review any legislation they send to his desk." The Consumer Brands Association is urging Abbott not to sign the bill. Its senior vice president of state affairs, John Hewitt, said: "The ingredients used in the U.S. food supply are safe and have been rigorously studied following an objective science and risk-based evaluation process. "The labeling requirements of SB 25 mandate inaccurate warning language, create legal risks for brands and drive consumer confusion and higher costs." In a joint statement, a coalition of companies including Walmart Inc., PepsiCo and Mondelez, Coca-Cola Co. said: "As it's written, the food labeling provision in this bill casts an incredibly wide net—triggering warning labels on everyday grocery items based on assertions that foreign governments have banned such items, rather than on standards established by Texas regulators or by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration." What Happens Next The bill awaits a decision from Abbott, who has not publicly commented on his intentions. If signed, the law will take effect on January 1, 2027, and Texas will begin enforcing the new labeling and health education requirements statewide.
