2024-03-22 16:59

NEW YORK, March 22 (Reuters) - Remote work has caused a "black hole" in U.S. office occupancy, knocking demand significantly below pre-pandemic levels and vacancy rates to historic lows, with a recovery to prior usage unlikely for years, said real estate analysis firm Green Street. In addition to the decline in demand due to working from home, the office sector also faces headwinds from companies that are now more cost-conscious with their budgets, the firm said. The result has caused cumulative net absorption - the amount of leased space less what has been vacated - to have declined by 130 million square feet (12.1 million square meters) of U.S. office space since 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, the firm said in a note called "The Black Hole of Office Occupancy" on Thursday. "The last four years of disruption in the office market have been the worst on record," said Newport Beach, California-based Green Street. "The cumulative amount of office space vacated since ’19 surpasses the amount seen during the dot-com bubble and dwarfs that of the Global Financial Crisis." Available office space was about 25% of existing supply at the end of 2023, both historic highs. For U.S. office occupancy to reach pre-pandemic levels it would take five years based on ambitious assumptions, such as an absorption rate of new supply on par with 2019 when the economic outlook and strong expected job growth made demand better. A realistic recovery scenario suggests about 1% office-using job growth and less than 1% supply growth over the next five years would result in U.S. occupancy rates not recovering to 2019 levels for a long while, the firm said. The peak dot-com occupancy levels of office space of the late 1990s have not been reached since then, and it took 11 years after the 2007-2008 global financial crisis to recover to pre-GFC occupancy levels. Prior recoveries in U.S. office occupancy have been mostly “V-shaped” in nature - a sharp rebound from a big decline. When the economy sours, companies cut jobs and vacate space, while the opposite happened once the economy turned north. This cycle, however, is likely to play out differently as it will take a lot more new jobs to generate the same level of office demand as in the past because remote work will act as a long-term headwind on office demand. Get a look at the day ahead in U.S. and global markets with the Morning Bid U.S. newsletter. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/us-office-occupancy-faces-black-hole-remote-work-says-green-street-2024-03-22/

2024-03-22 16:06

March 22 (Reuters) - Shares of Digital World Acquisition Corp (DWAC.O) , opens new tab fell 3.5% on Friday as investors resorted to profit-taking after shareholders of the blank-check firm voted in favor of its merger with former U.S. President Donald Trump's media and technology company. The shares had briefly risen after the vote on the deal that faces uncertainty over a lawsuit and fears of the former U.S. President selling a large portion of his stake in Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG) - the parent of Trump's social media firm Truth Social. "I think a lot of investors are selling on the news .... now that it (deal) is happening, some of them are taking profits," said Michael Ashley Schulman, chief investment officer at Running Point Capital. The vote was the final step in completing the merger that would value TMTG at as much as $8.6 billion. Schulman added that the possibility of Trump selling shares after the lock-up period ends is having a negative effect on the stock. Digital World said in a regulatory filing last month that Trump may divest his stake in Truth Social, valued at about $3.6 billion, and cease any involvement in its management based on how his bid for president goes. The Republican presidential candidate has been grappling with the financial fallout of a slew of legal cases against him. Among other hurdles the deal is facing, Digital World's former CEO Patrick Orlando and former Trump business associates Andy Litinsky and Wes Moss have filed lawsuits, claiming they were entitled to more shares for their contributions to the merger. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in February allowed the merger more than two years after it was announced. Get U.S. personal finance tips and insight straight to your inbox with the Reuters On the Money newsletter. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/deals/digital-world-rises-ahead-vote-merger-with-trumps-media-firm-2024-03-22/

