Fed officials signal possible rate hold

Two Federal Reserve officials, including New York Fed chief John Williams, suggested policymakers may not be ready to lower interest rates before September as they confront a murky economic outlook.

“It’s not going to be that in June we’re going to understand what’s happening here, or in July,” Williams said Monday at a conference organized by the Mortgage Bankers Association. “It’s going to be a process of collecting data, getting a better picture, and watching things as they develop.”

The Fed’s next three meetings are in June, July and September.

Investors now see less than a 10% chance of a rate cut when policymakers next meet June 17-18 in Washington. Based on pricing in fed funds futures, investors expect two quarter-point reductions by year’s end, down from the four seen at the end of April.

Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic struck a similar tone in an earlier interview on Monday, signaling an unwillingness to move rates for some time.

“The economy is in a lot of flux, policy is in flux, there’s a lot of uncertainty,” Bostic told CNBC. “I think we’ll have to wait three to six months to start to see where this settles out.”

Fed officials held interest rates steady in early May, expressing heightened uncertainty largely due to tariffs. Policymakers also see risks of both higher unemployment and inflation.

Verizon wins fcc nod for Frontier deal

Verizon Communications won Federal Communications Commission approval for its $9.6 billion acquisition of Frontier Communications Parent Inc. after agreeing to agency demands to pare back diversity initiatives in line with President Donald Trump’s policies.

The deal “will unleash billions of dollars in new infrastructure builds in communities across the country — including rural America,” FCC Chairman Brendan Carr said in a statement on Friday.

The transaction values the Dallas-based company at $20 billion, including debt.

The approval marks one of the first deals to get the green light under Chairman Carr, who had threatened to block mergers unless companies rolled back what he called “invidious” diversity, equity and inclusion practices. Carr in a February letter told the New York-based telecom carrier to end its promotion of DEI in corporate values and training materials.

Verizon committed to ending some practices.

Moody’s cuts deposit ratings at banks

Moody’s Ratings cut its ratings for deposits at some of the biggest banks, including Bank of America Corp., JPMorgan Chase Co., citing Friday’s downgrade of the U.S. and the government’s weakened ability to support the firms.

Long-term deposit ratings at units of Bank of America, JPMorgan and Wells Fargo Co., were lowered by one step to Aa2, Moody’s third-highest level. The bond grader also downgraded the senior unsecured debt ratings for some units of Bank of America and Bank of New York Mellon Corp, cutting them to Aa2 from Aa1.

Additionally, Moody’s cut the long-term counterparty risk ratings for some units of Bank of America, BNY, JPMorgan, State Street Corp. and Wells Fargo, lowering them one notch to Aa2.

It’s the latest example of the ripples that Moody’s sovereign downgrade has generated. The firm stripped the U.S. of its top credit rating.

Compiled from Bloomberg reports.