S&P Global Ratings on Wednesday upgraded Louisiana’s general obligation bonds to AA from AA-minus. S&P also raised the long-term rating on the state’s appropriation-backed debt to AA-minus from A-plus. “The upgrades reflect our view of Louisiana’s demonstrated commitment to improving and maintaining reserves above levels that we consider very strong and the state’s ongoing effort
Hinterhaus Productions | Digitalvision | Getty Images Inflation in the U.S. has hit a speed bump. While the rate of price increases has come down significantly from its peak in the summer of 2022, the most recent reading from the consumer price index showed overall inflation stuck at just above 3%. Core inflation — which
Stay informed with free updates Simply sign up to the UK inflation myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox. The UK’s inflation rate fell sharply in February, bolstering arguments for the Bank of England to start cutting interest rates this year as it makes headway in bringing price growth under control. The consumer prices
Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a Fox News town hall at the Greenville Convention Center in Greenville, South Carolina, on Feb. 20, 2024. Justin Sullivan | Getty Images Donald Trump and his co-defendants were in talks with insurance giant Chubb for a $464 million appeal bond in the former
Three months after Florida’s private intercity passenger train system, Brightline, disclosed a 21% decline in projected ridership for 2024, it’s cutting its forecast again.  The Fortress Investment Group-backed Brightline now anticipates carrying a combined 4.9 million passengers this year on its new long-distance service between Miami and the Orlando airport and the five-year-old South Florida
The municipal primary market was active Tuesday while triple-A scales were little moved despite U.S. Treasury gains ahead of the Federal Open Market Committee meeting conclusion Wednesday. Various large new-issues were well-received and cleared the market Tuesday, with several repricing to lower yields. Despite several larger deals entering the primary, the large amounts of cash
Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. The Bank of Japan has raised interest rates for the first time since 2007, becoming the world’s last central bank to end negative rates as the country puts decades of deflation behind it. Following a
The number of Federal Reserve rate cuts expected this year has dwindled and the first one isn’t likely before June, analyst said, as inflation numbers continue to come in hotter-than-expected. While the market was initially expecting six or seven 25 basis point cuts this year, Gary Quinzel, vice president of portfolio consulting at Wealth Enhancement
Chris Wattie | Reuters Economists expect the Federal Reserve to leave interest rates unchanged at the end of its two-day meeting this week, even though many experts anticipate the central bank is preparing to start cutting rates in the months ahead. In prepared remarks earlier this month, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said policymakers don’t want to ease
Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Some 24 years after Vladimir Putin was elected to his first term as Russia’s president in an election that was still broadly free, this weekend’s electoral procession to anoint him to a fifth term is
Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Nato’s European members need to find an extra €56bn a year to meet the alliance’s defence spending target, but the shortfall has halved in the past decade, according to research by Germany’s Ifo Institute for
A below-the-radar trip to Venezuela by Boris Johnson to meet autocratic president Nicolás Maduro was arranged by a hedge fund manager interested in normalising diplomatic relations between London and Caracas, according to people familiar with the matter. Former JPMorgan banker Maarten Petermann, co-founder of London-based Merlyn Advisors, organised the former UK prime minister’s visit by