Aurelia Butler

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Transportation Security Administration said it had screened 2.99 million airline passengers on Sunday, the highest-ever number in a single day.The agency said on Monday it expects to screen more than 32 million travelers during the 2024 Independence Day travel period that runs from Thursday through July 8, which is 5.4% higher than 2023 levels.The TSA said it expects on Friday it will for the first time screen more than 3 million people, the busiest day expected during the upcoming holiday period. Sunday’s record broke the prior high of 2.95 million set in late May, while seven of the 10 busiest travel days ever have occurred over the past month.A group representing major U.S. airlines forecast record summer travel with airlines expected to transport 271 million passengers, up 6.3% from last year.Industry group Airlines for America said U.S carriers plan to fly more than 26,000 daily flights this summer, up nearly 1,400 or 5.6% over 2023, when they carried 255 million passengers. The summer travel season forecast is for June 1 to Aug. 31.The forecast comes as the Federal Aviation Administration is struggling to address a persistent shortage of air traffic controllers. Some airlines voluntarily trimmed New York flights last summer to address congestion issues and have raised new concerns about the lack of controllers.The FAA said on June 5 it would again extend cuts to minimum flight requirements at congested New York City-area airports through October 2025, citing shortages of air traffic control staff.The FAA said the number of controllers handling traffic in New York is insufficient for normal traffic levels and that without “increased flexibility,” congestion, delays, and cancellations are likely at JFK, LaGuardia and Newark airports.Under minimum flight requirements, airlines can lose their takeoff and landing slots at congested airports if they do not use them at least 80% of the time. The FAA’s waiver allows airlines to fly fewer flights and still retain slots. More

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen announced $100 million in new financing on Monday to increase the supply of affordable housing, as the Biden administration seeks to address high housing costs ahead of the Nov. 5 presidential election. The measure is one of several moves by the Treasury to try to address a chronic housing shortage, which has been a contributor to lingering inflation and a source of voter dissatisfaction with President Joe Biden’s handling of the economy.The additional $100 million over three years will come from payments that the Treasury is receiving from prior COVID-era investments in community lenders to support small businesses, consumers and affordable housing projects, Yellen said in remarks at a public housing development project in Minneapolis.The 2021 Emergency Capital Investment Program injected over $8.57 billion into community lenders, who in turn invested $1.2 billion in 433 affordable housing projects, according to Treasury data. The additional funds could support the financing of thousands more affordable housing units through a new program housed at the Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund, Yellen said.HOUSING SUPPLY SHORTFALLThe Treasury chief said she expects shelter inflation to moderate, but noted that from 2000 to 2020, median housing rents have outpaced median incomes in counties covering 97% of the U.S. population.”But we face a very significant housing supply shortfall that has been building for a long time. This supply crunch has led to an affordability crunch,” Yellen said in excerpts of remarks. She added that the burden was greatest on low-income and Black households.Christopher Tyson, president of National Community Stabilization Trust, which advocates for increased affordable single-family home ownership, called the additional funding a good start towards bridging the gap between what people can afford and where the market sets prices.”Distortions in the housing market because of the lack of supply have just pushed homeownership out of reach” for many potential buyers, Tyson said, estimating a U.S. shortage of about 2 million housing units.Yellen also is calling on the 11 Federal Home Loan Banks to devote at least 20% of their net income to housing programs, up from the legal requirement of 10% and the banks’ voluntary commitment of 15%.Had this commitment been in place over the last five years, the 11 government-sponsored enterprises would have contributed nearly $2 billion more to housing programs than legally required, the Treasury said. More

(Reuters) – A look at the day ahead in Asian markets.The wave of profit-taking in U.S. Big Tech and AI stocks appears to be gathering momentum, which could depress investor sentiment and risk appetite in Asia on Tuesday even if it is offset by a rotation into cheaper, beaten down sectors.The Dow’s rise to a one-month high on Monday as the Nasdaq declined for a third day will be well-received, of course. But ahead of U.S. inflation figures on Friday, which is also the last trading day of the quarter, caution may prevail.Otherwise, the macroeconomic backdrop to the start of the week seems fairly supportive for Asian and emerging markets – Treasury yields edged lower on Monday and the dollar had its biggest fall in nearly two weeks.Tuesday’s regional economic calendar is light, with the highlights being consumer price inflation from Malaysia, service sector producer prices from Japan, the latest measures of consumer confidence in South Korea and Australia, and trade figures from Hong Kong. The market tone across Asia on Tuesday could be set by the tempest brewing in tech. Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) shares slumped 6.7% on Monday, bringing their decline in the last three days to 16%, and weighing heavily on semiconductor and tech shares more broadly.Taiwan’s benchmark index lost nearly 2% on Monday, its biggest fall in two months, and blue chip issue Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co lost more than 3%. And that was before Nvidia’s slump on Tuesday. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Tech index scraped a two-month low on Monday before recovering most of these losses to end down only 0.6%. Again, the weakness in U.S. tech and semiconductor stocks on Monday – especially the accelerated selloff at the close – doesn’t bode well for the sector in Asia on Tuesday.Back in the macro world, minutes of the Bank of Japan’s last meeting on Monday showed that Japanese policymakers discussed a near-term interest rate hike, with one calling for an increase “without too much delay” to help get inflation back down.Currency traders, however, seem unimpressed. The yen appreciated a bit on Monday but only marginally, and it remains within touching distance of the 160 per dollar level that recently pushed Japanese authorities to spend billions of dollars in yen-buying intervention.The next big inflation number from Japan will be Tokyo consumer price inflation on Friday. This is usually seen as a good barometer of nationwide price pressures, and with the yen so weak and oil prices up 12% in the last three weeks, officials may be getting twitchy.Annual inflation in Malaysia, meanwhile, is expected to have accelerated slightly to 1.9% in May from 1.8% in April, according to a Reuters poll of economists. Here are key developments that could provide more direction to markets on Tuesday:- Japan services PPI (May)- Malaysia CPI (May)- Australia consumer sentiment (June) More

