2025-03-26 18:07
WASHINGTON, March 26 (Reuters) - The U.S. Treasury Department's financial crimes unit said on Wednesday it has issued a new rule that will narrow a key element of the 2021 Corporate Transparency Act, a law aimed at combating illicit finance. The new Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, or FinCEN, rule goes into effect on Wednesday, even as the unit receives public comment on the move, according to a notice in the Federal Register. It exempts domestic companies from requirements to provide beneficial ownership data to the government. Sign up here. The move is the latest effort by the administration under Republican President Donald Trump to curtail anti-corruption efforts. The Treasury Department earlier this month said it would not enforce any penalties under the 2021 law against U.S. citizens or domestic reporting companies. FinCEN previously laid out a plan to require certain companies to report beneficial ownership data as part of an effort by lawmakers and the Treasury Department under former President Joe Biden to crack down on corruption and money laundering. The new rule will still require foreign reporting companies to report beneficial ownership information. For most reporting companies, the reporting deadline was March 21, according to the register notice. "It is important to rein in burdensome regulations to the benefit of hard-working American taxpayers and small businesses," U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement. Beneficial owners are defined as anyone who has an ownership interest of 25% or more in a business, a majority of voting ownership, or someone who exerts "substantial control" over the entity. The unit is asking for public comments on the rule by May 27. https://www.reuters.com/business/us-treasury-lifts-reporting-requirement-us-firms-anti-money-laundering-law-2025-03-26/
2025-03-26 17:05
WASHINGTON, March 26 (Reuters) - U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer held "candid" talks with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng on trade issues during an introductory meeting, Greer's office said as U.S. President Donald Trump prepares to raise tariffs on Chinese imports further. Greer outlined Trump's trade policy goals in the video conference with He, USTR said, describing them as aiming to promote domestic investment and productivity, enhance U.S. industrial advantages, protect American workers and defend economic and national security. Sign up here. He also expressed serious concerns about what he called China’s unfair and anticompetitive trade policies and practices, the statement said, describing the talks as "candid". China's Xinhua news agency reported that He expressed "solemn concerns" over U.S. tariffs and Trump's planned "reciprocal" duties. Xinhua also described the call as a "candid and in-depth" exchange of views on key economic and trade issues, adding that they agreed to maintain communications. The call came as Trump prepares to impose reciprocal tariffs next week, a move widely expected to slap more duties on Chinese goods. The tariffs are aimed at matching trading partners' duty rates and counteracting non-tariff barriers to U.S. goods. Trump has imposed a new 20% levy on all Chinese imports since taking office in January, accusing Beijing of not doing enough to stem the outflow of chemical precursors used to produce the deadly opioid fentanyl. China retaliated by imposing targeted tariffs of up to 15% on some U.S. goods ranging from oil and liquefied natural gas to agricultural products and farm equipment. The tit-for-tat measures added new strains to relations between the two major powers that have already sunk to historic lows in recent years due to issues ranging from trade and technology curbs to Taiwan. (This story has been corrected to say that Chinese Vice Premier raised 'solemn concerns' over U.S. tariffs, not that China planned reciprocal duties in his quoted statement, in paragraph 4) https://www.reuters.com/world/us-trade-chief-chinese-vice-premier-express-candid-concerns-trade-tensions-2025-03-26/
2025-03-26 15:54
Kashkari uncertain about tariffs' impact on U.S. economy Rates view in line with Fed Chair Powell's no rush to cut Drop in sentiment could slow spending, Kashkari warns March 26 (Reuters) - Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank President Neel Kashkari on Wednesday said he's uncertain about the effect of President Donald Trump's tariffs on the U.S. economy, with the possibility that they could push up prices arguing for higher interest rates, and the chance that they could slow economic growth calling for reducing borrowing costs. Together those forces are "kind of a wash," he told the Detroit Lakes Chamber Economic Summit, meaning that the Fed should "just sit where we are for an extended period of time until we get clarity." Sign up here. Kashkari's comments reflect what appears to be a widely held view at the Fed that there is no rush to cut rates, as Fed Chair Jerome Powell also signaled last week after the central bank held short-term interest rates in the 4.25%-4.5% range. Optimism among households , opens new tab and business leaders has plummeted in recent weeks as Trump has laid on new tariffs, later suspending some but also promising more to come next week. Consumers and corporations fear higher prices could lead to more inflation. Those fears were on display at the event, where Kashkari conducted an electronic poll that showed that the key words members of the audience use to describe what