2025-05-28 16:54
NEW YORK, May 28 (Reuters) - U.S. homeowners and prospective buyers are feeling the most uncertain about the real estate market since 2023, a Bank of America survey showed on Wednesday, as rising mortgage rates deter buyers. Of the 2,000 respondents to BofA's poll, 60% said they could not tell whether it was a good time to buy a home, according to a report published by the nation's second-largest lender. That is up from 57% last year and 48% in 2023. Sign up here. Volatile interest rates and elevated home prices have fueled uncertainty, prompting consumers to slow house purchases during the spring season, when activity typically picks up, Matt Vernon, head of consumer lending at Bank of America, told Reuters. "We're certainly off to a slower start, from a spring season perspective, than we've historically seen," he said. The sluggish start to a spring season contrasts with the first quarter, when BofA saw an 80% jump in mortgage applications as buyers were tempted by increasing home inventory and lower long-term bond yields. Mortgage rates (USMG=ECI) , opens new tab have increased alongside the yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note. Volatility in rates has been driven by concerns over the Trump administration's economic policies, including tariffs, and the nation's deteriorating fiscal outlook. "Despite buyers having more options and better affordability compared to last April, sales fell over the year," said Kara Ng, senior economist at Zillow, a home listing services firm. "The likely culprit was macro uncertainty, as many households didn’t know what was next for their jobs, investment portfolios, or budgets," Ng said. Still, the survey showed that 52% of prospective home buyers felt that the market was better now than it was a year ago. Three out of four expected home prices and interest rates to fall and are waiting until then to buy a new home, up from 62% in 2023. "This continued rate period in the 6% to 7% range is now becoming a new normal," said Vernon. "They are looking to be opportunistic for rates and prices to come down." https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/us-home-buyers-are-most-uncertain-since-2023-rates-surge-bofa-survey-shows-2025-05-28/
2025-05-28 16:25
May 28 (Reuters) - Over-the-counter (OTC) shares of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac rose on Wednesday after U.S. President Donald Trump said he was working on taking the housing giants public. "I am working on TAKING THESE AMAZING COMPANIES PUBLIC, but I want to be clear, the U.S. Government will keep its implicit GUARANTEES, and I will stay strong in my position on overseeing them as President," Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social late on Tuesday. Sign up here. The Trump administration wants to end the long-standing conservatorship of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which have been under the U.S. government's control since 2008 after they suffered heavy losses during the subprime mortgage crisis. Trump had tried to reduce government control during his first term. At a Fannie Mae news conference, Bill Pulte, director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency that regulates Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, said , opens new tabTrump is talking about "potentially figuring out how these businesses can continue to be worth more and more money over time." "These businesses, in my view are worth - eventually, will be worth - trillions of dollars worth of value to the American taxpayers," he said. Asked about details of the plan on taking the companies public, Pulte said it's up to Trump and he would "eventually make whatever decision that he wants to make, on his own timeline." The regulator is expected to play a central role in any effort to return the pair, which backs the majority of the nation's residential mortgages, to the private sector. Fannie shares (FNMA.PK) , opens new tab rose 3.7% to $10.92, while Freddie gained (FMCC.PK) , opens new tab 7% to $8.13 by midday trading after a double-digit jump earlier in the session. The shares, which don't trade on major exchanges, hit their highest since 2008 after Trump said last week he was mulling a spinoff of the U.S. mortgage finance firms. The United States Treasury owns preferred shares in the firms and warrants to purchase about 80% of their common stock. The combined market value of the two companies was $17 billion as of the last closing price. They have shot up more than five-fold in value over the past year, with most gains made around Trump's 2024 U.S. election win. Trump ally Bill Ackman's Pershing Square Capital Management (PSHP.L) , opens new tab is the biggest holder of Fannie's public OTC shares with about 10%, according to LSEG data. Capital Research Global Investors, a unit of the Capital Group, is among the top investors in Freddie and Fannie. Fannie Mae announced , opens new tab an AI fraud detection technology partnership with Palantir (PLTR.O) , opens new tab on Wednesday and said it was in talks with Elon Musk-owned xAI as well. The mortgage fraud detection software will be trained on Fannie Mae data, and Palantir will comply with the company's controls, Fannie Mae CEO Priscilla Almodovar said. https://www.reuters.com/business/fannie-freddie-otc-shares-climb-trump-prepares-take-firms-public-2025-05-28/
2025-05-28 16:07
