Latest news with #UStreasury
Wall Street Journal
3 days ago
- Business
- Wall Street Journal
Gold Futures Hit Record High After Tariff Report
Gold climbed to a fresh record high on Friday following a report that the U.S. slapped tariffs on imports of one-kilo gold bars, a move that threatens to disrupt the global bullion market. In early trade, futures rose 1% to $3,489.50 a troy ounce after reaching a peak of $3,534.20 earlier in the session.
Al Bawaba
6 days ago
- Business
- Al Bawaba
Gold extends rally as weak jobs data fuels hopes for fed rate cut
Published August 5th, 2025 - 07:33 GMT Spot gold rose by 0.1% to $3,375.89 per ounce, while U.S. gold futures also edged up 0.1% to $3,430.40. The yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. ALBAWABA- Gold prices climbed for the fourth consecutive session on Monday, buoyed by a weakening U.S. dollar and falling Treasury yields, after disappointing U.S. jobs data increased expectations of an interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve in September. Also Read Russia ends missile moratorium amid escalating tensions with U.S. Spot gold rose by 0.1% to $3,375.89 per ounce, while U.S. gold futures also edged up 0.1% to $3,430.40. The yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note dropped to its lowest level in a month, further supporting gold's upward momentum. — Gaurav Trades✨📊 (@Gaurav_faxxuusd) August 5, 2025 Among other precious metals, spot silver gained 0.1% to reach $37.44 an ounce. Platinum added 0.1% to trade at $1,330.31, and palladium advanced 0.2% to $1,204.25 per ounce. The combination of weaker economic indicators and shifting investor sentiment toward a possible rate cut has continued to strengthen demand for safe-haven assets like gold. © 2000 - 2025 Al Bawaba (
The Independent
30-07-2025
- Business
- The Independent
US wants back millions in COVID relief from local governments over missing reports
The U.S. Treasury is seeking to recoup COVID-19 pandemic relief funds from hundreds of local governments that received millions of dollars but never complied with requirements to report how they used the money. The federal government distributed $350 billion to state, local, territorial and tribal governments as part of the American Rescue Plan approved by Congress and President Joe Biden in 2021. More than 30,000 governments, from the largest state to the tiniest town, were to get a share. Governments had until the end of 2024 to obligate the money for specific projects and were supposed to file either quarterly or annual progress reports, depending on their population and how much money they received. Most complied. But as of January, about 1,000 mostly smaller governments had failed to file any reports with the Treasury detailing how they used a total of $139 million, according to an analysis by the U.S. Government Accountability Office. A GAO report released last week said the Treasury sent notices to the local governments seeking to recoup the money. As of June 24, a total of 740 local governments subsequently filed reports and will no longer be subject to repaying their funds, the Treasury said in a letter attached to the GAO report. Thirteen governments returned their funds to the Treasury. But that still left 235 local governments that had never filed a report nor returned their pandemic relief funds. The GAO told The Associated Press it does not have list of the specific governments that haven't complied with the reporting requirements. The Treasury has not responded to an AP request for a list of the 13 governments that returned their funds and those that still haven't reported how they used it. This is not the first time concerns have been raised about governments failing to disclose how they used their pandemic relief funds. The GAO reported in October 2023 that the Treasury had sent noncompliance notices to more than 3,500 local governments that hadn't filed progress reports on their pandemic relief funds. The Treasury at that time declined to provide the noncompliance letters to the AP. So the AP in January 2024 submitted a Freedom of Information Act request seeking copies of the noncompliance notices and related correspondence. The Treasury still has not fulfilled that request. In its most recent report, the GAO said the failure of local governments to file regular progress reports is limiting the Treasury's ability to determine whether they are spending the funds on allowable uses.
Yahoo
08-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
ServisFirst Bancshares (SFBS): Buy, Sell, or Hold Post Q1 Earnings?