is driving their economic outlooks are Trump, tariffs, inflation and uncertainty. "Some of the policy uncertainty that you all talked about in your word cloud is complicating our analysis of the economy," Kashkari said. Indeed, Kashkari said, the drop in sentiment could slow household and business spending even more than the actual tariffs, which so far have been only partially rolled out. "That makes me nervous," he said, and the longer the hit to confidence lasts, the more meaningful the impact on economic activity. "The good news is that hit to confidence could be restored quickly if there are resolutions of these trade uncertainties" through trade pacts with other countries, he said. The U.S. central bank has made a lot of progress bringing inflation down, Kashkari said, but "we have more work to do" to get inflation to the Fed's 2% target. "The biggest challenge for us right now is to finish the job." https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/fed-should-stay-put-extended-period-amid-policy-uncertainty-kashkari-says-2025-03-26/
2025-03-26 15:50
SAO PAULO, March 26 (Reuters) - Shares in the world's largest meatpacker JBS (JBSS3.SA) , opens new tab rose but pared their gains as investors digested its first-quarter results, which were broadly above most analysts' expectations in relation to U.S. beef margins and the performance of the company's Seara processed food division in Brazil. Shares rose as much as 2.38% but were later 3.29% down at 39.40 reais in early afternoon trade. Sign up here. In a call with analysts to discuss results, JBS managers said cattle remains expensive in the U.S. But while the operating environment is challenging, management sees room to improve that division's margins by one to 1.5 percentage points in the next few quarters. JBS posted a sharp rise in net profit in the fourth quarter of 2024. Aside from the resilience of its U.S. beef business, highlights included high margins for its processed food sales in Brazil and debt reduction and strong free cash generation for 2024. "All-in, we think the quarter was positive, which should support the stock's recent rally," Leonardo Alencar, equity analyst at XP Investimentos, said in a note to clients. To analysts, the company said it sees strong demand for proteins across all regions and expects to continue expanding, including through acquisitions. CFO Guilherme Cavalcanti, who emphasized JBS' ability to reduce debt through cash generation in 2024, said the company could pay higher dividends this year if no "opportunistic" acquisitions arise. Regarding plans for a primary share listing in New York, CEO Gilberto Tomazoni said he expects the process to be concluded by the end of the year. He cautioned, however, that JBS has no control over approval of the plan, which depends on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and shareholders to proceed. For Genial Investimentos' analysts, it was too early to predict if the SEC will approve the U.S. listing, which is expected to help the company close the valuation gap with peers like Tyson Foods (TSN.N) , opens new tab. If the dual listing does not take place in the next six months, the recent JBS stock rally "tends to be reversed almost entirely," Genial's analyst Igor Guedes wrote. Asked about U.S. tariffs against countries such as Mexico and Canada, management said it was difficult to assess their impact because variables keep changing. Director-at-large Wesley Mendonça Batista Filho said a better assessment could be made after April 2, noting trade measures already announced by the Trump administration did not affect JBS' first-quarter performance. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/brazils-jbs-bullish-despite-challenging-outlook-us-beef-business-2025-03-26/
2025-03-26 15:07
March 26 (Reuters) - U.S. asset manager Fidelity Investments is exploring whether to launch its own stablecoin, in the latest sign of mainstream investors looking to cash in on a revival of interest in cryptocurrencies. Stablecoins are a type of cryptocurrency designed to maintain a constant value, usually a 1:1 dollar peg, making it easier for traders to move funds between cryptocurrencies. Their use has grown rapidly in recent years. Sign up here. A spokesperson for Fidelity said that the company's digital asset arm was in the process of testing a stablecoin, but had no immediate plans to launch one. The Financial Times first reported the news, saying that Fidelity Investments planned to launch a stablecoin and was in advanced stages of testing the token. There are around $239 billion worth of stablecoins in circulation, according to data provider CoinGecko. The largest issuer, El Salvador-based Tether, has created more than $140 billion worth of its token, which has proven lucrative as the company earns interest on the reserves held to back the coin. U.S. President Donald Trump's show of support for the crypto industry has prompted mainstream financial institutions to explore more crypto-related products. Trump's crypto venture, World Liberty Financial, announced on Tuesday its own plans to launch a dollar-pegged stablecoin, backed by U.S. Treasuries, dollars and other cash equivalents. U.S. asset managers have previously made moves in the crypto industry, for example by launching exchange-traded funds to track the price of bitcoin, after the products were approved by U.S. regulators in January 2024. On March 21, a separate digital asset business within Fidelity Investments filed to launch a tokenised money market fund, in which buyers' shares would be recorded on blockchain as well as via standard electronic records. https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/fidelity-investments-tests-dollar-pegged-stablecoin-2025-03-26/
