Latest news with #JeromeH.Powell
NZ Herald
23-05-2025
- Business
- NZ Herald
Trump's tax bill plan adds to federal debt, prompts investor backlash
'The markets are watching the fiscal policy,' Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller told Fox Business Network on Thursday. 'Everybody I've talked to in the financial markets, they're staring at the bill and they thought it was going to be much more in terms of fiscal restraint and they're not necessarily seeing it.' The centrepiece of the President's second-term agenda, the legislation would expand and make permanent his 2017 tax cuts. Administration officials have said the measure will produce an economic boom. But it also will add US$2.4 trillion ($4t) to the national debt over the next decade, according to the Congressional Budget Office. Indeed, the legislation will worsen the federal government's already serious debt woes. In the fiscal year that ended October 1, Washington ran a budget deficit of more than 6% of gross domestic product, an unprecedented level outside of war or financial crisis. As interest rates rose in recent years, Washington's fiscal position deteriorated. During the past fiscal year, interest payments on the national debt cost taxpayers more than US$881 billion, more than twice the 2021 figure, according to the CBO. The Government now spends more on interest than it does on national defence or Medicare. Yet at a time when many Republicans publicly bemoan the Government's chronic indebtedness, the bill the House just approved would lock in supersized deficits for years, economists said. 'This is arguably the most significant piece of Legislation that will ever be signed in the History of our Country!' the president wrote in a post on his social media site Truth Social. Some of the House bill's tax cuts - such as an increase in the standard deduction - are scheduled to expire in 2028. But most analysts expect a future Congress to make them permanent, as has happened multiple times in the past with similar budgetary gimmicks. If those provisions are extended, the US debt-to-GDP ratio would double to 200% in 2055, according to the Yale Budget Lab. Only Sudan and Japan top that figure. There is no surefire way to know when the US$26t debt held by the public will become too large. But the risk is that as the federal debt swells, investors will eventually demand ever-higher yields to continue buying Government securities. Those rising yields mean higher interest payments for the Government, which adds to the debt and fuels a vicious cycle of deteriorating federal finances. Speaking to reporters earlier this month, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome H. Powell said the nation's debt is 'on an unsustainable path'. Investors expected Congress to extend Trump's 2017 tax cuts. But they have been spooked by the cost of extra measures tucked into the bill, such as the President's call to eliminate the tax on tips and an expansion of the child tax credit, said Ernie Tedeschi, director of economics for the Yale Budget Lab. Higher yields would cost taxpayers. In compiling its budget forecasts, CBO assumes that the Government will pay less than 4% to borrow money for 10 years. If the yield on the 10-year treasury instead stayed at 4.5%, near its current level, it would mean an additional US$2.2 trillion in interest charges over the next decade, said Tedeschi, who was chief economist for the White House Council of Economic Advisers under President Joe Biden. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, a self-professed 'deficit hawk', has said the administration plans over four years to gradually bring the annual budget deficit down to its long-term average around 3.5% of GDP. Tax cuts and the president's deregulation agenda will help by driving annual economic growth to 3%, well above the CBO forecast around 1.8%, he has said. At the White House on Thursday, Russell Vought, director of the Office of Management and Budget, told reporters that the tax legislation was just 'one piece of the fiscal puzzle'. The administration plans separate legislation to enact billions of dollars worth of spending cuts developed by Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency and is betting on US$3t in new revenue from import taxes to close the budget gap, Vought said. While investors cheer lower taxes and less red tape, many worry about the tariff element of the president's economic agenda. The President's imposition of a 10% tax on all imports plus higher rates on Chinese products, steel, aluminium, automobiles and auto parts is expected to dent growth. As he negotiates trade deals with more than a dozen nations, uncertainty over the ultimate level of US trade barriers is causing many businesses to delay investment plans. 'We're worried about the economy slowing down… that you'll get a stagflation shock,' said Priya Misra, a portfolio manager at J.P. Morgan Asset Management in New York, referring to a combination of sluggish growth and higher inflation. The yield or interest rate demanded by investors also jumped earlier this month after Moody's downgraded the US Government's triple-A credit rating and lowered the outlook to 'negative' from 'stable', citing a continuing increase in debt and interest payments to levels 'significantly higher' than other major governments. Before the downgrade, Moody's was the sole major credit rating agency that assigned the US Government its highest credit score. Standard & Poor's cut its rating on US debt in 2011, and Fitch followed suit in 2023. Foreign investors have been especially alert to the growing risks of holding US stocks, bonds and dollars. More than US$9t in US treasury securities are held overseas, up nearly 12% from one year ago. But there are signs of waning foreign appetite for US assets. In recent auctions of Treasury debt, fewer 'indirect' bids - the type often employed by overseas investors - have been accepted. That indicates they are demanding higher yields before buying, according to Torsten Slok, chief economist for Apollo Global Management. Foreign wariness of US assets comes after years of overseas investors expanding their dollar holdings. For several years, as the United States grew faster than Europe or Japan, portfolio managers piled into US assets. 