2025-12-19 18:40

MILAN, Dec 19 (Reuters) - The EU Council on Friday backed a negotiating position for a digital euro that includes both online and offline functionality, diverging from earlier European Parliament proposals that focused solely on offline usage. Under the Council's new position, the digital euro would be publicly issued by the European Central Bank and usable anytime, anywhere, whether users are connected to the internet or offline. Sign up here. Fernando Navarrete, the European Parliament rapporteur for the digital euro, had advocated for an offline-only model to preserve users' privacy and the resilience of the unit itself, with the central bank to operate as the currency's regulator. Online transactions would involve immediate processing through the central bank's ledger or through authorised intermediaries, while offline transactions can be recorded locally and later synchronised with the central ledger when connectivity resumes, meaning the system can be used even in areas with poor connectivity while preserving cash-like privacy for its users. The ECB is working to introduce a digital euro to modernise its payment system and ensure central bank money remains relevant in an increasingly digital world. With cash use declining, a central bank-issued digital currency would help maintain monetary sovereignty and trust in the currency. The project, however, is advancing slowly and faces resistance from portions of the banking sector. Council ministers endorsed offline usability for everyday flexibility and resilience in case of power outages. But they also included online access to support a broader set of digital payments. The Council's mandate sets out key design features, including limits on digital euro holdings to prevent it from endangering financial stability by draining away deposits from banks. These ceilings will be determined by the ECB, subject to an overall cap reviewed every two years. Providers must offer certain basic digital euro services free of charge, though fees will apply for value-added features. A transition period of at least five years will cap interchange and merchant fees at levels in line with existing payment methods, with fees adjusted afterward based on actual costs. The Council's agreement clears the way for negotiations with the European Parliament on the legal framework for the digital euro. The Council, formally called the Council of the European Union, represents EU member states' governments, and it works alongside the European Parliament to adopt laws. Once that is adopted the ECB can proceed to issue the digital euro, which it has said could be operational by 2029 after a pilot phase in 2027. https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/eu-council-backs-digital-euro-with-both-online-offline-functionality-2025-12-19/

2025-12-19 18:36

HOUSTON, Dec 19 (Reuters) - The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on Friday released a long-anticipated Environmental Impact Statement for the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL), recommending that operations of the oil pipeline continue with some conditions. The EIS, a document required by U.S. law to evaluate the environmental effects of major federal actions, is a win for DAPL operator Energy Transfer (ET.N) , opens new tab and a step closer to the end of a lengthy court battle between the company and nearby Native American tribes, who have been fighting for the pipeline's closure. Sign up here. The document recommends the continued operation of DAPL, on the grounds that safeguards are put in place such as groundwater monitoring, fish tissue residue analyses and water and sediment sampling, as well as the deployment of new leak detection technology. A U.S. court in 2022 ordered the federal government to undertake a more intensive EIS of the 1,100-mile (1,800-km) crude pipeline's route as part of the dispute between Energy Transfer (ET.N) , opens new tab and the tribes who have cited risks to water quality as the pipeline runs through Lake Oahe, with the crossing around half a mile north of the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation. The pipeline has continued to operate while the review is being carried out. It is the biggest oil pipeline from the Bakken shale oil basin and can transport up to 750,000 barrels of oil per day from North Dakota to Illinois. It is not known whether USACE's recommendation will be implemented. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/land-use-biodiversity/dakota-access-pipeline-should-continue-operating-us-army-corps-engineers-says-2025-12-19/