The week started with modest to strong losses in Asian stock indexes but gains in index and index futures in the US. In the foreign exchange market, the focus has been on Asia, where traders are watching for signs that Japan’s policy officials might intervene again to push the USD/JPY lower.This comes as the USD/JPY had neared the 160 mark again late last week and overnight, a point where intervention was seen in April and May.The week may not see many significant macro releases until Friday when we get the PCE PI inflation data in the US and CPI reports from the euro area. However, the Ifo business climate survey report from Germany was released this morning, showing a decline in business sentiment in June.Despite this, the EUR/USD is holding steady, potentially because the May Ifo report was seen as outdated, being preceded by last Friday’s preliminary PMI surveys for June.This week also marks the start of a politically-charged three-week period, with televised election debates in France, the UK, and the US, followed by national elections in France and the UK. Polling and events suggest that electoral trends are intact, with the Conservative Party in the UK continuing to lose appeal while France’s National Rally continues to strengthen in the polls.In the coming weeks, the sentencing of former US president Donald Trump will take place, followed by the Republican Party’s convention. The choice of Trump’s vice-presidential running mate, to be announced at the end of the convention, will be a key determinant of his success in the November general election.Apart from political events, speeches from the Fed and ECB are also crucial to watch this week. Tonal shifts suggesting a more dovish disposition by key FOMC members could potentially influence the USD.This has to be set against other central bank speeches too, such as ECB’s Philip Lane’s speech at a Monetary Policy conference on Wednesday. Meanwhile, the US Treasury will auction 2-year and 5-year bonds on Tuesday and Wednesday, which could set the pace for medium-term USD yields. More

OTTAWA (Reuters) -Canada said on Monday it was considering whether to impose tariffs on China-made electric vehicles as it seeks to align itself with allies against what they see as a heavily subsidized Chinese industry.Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland said the domestic auto sector faced unfair competition from China’s “state-directed policy of overcapacity.” Ottawa will open a 30-day public consultation period on July 2 on possible responses.”Chinese producers are quite intentionally generating a global oversupply that undermines EV producers around the world, including here in Canada,” Freeland told reporters in Vaughan, Ontario, echoing concerns raised by the United States and the European Union.Freeland, noting a recent crackdown by the European Union and the United States, said the response could include a tariff on imports. She declined to detail what Ottawa’s potential action would be, or if EV components like batteries could also be targeted.”We’re not ruling anything out,” she said, adding “we are bringing to bear our strongest trade action tools.”U.S. President Joe Biden last month unveiled steep tariff increases on Chinese imports, including EVs. The European Commission plans to impose additional duties of up to 38.1% on Chinese producers such as BYD (SZ:002594), Geely and SAIC, as well as Chinese-built Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) and BMW (ETR:BMWG) cars.China rejects accusations of unfair subsidies or that it has an over capacity problem, saying the development of its EV industry has been the result of advantages in technology, market and industry supply chains.An opinion piece in the Chinese state-backed Global Times newspaper ahead of Freeland’s announcement advocated for “Canada to remain strategically rational” and not “sacrifice normal economic exchanges with China for the sake of Washington’s strategic selfishness.”China is Canada’s second-largest trading partner, although it trails far behind the United States. Data from Canada’s largest port in Vancouver show imports of automobiles from China at the port jumped 460% annually in 2023, when Tesla started shipping Shanghai-made EVs to Canada.Ottawa, trying to position Canada as a critical part of the global EV supply chain, has come under pressure domestically to act against Chinese EVs.The premier of Ontario, Canada’s most populous province and the main auto-making center, last week urged Ottawa to impose tariffs of at least 100% on the vehicles.Canada has inked deals worth billions of dollars to woo companies involved in all parts of the EV supply chain to bolster its manufacturing heartland.The CEO of Canadian firm Northern Graphite, Hugues Jacquemin, said any potential action limited to EVs would not be enough and Ottawa should also include critical minerals essential for battery production.The main opposition Conservative party, accusing Trudeau of failing to protect the auto industry, said Ottawa should not allow the dumping of cheap Chinese products.Industry bodies, including the Global Automakers of Canada and the Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers’ Association, welcomed the announcement. More