Recent developments in the global economy

US Treasury Secretary Bessent: Interest rates are still substantially above neutral, and we should not be in restrictive mode, models suggest 2.5% to 3.25% for the Fed rate. BESSENT: WE ARE LOOKING AT A SMALLER FISCAL DEFICIT THIS YEAR, BETWEEN $300 BILLION AND $500 BILLION BESSENT: OUR ABILITY TO CONTINUE COLLECTINJG TARIFFS AT THE SAME LEVELS IS NOT IN DOUBT BESSENT: I THINK TRUMP WILL DECIDE ON FED CHAIR IN JANUARY US Treasury Secretary Bessent: Rick Rieder has not been interviewed yet for the Fed chair job.

Biden ignored the Housing Market, and instead was immersed with High Crime, Open Borders, runaway INFLATION, the Afghanistan Disaster, and a Military that he left in Chaos and Confusion. Everything was broken, but I, as President of the United States, have already fixed it! Now, I am giving special attention to the Housing Market. Because I chose not to sell Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in my First Term, a truly great decision, and against the advice of the “experts,” it is now worth many times that amount — AN ABSOLUTE FORTUNE — and has $200 BILLION DOLLARS IN CASH. Because of this, I am instructing my Representatives to BUY $200 BILLION DOLLARS IN MORTGAGE BONDS. This will drive Mortgage Rates DOWN, monthly payments DOWN, and make the cost of owning a home more affordable. It is one of my many steps in restoring Affordability, something that the Biden Administration absolutely destroyed. We are bringing back the AMERICAN DREAM that was destroyed by the last Administration. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! Trump proposes $200bn mortgage-bond buying plan to cut US home loan rates Donald Trump said, in a 'tweet' ('truth') on his own social media app, he has instructed government representatives to purchase $200 billion of mortgage-backed securities (MBS), framing the move as a direct intervention aimed at lowering mortgage rates and restoring housing affordability in the United States. In a statement posted on social media, Trump said housing affordability has deteriorated sharply as mortgage rates surged, placing home ownership further out of reach for many Americans. Trump said the planned MBS purchases would be funded through Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, government-sponsored enterprises that he noted were not sold during his first term, a decision he described as contrary to expert advice at the time. According to Trump, those entities are now worth “many times” their prior valuations and collectively hold roughly $200 billion in cash, which he argues can be deployed to support the housing market. The president said large-scale MBS buying would narrow mortgage spreads, push borrowing costs lower, and reduce monthly mortgage payments. He described the move as part of a broader strategy to reverse what he characterised as damage inflicted on housing affordability over the past several years. While Trump did not specify which agencies or officials would execute the purchases, the proposal effectively revives the concept of state-directed demand for mortgage securities, a tool historically associated with crisis-era monetary policy. Markets may interpret the comments as signalling political pressure to use government balance sheets to directly influence long-term interest rates, particularly in housing finance.