Trading resumes on Syria's Damascus Securities Exchange after six month closure
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Bloomberg
14 minutes ago
- Bloomberg
Monroe's Koenig on Navigating Risk Amid Growth: Credit Crunch
"I'm an entrepreneur, I'm a capitalist. I love growth, I love to back entrepreneurs.", is how Ted Koenig, founder, chairman and CEO of Monroe Capital, sees the firm's expansion to over $20 billion in assets under management from it's founding in 2004. Ted joins Bloomberg Intelligence's Noel Hebert and Sam Geier to discuss the firm's founding, attracting capital, identifying partners for growth, and the current market landscape. We talk diversification and CLOs, how big is too big, attracting capital and giving back to the community. That and much more on this episode of Credit Crunch. The Credit Crunch podcast is part of BI's FICC Focus series. Listen on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
Wall Street Journal
27 minutes ago
- Wall Street Journal
Trump's New Steel Tariffs Look Vulnerable to a Courtroom Challenge
U.S. steelmaker shares soared on news of President Trump's new tariffs. But are these tariffs as bulletproof as investors seem to believe? The steel tariffs, like those on autos and auto parts, are sector-based. They differ in that respect from the 'Liberation Day' tariffs Trump unveiled in April. The U.S. Court of International Trade in May blocked Trump's tariffs on U.S. trading partners, rejecting the argument that he could invoke emergency powers to set the country-by-country tariffs. An appeals court stayed that ruling, pending its own review. The conventional wisdom in the markets has been that Trump's recent sector-based tariffs are on firmer legal footing. That might not be the case, though. In fact, there is reason to believe his new 50% tariff on imported steel could be vulnerable to a legal challenge. To speed up the process, Trump piggybacked on the findings of a national-security investigation by the Commerce Department in 2018, during his first term. The question now is whether the findings were too stale to be the basis for a new tariff hike, and thus whether Trump should have sought a new national-security investigation first. Going that route would have delayed his CLF 7.04%increase; green up pointing triangle is up 30% since Trump announced his new tariff plans May 30. Nucor NUE 2.37%increase; green up pointing triangle and Steel Dynamics STLD 1.11%increase; green up pointing triangle are up 11% and 9%, respectively. The tariff increase took effect June 4. Trump also relied on Commerce Department findings from his first term in office when raising sector-based tariffs this year on aluminum, autos and auto parts. His directive raising aluminum tariffs to 50% from 25% took effect June 4, as well. While it is too soon to know whether the sectoral tariffs will draw serious court challenges, a look at the legal underpinnings shows potential soft spots. Trump in his June 3 proclamation said he exercised his authority under the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 to raise steel tariffs to 50% from 25%. In doing so, he cited the Commerce Department's 2018 investigative report that concluded the quantities of steel being imported into the U.S. threatened to harm national security. The trade statute says the president, within 90 days of such a report, shall determine whether he concurs with the findings and decide what action to take in response. After that, he has 15 days to implement the action. A 2021 ruling by a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit said the deadlines aren't strict and some flexibility is allowed. In that case, Trump waited five months after his initial 2018 action to boost tariffs on imported Turkish steel to 50% from 25%. An importer, Transpacific Steel, sued, and the Court of International Trade ruled against the higher tariffs on Turkish imports, saying Trump had gone past the statutory time limit. (By then, Trump had already returned the tariff on Turkish steel to 25%.) The appellate court reversed that ruling in a 2-1 decision. That decision might have opened the door for Trump to rely on the same 2018 investigative report yet again—seven years later—for his latest tariff boost. However, the appeals court said its ruling applied 'in the circumstances presented here.' A decision could turn out differently in other circumstances, such as where the investigative findings are 'simply too stale to be a basis' for new presidential actions, the court said. Tim Meyer, an international-trade specialist and professor at Duke Law School, said the appeals court's ruling appears to leave room for a plaintiff to challenge the new steel tariffs. 'The tricky part is how to apply the standards the court identifies,' he said. 'For example, what does it mean for a report to be 'stale'? The court seems to suggest that the passage of time might be enough. But how much time is too much time?' Much has happened in the past seven years, including a pandemic. U.S. steel imports were 26.2 million metric tons in 2024, according to the Commerce Department, down 24% since 2017. That point alone could underscore the need for new investigative findings as a predicate for presidential action. Trump in his June 3 proclamation said he also considered 'current information newly provided' by the Commerce Department, but didn't say what it was. Investors will be watching to see if any well-heeled plaintiffs surface to contest the tariffs. Gordon Johnson, chief executive at GLJ Research, in a June 2 note to clients said he believed the surge in steel stocks was premature and that the new 50% tariffs 'could be overturned due to a lack of a new investigation.' He also noted that no one had sought an injunction yet to block them. That said, he wrote, 'we believe there are procedural problems that make these new tariffs vulnerable to a lawsuit.' Steelmaker shares could take a hit if a court invalidated the sectoral tariffs. U.S. automaker stocks, on the other hand, could rally. Of course, the Trump administration could simply initiate new Commerce Department investigations and reinstitute the tariffs later. The net result for investors and the economy ultimately might be just more prolonged uncertainty about Trump's favorite negotiating tool. Write to Jonathan Weil at
