Latest news with #RichardSaperstein
Economic Times
5 hours ago
- Business
- Economic Times
Asian stocks to advance as US-China talks continue
Asian markets are expected to open higher following positive signals from US-China trade talks. US officials expressed optimism after the first day of negotiations, boosting investor sentiment. The market remains sensitive to trade headlines as investors await key inflation data and the Federal Reserve's upcoming interest-rate decision. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Shares in Asia were poised to open stronger on Tuesday, buoyed by US-China trade talk expectations as officials struck a positive tone after the first day of negotiations. Equity-index futures showed shares in Tokyo, Hong Kong and Shanghai may trade higher, while Sydney stocks looked flat. US and Chinese officials were set to resume their dialogue on Tuesday. The Nasdaq Golden Dragon China Index rose 2.1%. Bonds bounced back after Friday's selloff as inflation expectations eased. The dollar no significant breakthroughs were announced after the first day of talks and stocks pared some of their earlier gains, US officials sounded optimistic about the negotiations. With a key inflation read on tap Wednesday - as the Federal Reserve enters a blackout period before its June 18 interest-rate decision - money managers are wrestling with what could propel the S&P 500 back to a record after the index soared 20% from its April lows.'Markets have moved higher on tariff postponement and the perception that they will be more moderate than initially announced,' said Richard Saperstein at Treasury Partners. 'We expect markets to remain headline-sensitive, as trade deals take time to negotiate and unsettling tariff news is likely to cause noticeable volatility.'The S&P 500 eked out a small gain, remaining nearly 2% away from its February peak. Tesla Inc. jumped about 4.5% as President Donald Trump reiterated the desire to end his spat with Elon Musk. Apple Inc. slipped over 1% as it didn't feature any noticeable artificial-intelligence advancements during a developers Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said discussions between Washington and Beijing were 'fruitful' and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent cited a 'good meeting.''We are doing well with China. China's not easy,' Trump told reporters at the White House on Monday. 'I'm only getting good reports.'Talks will continue into a second day, according to a US official, as the two sides look to ease tensions over shipments of technology and rare earth elements. The advisers will meet again Tuesday at 10 a.m. in London, the official evidence that the tariffs are impacting trade between the two biggest economies came on Monday with data showing Chinese shipments to the US last month had the worst drop in more than five Nothing to Fear? US Stocks' Risk Premiums Sit at Multidecade LowStill, Wall Street strategists are growing optimistic about US stocks, with forecasters at Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. suggesting resilient economic growth would limit any pullback over the Stanley's Michael Wilson said a sharp improvement in Corporate America's earnings outlook bodes well for the S&P 500 into the year end. He reiterated his 12-month price target of 6,500 points. The gauge closed at 6,005.88 platinum extended its surge as the market for the precious metal strains under signs of severe tightness. Spot prices jumped as much as 4.6%, following last week's 10% increase, to trade above $1,200 an ounce, the highest level since May week, silver jumped to a 13-year high. Silver, platinum and palladium were aided by technical momentum as well as improving fundamentals.
