Economy

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – New York City drivers on Monday had to pay $9 to enter Manhattan under the first such congestion fee in the U.S., which seeks to raise billions for mass transit and reduce traffic jams.The fee went into effect on Sunday after New Jersey failed on Friday to convince a judge to halt it pending an appeal.The city rushed to implement the charge before President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20. Trump, who has a Manhattan residence, opposes the fee and said he would seek to block it. New York is imposing the $9 charge on passenger vehicles in the daytime in Manhattan south of 60th Street. Trucks and buses will pay up to $21.60. The fee is reduced by 75% at night.Charged via electronic license plate readers, private cars will pay once a day regardless of how many trips they make. Taxis will pay 75 cents per trip and ride-share vehicles reserved by apps like Uber (NYSE:UBER) and Lyft (NASDAQ:LYFT) will pay $1.50 per trip.While New York is the first U.S. city to impose such a toll, London implemented one in 2003, and the fee is now 15 pounds ($19).Sarah Kaufman, director of New York University’s Rudin Center for Transportation, said Monday that the experience of other world cities shows that the charge initially is very unpopular.Then residents “began to appreciate the reduction in traffic and the increased transit services. So ideally, that’s what will happen here in New York,” she said.New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority said the program will result in 80,000 fewer cars a day, about an 11% reduction, in what it called the most congested district in the United States.More than 700,000 vehicles enter the Manhattan central business district daily, slowing traffic to around 7 mph (11 kph) on average. That is 23% slower than in 2010.The city estimates the congestion charge will bring in $500 million in its first year. New York Governor Kathy Hochul said the money would underpin $15 billion in debt financing for investment in subways, buses and other mass transit improvements. More

“It’s so small here; it’s really inconvenient to live in,” said retired 60-year-old Xiao Bo, as she sat on her bed, eating home-made dumplings off a folding table in a tiny space adorned with pink wallpaper and a rack of colourful tote bags.Single and opting to give only her first name, she said she had nothing but “painful” memories of the partitioned, cluttered walk-up where she has lived for three years, but could not afford a better flat.(For photoessay, please click on ) More than 200,000 people in Hong Kong live in sub-divided flats like hers, often cloaked in a musty odour and plagued by bedbugs during sweltering summers.The former British colony, ranked as the world’s most unaffordable city for a 14th consecutive year by survey company Demographia, has one of the world’s highest rates of inequality.In October, Hong Kong vowed to adopt new laws setting minimum space and safety norms for sub-divided flats, where each resident lives in an area of about 65 sq ft (6 sq m) on average, or half the size of the parking space for a sedan.”We just want to regulate … so the market will be providing flats of what we think will be a reasonable and liveable standard,” its leader, John Lee, said at the time.Hong Kong aims to eliminate subdivided flats by 2049, a target set in 2021 by China’s top official overseeing the city. Beijing sees the housing woes as a serious social problem that helped fuel mass anti-government protests in 2019.Authorities plan to boost the supply of public housing to shorten waiting times from as much as 5-1/2 years now, saying they have identified more than enough land to build 308,000 public housing units in the next decade.Hong Kong’s housing problem is the top agenda item for the government, the Housing Bureau said in a written response to Reuters, and it is “determined to eradicate sub-standard sub-divided units”. Since July 2022, about 49,000 applicants have been housed in public rental housing, and around 18,400 units of transitional housing have been made available for immediate and short-term accommodation, the Bureau said.TINY HOMESStill, Hong Kong’s roughly 110,000 sub-divided flats have become notorious for high rents, with a median floor rate of HK$50 ($6.43) a square foot, a survey by non-government body the Society for Community Organization (SoCO) showed in 2022.For so-called “coffin” homes, each roughly the size of a single bed, the rate is even higher, at HK$140, exceeding a rate of about HK$35 for private homes.”All I hope for is to quickly get into public housing,” said Wong Chi-kong, 76, who pays HK$2,900 ($370) for a space smaller than 50 sq ft (5 sq m). His toilet sits right beside his bed and under the shower head.”That’s all I ask for. Amen,” added Wong, who stores all his belongings on the other side of the bed to keep them from getting splashed whenever he takes a shower.Wong, who uses a walking stick to get around while contending with deteriorating eyesight, spends most of his summer afternoons in a public library to escape the scorching heat trapped in his home.Yet some may consider Xiao Bo and Wong to be among the more fortunate, as tens of thousands of so-called “coffin” homes fall outside the scope of the new laws.These windowless spaces are still more cramped, but just big enough, at 15 sq ft (1.4 sq m) to 18 sq ft (1.7 sq m), for people to sleep in and store a few personal items.But lack of ventilation forces them to leave open the small sliding doors to their homes, denying them any vestiges of privacy.They also share washrooms with up to 20 others.”Because the beds are wooden, there are a lot of bedbugs here,” said 80-year-old Leung Kwong Kuen, adding, “Insecticide is useless,” in eradicating them.Leung used to manage a factory in mainland China before the Asian financial crisis of the 1990s, but now, estranged from his wife and two grown-up children, lives in a “coffin” home in Hong Kong, which returned to Chinese rule in 1997.”I believe in Buddhism; letting go, the past is the past,” he said. “The most important thing is I can still manage to have two meals and a place to sleep for now.”The sub-divided flats and “coffin” homes are usually located in outdated residential buildings in old business areas, allowing affordable access to workplaces and schools. “SHAME OF HONG KONG”About 1.4 million of Hong Kong’s population of about 7.5 million live in poverty, with the number of poor households rising to 619,000 in the first quarter of 2024, to account for about 22.7% of the total, says non-profit organisation Oxfam. SoCO called for the new regulations to extend to “coffin” homes. “This kind of bed homes is the shame of Hong Kong,” said its deputy director, Sze Lai-shan.The Housing Bureau said the Home Affairs Department takes strict enforcement actions against unlicensed bedspace apartments.Sum, a 72-year-old bachelor, has lived in a “coffin” home for three years, paying HK$2,500 in monthly rent. A Chinese New Year poster on the door to his home reads “Peace and safety wherever you go”. Personal items, such as a television on the platform where he sleeps, take up half of Sum’s living space. He was formerly homeless and slept under a street flyover for a year.”The most important thing is having a roof over my head, not worrying about getting sunburnt or rained on,” said Sum, who gave only his last name.Chan, 45, who pays rent of HK$2,100 a month for his 2 sq m (22 sq ft) home, said he hoped public housing would finally enable him to escape the bedbugs.”I applied in 2005,” he said, providing only one name. “I have been waiting for 19 years.”($1=7.7765 Hong Kong dollars) More

