May 8, 2024 United States: Private Equity’s $3 Trillion Burden Sparks Hunt for Exit Options As the market for initial public offerings bounces back after two lifeless years, investors who’ve been impatiently waiting for their payoff are finally getting some returns. But the revival hasn’t come fast enough: Behind the scenes, the private equity shops
May 9, 2024 First estimates from Eurostat, the European Union's statistical office, show that seasonally adjusted services production rose by 1.1% in the EU and by 1.0% in the Euro Area in February 2024 compared to January 2024. The production of services increased by 0.8% in the euro region and by 0.3% throughout the EU in
May 8, 2024 United States: US 30-Year Mortgage Rate Falls for First Time Since March US mortgage rates fell for the first time since late March, giving some relief to homebuyers and lifting applications for purchases and refinancing. The contract rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage fell 11 basis points in the week ended May
May 7, 2024 United States: US Companies Have $1.76 Trillion Opportunity to Free Up Cash With rates expected to stay high for a while, corporate finance chiefs have a strong incentive to skip debt markets and free up more of their companies’ cash instead. And it turns out, they have plenty of it. The biggest
May 6, 2024 United States: Hedge Funds Turn Bullish on Consumer Stocks Ahead of Potential Rate Cuts, Goldman Says Hedge funds are reversing their bearish stance on consumer stocks as the latest economic data and comments from the Federal Reserve revive bets on interest rate cuts. After four weeks of selling, hedge funds last week
May 3, 2024 United States: US Jobs Report to Show Continuing Streak of Big Employment Gains Forecasters expect a monthly report on US employment to show strong job growth continued in April, even as wage pressures kept moderating. The figures, to be published Friday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, will probably show employers
May 2, 2024 United States: US Labor Costs Rise by Most in a Year as Productivity Cools US labor costs increased in the first quarter by the most in a year as productivity gains slowed, potentially adding to risks inflation will remain elevated. Unit labor costs, or what a business pays employees to produce
May 1, 2024 United States: US Holds Quarterly Debt Sale Steady, Details Buybacks Start The US Treasury left its quarterly issuance of longer-term debt unchanged on Wednesday, with the government set to benefit from an expected slowdown in the Federal Reserve’s shrinking holdings of Treasuries. The Treasury Department said in a statement it will sell $125 billion of
April 30, 2024 United States: US Labor Costs Rise by Most in Year in Sign of Wage Pressures A broad gauge of US labor costs closely watched by the Federal Reserve accelerated in the first quarter by more than forecast, illustrating persistent wage pressures that are keeping inflation elevated. The employment cost index, which measures
April 29, 2024 United States: Fed Rate-Cut Debate Shifts From When Toward If on Inflation Data The debate for the Federal Reserve is beginning to shift from how many times to cut interest rates this year to whether to cut them at all in 2024. With policymakers widely expected to hold rates steady at a more
