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Yahoo
07-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
US stocks plunge for a 3rd day as Trump's tariffs slam global markets
Stock markets are extending a brutal sell-off as investors brace for a global trade war. The S&P 500 is on the edge of a bear market. The Nasdaq 100 ended in bear territory last Friday. European markets fell as much as 6% after Asia closed significantly lower before paring some losses. A brutal stock market sell-off intensified on Monday as investors saw few signs that US President Donald Trump would back down from his sweeping tariff plans, and foreign nations prepared to retaliate. US stocks were opened sharply lower for a third day on Monday after heavy losses at the end of last week. The S&P 500 was nearing a bear market after the Nasdaq 100 closed in bear market territory last Friday. Here's where US indexes stood shortly after the 9:30 a.m. opening bell on Monday: S&P 500: 4,906.75, down 3.3% Dow Jones Industrial Average: 37,124.58, down, 2.87% (-1,097.58 points) Nasdaq Composite: 14,971.08, down 4% European stocks tumbled in morning trading, and Asian markets started the week deep in the red as investors fretted over the impact of Trump's tariffs on company earnings and economies. Germany's DAX fell more than 6% before making up some ground in afternoon trading. Britain's FTSE 100 was down 3.4%, France's CAC 40 was 3.7% lower, and the broad Euro Stoxx 600 index dropped 4%. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index slumped the most since the 2008 financial crisis, according to Bloomberg's analysis. "The impact spans economies, financial markets, supply chains, and geopolitics and will force governments, businesses, and households to retune their approach to trade relations, capital expenditure, and consumption," wrote Eunice Tan, a S&P Global Rating credit analyst, on Monday. JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon advocated for free and fair trade and support for American workers displaced by outsourcing in his annual letter to shareholders on Monday. But the billionaire banker also predicted the tariffs would cause higher inflation and slower growth in the short term, and could spark retaliation, hurt confidence, deter foreign investment in the US, erode corporate profits, and weaken the US dollar. Trump sounded defiant in a Truth Social post on Monday, writing that oil and food prices are down and "there is NO INFLATION." He also wrote that "the long time abused USA is bringing in Billions of Dollars a week from the abusing countries on Tariffs that are already in place." Asia markets saw major losses across countries, including China and Hong Kong, which were closed on Friday for a holiday. Shares in chip hub Taiwan — which was hit with a 32% tariff rate — tanked nearly 10% in its biggest decline on record during the first day of trading since the tariffs were announced. Japan's Nikkei 225 closed 7.8% lower, South Korea's Kospi closed 5.6% lower, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index closed 13.2% lower, China's Shanghai Composite closed 7.3% lower, Taiwan's TAIEX closed 9.7% lower, and Australia's ASX 200 closed 4.2% lower. Commodities similarly traded lower over concerns over a recession. West Texas Intermediate crude was down 1.3% at $61.17 a barrel, spot gold was down 0.3% at $3,027, and the US dollar index, which tracks the buck against a basket of major currencies, made up ground to be flat at 103 points. Cryptocurrencies were also lower with bitcoin down around the $77,200 mark and ether down at about $1,520. Markets were already shaken after Trump unveiled higher-than-expected tariffs on Wednesday. Sentiment worsened on Friday after Beijing retaliated against Trump's new tariffs. China said it would start charging a 34% tariff on all US imports on Thursday. "Barring a phone call between Trump and Xi to suspend tariffs, chances are that things will probably get worse before it gets better. Markets ought to brace for more tensions even if (longer-term) hope lingers," wrote Vishnu Varathan of Mizuho in a Monday note. "In the meantime, needless devastation by way of collateral damage all around will be hard to avert as aggregate demand slumps accentuated by a sharp drop in demand for capital goods as uncertainty paralyzes investments," Varathan added. Trump said on Sunday night that he doesn't want the stock market to crash and that the tariffs were necessary to rectify America's trade deficits with other countries. "I don't want anything to go down, but sometimes you have to take medicine to fix something," he said. This is a developing story. Please check back for updates. Read the original article on Business Insider
Chicago Tribune
14-03-2025
- Business
- Chicago Tribune
Gary airport bond sale, paired with grants and local funds, targets improvements