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Michael Barr, the Federal Reserve’s top regulatory cop, said he will step down on Feb. 28, in a surprise move that will avert a potentially messy legal fight with President-elect Donald Trump who is now free to replace him with an official of his choosing.Barr said he was stepping down as the central bank’s vice chair for supervision over a year before his term was set to expire in July 2026, but planned to keep his seat on the Fed’s Board of Governors. Barr told Congress in November that he intended to serve out his term, but since then has concluded that doing so could risk a potentially harmful dispute with the incoming Trump administration, which the Washington Post reported in October has considered demoting Barr from his regulatory post. “The risk of that being a serious distraction to the Federal Reserve and its ability to serve the people was very high,” he told Reuters on Monday. “I didn’t think that risk was worth it.”Reuters had previously reported that Barr, a Democrat nominated by President Joe Biden, had sought legal advice from an outside law firm to explore his options should Trump try to remove him. Barr confirmed that Reuters report on Monday, adding that both his own lawyers and Fed general counsel agree that he could ultimately win the legal fight, but that it would be “deeply unpleasant.” His early exit now clears the way for Trump, who will be sworn in on Jan. 20, to appoint an entirely fresh slate of banking regulators and begin work on a more industry-friendly agenda, although Barr’s decision to remain as a governor limits Trump’s immediate options. Trump has not offered many details on bank regulation specifically, but has made it a top priority to trim rules as he seeks to boost economic growth.There are no open seats on the Fed’s seven-member board until 2026, meaning Trump would either need to select a new regulatory chief from the current slate of governors, or move one of those officials to a separate post elsewhere to free up a spot.The central bank said in a statement it would take up no major rulemaking until a successor to the regulatory role is confirmed. Fed Governor Michelle Bowman, a vocal critic of Barr’s efforts to impose tougher rules on the banking sector, is widely seen by lobbyists and analysts as the top candidate to replace him. Christopher Waller, another Fed governor nominated by Trump in his first term, is viewed as another potential candidate by industry officials.”Barr’s resignation is somewhat unexpected and a positive for banks,” Brian Gardner, chief Washington policy strategist for Stifel, wrote in a note, adding it would allow Fed officials to ease up immediately on supervision and M&A approvals, and could allow the central bank to shelve contentious bank capital hikes.  “While much of the Trump trade appears to be already priced into bank stocks, we think the probability of an accelerated timetable is still a positive for the sector.”Barr pushed a range of stricter rules on the nation’s biggest banks, including the so-called Basel III Endgame capital hikes. But the banking industry intensely lobbied against his efforts and threatened to sue over the draft rule, causing the measure to become mired in a disagreement among regulatory officials on how to proceed. With Barr no longer in the post, that rule could be shelved entirely.Aside from the Washington Post story, other media reports in recent months have suggested Trump’s advisers were looking for ways to increase the incoming White House’s sway over the Fed, alarming officials and investors who argue that the central bank’s independence is necessary for it to be able to properly set monetary policy.A spokesperson for Trump’s transition team did not immediately respond to a request for comment.Fed Chair Jerome Powell, who was appointed to his role as central bank chief by Trump only to be subsequently criticized for his decisions on interest rates, was seen as a target of the incoming president. But Powell said after the Nov. 5 presidential election that Trump would not have the authority to remove him. Trump subsequently said he does not intend to remove Powell.The law establishing the Fed says the president is allowed to fire Fed governors only for cause, but it is silent on whether Trump would have the power to demote Barr from his role as vice chair for supervision. Powell has previously said demoting Fed officials is not permitted under the law. More