'Given the relentless rush into US dollar assets for the last 20 years, you can see how at the margins some foreign investors are saying, 'Look, you know what, it's probably time to take some chips off the dollar table,'' said Ajay Rajadhyaksha, global chairman of research for Barclays Bank. The recent increase in US yields drew unflattering comparisons to a 2022 bond market revolt over British Government spending, which forced then-Prime Minister Liz Truss to abandon plans for unfunded tax cuts and ultimately drove her from office. The US seems some distance from such an abrupt financial event. The run-up in US long-term bond yields is part of a global trend. Similar increases have occurred in Japan, the United Kingdom, Germany and Australia. The yield on the 30-year Japanese bond hit an all-time high this week. Before the 2008 financial crisis, US 30-year yields around 5% were not unusual. They last traded at that level in mid-January, when many on Wall Street were still anticipating robust growth from the President's promise to lower taxes and deregulate the economy. The difference now is that Trump and the Republican-controlled Congress are choosing to go further into the red when Government debt is much larger and growth prospects are dimmed by tariffs and long-term forces such as societal ageing. 'That's what people are looking at, which is how is an investor going to get a good return when the structural growth rate in the economy is softening and, in a good economic environment, debt accumulation by the Government is continuing and if anything accelerating,' said Bob Elliott, chief executive of Unlimited Funds in New York.
New York Times
07-05-2025
- Business
- New York Times
Live Updates: Fed Keeps Rates Steady and Flags Heightened Uncertainty About the Economy
Pinned The Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged for a third meeting in a row on Wednesday, as officials stuck to a wait-and-see approach amid heightened uncertainty about how significantly President Trump's tariffs will raise inflation and slow growth. The unanimous decision to stand pat will keep interest rates at 4.25 percent to 4.5 percent. Rates have been there since December after a series of cuts in the second half of 2024. The Fed gathered at a highly volatile moment for the economy and the global financial system amid an onslaught of policy changes from Mr. Trump just months into his second term in the White House. In a statement on Wednesday, the Fed acknowledged that the labor market was still 'solid.' But policymakers also noted that 'uncertainty about the economic outlook has increased further' and 'risks of higher unemployment and higher inflation have risen.' At a news conference after the statement, Jerome H. Powell, the Fed chair, said he could not yet say 'which way this will shake out' in terms of whether to be more worried about inflation or growth. He later captured the uncertainty of the moment, saying 'It's really not at all clear what it is we should do.' Since the Fed's last meeting in March, the administration announced and then rolled back aggressive new tariffs as Mr. Trump gave countries time to reach trade deals ahead of a July deadline. Still, a 10 percent universal tariff remains in place, along with additional levies on steel, aluminum and cars. The president has also imposed a minimum tariff of 145 percent on Chinese goods. The whiplash has unnerved financial markets, stoking volatility as Wall Street digested the various twists and turns associated with Mr. Trump's trade policy and his subsequent attacks on Jerome H. Powell, the Fed chair, for ignoring his demands to lower interest rates. Last month, investors started to flee what are considered financial 'safe havens,' signaling that markets had come under strain. The upheaval has created complications for the central bank. It is struggling to both assess the economic fallout from Mr. Trump's policies and game out how it will set monetary policy in an environment in which its goals of maintaining a healthy labor market and keeping inflation low and stable may be in conflict. Officials have grown increasingly worried about how much Mr. Trump's policies, which also include slashing spending and deporting immigrants, will sap growth. Some companies have already started to warn about sluggish sales as consumers have turned much more downbeat about the outlook; the fear is that the uncertainty will further chill business activity. But unlike in the past, the Fed is not in a position to respond to early signs that the economy is weakening by preemptively lowering interest rates. That is because of inflation: Price pressures stemming from the post-pandemic surge have not been fully snuffed out, and now Mr. Trump's tariffs risk rekindling them. It is too early to tell if the tariff-induced jump in inflation will prove to be temporary, or if it morphs into something more persistent. So far, market-based measures of inflation expectations, to which the Fed pays closest attention, suggest that inflation will indeed remain contained after an initial pop. But officials do not want to make the same mistake as they did just a few years ago, when they underestimated how long lasting inflation would prove to be. While officials originally expected inflation to fade after pandemic-induced supply snags, it instead persisted. As such, the bar for the central bank to lower interest rates is higher this time. Officials will most likely need to see tangible evidence that the labor market is beginning to weaken before restarting cuts. If monthly jobs growth grinds to a halt, or turns negative, and layoffs rise, that could be enough to bolster the central bank's conviction that it can begin to reduce rates. But waiting to see that show up in the data may mean that the Fed has moved too late, potentially prompting the need for officials to cut more aggressively later on.