2025-12-19 17:31

Pulte appointments raise concerns over ethics, experience Social media use by FHFA boss blurs lines between politics, regulation Pulte proposals include 50-year mortgage, crypto as asset for home loans WASHINGTON, Dec 19 (Reuters) - Days after being sworn in as President Donald Trump’s appointee at a top U.S. housing agency, Bill Pulte began cleaning house. Since taking over the Federal Housing Finance Agency in March, Pulte has driven out hundreds of employees from the mortgage regulator and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the Fortune 500 mortgage-buying companies he oversees. The brash scion of a homebuilding empire bearing his family’s name, Pulte has supplanted industry veterans with politically or personally connected advisors, including a business partner of Trump’s eldest son and a former registered sex offender who campaigned for the Republican president. Sign up here. Pulte has also seized the microphone. In an early move, he ordered staff to hand over control of the Fannie Mae account on X, the social media platform, according to four people familiar with his actions. He soon began using the account, as well as his own personal X profile, to trumpet the White House agenda and level accusations of mortgage fraud against prominent Democrats perceived to be political enemies of Trump. Pulte accompanied those accusations with criminal referrals to the Justice Department. By favoring loyalty and personal ties over experience, and politicizing the once low-profile FHFA and the companies it supervises, Pulte risks undercutting the credibility of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, government-ethics specialists say. The government-sponsored enterprises, under FHFA conservatorship since the 2008 financial crisis, underpin the U.S. housing market by backing the majority of all mortgages. “This reliance on a buddy system – in which people are getting into positions because of their political or personal connections – is unprecedented at these organizations,” said Richard Painter, a Bush administration ethics attorney who co-authored a book about ethical lapses in the banking industry and the 2008 crisis. “It’s a potentially explosive and dangerous situation that could be damaging not only to the mortgage industry but to our economy as a whole.” Regulating the two companies is a core competency of the FHFA. Fannie specializes in buying mortgages from big banks, packaging them into securities and then selling those securities to create liquidity in the home-loan market. Freddie plays the same role for smaller lenders. Pulte has proposed some policy changes in the market, such as introducing a 50-year mortgage. That idea, aimed at making monthly loan payments more affordable than under the standard shorter terms, has drawn criticism from some quarters as it would mean more interest payments over the life of a loan. But Pulte’s maneuvers have drawn attention mostly for reasons other than the workings of the mortgage industry. Within Fannie and Freddie, some of his appointments have angered staffers who perceive a political agenda more focused on fighting Washington “wokism” than on the actual mortgage business. Pulte has used his status as a Trump appointee to promote cryptocurrency initiatives, a move some critics see as a conflict of interest because Trump’s family has significant investments in the sector and the president has sought to deregulate it. Pulte’s accusations of fraud against political targets led the Government Accountability Office, the investigative agency of Congress, this month to say it would investigate whether Pulte abused his position and government resources in that effort. The GAO probe came at the behest of Democratic senators. Federal prosecutors in Maryland also began recently to review Pulte’s conduct in the investigation of Senator Adam Schiff, a California Democrat he accused of mortgage fraud. In a recent post online, Attorney General Pam Bondi, who oversees federal prosecutors, wrote: “There is no investigation into Bill Pulte.” Pulte didn’t respond to questions from Reuters for this report. This examination of Pulte’s tenure is based on interviews with more than two dozen people familiar with the impact of his management at the FHFA and his role as chairman at Fannie and Freddie. Reuters also reviewed internal documents from the agency and the two companies as well as Pulte’s extensive social media postings. Jonathan Coppage, a spokesperson for the FHFA, in an emailed statement to Reuters said Pulte’s leadership at the FHFA has created a “safer and sounder” mortgage sector. “Fannie and Freddie,” he added, “are now being run like standard businesses and not special interest welfare entities, so there is no room for waste, fraud, or abuse.” Spokespersons at Fannie and Freddie didn’t respond to requests for comment. On X, Pulte has justified his cuts at the mortgage giants as the elimination of “not core” positions and a reversal of “DEI nonsense,” a reference to employment policies that sought more inclusive and equitable workplaces. He has touted his hires, meanwhile, as recruitment of the “best and brightest.” He has defended his criminal referrals against officials including Schiff and New York Attorney General Letitia James as an urgent effort to eliminate fraud that’s damaging the mortgage industry. Both James and Schiff have denied wrongdoing. A federal judge dismissed charges against James brought by a prosecutor after Pulte’s criminal referral, and two grand juries have subsequently declined to indict her. A spokesperson for the Justice Department declined to comment. In the agency’s statement, the FHFA spokesperson didn’t answer specific questions about Pulte’s accusations of mortgage fraud. Steven Cheung, a White House spokesperson, has told Reuters that criticism of Pulte’s tenure at FHFA is “a pathetic attempt to distract away from all of the victories being delivered for the American people.” He added that “Bill Pulte is one of the President’s most loyal and important advisors who is doing a great job.” SHARED BUSINESS AND SOCIAL CIRCLES Although his family originally hails from Michigan, where his grandfather’s construction company grew into one of the biggest homebuilders in the United States, Pulte was born in Florida, where he has moved in the same business and social circles as Trump. On his financial disclosure form ahead of his confirmation for the FHFA post, Pulte declared assets worth at least $190 million, mostly through stakes in home-service companies and Pulte Capital Partners, an investment firm at which he listed his position as chief executive. In a February letter to a government ethics official, Pulte said he would step down from his roles at various investment vehicles including Pulte Capital Partners and Pulte Family Office, a related entity. Pulte has been a regular presence at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, people familiar with the matter told Reuters, and is friendly with Donald Trump Jr, the president’s eldest son. Reuters couldn’t determine whether those ties led to Pulte’s nomination as FHFA boss, but some of his own appointments as regulator hail from the same social circles. The FHFA spokesperson didn’t respond to a question about Pulte’s relationship with the Trumps or their acquaintances. The White House didn’t respond to questions about the matter, either. After Pulte was confirmed as director last March, he installed himself as chairman of the board at both Fannie and Freddie. The move was unprecedented, surprising some staffers at both enterprises, accustomed to a formal remove between the regulator and the companies. It also prompted the FHFA’s inspector general, an independent internal watchdog, to review whether the self-appointment was a conflict of interest, according to three people familiar with the matter. Tensions with that office increased when Pulte, breaking with standard procedures, circumvented the inspector before making the criminal referrals, Reuters reported in October The White House later fired the inspector