MOSCOW, May 28 (Reuters) - The net profit of Russian banks rose by 7% in month-on-month terms in April to 261 billion roubles ($3.27 billion), according to data published by the central bank on Wednesday. Corporate lending rose by 0.9% in April compared to March, while consumer lending declined by 0.7%, the central bank said. Sign up here. ($1 = 79.8705 roubles) https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/russian-banks-net-profit-up-7-mm-april-central-bank-says-2025-05-28/
2025-05-28 14:37
May 28 (Reuters) - Shein is working towards a listing in Hong Kong, as Chinese regulators did not approve the online fast-fashion retailer's proposed IPO in London, according to three sources with knowledge of the matter. Here's a timeline of the Singapore-headquarted company's attempts to go public and the various setbacks it has encountered. Sign up here. Shein had moved its headquarters from China to Singapore in 2022, while its supply chains and warehouses largely remain in China. JANUARY 2022 Shein revives plans to list in New York. Founder Chris Xu considers changing his citizenship to bypass proposed tougher rules for offshore IPOs in China, two sources told Reuters. It had first started preparing for a U.S. IPO about two years prior to this but shelved the plan partly due to unpredictable markets amid rising U.S.-China tensions, sources told Reuters. FEBRUARY 2022 Shein puts its U.S. listing plans on hold due to volatile capital markets amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, sources say. MARCH 2023 Shein was set to raise around $2 billion in a new funding round. The company was aiming for a U.S. listing in the second half of 2023, sources said. MAY 2023 A bipartisan group of two dozen U.S. representatives calls on the Securities and Exchange Commission to halt Shein's IPO, until it verifies that Shein is not using forced labor, according to a letter seen by Reuters. JUNE 2023 Shein makes moves to register with regulators for an IPO in New York, people familiar with the matter said. JULY 2023 Shein was working with at least three investment banks about a potential U.S. IPO and was in talks with the NYSE and Nasdaq, sources said. NOVEMBER 2023 Shein targets a valuation of as much as $90 billion for an eventual U.S. IPO, Bloomberg News reported. The fashion company confidentially files to go public in the United States, according to Reuters sources. U.S. lawmakers once again demand proof that Shein's $5 t-shirts and $10 sweaters were not being produced using forced labor. DECEMBER 2023 Shein held talks , opens new tab with the London Stock Exchange about the possibility of a public listing in the United Kingdom, Sky News reported, citing sources. JANUARY 2024 Shein seeks Beijing's nod to go public in the U.S. to comply with new listing rules for local firms, two sources told Reuters. FEBRUARY 2024 Republican Senator Marco Rubio , opens new tab asks the U.S. SEC to block Shein's New York listing bid unless the company makes additional disclosures about its business operations and "the serious risks of doing business" in China. Jeremy Hunt, British Finance Minister at the time, held talks with Shein's Executive Chairman Donald Tang, and the fast-fashion chain is keen to list in London, a UK government source told Reuters. MAY 2024 Shein steps up preparations for a London listing after its attempt to float itself in New York faced regulatory hurdles and pushback from U.S. lawmakers, sources said. Shein plans to update China's securities regulator on the change of the IPO venue and file with the LSE as soon as May 2024, said one of them. Senior British lawmakers, including the chairs of three parliamentary committees, questioned Shein's suitability for a London stock market listing and called for greater scrutiny of the Chinese-founded firm. JUNE 2024 Britain's Labour Party says it has met with Shein ahead of a potential London-listing. Shein confidentially files papers with Britain's markets regulator in early June, two sources said. UK-based human rights group Stop Uyghur Genocide launches a legal campaign to block Shein's potential London listing. JULY 2024 A new campaign backed by British retail consultant and television personality Mary Portas launches an online petition calling on the new Labour government to block Shein's London listing. OCTOBER 2024 Shein was set to hold informal investor meetings for its planned London IPO, sources said. DECEMBER 2024 Britain's financial regulator takes longer than usual to approve Shein's IPO. It is checking supply chain oversight and assessing legal risks after an advocacy group challenges the listing, sources report. Shein considers asking UK regulators to waive listing rules that require at least 10% of its shares to be sold to the public in its planned IPO, sources said. JANUARY 2025 Shein aims to list in London in the first half of the year, according to two sources with direct knowledge of the matter, assuming it gains regulatory approvals. Senior UK lawmaker flags concerns about Shein to LSE and regulator. Shein tells UK lawmakers it does not allow Chinese cotton in products sold in the U.S. FEBRUARY 2025 Shein is set to cut its valuation in a potential London IPO to around $50 billion, said three sources, nearly a quarter less than the company's 2023 fundraising value. Shein's London listing plans are likely to be postponed to the second half of this year after Donald Trump's move to close so-called "de minimis" rules, the Financial Times reported. Shein is under pressure to cut its valuation to about $30 billion ahead of its London listing, Bloomberg News reported. APRIL 2025 Shein secures approval from Britain's FCA for its planned London IPO, according to two sources. But also needs to secure approvals from Chinese regulators, notably the CSRC, for the London float, sources have said. MAY 2025 Shein drops Brunswick and FGS, the two communications firms supporting its push for a London IPO, a source familiar with the matter confirms, in the latest sign that the flotation is not going to plan. (SOURCES: Reuters stories, other media) https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/sheins-pursuit-an-ipo-new-york-london-hong-kong-2025-05-28/
