Economy

BERLIN (Reuters) – A former German spy chief who was sacked after being accused of averting his eyes to the threat posed by the far-right founded a new right-wing party on Saturday, holding an inaugural party congress on a boat near Germany’s old capital Bonn.The party is the third to be founded this year in Germany, further fragmenting the political landscape and making electoral predictions tricky ahead of European parliamentary polls and votes in half the country’s municipalities and three states.The Werteunion, or Values Union, is headed by Hans-Georg Maassen, who was dismissed as head of Germany’s Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) in 2018.Maassen was forced to resign after initially questioning the authenticity of a video showing far-right extremists chasing migrants in the eastern city of Chemnitz, saying it might have been faked. He later toned this down, saying the interpretation of the video was open to question, not its authenticity, but this was not enough to quell the outcry that led to his departure.The lawyer has since become known for his increasingly radical commentary on immigration, becoming a hero to far-right activists including some in the circles surrounding Heinrich XIII Prince Reuss, the aristocrat who led a foiled coup in 2022.A former member of the opposition Christian Democrats, Maassen is himself now being monitored by the security agency he ran, he said last month. The BfV said privacy law meant it could not comment on individual cases.”12:32 o’clock. Done!” Maassen said on social media platform X, posting a photo of himself and colleagues in front of a German flag on the boat.With Germany’s mainstream parties well down in polls compared to their 1980s heyday when the Christian Democrats and the Social Democrats regularly polled near 50%, many new parties have sought to capitalize on frustration with the establishment.Earlier this year, leftist politician Sahra Wagenknecht founded a new left populist party. The Werteunion, once a pressure group aligned with the Christian Democrats, will now jostle for space with the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), which tops polls in some eastern states.While all other parties have ruled out working with the AfD, Maassen recently said he would be prepared to back their legislative proposals if they made sense – though he ruled out a coalition with the party. More

Robert Lanter lives in a 600-square-foot house that can be traversed in five seconds and vacuumed from a single outlet. He doesn’t have a coffee table in the living room because it would obstruct the front door. When relatives come to visit, Mr. Lanter says jokingly, but only partly, they have to tour one at time.Each of these details amounts to something bigger, for Mr. Lanter’s life and the U.S. housing market: a house under $300,000, something increasingly hard to find. That price allowed Mr. Lanter, a 63-year-old retired nurse, to buy a new single-family home in a subdivision in Redmond, Ore., about 30 minutes outside Bend, where he is from and which is, along with its surrounding area, one of Oregon’s most expensive housing markets.Mr. Lanter’s house could easily fit on a flatbed truck, and is dwarfed by the two-story suburban homes that prevail on the blocks around him. But, in fact, there are even smaller homes in his subdivision, Cinder Butte, which was developed by a local builder called Hayden Homes. Some of his neighbors live in houses that total just 400 square feet — a 20-by-20-foot house attached to a 20-by-20-foot garage.This is not a colony of “tiny houses,” popular among minimalists and aesthetes looking to simplify their lives. For Mr. Lanter and his neighbors, it’s a chance to hold on to ownership.Mr. Lanter, who is recently divorced, came back to central Oregon from a condominium in Portland only to discover that home prices had surged beyond his reach. He has owned several larger homes over the years and said he began his recent search looking for a three-bedroom house.Robert Lanter outside his 600-square-foot home in Redmond, Ore.Ivan McClellan for The New York TimesWe are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

“The Bank of Japan holds jurisdiction over monetary policy. But there will be a phase when interest rates go up,” Suzuki was quoted as saying in the interview.On the yen, Suzuki said there were pros and cons to its moves that have varying effects on Japan’s exporters and firms reliant on imports. He declined to comment on whether a weak yen, or a strong yen, was desirable for the economy.With inflation having exceeded the Bank of Japan’s 2% target for some time, many market players expect the central bank to end its negative interest rate policy by April.Sources have told Reuters the BOJ is on track to end negative rates in coming months despite recent data showing the economy slipped into recession, though weak domestic demand means it may seek more clues on wages growth before acting.As part of efforts to reflate growth and fire up inflation to its 2% target, the BOJ has been keeping short-term interest rates at -0.1% and the 10-year bond yield around 0% since 2016. More