general for reasons it hasn’t disclosed. Joe Allen, the former inspector general, didn’t reply to requests for comment from Reuters. Pulte, in an X post on Thursday, referenced Reuters’ inquiries about his appointment as chair of Fannie and Freddie. He wrote that Allen in April “confirmed to the Federal Housing Finance Agency that the Director acting as Chairman is legal.” The inspector general’s office, for its part, appeared to contradict Pulte. In a statement to Reuters, also on Thursday, a spokesperson said “it is not the role of the FHFA-OIG to provide legal advice to FHFA.” The statement added that in April, when Congress asked the former inspector general about the legality of the director serving as chair, “he referred them back to the agency as best positioned to provide the factual and legal basis for its decisions.” Pulte revamped Fannie and Freddie’s boards, ultimately removing 14 directors, and replacing most of them, at the two companies. He also implemented a series of management changes, including the chief executives at both companies. More broadly, Pulte announced layoffs of “not core” employees, including staffers responsible for diversity efforts and ethics enforcement, according to public records and statements by Pulte. Three people familiar with the changes within Fannie said some staff there were disturbed when Pulte aides earlier this year told them, as they prepared marketing materials related to mortgage financing, not to include too many Latino or African-American families in their visuals. The marketing, the aides stressed, needed to reflect the administration’s shift away from DEI, these people said. The FHFA spokesperson denied the incident. “No one at the Federal Housing Finance Agency ever said this,” he wrote, “it is completely made up.” On their own, personnel changes are common under a new boss. Still, the nature of Pulte’s appointments has bothered some staffers at Fannie and Freddie because they have included some aides with little experience in the mortgage sector. Still others are perceived to represent potential conflicts – in one case because a new board member as recently as January shared a common financial interest with a Pulte family investment office. In April, Pulte named Omeed Malik, founder of venture fund 1789 Capital and a prominent Trump donor, to Fannie’s board. Trump Jr is a partner in the fund, based in Palm Beach and known for its conservative bent. Months earlier, according to a release by the family investment office , opens new tab in which Pulte was quoted as chairman, the office had invested in GrabAGun, a Texas-based firearm retailer that Malik helped go public this year. Trump Jr is also a board member there. “Normal government ethics say you shouldn’t have these shared financial interests,” James Lockhart, who served as the first-ever FHFA director, under both Republican and Democratic administrations, told Reuters. The FHFA spokesperson, without elaborating, said Pulte hasn’t owned any shares in GrabAGun “since being in Government.” He didn’t explain if the Pulte family office sold the stake in the company after Pulte joined the Trump administration. Trump Jr, 1789 Capital and GrabAGun didn’t respond to requests for comment. In response to questions from Reuters, a lawyer for Malik declined to make him available for an on-record interview. “THERE WAS NOBODY THERE” Other Pulte personnel decisions have also raised eyebrows. Earlier this year, Reuters reported , Pulte enlisted Mark Zarkin, a Michigan restaurateur with no significant experience in the mortgage sector and who had once been convicted of a felony sex offense, as a consultant to the two mortgage companies. A judge had later vacated the felony conviction. Zarkin didn’t respond to a request for comment. Reuters couldn’t identify exactly what role Zarkin has performed, but three people familiar with his presence said he often accompanied Pulte at Fannie offices and in March escorted a film crew there to shoot footage that soon after was shown by Fox News. The footage, the people said, was filmed on a Monday, a day when many employees typically work from home. Pulte on camera showed empty cubicles and made comments, considered inaccurate and disparaging by some staffers, about truant workers. “We've got this big beautiful area where employees are supposed to work,” Pulte said in the Fox segment. “There was nobody there.” In an email, a Fox News spokesperson said the video it used was supplied by the FHFA and that it didn’t work with Zarkin. The FHFA spokesperson said Zarkin is currently not an employee or consultant to the agency, Fannie or Freddie. He didn’t answer follow-up questions about any role Zarkin may have held earlier in the year. Another early move by Pulte was his demand for access to Fannie’s X account, the four people familiar with the order told Reuters. Previously, posts by the company on social media were vetted by experts and lawyers. But after internal discussions, these people said, the staffers complied. The FHFA spokesperson said: “In 2025, it is very common to use social media platforms like X to communicate with the public.” Soon, Pulte began using the platform to promote Trump’s policies. His posts, some staffers believe, blur the lines between Pulte’s political views and his role as a regulator. Reuters couldn’t determine whether Pulte himself has posted from the Fannie account, but the account has reposted some of Pulte’s own X writings regarding FHFA initiatives, including his claims of widespread fraud in the mortgage industry. At times, people familiar with his activities told Reuters, Pulte’s prolific posts led staffers within Fannie and Freddie to learn of new policy initiatives even before they had been analyzed, let alone announced, at the companies themselves. Last month, for instance, Pulte on X said that “Thanks to President Trump, we are indeed working on The 50-year-mortgage - a complete game changer.” The idea was pitched as a way to broaden access to a mortgage market currently dominated by 30-year loans. But it was promptly criticized by staffers, economists and mortgage industry experts, some of whom said it would burden homeowners with more debt and expose lenders to higher risk. The idea hasn’t been implemented. Then there was his announcement that Fannie and Freddie would wade into an industry that President Trump, once a skeptic, has embraced – cryptocurrency. In October, Reuters reported that Trump’s family reaped more than $800 million from crypto sales in the first half of 2025. During that period, the Department of Justice axed its crypto enforcement team and the administration’s banking regulators relaxed guidance for banks regarding the historically volatile currencies. In June, Pulte posted that he had ordered Fannie and Freddie to make adjustments so borrowers could count cryptocurrency among their assets when applying for loans. “ After significant studying, and in keeping with President Trump’s vision to make the United States the crypto capital of the world, today I ordered the Great Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to prepare their businesses to count cryptocurrency as an asset for a mortgage,” he wrote. The directive caused confusion. Some staffers perceived yet another conflict of interest in a measure that seeks mass-market acceptance for a sector in which the president’s family has significant investments. The order, one person familiar with the response at Fannie and Freddie said, led both companies to scramble for ways to implement it, particularly because many mainstream lenders remain uncertain about the risks that still plague volatile cryptocurrencies. A functional plan still hasn’t been formulated, the person added. The FHFA spokesperson, without providing details, in the statement wrote: “Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have made great progress with implementing cryptocurrency.” https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/boards-policy-regulation/pulte-other-trump-loyalists-mortgage-regulator-clash-with-fannie-freddie-2025-12-19/