New York Times
28-04-2025
- Business
- New York Times
The Dollar's Weakness Creates an Opportunity for the Euro. Can It Last?
President Trump's shake-up of the global trade system has sent tremors through the long-held view that the United States is the source of the world's safest financial assets. That's created an opportunity for Europe. The market tumult in which investors simultaneously sold off the U.S. dollar, American stocks and U.S. Treasury bonds eased last week as Mr. Trump backed off his threats to fire the Federal Reserve chair, Jerome H. Powell, and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent tried to reassure foreign officials that trade deals would be struck. But many European officials attending the spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank in Washington last week were skeptical that the uncertainty over Mr. Trump's trade policy would dissipate any time soon. They said the unpredictable nature of the Trump administration's approach to setting policy would not easily be forgotten. Instead, they saw the potential to attract investors to European assets, from the euro to the bond market. 'We see that our stability, predictability and respect for the rule of law is already proving a strength,' Valdis Dombrovskis, the European commissioner responsible for the trade bloc's economy, said on Wednesday in a discussion on the sidelines of the I.M.F. meetings. 'We already have stronger investor interest in euro-denominated assets.' The most comprehensive indication that funds are flowing to Europe: Since the beginning of April, the euro has gained 5.4 percent against the dollar, rising above $1.13, the highest level since late 2021. The question among policymakers and investors is whether the recent jump in the euro and other euro-denominated assets is simply a short-term rebalancing of portfolios that heavily favored the dollar or the beginning of a long-term trend in which the euro firmly encroaches on the dollar's role as the world's dominant currency. A troubled past 'There's a lot of enthusiasm about Europe,' Kristin J. Forbes, an economist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, said in an interview. She said the excitement about the euro reminded her of the currency's founding in 1999, when some economists and policymakers raised the prospect of it replacing the dollar. In its early years, the euro's international use exceeded the combined use of the currencies it replaced. But then the euro was hit by crises. Despite having a monetary union of a dozen members, including Germany, Europe's largest economy, the region remained politically fragmented, sapping confidence in the currency. The sovereign debt crisis in 2012, followed by a decade of ultra low interest rates, meant the region's bonds offered low returns. The euro is now used by 20 member countries and represents about 20 percent of the world's central banks foreign exchange reserves, a figure that has barely budged in the past two decades. Thirty percent of global exports are invoiced in euros, whereas more than half are in dollars. Speculation about new dominant currencies should be taken 'cautiously,' Ms. Forbes said, but there is more momentum behind the euro. 'This feels like it does have more legs because it is a combination of a stronger, more unified Europe,' she said. 'At the same time, there are more problems emerging with U.S. dollar assets.' Improvements have been made on some of the issues that previously deterred foreign investors. Today, European bonds are providing better returns, and investors trust that the European Central Bank will be the lender of last resort, minimizing the risk that one country's economic troubles could affect all euro assets. More safe assets For investors, the most promising new development is the prospect of Germany issuing about 1 trillion euros in additional government debt, known as bunds and considered the safest euro-denominated assets. For years, Germany's strict fiscal conservatism has restrained the supply of bunds. But last month, Parliament altered the borrowing limits anchored in its constitution, the so-called debt brake, to allow the government to borrow hundreds of millions of euros to invest in the military and infrastructure. 'There are cheers in Europe' because of Germany's fiscal stimulus, said Kristalina Georgieva, the I.M.F. managing director. 'And it adds something that is not tangible, but it is important — confidence.' The demand for German debt has preceded any additional issuance. During the recent market turmoil, bund prices rose, pushing down the yields, a clear sign of investor interest. At the same time, yields on U.S. government bonds have moved in the other direction. By the end of last week, the yield on 10-year bunds was 2.47 percent, reversing nearly all the increase that followed the stimulus announcement. Investors are also anticipating an increase in debt issued jointly by European governments, an idea that has been proposed to finance more military spending across the bloc. Economists have pointed out that this happened before: The European Union issued more than 600 billion euros in bonds to finance post-pandemic recovery programs. But that borrowing faced fierce opposition, and future issuance would also struggle to win the backing of all the member states. Although there has been confusion and frustration with the Mr. Trump's trade policies, many European officials, including central bankers, emphasized the need for Europe to seize this moment. 