2025-03-26 14:00
LONDON, March 26 (Reuters) - British finance minister Rachel Reeves on Wednesday announced cuts to spending plans and lower economic growth forecasts in her latest fiscal statement to parliament. Britain's government is set to borrow 47.6 billion pounds ($61.4 billion) more between now and the end of the decade than expected five months ago, according to forecasts from the country's fiscal watchdog published on Wednesday. Sign up here. Still, government bond yields fell after the UK's Debt Management Office said it would issue fewer bonds than expected in 2025/26, cooling market fears about another wave of supply. Two-year gilt yields were last down around 4 basis points on the day at 4.26%, while 10-year yields were 2 bps lower at 4.73% , . Sterling was down 0.5% at $1.2877 , having traded at $1.2900 just before Reeves started speaking, it was also softer on the euro 83.65 pence to the common currency. London's blue-chip FTSE-100 stock index was last up 0.1%, largely where it was before the announcement. COMMENTS: KIT JUCKES, HEAD OF FX STRATEGY, SOCIETE GENERALE, LONDON: “I don’t think there was anything very surprising in it. That they’ve reduced the amount of long end issuance – breathe a sigh of relief that some common sense has been applied – but surely most people thought they’d be some common sense. “The pound has weakened a bit more against the dollar, but that is more to do with the dollar and U.S. economic data .” SHAMIL GOHIL, FIXED INCOME PORTFOLIO MANAGER, FIDELITY INTERNATIONAL, LONDON: "The Chancellor has replenished the fiscal headroom back to 9.9 billion pounds (spending rule), which may provide some relief in the short term, but this is a temporary fix, kicking the can down the road. Longer term, budgetary challenges remain as higher interest rates and weaker growth persist." "The 10 billion pounds headroom is arguably not enough headroom compared to a planned ~1.5trn of spending and uncertainties ahead. The historical average has been closer to 30 billion pounds but recent governments have run it tighter. A 20 billion pound number would have been more constructive for Gilts. Ultimately, the fiscal headroom is how the market quantifies and judges the Chancellor’s credibility. Gilts probably remain in no man’s land until the Autumn budget as we will likely to see some fiscal slippage and buffer erosion from now until then." JANE FOLEY, HEAD OF FX STRATEGY, RABOBANK, LONDON: "In sterling, there wasn't a huge market reaction and I think it reflects the deliberate effort by the government to front-load most of the news. So, it was no shock to the market that growth was cut in half in 2025 to 1%. In fact, that only brings us in line with the surveys of economists. "So, no surprises there. Perhaps a little bit of good news, bearing in mind we're accustomed to seeing a lot of bad news from the UK recently, so perhaps a little bit of good news insofar as the outward revision for GDP from 2026 onwards. "But certainly no big surprises in this budget. There was no anticipation that there would be tax hikes this spring, and no tax hikes came. Whilst there were significant welfare changes and there was news about planning, etc., all of that had been out and delivered by Reeves well before today's statement. So there was nothing hugely surprising delivered today." RORY MCPHERSON, CHIEF INVESTMENT OFFICER, WREN STERLING: "The spring statement is what markets wanted -- pretty boring and uneventful on the back of what were probably quite big events in previous iterations." "It is largely a non-event." "We're pretty positive on UK assets. We have an overweight in equities in the UK, and we are constructive on short-dated UK bonds. We're cautious of longer dated bonds because of all the debt issuance, that will pressure gilt yields." PHILIP SHAW, CHIEF ECONOMIST, INVESTEC, LONDON: "It's clear that without corrective action from the government the OBR (Office for Budget Responsibility) would have concluded that the fiscal rules have been missed by 4 billion pounds. As widely trailed, the Chancellor has tightened expenditure in various areas, particularity welfare." "We're now on course to meet the fiscal rules, but that is subject to economic events over the period between now and the budget, and if things go badly with the economy and the public finances, then the Chancellor will be back to square one, perhaps with a need to tighten spending again or perhaps tax increases or even a combination of both. But it's pretty clear that credibility is absolutely critical for the government in being on track to meet the fiscal rules." VASILEIOS GKIONAKIS, SENIOR ECONOMIST AND STRATEGIST, AVIVA INVESTORS, LONDON: "Reeves’s aims were to really double down on discipline as far as the fiscal rules are concerned and restore the headroom. She has done both." "Of course, whether that remains to be the case… in the autumn budget, it remains to be seen." "There is a risk that she will have to reinstate part of the headroom in the autumn and to the extent that she has delivered welfare and departmental spending cuts, that increases the likelihood that she will have to go down the road of increasing taxes." https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/view-uk-finance-minister-delivers-spring-statement-gilt-yields-fall-2025-03-26/