2025-12-19 17:17

MEXICO CITY, Dec 19 (Reuters) - The proposed merger of Mexican budget carriers Volaris (VOLARA.MX) , opens new tab and Viva Aerobus aims to put the new airline group in stronger conditions to negotiate its highest costs, acquiring and renting aircraft, executives from both firms said on Friday. Reuters exclusively reported on Thursday that the two were nearing an agreement, which Volaris and Viva later confirmed. Sign up here. "A significant opportunity lies in reducing aircraft ownership costs, which represent the largest expense - exceeding even fuel," Viva CEO Juan Carlos Zuazua told analysts on a conference call. "Notably, major global carriers operate with ownership costs up to 60% lower than their Latin American counterparts, including Viva and Volaris," he added. Both airlines exclusively fly Airbus (AIR.PA) , opens new tab planes, and operate similar routes. While Volaris and Viva will continue to operate as separate brands, the new group - to trade as Grupo Mas Vuelos - would become Mexico's largest domestic carrier by far. Shares of Volaris were on track for their best day ever, shooting up nearly 17% after the call. Under the terms of the agreement, the companies will combine in a merger of equals. Volaris CEO Enrique Beltranena conceded that his carrier represented about 60% of enterprise value while Viva brought in 40%, though Volaris' net debt was higher. "So when you bridge from enterprise value to equity value, the relative equity contributions become much closer," he said. REGULATORY HURDLES AHEAD Analysts repeatedly pressed the executives on the regulatory process ahead to clear the deal. Among Mexican carriers, the two represented a combined 69% of passengers carried in the year through October. They were trailed by flagship airline Aeromexico , which is likely to oppose the merger. "We're confident in the merits of this transaction," Beltranena said. "(We) prefer right now not to speculate on the results or the potential outcomes, and conditions or remedies" stipulated by the regulator. Mexico's government this year dissolved its independent anti-competition regulator, Cofece, and put its powers in the hands of a new agency controlled by the economy ministry. ($1 = 17.9908 Mexican pesos) https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/mexican-airline-volaris-shares-take-off-after-merger-plans-with-viva-aerobus-2025-12-19/