'This will be a time of creativity and pragmatism, getting things moving,' Olli Rehn, the governor of the Finnish central bank, said in a speech. 'I am very much looking forward to this period as a positive challenge because we are very serious about reinforcing common defense in Europe. Which will, by the way, need safe assets.' 'A long and hard road' Optimism is growing about the role of the euro. Klaas Knot, the governor of the Dutch central bank, said he had gone from being agnostic about the international use of the euro to a 'cautious believer.' But he added that 'the external strength' of the euro 'is a reflection of internal strength' in Europe, and governments need to go further to increase that strength, he said in a speech on the sidelines of the meetings in Washington. Officials must continue to deepen the single market that connects the bloc's more than 448 million people and enable them to trade and do businesses freely, Mr. Knot said. Lawmakers, he said, also needed to build a single capital market that would make it easier for money to cross European borders. 'We still have quite some work to do in Europe.' Alfred Kramer, the director of the I.M.F.'s European department, warned against 'over-interpreting' the recent shift toward the euro. A 'move to European exceptionalism,' he said, is 'still a long and hard road away.' The region, he said, needed many more structural changes that would enable a more dynamic business sector in which companies could reach larger markets and pools of capital. Many officials said it was more likely that the euro would be one of several assets that become more prominent as investors reduce their holdings in dollars. In recent weeks, for example, the price of gold has soared, exceeding $3,300 per troy ounce, and the Swiss franc has also surged, gaining nearly 7 percent against the dollar this month. 'I don't see everyone massively getting out of dollars and suddenly shifting to the euro; I think it's more a healthy diversification,' Ms. Forbes said. But private investors abroad who have built up a lot of holdings in U.S. debt and are now watching the dollar decline want alternatives. 'Europe,' she added, 'is a natural place to diversify.'
New York Times
25-04-2025
- Business
- New York Times
Bracing for a Slow-Moving, Self-Inflicted Economic Storm
It is in a president's interest to ensure that the economy and the stock market are strong. Yet the Trump administration has been doing just the opposite. The mood in the markets has been upbeat this week, largely because the president and his advisers softened their stances, rolling back some of their threats toward both China and the Federal Reserve. Periods of relative calm like this last one have been a relief, but they haven't lasted long, for good reasons. Start with President Trump's imposition of tariffs on countries around the world, especially his decision to start a trade war with China. Then, consider his repeated verbal attacks on the Fed and its chair, Jerome H. Powell, which have threatened the independence of the central bank. Add the weakening and wholesale dismantling of a host of important government agencies, the defunding of universities and the open consideration of policies that could dislodge the U.S. dollar and Treasury bonds from their place at the center of world finance. There's plenty more. Fundamentally, investors and business executives are jittery, and economists have profound concerns about the potential damage being done to the United States as well as countries around the world. I've had an eerie feeling about what we've been seeing. It's like watching a hurricane forming out in the ocean, one that could head right to New York City. Preparing for weather events like this is important. But this slow-moving storm is something different. It is self-inflicted — started by the man in the Oval Office, who has the power to limit the damage, if no longer to avoid it entirely. The Economic Effect Economists have scrambled to comprehend the logic behind the Trump policies, many of which seem self-destructive. For example, the Trump tariffs, as proposed, would induce a supply shock on the United States roughly equal to a doubling of the price of oil, the Peterson Institute for International Economics estimated. Oil price shocks have set off runaway inflation and often led to recessions. A shock of this magnitude is 'something every government of the United States has tried to resist, and it's hard to imagine being something that anyone would willingly embrace,' Lawrence Summers, a former U.S. Treasury secretary, said this month. He added that the Trump tariff policies are 'the biggest invitation to stagflation that we've had since the 1970s.' Stagflation is a combination