2025-05-28 14:24
Commission set to approve Bulgaria adoption of euro for 2026 Bulgaria meets criteria, including inflation, budget gap limits Final euro conversion rate for Bulgarian lev to be set in July BRUSSELS, May 28 (Reuters) - The European Commission is likely to give Bulgaria the green light on June 4 to adopt the euro currency from the start of 2026, several euro zone officials said, making Bulgaria the 21st country to join the single currency area. The Commission will publish a "convergence report" next Wednesday on whether Bulgaria meets the criteria to adopt the euro, now used by 347 million Europeans in 20 countries. Sign up here. Three senior euro zone officials said they expected the Commission report to be positive for Bulgaria, which has been striving to switch its lev currency to the euro ever since it joined the European Union in 2007. Becoming a member of the euro zone, apart from using euro notes and coins, also means a seat at the European Central Bank's rate-setting Governing Council. The ECB will issue its own assessment on June 4 whether it thinks the country is ready, and if its central bank is independent. It is the Commission's view that is decisive, however. A positive recommendation from the EU executive arm would mean that EU finance ministers would endorse it and fix the conversion exchange rate for the Bulgarian lev into the euro in July, leaving the rest of the year for the country to technically prepare for the transition. MEETING THE CRITERIA For a positive recommendation, Bulgaria has to meet the inflation criterion, which says that the euro-candidate cannot have consumer inflation higher than 1.5 percentage points above the three best EU performers. In April, the best performers were France with 0.9%, Cyprus with 1.4% and Denmark with 1.5%, which put Bulgaria with its 2.8% just within the limit. The euro candidate country also cannot be under the EU's disciplinary budget procedure for running a deficit in excess of 3% of GDP. Bulgaria meets this criterion with a budget deficit of 3.0% in 2024 and 2.8% expected in 2025. The country's public debt of 24.1% of GDP in 2024 and 25.1% expected in 2025 is well below the maximum level of 60%, and its long-term interest rate on bonds is well within the 2 percentage point margin above the rate at which the three best inflation performers borrow. Finally, the euro candidate country has to prove it has a stable exchange rate by staying within a 15% margin on either side of a central parity rate in the Exchange Rate Mechanism II. Bulgaria has been running a currency board that fixed the lev to the euro at 1.95583 since the start of the euro currency in 1999. Bulgaria's euro adoption will come three years after the last euro zone expansion, when Croatia joined the single currency grouping at the start of 2023. The Commission will also look at whether Bulgaria's economy and markets are integrated with the rest of the EU, as well as the trends in the country's balance of payments. https://www.reuters.com/markets/europe/bulgaria-likely-get-eu-commission-go-ahead-adopt-euro-2026-officials-say-2025-05-28/
2025-05-28 14:21
BRUSSELS, May 28 (Reuters) - The European Commission will decide on June 4 if Bulgaria can enter the euro zone and become the bloc's 21st member from 2026. European Union countries aspiring to adopt the single currency need to fulfil criteria in four areas: inflation, public finances, the exchange rate and long-term borrowing costs. Sign up here. INFLATION * Inflation in the candidate country needs to be close to that in the three best performing EU members for a period of one year before examination of the country's bid. The upper limit for inflation is calculated as the average of the three best performers, plus 1.5 percentage point. DEFICIT/DEBT * The candidate cannot be under the EU's excessive deficit procedure which is designed to discipline countries that run a budget deficit above the EU limit of 3% of GDP. EXCHANGE RATE * A candidate country's currency must remain stable within a corridor of +/- 15% around a central parity rate against the euro over two years, in what is called the Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM-2). The currency can appreciate, but should not devalue in a significant way. LONG-TERM BORROWING COSTS * Yields on long-term government bonds issued by the candidate country should not be more than 2 percentage points above the average of the three European Union countries with the lowest inflation, which were used for setting the price stability criterion. https://www.reuters.com/markets/europe/criteria-adopt-euro-currency-2025-05-13/