2025-12-19 15:59

MSCI to decide by Jan. 15 on excluding digital asset companies from indexes Analysts expect other providers to follow suit, dealing blow to bitcoin-hoarding sector Crypto-buyers had soared in value, but bitcoin plunge has hit some hard PARIS, Dec 19 (Reuters) - Michael Saylor's Strategy (MSTR.O) , opens new tab could soon be dropped from MSCI and potentially other major stock indexes, which analysts say could cost the bitcoin-hoarding giant up to $9 billion in demand for its shares and hurt the wider appeal of the sector. After queries from clients, MSCI in October proposed ditching from its global benchmarks companies whose digital asset holdings represent 50% or more of their total assets. It says they resemble investment funds, which it does not include in its benchmarks. But many such firms argue that they are operational companies developing novel products, and that MSCI's proposals unfairly discriminate against crypto. Sign up here. Shares in Strategy, which began life as software firm MicroStrategy, skyrocketed 3,000% after it began buying bitcoin in 2020, although they have since fallen sharply, and are down about 43% this year amid the cryptocurrency's slump. Dozens more companies have been inspired to buy and hold crypto tokens on their own balance sheets in the hopes they will gain value, although questions are growing over the sustainability of these businesses. MSCI is holding a public consultation and will announce a decision by January 15. Analysts say that if it excludes digital asset treasury (DAT) companies, other index providers could follow. "The conversation already extends beyond just MSCI... to the eligibility of DATs in equity indexes in general," Kaasha Saini, head of index strategy at Jefferies, told Reuters, adding that she expects most equity indexes would move to follow MSCI. STRATEGY: EXCLUSION COULD "CHILL" INDUSTRY Passive asset managers are estimated to hold as much as 30% of a large-cap company's free float, according to Saini, meaning exclusion could trigger significant outflows. That's especially problematic for the DAT industry, since many companies fund their token purchases by selling stock. A spokesperson for Strategy, which has increasingly taken on debt to fund its token purchases, did not respond to a request for comment. Saylor this month dismissed worries over potential MSCI exclusion, telling Reuters it wouldn't matter. But in a subsequent public letter to MSCI, he and Strategy CEO Phong Le estimated DAT exclusion would result in $2.8 billion of its stock being liquidated and "chill" the industry. The proposal would shut DATs out of the roughly $15 trillion passive-investment universe, "drastically weakening their competitive position", they wrote. Analysts at TD Cowen estimated in November that $2.5 billion of Strategy's market value comes from MSCI, and $5.5 billion from other indexes. JPMorgan estimated that Strategy faces $2.8 billion of outflows if MSCI kicks the company out, rising to $8.8 billion if it is excluded from other indexes, which include the Nasdaq 100, CRSP US Total Market Index and various LSEG-owned Russell indexes. Strategy had a market value of around $45 billion on Thursday. CRSP declined to comment. A spokesperson for LSEG said it continuously monitors client feedback and any methodology consultations would follow its governance processes. Nasdaq declined to comment. It kept Strategy in its Nasdaq 100 index during this month's annual reshuffle. TREASURY COMPANY CRAZE As of September, at least 200 DATs had a combined capitalisation of around $150 billion, up more than threefold from a year earlier, according to law firm DLA Piper. As crypto prices have dropped, however, some companies have traded below the net asset value of their tokens. Besides Strategy, MSCI's preliminary list names 38 companies at risk of exclusion, with a combined issuer market cap of $46.7 billion as of September 30, including French bitcoin-buying company Capital B (ALCPB.PA) , opens new tab. Alexandre Laizet, Capital B's director of bitcoin strategy, said the quantity of its shares held by passive funds was "not that significant now" but in terms of future adoption, it was "quite important" for the company to have access to passive flows. Matt Cole, CEO of U.S. bitcoin-buyer Strive (ASST.O) , opens new tab, which is not on the list, said the proposals have mostly been priced in by the market. "On a longer-term basis, I think it raises the cost of capital for all bitcoin treasury companies," Cole said. https://www.reuters.com/business/strategy-bitcoin-buying-firms-face-wider-exclusion-stock-indexes-2025-12-19/