ServisFirst Bancshares has been treading water for the past six months, recording a small loss of 2.9% while holding steady at $81.34. The stock also fell short of the S&P 500's 5.3% gain during that period. Is there a buying opportunity in ServisFirst Bancshares, or does it present a risk to your portfolio? See what our analysts have to say in our full research report, it's free. We're cautious about ServisFirst Bancshares. Here are three reasons why SFBS doesn't excite us and a stock we'd rather own. While banks generate revenue from multiple sources, investors view net interest income as the cornerstone - its predictable, recurring characteristics stand in sharp contrast to the volatility of non-interest income. ServisFirst Bancshares's net interest income has grown at a 7.3% annualized rate over the last four years, slightly worse than the broader bank industry. Net interest margin represents how much a bank earns in relation to its outstanding loans. It's one of the most important metrics to track because it shows how a bank's loans are performing and whether it has the ability to command higher premiums for its services. Over the past two years, ServisFirst Bancshares's net interest margin averaged 2.8%. Its margin also contracted by 50 basis points (100 basis points = 1 percentage point) over that period. This decline was a headwind for its net interest income. While prevailing rates are a major determinant of net interest margin changes over time, the decline could mean ServisFirst Bancshares either faced competition for loans and deposits or experienced a negative mix shift in its balance sheet composition. Leverage is core to the bank's business model (loans funded by deposits) and to ensure their stability, regulators require certain levels of capital and liquidity, focusing on a bank's Tier 1 capital ratio. Tier 1 capital is the highest-quality capital that a bank holds, consisting primarily of common stock and retained earnings, but also physical gold. It serves as the primary cushion against losses and is the first line of defense in times of financial distress. This capital is divided by risk-weighted assets to derive the Tier 1 capital ratio. Risk-weighted means that cash and US treasury securities are assigned little risk while unsecured consumer loans and equity investments get much higher risk weights, for example. New regulation after the 2008 financial crisis requires that all banks must maintain a Tier 1 capital ratio greater than 4.5% On top of this, there are additional buffers based on scale, risk profile, and other regulatory classifications, so that at the end of the day, banks generally must maintain a 7-10% ratio at minimum. Over the last two years, ServisFirst Bancshares has averaged a Tier 1 capital ratio of 11%, which is considered unsafe in the event of a black swan or if macro or market conditions suddenly deteriorate. For this reason alone, we will be crossing it off our shopping list. ServisFirst Bancshares isn't a terrible business, but it isn't one of our picks. With its shares underperforming the market lately, the stock trades at 2.4× forward P/B (or $81.34 per share). This valuation tells us a lot of optimism is priced in - we think there are better stocks to buy right now. We'd suggest looking at one of our top digital advertising picks. Donald Trump's victory in the 2024 U.S. Presidential Election sent major indices to all-time highs, but stocks have retraced as investors debate the health of the economy and the potential impact of tariffs. While this leaves much uncertainty around 2025, a few companies are poised for long-term gains regardless of the political or macroeconomic climate, like our Top 9 Market-Beating Stocks. This is a curated list of our High Quality stocks that have generated a market-beating return of 183% over the last five years (as of March 31st 2025). Stocks that made our list in 2020 include now familiar names such as Nvidia (+1,545% between March 2020 and March 2025) as well as under-the-radar businesses like the once-micro-cap company Kadant (+351% five-year return). Find your next big winner with StockStory today.
CNA
03-07-2025
- Business
- CNA
Oil falls on signs of weak US demand ahead of key jobs report
Oil prices eased on Thursday, reversing gains from the previous session, on concerns over weak U.S. demand after government data showed a surprise build in inventories in the world's biggest crude consumer. Brent crude futures fell 24 cents, or 0.35 per cent, to $68.87 a barrel by 0044 GMT after gaining 3 per cent on Wednesday. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude fell 24 cents, or 0.36 per cent, to $67.21 a barrel after climbing 3.1 per cent previously. The U.S. Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday domestic crude inventories rose by 3.8 million barrels to 419 million barrels last week. Analysts in a Reuters poll had expected a drawdown of 1.8 million barrels. Gasoline demand dropped to 8.6 million barrels per day, prompting concerns about consumption in the peak U.S. summer driving season. Both benchmarks gained on Wednesday after Iran enacted a law suspending cooperation with the U.N. nuclear watchdog, raising concerns the lingering dispute over the Middle East producer's nuclear program may once again devolve into armed conflict. Additionally, the U.S. and Vietnam reached a trade deal that sets 20 per cent tariffs on many of the Southeast Asian country's exports, giving investors a sense of greater economic stability on international trade which could flow into higher demand for oil. The market will be watching the release of the key U.S. monthly employment report on Thursday to shape expectations around the depth and timing of interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve in the second half of this year, analysts said. Lower interest rates could spur economic activity, which would in turn boost oil demand. A private payrolls report on Wednesday showed a contraction for the first time in two year though analysts cautioned there is no correlation between it and the government data.