Officials at the Gary/Chicago International Airport announced the closing of a $16.55 million bond sale Thursday for capital improvements including the construction of new hangars, renovations to the airport's terminal and an expanded cargo and logistics center. The bond sale ensures the airport remains competitive in the coming years, a release stated. The rate on the bond sale is 4.5%. It's being paired with local funds and grants to complete the projects, the release said. 'This sale will be immensely helpful to our future capital improvement strategy and positions us very well in the coming years in our continued effort to modernize our infrastructure,' said Dan Vicari, airport executive director. 'We've seen substantial growth of our general aviation and cargo services in the past few years, and we will continue to allocate our assets to support these sectors.' The airport is still without commercial passenger service but has ramped up its focus on cargo. In 2020, UPS began cargo service operations and later signed a long-term lease. Last year, the airport broke ground on the first phase of a $67 million cargo services infrastructure investment to boost its growing cargo business. About 100 acres on the airfield's north edge will be transformed into an air cargo complex. It will be able to accommodate 18 wide-body planes, such as the Airbus A300, a wide-body cargo jet with a maximum payload of over 120,000 pounds. The airport gained state funding in 2023 for a new $9.8 million fuel pipeline to enable it to fuel planes directly. The release said cargo operations have increased and the airport ranks third in Indiana for its freight volume. The release said the bonds will be repaid from existing tax increment revenues created in the Airport Development Zone, ensuring there would be no new taxes levied to service the payments. The bonds were rated by S&P Global Rating at BBB+ and were provided credit enhancement by bond insurer Assured Guaranty Inc. Mesirow Financial was the lead underwriter on the sale, with Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP serving as bond counsel.
Politico
26-02-2025
- Business
- Politico
The monster at the end of this fire
Presented by With help from Alex Nieves and Sam Ogozalek MONEY PROBLEMS: The Los Angeles fires are even more expensive than they look. Bond ratings firms are dinging not only Los Angeles' public utility and others for their increased exposure to climate risks. They're also worried about the creditworthiness of all local California governments. 'It is a tipping point in the marketplace,' Thomas Doe, founder of Municipal Market Analytics, said of S&P Global Rating's Jan. 14 downgrade of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power two notches, from a near-perfect AA- rating to an A. 'They're doing a negative action on a well-known credit issuer and are looking at long-term risks to a utility around climate.' What followed the downgrade of the nation's largest municipal utility is this: Bond values fell, default risk rose and some bondholders sold at a loss. The new rating means that if LADWP issues new bonds soon, it will have to pay higher interest rates to compensate buyers for the heightened risk. Shortly after that downgrade, S&P issued warnings about other local utilities and the city of Los Angeles itself, along with a library district in Altadena, where the Eaton Fire killed 17 people and destroyed 9,400 buildings. Then, last week, in an indication of expanded concern, S&P said it was assessing the threat of wildfire on the creditworthiness of all bond sellers in California. And it doesn't stop there. 'Beyond rated entities in the Los Angeles area, we believe the heightened exposure to wildfires could have longer-term credit implications for rated issuers across all of U.S. public finance,' S&P analysts wrote. It's not the first time ratings firms have penalized municipal bond issuers in areas struck by disasters. After Hurricane Helene in September, S&P took action against more than a dozen entities in North Carolina and Tennessee. But the warnings and downgrades there were based on property damage and the potential loss of tax revenue and cost of rebuilding — not on risks tied to climate change. S&P cited climate change directly in its analysis of LADWP, saying 'wildfires are becoming more severe and expansive' and that the risks are caused 'at least in part by climate change.' The $4 trillion municipal bond market has largely been unaffected by climate risk up until now, enabling states, publicly owned utilities and local taxing districts to maintain strong credit ratings and minimize borrowing costs even as climate change intensifies disaster damage. Municipal bonds have also been a safe investment for ordinary people seeking income that's exempt from federal taxes. 'I think we're seeing the beginning of a crack,' said Alice Hill, who was National Security Council senior director for resilience policy in the Obama administration. 'We know that with climate change, there'll be bigger and worse disasters that will affect communities' abilities to repay those bonds.' — TF, CvK Did someone forward you this newsletter? Sign up here! RIC AND RICARDO: State Farm is getting in trouble with both California and federal officials. Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara is set to meet with State Farm executives Wednesday after earlier this month denying the company's initial request for an emergency 22 percent rate hike following the Los Angeles fires, which it estimates will be its most expensive disaster at $7.6 billion in claims. Also joining the meeting will be consumer advocate group Consumer Watchdog, which has intervened in the request. In a letter to Lara on Tuesday, State Farm describes its financial trouble, which started well before the fires and includes failing last year to meet minimum capital requirements set by the national association of insurance regulators. Further ratings downgrades could mean that banks will choose to no longer count State Farm insurance as collateral for mortgages, the company said. Lara told the company earlier this month it had to provide more information, including whether its parent company can help out more and whether an emergency rate increase would affect its underwriting decisions, to justify its rate request. State Farm has the largest share in the California market at 9 percent but stopped writing new policies in California in May 2023 and declined to renew 30,000 homeowner policies, including many high-risk Southern California communities, in March 2024. In its Tuesday letter, it said that it would need an even higher rate increase than 22 percent before it would consider writing new policies in California. Meanwhile, presidential envoy Richard Grenell said in a social media post Tuesday that he had requested a meeting with State Farm board Chair Michael Tipsord to 'discuss the SoCal fires.' 'We have much to discuss,' Grenell added. The federal government does not directly regulate the insurance market, which it leaves to the states. Grenell didn't immediately respond to a request for comment, nor did State Farm. — CvK RAIL REINFORCEMENTS: National rail advocates are getting into California's cap-and-trade debate. Rod Diridon, the public transit legend and a co-chair of the U.S. High Speed Rail Coalition, wrote in a December email to Ian Choudri, CEO of the California High-Speed Rail Authority, that the coalition is 'going to war to protect the Calif project.' 'The first target will be to support the cap and trade extension. Let us know how we might be most effective. Good luck!' reads the email, which POLITICO obtained via a public records request. It's the latest sign that high-speed rail backers are more concerned about cap and trade — which gives a quarter of its auction proceeds to the project — than President Donald Trump's threat to claw back $4.1 billion in grants awarded under the Biden administration. Credit prices are expected to remain low in the quarterly auction results coming out Wednesday. — AN, SO 35 PERCENT: That's how much water both the state and feds are saying farmers should plan on getting from the State Water Project and Central Valley Project this year. The agencies' allocations won't be final until April, but Tuesday's forecast is important because farmers use it to help guide crop planting decisions and secure loans. It's also the Bureau of Reclamation's first allocation under Trump and his order to federal agencies to 'maximize' water deliveries. Westlands Water District, which had been pushing Reclamation to incorporate data from February's storms in order to produce a bigger initial allocation, said it was 'encouraged.' State water officials, meanwhile, increased their projected allocation from 20 percent to 35 percent. The forecast is more than double the estimate at this time last year, which also started out as a dry winter. — CvK ON FIRE: The uncertainty around whether, when and how much the Trump administration will allow federal funds to flow again is leaving rural and conservative-leaning communities waiting on wildfire preparedness projects and sending Western states scrambling to find contingency plans. Job cuts and funding freezes at the Agriculture Department, which oversees the Forest Service, have stalled active forest management projects and delayed wildfire training, POLITICO's Natalie Fertig and Jordan Wolman report — even as the department now appears ready to unfreeze some wildfire mitigation funding. And even though direct firefighters are exempt from the Forest Service job cuts, many of the 3,400 workers fired at the agency supported in trail maintenance, fuels reduction and other forestry projects just as summer hirings would start in preparation for wildfire season. 'The fire funding is a bipartisan issue that is mostly being spent in conservative rural districts,' said Sophia Lemmo, the forestry program director for the California Association of Resource Conservation Districts. She tallied around $100 million in federal funding to California's resource conservation districts in limbo, such as USDA grants funded by the Inflation Reduction Act to help small private landowners manage their forests. She said she's exploring private or state funding, like the $10 billion climate bond passed in November, as a contingency plan, but doesn't have anything lined up — and the window before fire season starts in earnest is rapidly closing. The clawbacks have hit hard in the small Northern California coastal community of Shelter Cove, which issued a stop-work order on a $6.2 million Community Wildfire Defense Grant it was awarded in 2023. The city was denied reimbursement for $120,000 from the Forest Service earlier this month, Fire Chief Nick Pape told Jordan in an interview. Pape said the town was set to clear hazardous vegetation near 650 homes to bolster its ability to withstand wildfires but is now at risk of delaying that timeline. — CvK — Watch what you say about your illegal hunting activities — California Department of Fish and Wildlife officers might be sitting in front of you on the plane. — Urban forestry offsets may have yet to take off, but urban trees themselves sequester a surprisingly large amount of CO2, a new University of Southern California study finds. — Lake County is considering asking both Newsom and Trump to block Pacific Gas & Electric's planned dam removal on the Eel River.