Time of India
5 hours ago
- Business
- Time of India
Asian stocks to advance as US-China talks continue
Live Events (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our ETMarkets WhatsApp channel Shares in Asia were poised to open stronger on Tuesday, buoyed by US-China trade talk expectations as officials struck a positive tone after the first day of negotiations. Equity-index futures showed shares in Tokyo, Hong Kong and Shanghai may trade higher, while Sydney stocks looked flat. US and Chinese officials were set to resume their dialogue on Tuesday. The Nasdaq Golden Dragon China Index rose 2.1%. Bonds bounced back after Friday's selloff as inflation expectations eased. The dollar no significant breakthroughs were announced after the first day of talks and stocks pared some of their earlier gains, US officials sounded optimistic about the negotiations. With a key inflation read on tap Wednesday - as the Federal Reserve enters a blackout period before its June 18 interest-rate decision - money managers are wrestling with what could propel the S&P 500 back to a record after the index soared 20% from its April lows.'Markets have moved higher on tariff postponement and the perception that they will be more moderate than initially announced,' said Richard Saperstein at Treasury Partners. 'We expect markets to remain headline-sensitive, as trade deals take time to negotiate and unsettling tariff news is likely to cause noticeable volatility.'The S&P 500 eked out a small gain, remaining nearly 2% away from its February peak. Tesla Inc. jumped about 4.5% as President Donald Trump reiterated the desire to end his spat with Elon Musk. Apple Inc. slipped over 1% as it didn't feature any noticeable artificial-intelligence advancements during a developers Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said discussions between Washington and Beijing were 'fruitful' and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent cited a 'good meeting.''We are doing well with China. China's not easy,' Trump told reporters at the White House on Monday. 'I'm only getting good reports.'Talks will continue into a second day, according to a US official, as the two sides look to ease tensions over shipments of technology and rare earth elements. The advisers will meet again Tuesday at 10 a.m. in London, the official evidence that the tariffs are impacting trade between the two biggest economies came on Monday with data showing Chinese shipments to the US last month had the worst drop in more than five Nothing to Fear? US Stocks' Risk Premiums Sit at Multidecade LowStill, Wall Street strategists are growing optimistic about US stocks, with forecasters at Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. suggesting resilient economic growth would limit any pullback over the Stanley's Michael Wilson said a sharp improvement in Corporate America's earnings outlook bodes well for the S&P 500 into the year end. He reiterated his 12-month price target of 6,500 points. The gauge closed at 6,005.88 platinum extended its surge as the market for the precious metal strains under signs of severe tightness. Spot prices jumped as much as 4.6%, following last week's 10% increase, to trade above $1,200 an ounce, the highest level since May week, silver jumped to a 13-year high. Silver, platinum and palladium were aided by technical momentum as well as improving fundamentals.
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Municipal bond yields offer attractive returns for individual investors. Could Congress kill their tax advantage?
Many investors — especially high-income ones living in high-tax states — benefit from owning state and local municipal bonds for their tax advantages. The interest investors make on munis is exempt from federal income tax — and in some cases, state and local taxes too, if you buy a muni issued by your home state. The advantages of buying highly rated municipal bonds — which finance public works like building or improving roads, bridges and transit systems — have been particularly pronounced in the past month. That's because muni bond yields soared due to a 'perfect storm' of events, according to Richard Saperstein, chief investment officer at Treasury Partners. There was the extreme market volatility that followed President Donald Trump's April 2 tariffs announcement. Investors sold municipal bonds to bolster their portfolios as stocks fell and also raise cash to pay their taxes. At the same time, a large number of municipalities were trying to attract funding. While yields have since come down somewhat, they're still higher than they were before the tariff tumult. But they are likely to fall back to levels seen in the first few days of April, and then perhaps go lower still, said Tom Kozlik, head of public policy and municipal strategy at Hilltop Securities. 'In coming months, yields could fall further due to potential economic weakness and potential Fed action (to lower rates).' But at the moment, Saperstein noted, investors still have a 'rare opportunity' to lock in a high rate of return now. 'Many high-quality municipal bonds are offering 4.5% yields, which is firmly above the 10-year Treasury rate.' Another potential reason it may make sense to act sooner rather than later is because lawmakers may consider eliminating the federal income tax break on munis to help pay for the cost of making permanent many expiring tax provisions of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. While the odds of their eliminating the muni tax break seem long — more on that in a minute — it is a possibility. In a 'very preliminary' estimate, the Joint Committee on Taxation puts the price tag of extending expiring TCJA provisions at between $3.8 trillion to $5.5 trillion over just the first decade, depending on which provisions are included and whether interest costs on the additional debt that will need to be incurred are counted. The muni tax break is not the most expensive on the books. An estimate from the House Ways and Means Committee put it at $250 billion over a decade. But getting rid of it may lead to other costly outcomes. 'A repeal may lead to less investment in state and local infrastructure without another form of subsidy or transitional measures by the federal government,' according to a Tax Policy Center analysis. 'Alternatively, state and local governments would need to increase local taxes or cut spending to maintain infrastructure spending.' There has already been pushback on the idea from some key Republicans. In an April 11 letter to Jason Smith, chair of the House tax-writing committee, House Financial Services Chairman French Hill and six of his GOP members urged Smith to support the preservation of the federal tax exemption. 'Municipal bonds have empowered nearly 50,000 state and local governments to finance schools, roads, water systems, hospitals, airports, and other essential public goods at lower cost to taxpayers,' they wrote. 'Any effort to eliminate or significantly curtail their tax-exempt status risks increasing borrowing costs, delaying or downsizing critical projects, and weakening the ability of local communities to respond to the unique needs of their residents.' For Kozlik, the odds of a repeal depend on how much GOP lawmakers plan to cut to offset the cost of their mega tax and spending package, which is expected to include the extension of TCJA. For now, he puts the chances of a full repeal at 10%, but says the odds could run higher if lawmakers aim to come up with more than $2 trillion in savings. At the moment, the number is $1.5 trillion, but it's still early days at the negotiating table. Sign in to access your portfolio
CNN
05-05-2025
- Business
- CNN
Municipal bond yields offer attractive returns for individual investors. Could Congress kill their tax advantage?