By David RandallNEW YORK (Reuters) – Several well-known funds jumped into shares of chipmaker Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) at the end of last year, securities filings showed on Wednesday, potentially setting themselves up to benefit from the nearly 50% gain the stock has notched so far in 2024. Nvidia has been a top beneficiary of technology companies’ race to build artificial intelligence into their products and services, with investor excitement over the new technology sending the stock up nearly 240% last year. The chipmaker overtook Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) as the third most valuable U.S. company on Wednesday, with a market capitalization of $1.78 trillion.Among the funds adding new stakes in Nvidia were Rokos Capital Management, which bought more than 254,000 shares, a stake worth more than $126 million as of the end of December.Bridgewater Associates, the hedge fund founded by billionaire Ray Dalio, increased its stake in Nvidia by 458% to more than 268,000 shares. The position was valued at $133 million at the end of December. Arrowstreet Capital, meanwhile, added 3.9 million shares to its previous small position, leaving it with a $2.1 billion position.Some funds, meanwhile, sold all or part of their stakes.Greg Poole’s Echo Street Capital Management sold all of its more than 355,000 shares. D1 Capital Partners sold nearly 147,000 shares, closing out its position, while Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) Capital Management sold its about 119,000 shares, which had been 9.2% of its prior portfolio. The positions were revealed in securities filings known as 13Fs that hedge funds and other institutional investors file at the end of each quarter. While they are backward-looking and do not reveal current holdings or short positions, the filings are one of the few ways to gain insight into the portfolios of often-secretive funds. Nvidia will release its quarterly earnings results on Feb. 21. Analysts, on average, see the company’s January fiscal quarter revenue more than tripling to $20.37 billion, fueled by demand for its top-shelf AI chips, according to LSEG data.Analysts see its adjusted net profit surging more than 400% to $11.38 billion. More

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. lawmakers expressed shock and outrage at the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny on Friday, but the news looked unlikely to bridge deep divides over whether the United States should continue its military support for Ukraine. “There are some (members of Congress) that I don’t think can be persuaded because the narrative is so strong,” Republican Representative Michael McCaul, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, told reporters on Friday.”I think the brainwashing, if you will, that we have to choose between our southern border and Ukraine has been out there. I don’t agree with that,” McCaul, an advocate for aid to Kyiv as it battles a nearly two-year-long Russian invasion, said at a breakfast sponsored by the Christian Science Monitor.The reports of Navalny’s death come as the U.S. political world battles over how and whether to stand up to Russia, particularly after Washington has approved more than $110 billion in defense assistance for Ukraine, and Biden’s request for another $60 billion for Kyiv is stalled in the U.S. Congress.Hardline conservatives, many of whom argue that U.S. funds should not be sent abroad at a time of steep federal deficits, were clear on Friday that Navalny’s death will do little to settle those political fights. Asked if Navalny’s death affected his thinking on the need to counter Russia more forcefully, Republican Representative Matt Gaetz said in an emailed statement: “No. I don’t think we were another $60 billion to Ukraine away from saving Navalny.” With its $95 billion military aid package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan in peril, President Joe Biden’s administration has been issuing increasingly dire warnings that Ukraine needs more assistance. “History’s watching the House of Representatives … Failure to support Ukraine at this critical moment will never be forgotten,” Biden told reporters at the White House on Friday.NO CHANGE TO DOMESTIC POLITICSSo far, opponents of Ukraine aid appear unmoved. “The death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny is a tragedy and demonstrates the fact that Vladimir Putin is a dictator,” Republican Representative Byron Donalds said in an emailed statement. “However, it does not change domestic politics within the United States.” Biden asked for the additional Ukraine funds in October, but they did not pass as Republicans insisted the package include unrelated changes in U.S. policy on immigration and control of the border with Mexico.Former President Donald Trump, the party’s frontrunner in the race for the White House this year, rejected a Senate compromise that included border provisions, and Senate Republicans blocked it. But in a surprise shift, the Democratic-controlled Senate overwhelmingly passed the security package without most of the border measures this week.Republican House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson, whose caucus is closely allied with Trump, said the Republican-controlled chamber would not rush to vote, insisting that the bill must include tougher border measures. The House is not expected to take up the bill for weeks.Johnson issued a statement harshly criticizing Putin as “a vicious dictator” after reports of Navalny’s death.He did not, however, refer specifically to the aid package, in calling for opposition to Russia and measures to limit Putin’s ability to pay for the war.”As Congress debates the best path forward to support Ukraine, the United States, and our partners, must be using every means available to cut off Putin’s ability to fund his unprovoked war in Ukraine and aggression against the Baltic states,” Johnson’s statement said.Among Russia hawks in the Republican party there is growing skepticism that even major events, like the death of a prominent opposition leader or this week’s revelation of a possible Russian nuclear-related threat in space, can tilt hardliners who embrace a more isolationist “America First” approach to world affairs advocated by Trump.Asked whether he thought reports of Navalny’s death would change the discussion, McCaul said: “Well to the extent members of Congress know who he is.” More

WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) -A week of disappointing U.S. economic data, including stronger-than-expected inflation and weakening spending, has Federal Reserve policymakers doubling down on their wait-and-see approach to interest rate cuts this year, but not discouraged.The latest bit of bad news came early on Friday in the form of a 0.5% month-on-month surge in January’s producer price index excluding food and energy, potentially undoing some of what policymakers have called “remarkable” progress on inflation.That followed on reports earlier this week showing that consumer prices rose more than expected last month, even as a big drop in retail sales and a slide in factory production amid severe cold in some parts of the country raised questions about economic momentum. Fed policymakers speaking on Friday took it all in stride, seeing continued if “bumpy” progress toward the Fed’s 2% goal and continued, if cooling, labor market strength that leaves the economy on track to a soft landing. “It has not shaken my confidence we are going the right direction,” San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank President Mary Daly told a roomful of economists in Washington on Friday, of the run of recent data. “It’s about how quickly are we going to go there.” Daly said that while there’s still “work to do” on inflation – a phrase policymakers lately have used to signal a longer hold at current rates, rather than any further rate increases – she continues to see three quarter-point cuts to the Fed’s policy rate this year as a “reasonable” path forward. The Fed has held the policy rate in the 5.25%-5.5% range since last July. “We will need to resist the temptation to act quickly when patience is needed and be prepared to respond agilely as the economy evolves,” Daly said.Speaking to CNBC, Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank President Raphael Bostic appeared to be consulting the same playbook. “We just have to be patient and let’s not get too far ahead and assume that the job is done, because there’s still work to do,” he said, noting that he expects to start rate cuts this summer, with two moves his baseline for this year, but potentially more if the data justifies it.EXPECTATION SHIFTFinancial markets, which began the year pricing in as many as six Fed rate cuts this year, have moved closer to the view of Fed policymakers, most of whom as of December penciled in 50 to 75 basis points of rate cuts by the end of 2024. In just the past week, futures contracts tied to the short-term policy rate abandoned bets on a May start to rate cuts, and now see June as more likely, with the policy rate seen ending the year in the 4.25%-4.5% range. Both Daly and Bostic noted that the rapid decline in inflation last year – from 5.5% in January to 2.6% in December by the Fed’s targeted measure of the personal consumption expenditures price index – has happily taken place with only a small rise in the unemployment rate, to 3.7% last month.The combination, Daly said, is “unequivocally good news,” but both she and Bostic said it is unclear whether that will continue, and are on the lookout for more data. Fed Chair Jerome Powell has said the central bank needs greater confidence in inflation’s downward trajectory before it can cut rates. The latest data suggests more time may be needed.Analysts at Citi calculated that based on the latest reading of the producer price index, the core PCE measure of inflation likely re-accelerated in January to 2.4% on a six-month basis, from a previous 1.9%. More

Wholesale prices rose more than expected in January, according to a Labor Department report Friday.
The report comes just days after the consumer price index showed inflation holding stubbornly higher despite Federal Reserve expectations for moderation through the year.

Wholesale prices rose more than expected in January, further complicating the inflation picture, according to a U.S. Department of Labor report Friday.
The producer price index, a measure of prices received by producers of domestic goods and services, rose 0.3% for the month, the biggest move since August. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had been looking for an increase of just 0.1%. PPI fell 0.2% in December.

Excluding food and energy, core PPI increased 0.5%, also against expectations for a 0.1% gain. PPI excluding food, energy and trade services jumped 0.6%, its biggest one-month advance since January 2023.
The report comes just days after the consumer price index showed inflation holding stubbornly higher despite Federal Reserve expectations for moderation through the year. The CPI was up 3.1% from a year ago, down from its December level but still well ahead of the Fed’s goal for 2% inflation.
On a core basis, which the Fed focuses on more as a longer-term gauge of inflation, the CPI was up 3.9%. CPI differs from PPI in that it measures the prices consumers actually pay in the marketplace.
Markets fell sharply after Tuesday’s CPI reading, and there were fears that a hot PPI number also could cause another jolt. Expectations have been rising high that the Fed would use the easing inflation numbers as incentive to cut interest rates aggressively this year, but traders have had to pare back those expectations in recent days as inflation has shown unexpected persistence.
Stock market futures moved lower after the PPI report and Treasury yields surged.

Just a few weeks ago, markets had been pricing in the first Fed rate cut in March. That since has been pared back to June as policymakers have expressed caution about giving up the inflation fight too quickly while noting that an otherwise stable economy buys them time before having to move.
A 0.6% increase in final demand service helped propel the wholesale index higher, which in itself was boosted by a 2.2% rise in hospital outpatient care. Goods prices actually decreased 0.2% on the back of a 1.7% decline in final demand energy as gasoline slid 3.6%.
On a 12-month basis, headline PPI increased just 0.9%, slightly lower than the 1% level in December. However, excluding food, energy and trade services, the index rose 2.6%.
Along with the troublesome inflation readings, the Commerce Department reported this week that retail sales in January slid by 0.8%, far more than anticipated.Don’t miss these stories from CNBC PRO: More

(Reuters) – Bond manager PIMCO said on Friday it has withdrawn from the Climate Action 100+ investor coalition, following the withdrawal of other fund firms.In a statement sent by a representative, PIMCO said “we have concluded that our Climate Action 100+ participation is no longer aligned with PIMCO’s approach to sustainability. PIMCO operates its own portfolio-relevant engagement activities with issuers on sustainability.” More