Banking and Financial Institutions

• Big Plan for Fannie and Freddie I.P.O. in Flux as Trump Pushes Affordability - Six months after President Trump told Wall Street banks to prepare a swift stock offering, there is no firm plan for how to take the giant mortgage firms public.
• A Top Fed Official Says the Trump Administration’s Threats Are ‘About Monetary Policy’ - Neel T. Kashkari, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, defended Jerome H. Powell, the Fed chair, in an interview. He also said interest rates should be held steady this month.
• Global Central Bankers Express Support for Fed Chair After Criminal Investigation - The defense comes after Jerome Powell pushed back on what he described as pressure by the Trump administration to cut interest rates in the United States.
• Top Fed Official Conveys Little Urgency for Immediate Rate Cuts - The Federal Reserve is likely to hold interest rates steady when it meets at the end of the month, keeping tensions high with President Trump.
• Fed Changes Course and Takes On Trump’s Political Fight - The Justice Department’s decision to open up a criminal investigation of Jerome H. Powell, the chair of the Federal Reserve, is a major escalation in the pressure campaign against the central bank to cut interest rates.
• Fed Keeps Close Eye on Labor Market as It Assesses Further Cuts - For the central bank to lower interest rates again, officials will likely need to see more notable signs that unemployment is rising.
• Chasing an Economic Boom, White House Dismisses Risks of A.I. - The administration has downplayed concerns — from mass job losses, to a potential financial bubble — as President Trump cheers soaring stock prices and faster growth.
• Rotating Cast of Wall Street Figures Were Listed as Executors of Epstein’s Will - Copies of Jeffrey Epstein’s last will and testament show that the convicted sex offender and disgraced financier provide a real-time glimpse of the power players who were part of his life.
• The Economy Survived 2025, But Many Americans Are Reeling - A feared recession didn’t materialize, but unemployment rose, wage growth slowed and affordability challenges are mounting.
• Bank of Japan Raises Interest Rates to Highest Level in 30 Years - The Bank of Japan moved to slow inflation as the prime minister is borrowing more to fund an ambitious effort to build up industry and support households.