of high inflation and slow growth. Yet tariffs on the scale proposed by the president could bring it about — simultaneously raising prices while discouraging consumption and investment, and throwing people out of work. On the growth front, the outlook is already much dimmer than it was before Inauguration Day in January. The International Monetary Fund said on Tuesday that the Trump-initiated tariff wars would slow economic growth around the world to 2.8 percent this year from 3.3 percent in 2024; in the United States, it would drop to 1.8 percent in 2025, down from 2.8 percent. Tariffs are a tax on consumers. Based on the tariffs in place or proposed through April 15, U.S. consumers 'face an overall average effective tariff rate of 28 percent, the highest since 1901,' according to the Budget Lab at Yale, a nonpartisan research center. This year, the tariffs would increase prices for the average household by 3 percent, the center said, which is 'the equivalent of an average per household consumer loss of $4,900.' But many people will cut back spending or substitute cheaper products, reducing their costs. Even so, 'the post-substitution price increase settles at 1.6 percent, a $2,600 loss per household,' the Budget Lab said. There will be a toll on jobs, too. Because of the tariffs, the unemployment rate by the end of this year is expected to be 0.6 percentage points higher, the researchers said, and there could be 770,000 fewer people on payrolls. But this is all still fluid. After imposing tariffs unilaterally — and, in some cases, using statutes in novel and questionable ways, which are being contested in the courts — Mr. Trump invited countries around the world to engage in negotiations. One day next month, he could well declare that the trade talks have been satisfactory and that the tariffs will come down. At the moment, however, the situation is fraught, particularly between the United States and China. The United States has imposed tariffs of 145 percent on China, which has responded with 125 percent tariffs on U.S. goods. Both countries have additional restrictions on specific items. Unless a rapprochement is reached soon, U.S.-China trade will be sharply curtailed. On Tuesday, Scott Bessent, the Treasury secretary, and Mr. Trump said the trade war would de-escalate once negotiations started. But Chinese spokesmen in Beijing on Thursday said there would be no talks unless the United States treated China with respect and dignity. The president clearly hopes for a new trade deal with China. Yet he remains a 'tariff man' who sees more harm than good in 'globalization,' the decades-long knitting together of world economies. Countries around the globe have, understandably, begun to rethink their trade routes, investments and loyalties, doing what they can to insulate themselves against the stress emanating from the United States. The Markets On a flimsy reed, the U.S. stock market built a modest rally this past week. But U.S. stocks are still down sharply this year — while the stock markets in many countries in Europe and Latin America are up by double digits. U.S. bonds have been steadier, though yields remain stubbornly high. One reason is the assessment in the bond market that the tariffs could pull the Fed into another bout with inflation. The Consumer Price Index stood at a 2.4 percent annual rate in March. It's been well above the Fed's 2 percent target since 2021. On Wednesday, the Fed's Beige Book, its survey of conditions across the nation, said that because of the tariffs, 'uncertainty around international trade policy was pervasive.' Fed policymakers meet next month, but until the outlook is clearer, the central bank is unlikely to take action on interest rates. A Fed rate cut would probably cheer the stock market and stimulate the economy.. But Fed independence may be prized even more. Economists have found that when central banks are well fortified against attacks by politicians, monetary policy tends to be steadier and economies stronger. So on Wednesday, when the president said that his many comments berating Mr. Powell had been misinterpreted, and that he actually had 'no intention' of trying to shorten Mr. Powell's tenure as Fed chairman, the stock market rallied. Even at the cost of higher interest rates, it seemed that traders were pleased that the Fed's role as market guardian would remain intact. The Outlook Assessing where the markets go from here is especially difficult because much of it depends on the president. He has sometimes muted his voice but has not disguised his disdain for Mr. Powell. And while he has backpedaled periodically about tariffs, he has never renounced his commitment to raising them. That leaves the markets in a quandary because the president is breaking with decades of tradition and economic teaching. A vast majority of economists view tariffs as ill advised, and see the president's focus on the country-by-country balance of trade as baffling. Insisting that all trade everywhere needs to be balanced, and that imbalances are inherently 'unfair,' as the president has done, is like insisting that there's something