2025-12-19 15:26

BoJ hikes to 30-year high, signals more Fed policymakers see one rate cut in 2026 BoE follows Fed into cautious easing ECB executes 'uncertain' pause, avoids guidance LONDON, Dec 19 (Reuters) - Central banks in big economies are signalling a change of stance as the Bank of Japan raised interest rates to a 30-year high on Friday. A day earlier the European Central Bank all but confirmed it was done with monetary easing and the Bank of England cut rates in a narrow vote as dissenters cautioned about price pressures. Sign up here. Now all eyes are on how dovish the incoming next Federal Reserve will manage to be after some of the U.S. central bank's policymakers warned the world's biggest economy might already be running too hot. Here's where central banks in 10 developed markets stand: 1/ SWITZERLAND The Swiss National Bank left its policy interest rate unchanged at 0% on December 11, the lowest among developed-market central banks, and said the recent agreement to reduce U.S. tariffs on Swiss goods had improved the economic outlook. Even though Swiss inflation is at zero as the strong safe-haven franc lowers import costs, the bar for bringing rates into negative territory is high, and economists expect price growth to recover mildly next year and the SNB to stay on hold throughout 2026. 2/ CANADA The Bank of Canada held its key rate at 2.25% last week, after 225 basis points of easing this cycle. Governor Tiff Macklem said the economy was proving resilient to U.S. trade measures. The BOC is expected to keep rates on hold until 2027, after government spending and robust oil exports lifted third-quarter growth to 2.6% and the labour market 3/ SWEDEN Sweden's Riksbank also expects previous monetary easing to begin lifting growth and with year-on-year inflation running just above its 2% target, it held rates at 1.75% on December 18 and analysts anticipate it will hike again in late 2026. 4/ NEW ZEALAND With unemployment stuck at a nine-year high, turning hawkish will be a tough choice for new Reserve Bank of New Zealand boss Anna Breman. With a string of punchy rate cuts having helped propel inflation to the top end of the central bank's target range, however, money markets see New Zealand's cash rate nearing 3% by December 2026 from 2.25% currently. 5/ EURO ZONE The European Central Bank has been firmly on hold at 2% since June and its latest pause on Thursday also came with upgrades to growth and inflation forecasts. Traders settled on bets for a lengthy pause until at least June after ECB President Christine Lagarde cited heavy uncertainty and avoided forward guidance. 6/ UNITED STATES The Federal Reserve cut rates on December 10, in a divided vote, then hinted at a pause. Delayed jobs data showed that the labour market had declined in October, then snapped back the following month and U.S. business leaders also expect further price rises from tariffs. Fed policymakers predict just one 25 bps cut in 2026, setting them up for potential clashes with President Donald Trump, who wants more easing, as does Fed Chair frontrunner and White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett. 7/ BRITAIN Bank of England rate-setters voted narrowly for a quarter-point cut to 3.75% on Thursday and Governor Andrew Bailey warned future easing was a close call. With UK inflation still the highest in the G7, comments from BoE dissenters on Thursday that it may get stuck too high drained confidence out of interest rate markets for more than one 25bps cut next year. 8/ NORWAY The Norges Bank has been the most cautious in the G10 pack, having cut rates by just 50 bps this cycle. It held borrowing costs steady on Thursday, although futures markets anticipate 44 bps of further easing next year after inflation cooled off. 9/ AUSTRALIA The Reserve Bank of Australia looks close to its turning point, having held rates steady at 3.6% earlier this month and issued a stark warning about inflation. Markets are fully pricing a hike by June. 10/ JAPAN The Bank of Japan raised rates to 0.75% on Friday and upgraded its growth and inflation forecasts, although the yen fell sharply while Japanese government bond yields also spiked higher, sending mixed market signals about the likelihood of more hikes. Investors have been anticipating a BOJ shift away from economic support measures since new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi pledged massive stimulus spending and as inflation remained strong enough to pile pressure on the central bank. https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/global-markets-cenbank-2025-12-19/