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(Reuters) – A look at the day ahead in Asian markets. Risk appetite in Asia should get a lift on Tuesday, as the feel-good factor sparked the previous day by a report that U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s tariff agenda won’t be as aggressive as feared continues to ripple through world markets.Trump denied the Washington Post story, but investors seem to want to believe it – European and world equities rallied on Monday, U.S. stocks rose for a second day, and the dollar fell against developed and emerging currencies alike.If U.S. tariffs are broadly lower than Trump promised on the campaign trail and aimed only at “critical” sectors, then the outlook for global growth should improve and the dollar should weaken. On the face of it, this is bullish for Asian and emerging markets. But if Trump is true to his pre-election word and ‘Truth Social’ media post on Monday, risky assets will come back under pressure.Wall Street’s gains melted a bit as Monday’s session progressed and Trump’s denial kept Treasury yields elevated ahead of this week’s debt auctions. The 30-year yield is the highest in over a year and closing in on 5.00%. That will give investors grounds for caution on Tuesday. In addition, political uncertainty persists in South Korea and is flaring up in Canada too following Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s announcement on Monday that he will step down. In Asia, developments in Japanese markets bear monitoring, with yields hitting multi-year highs after Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda signaled interest rates will be raised again, but the yen still anchored near 160.00 per dollar.The 10-year Japanese Government Bond yield on Monday hit 1.1350%, the highest since July 2011. Japan’s finance ministry will auction 10-year bonds on Tuesday, and recently said it will raise the amount of five-year bonds to be sold early in the new fiscal year.Japanese stocks, which last week touched their highest level since July last year, are feeling the heat from higher JGB yields. The Nikkei 225 index fell 1.5% on Monday, the biggest fall since Nov. 13.Will Japanese stocks on Tuesday take their cue from the weak, export-friendly yen, or the multi-year peak in long-dated borrowing costs? Investors in China will focus their attention once again on the two-year bond yield’s flirtation with 1%, the weakening exchange rate, and Beijing’s efforts to support the currency and stock markets in the face of slumping yields and persistent deflationary pressures.The spot yuan is now through 7.33 per dollar for the first time since September 2023, getting closer to a break below 7.35 per dollar which would signal a new 17-year low.Asia’s economic calendar on Tuesday is light. The main releases will be inflation data from the Philippines and Taiwan, and China’s latest FX reserves.Here are key developments that could provide more direction to markets on Tuesday:- Japan 10-year bond auction – China FX reserves (December)- Taiwan inflation (December) More