Many investors — especially high-income ones living in high-tax states — benefit from owning state and local municipal bonds for their tax advantages. The interest investors make on munis is exempt from federal income tax — and in some cases, state and local taxes too, if you buy a muni issued by your home state. The advantages of buying highly rated municipal bonds — which finance public works like building or improving roads, bridges and transit systems — have been particularly pronounced in the past month. That's because muni bond yields soared due to a 'perfect storm' of events, according to Richard Saperstein, chief investment officer at Treasury Partners. There was the extreme market volatility that followed President Donald Trump's April 2 tariffs announcement. Investors sold municipal bonds to bolster their portfolios as stocks fell and also raise cash to pay their taxes. At the same time, a large number of municipalities were trying to attract funding. While yields have since come down somewhat, they're still higher than they were before the tariff tumult. But they are likely to fall back to levels seen in the first few days of April, and then perhaps go lower still, said Tom Kozlik, head of public policy and municipal strategy at Hilltop Securities. 'In coming months, yields could fall further due to potential economic weakness and potential Fed action (to lower rates).' But at the moment, Saperstein noted, investors still have a 'rare opportunity' to lock in a high rate of return now. 'Many high-quality municipal bonds are offering 4.5% yields, which is firmly above the 10-year Treasury rate.' Another potential reason it may make sense to act sooner rather than later is because lawmakers may consider eliminating the federal income tax break on munis to help pay for the cost of making permanent many expiring tax provisions of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. While the odds of their eliminating the muni tax break seem long — more on that in a minute — it is a possibility. In a 'very preliminary' estimate, the Joint Committee on Taxation puts the price tag of extending expiring TCJA provisions at between $3.8 trillion to $5.5 trillion over just the first decade, depending on which provisions are included and whether interest costs on the additional debt that will need to be incurred are counted. The muni tax break is not the most expensive on the books. An estimate from the House Ways and Means Committee put it at $250 billion over a decade. But getting rid of it may lead to other costly outcomes. 'A repeal may lead to less investment in state and local infrastructure without another form of subsidy or transitional measures by the federal government,' according to a Tax Policy Center analysis. 'Alternatively, state and local governments would need to increase local taxes or cut spending to maintain infrastructure spending.' There has already been pushback on the idea from some key Republicans. In an April 11 letter to Jason Smith, chair of the House tax-writing committee, House Financial Services Chairman French Hill and six of his GOP members urged Smith to support the preservation of the federal tax exemption. 'Municipal bonds have empowered nearly 50,000 state and local governments to finance schools, roads, water systems, hospitals, airports, and other essential public goods at lower cost to taxpayers,' they wrote. 'Any effort to eliminate or significantly curtail their tax-exempt status risks increasing borrowing costs, delaying or downsizing critical projects, and weakening the ability of local communities to respond to the unique needs of their residents.' For Kozlik, the odds of a repeal depend on how much GOP lawmakers plan to cut to offset the cost of their mega tax and spending package, which is expected to include the extension of TCJA. For now, he puts the chances of a full repeal at 10%, but says the odds could run higher if lawmakers aim to come up with more than $2 trillion in savings. At the moment, the number is $1.5 trillion, but it's still early days at the negotiating table.