CNET
28 minutes ago
- CNET
SAVE Student Loan Update: Don't Expect to Make Payments This Year, but Do This One Thing ASAP
Pla2na/Getty Images/CNET There's been a lot of student loan chatter, but little clarity for borrowers enrolled in the Saving on a Valuable Education repayment plan. We've witnessed several updates to student loan programs this year, from proposed changes to Public Service Loan Forgiveness eligibility to the ramping up of collections efforts on defaulted student loan accounts to a new Republican-fronted bill seeking to change existing income-driven repayment plan options. But the official rejection of SAVE may have the biggest impact for the 8 million borrowers who qualified for lower monthly payments. Now that we know SAVE is officially out, what's next? Should you switch to another income-driven repayment plan? Or wait it out? I talked to experts to find out when payments are expected to restart and what you should do during this downtime. Read more: How Much Could Student Loan Payments Skyrocket for SAVE Borrowers? We Did the Math When will payments restart for student loan borrowers in SAVE? It's not clear when payments will start again for borrowers on the SAVE plan but it's looking like the end of this year would be the earliest timeframe. The Department of Education's website says SAVE plan borrowers will stay in a general forbearance until at least the fall. It also directed loan servicers to adjust the income recertification deadline to no earlier than Feb. 1, 2026. Robert Farrington, student loan expert and founder of The College Investor, expects the general forbearance to last even longer. "Borrowers will likely see the SAVE forbearance end in mid-to-late 2026," says Farrington. "Many borrowers are already reporting the end date of their forbearance moving to September 2026." Currently, loan payments for any borrower in SAVE remain on hold in a general forbearance and your balance isn't accruing interest. If you're enrolled in a loan forgiveness program like PSLF, each paused month will not count towards your forgiveness during the pause. While you can choose to switch to an alternative repayment plan, most experts suggest sticking with SAVE, and doing this one thing ahead of payments resuming. Should PSLF borrowers in SAVE switch to another payment plan? If you're a teacher, nurse or other public servant pursuing PSLF, you may be worried that the payment pause is not counting toward your 120-payment requirement. That leaves you with three options. First, you could switch from SAVE to another income-driven repayment plan (ICR, IBR or PAYE). That way, your payments will count toward PSLF's 120-payment requirement. Alternatively, if you would have hit 120 months of on-time payments if not for the pause, you can apply for the PSLF Buyback program to get credit for your time in forbearance. "This program [allows borrowers] to make a lump-sum payment for any months spent in administrative forbearance under SAVE, ensuring those months count towards PSLF," explains Megan Walter, NASFAA senior policy analyst. The downside of these first two options is that borrowers have been reporting processing delays. So don't expect a fast response. Last, if you've recently enrolled in PSLF or are not close to receiving forgiveness, you might prefer to wait until you're moved into a new payment plan. Yes, your months in forbearance won't count toward your 120-payment goal, but this could give you time to start saving for a potentially higher student loan payment. Whether you decide to change plans now or wait, make sure your decisions align with your financial goals. With SAVE no longer an option, it's important to understand all your avenues for paying back your student loans. What should SAVE borrowers do right now? That doesn't mean you should sit back and do nothing, though. Take this time to prepare for the likelihood that your payments will increase in the future. You can use the Federal Student Aid's Loan Simulator tool to help calculate how much your monthly payment will be under different payment plans. While your payments are paused, you won't have to worry about your account being moved to collections. Although borrowers with defaulted loans are once again subject to collections, including wage garnishment, those enrolled in the SAVE plan don't have to worry about those consequences for now. Use this time to improve your finances, suggested Farrington. "This is a great time to pay off other debts (including private loans), build an emergency fund, contribute to an IRA and more." If you have the wiggle room in your budget, start paying yourself each month the same amount you'd pay your student loan servicer. Put this money into a high-yield savings account to earn a little extra interest on your savings.