Hong Kong-based WH Group (OTC:WHGLY), the world’s largest pork producer that took Smithfield private in 2013 for $4.7 billion, will sell some of its shares in the Virginia-based company in the offering, alongside the company.The company is spinning off its U.S. and Mexico businesses as it looks to unlock their value and boost Smithfield’s access to capital markets. WH Group said in October the IPO is expected to represent up to 20% of Smithfield’s shares on a fully diluted basis and value the company at no less than $5.38 billion.Smithfield reported a net income of $581 million in the nine months ended Sept. 29 on sales of $10.19 billion. That compares with a net loss of $2 million in the nine months ended Oct. 1, 2023 on sales of $10.64 billion.Pork producers in China have come under pressure from declining consumer demand as the world’s second-biggest economy has struggled in recent years, said Dennis Smith, commodity broker for Archer Financial Services.”Demand took a freaking nose dive,” Smith said. “Those guys took huge losses.”POISED FOR U.S. STOCK MARKET RETURNSmithfield was founded in 1936 as a packing company in Virginia. Since then, it has grown into one of the major producers of packaged meats and fresh pork products. The company was listed on the New York Stock Exchange from 1999 until its acquisition in 2013.Smithfield, which separated its European operations last year, confidentially filed for the U.S. IPO on Oct. 4.The IPO proceeds will be used for capital investments in infrastructure, automation and capacity expansion, Smithfield said.Smithfield will list on the Nasdaq under the symbol “SFD.” Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS), BofA Securities and Goldman Sachs are the lead underwriters. More

WASHINGTON -Republicans in the U.S. Congress were at odds over how to proceed with President-elect Donald Trump’s agenda on Monday, with some warning of potential failure, even as Trump himself called for quick action to pass his tax-cut, border security and energy priorities. With narrow majorities in the House of Representatives and the Senate, Republicans must decide whether to divide his wide-ranging legislative goals into separate measures to ensure quick action or combine them in one sprawling package that could take months to finalize. “I would prefer one, but I will do whatever needs to be done to get it passed,” Trump said in an interview on the Hugh Hewitt radio program on Monday. “I’m open to either way as long as we get something passed as quickly as possible.” No. 2 House Republican Steve Scalise said a two-bill approach could endanger Trump’s agenda, given a House Republican majority that will soon narrow from 219 seats to 217-215 and the potential for party infighting with the departure of two lawmakers to serve in Trump’s cabinet. “There’s serious risk in having multiple bills,” Scalise told reporters. “You’ve got a lot of people that want this first package. If you only put certain things in the first package, they can vote ‘No’ on the second and you lose the whole second package. That would be devastating.”House Republicans put their political divisions on full display last week, when Speaker Mike Johnson initially fell short of the necessary votes to be reelected to his top post. After nearly two hours of negotiations and a call from Trump, two hardline Republican opponents switched their votes to support him.Republicans intend to pass Trump’s agenda by using a complex legislative maneuver that would allow them to bypass Senate Democratic opposition.But they remain divided over how to proceed. Those who favor two bills want an initial package that could move quickly to cover the cost of Trump’s planned deportation of immigrants living in the U.S. illegally, facilitate energy deregulation and provide more money for U.S. defense. “We need to put some points on the board, so that people can see results on things that they voted for,” said Senate Majority Leader John Thune, who proposed the two-step plan last year. But such a strategy could delay action on other priorities, including an extension of Trump’s 2017 tax cuts, which are due to expire at the end of 2025.Trump is also urging Republicans to eliminate taxes on income from tips, which could increase the overall cost of the legislation.”Speaker Johnson feels like he can’t do two bills,” said Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, adding that he worries the internal party debate over potential changes to tax policies could delay efforts to tighten border entry policies. A single bill could potentially allow them to fulfill Trump’s campaign promises, but it could also alienate lawmakers who object to specific provisions.”The two houses will get together and we’ll get it done. So, stay tuned,” said Johnson, who said he is in constant touch with Trump and Thune about the issue. On Sunday, Johnson told Fox News that a single all-encompassing bill could be expected to move through the House in early April and through the Senate by May. More

Gemini also agreed to a permanent injunction, according to the consent order filed in federal court in New York.The CFTC sued Gemini in 2022 for making false and misleading statements of material facts or omitting such facts to the CFTC in 2017 related to a bitcoin futures contract it sought to launch.According to the order, Gemini did not admit or deny the CFTC’s findings. A spokesperson for the company did not respond immediately to a request for comment. More