wrong with spending money at the supermarket and being paid by your employer. Your individual accounts are, arguably, out of balance: You're spending money with one and getting money from the other. But who cares? It's hard to see anything unfair about that. On a national scale, the United States buys things it wants or needs and cannot grow or make domestically at a reasonable price, like bananas or iPhones. It pays for them in a variety of ways — with exports of machinery or software, music or movies, or through borrowing or investment income, and obtains immense benefits through this exchange. Imposing some specific tariffs to protect national security may make sense, as does taking steps to restore prosperity to domestic regions that have suffered when local industries have been unable to compete with foreign companies. But imposing the highest tariffs in more than a century all over the world? The consensus is that this approach is unwise. No wonder the markets respond favorably at hints that the tariffs will be negotiated downward. Yet uncertainty about the Trump policies is rife in financial circles. It's beginning to show up in corporate earnings calls, with chief executives lowering their projections for the next year — or indicating they are less certain about them. Stock analysts have become nervous. They have downgraded S&P 500 earnings and revenues sharply, according to FactSet, an independent financial research service. CBS News reported that Target and Walmart have warned the president that his tariff policy is disrupting supply chains and could leave store shelves bare in the weeks ahead. Perceptions of market risk have increased. As a multiple of earnings, stock prices have fallen. The sense that owning U.S. Treasuries has become riskier may be a reason for higher bond yields. When investments seem riskier, you want a better price, or a better yield, for bearing that risk. This is a weight on the markets, and while it may be lifted temporarily by emollient words, it remains a heavy burden. Perhaps the most hopeful augury for the markets is that the first year of a president's term is often the worst for stocks and bonds. The theory of the presidential cycle goes like this: Fresh from an election victory, and far from the next one, it's an auspicious time for a politician to take tough action. If you are going to set off a recession, do it early in your first year in office because there's time to recover. Soon, though, with midterm elections in sight, it will be time to stimulate the economy and the markets. That realization might bring about a shift in administration policy. But I wouldn't go too far with this. If Mr. Trump were to abandon all the tariffs he has proposed — and there is no sign of that actually happening — the problems he has already introduced wouldn't all vanish. By tearing asunder the fabric of international relations, he has raised enduring questions about the validity of U.S. promises in trade and diplomacy, and added deep uncertainty to the planning of businesses, investors and workers around the world. He can improve the situation, and I certainly hope he does, but it's too late to pretend that none of this has happened.
New York Times
23-04-2025
- Business
- New York Times
Markets Gain After Trump Says He Has No Plans to Oust Fed Chief
A market rebound that started on Wall Street continued in Asia on Wednesday after President Trump said he had 'no intention' of firing the Federal Reserve chair, Jerome H. Powell. The statement, along with reports that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told investors that he expected the tariff standoff with China to ease 'over the very near future,' helped calm the latest trade war jitters. The 2.5 percent gain by the S&P 500 on Tuesday reversed the previous day's 2.4 percent slide. The positive wave moved across most of Asia. Japan's Nikkei 225 gained 1.7 percent, Hong Kong's Hang Seng was up 2.4 percent, and the Kospi in South Korea 1.5 percent. And S&P 500 futures signaled a 1.4 percent gain when trading begins later on Wednesday. But for many investors, this week's rebound remains an uptick, and the trade tensions have left Wall Street captive to the latest statements from the White House. The S&P 500, the main benchmark for U.S. equities, sits nearly 12 percent below its level on Jan. 20, when Mr. Trump took office. Elsewhere in the markets: Leading the stock gains in Asia was Taiwan, where the benchmark index was up 3.9 percent. Markets in Taiwan, whose technology supply chain could be damaged by the tariffs, have been hammered since Mr. Trump took office. The dollar regained some of its losses in recent days. It was up 0.3 percent against the yen, and against the euro and British pound, it gained 0.2 percent. Ten-year Treasury bonds gained, a sign that investors were more willing to buy U.S. debt. The yield, which moves inversely to price, dropped 15 basis points, to 4.35 percent. Oil futures rose 0.6 percent. Gold, which hit a record $3,500 an ounce on Tuesday, continued easing back from that price. Its price fell to $3,334 on Tuesday, down 1.4 percent for the day.