2024-03-22 15:06

OTTAWA, March 22 (Reuters) - Canada recorded a sharply higher C$25.7 billion ($18.94 billion) budget deficit in the first ten months of the 2023/24 fiscal year as government expenditures grew faster than revenues, the finance ministry said on Friday. By comparison, the deficit in the same period a year earlier was C$6.4 billion, the ministry said in a statement. Program expenses, which are usually salaries of government employees, grants, subsidies and capital expenditure, rose 6.7% on increases across all major categories of spending. Public debt charges jumped by 35.9% largely because of higher interest rates, the ministry said. Year-to-date revenues grew by 3%, largely reflecting higher personal income tax revenue and revenue from other taxes and duties. On a monthly basis, Canada posted a deficit of C$2.1 billion in January, compared to a C$0.9 billion deficit in January 2023. ($1 = 1.3571 Canadian dollars) (([email protected] , opens new tab)) Keywords: CANADA BUDGET/ The Reuters Daily Briefing newsletter provides all the news you need to start your day. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/canada-budget-deficit-over-first-ten-months-202324-grows-c257-bln-2024-03-22/

2024-03-22 13:42

ABUJA, March 22 (Reuters) - Nigeria's naira firmed to 1,312.51 per dollar during mid-day trades on Friday, LSEG data showed, after the central bank said late on Wednesday it had cleared its entire verified foreign exchange backlog. The naira, which has hit repeated lows since a devaluation in January, its second in less than a year, traded at 1,301 naira per dollar at 1328 GMT. The central bank on Wednesday said it had paid commercial bank customers $1.5 billion to settle outstanding obligations that put the local currency under pressure. The naira last month fell to a low of 1,778.25 to the dollar, weighed down by high demand for the U.S. currency and outstanding forwards on the currency that needed to be settled by the central bank. Keep up with the latest medical breakthroughs and healthcare trends with the Reuters Health Rounds newsletter. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/nigerias-naira-firms-after-central-bank-clears-fx-backlog-2024-03-22/

2024-03-22 13:03

MOSCOW, March 22 (Reuters) - Russian Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina gave a press conference on Friday after the central bank kept its key interest rate unchanged at 16%. Nabiullina spoke in Russian. The quotes below were translated into English by Reuters. NABIULLINA ON THE RUSSIAN ECONOMY "The inflation slowdown will gradually cool down inflationary expectations." "The economy is in the investment stage of growth, providing a high level of economic activity." "The labour shortage has become a serious bottleneck, the tensions on the labour market are rising." "Yes, lower interest rates on loans could boost nominal demand, both on the investment and consumption sides, but if there are no available resources in the economy, this will not increase output and will only lead to price growth." "We do not yet see that the situation on the fuel market could significantly influence our inflation forecast." "...The peak of overheating has passed but still the growth of demand continues to exceed the capabilities of supply." NABIULLINA ON MONETARY POLICY "Lending growth is slowing down unevenly. Mortgage lending growth has slowed, but consumer lending growth remains high." "Exports are recovering but secondary sanctions hinder this process." "Monetary conditions will need to remain tight for a long time." "We have discussed the trajectory of the rate and we will be able to start lowering it when we are convinced the deceleration of inflation is sustainable. In our view, this is more likely to happen in the second half of the year." NABIULLINA ON SANCTIONS "Of course, we are always on alert for the possible strengthening of sanctions, including those against (financial) infrastructure. We are looking at different options together with the (Moscow) exchange in order to ensure that our infrastructure continues to function." "Exchanging the frozen funds of Russian investors for those of Western ones would not affect the rouble exchange rate." "As for India, Russian banks are actively expanding bilateral settlement channels and are using different currencies." The Reuters Daily Briefing newsletter provides all the news you need to start your day. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/rates-bonds/russian-central-bank-governor-speaks-after-holding-key-rate-16-2024-03-22/

2024-03-22 12:49

OTTAWA, March 22 (Reuters) - Canada's retail sales contracted a little less than expected in January as lower goods prices and lower sales of motor vehicle and parts weighed down on the number, data showed on Friday. Retail sales dropped by 0.3% in January from a healthy 0.9% jump in December which was led by holiday season sales, Statistics Canada said. Analysts polled by Reuters had forecast a 0.4% drop in retail sales. A preliminary estimate of February's sales figure showed that the sales were likely to increase by 0.1%, but this data is sourced only from half of the total respondents the Statscan usually surveys, it said. In volume terms, however, sales were up 0.2% in January. Get a look at the day ahead in U.S. and global markets with the Morning Bid U.S. newsletter. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/canadas-january-retail-sales-decline-slight-rebound-seen-february-2024-03-22/