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Acting Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Russell Vought rescinded scores of guidance documents in a Federal Register notice scheduled for publication Monday.Bloomberg News The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is radically cutting enforcement by withdrawing nearly 70 guidance documents, citing President Trump's mandate to eliminate regulations and reduce costs for businesses. In a major change for the public, the CFPB will no longer publicly disclose consumer complaint narratives or certain credit card complaint data, eliminating key information in the bureau's consumer complaint database in which consumers criticize banks and financial firms. In a 10-page document released Friday — and expected to be published in the Federal Register on Monday — Russell T. Vought, the acting CFPB director and Office of Management and Budget director, withdrew eight policy statements, seven interpretive rules, 13 advisory opinions and 39 guidance documents. "Our policy has changed," Vought wrote. "Historically, the bureau has released guidance without adequate regard for whether it would increase or decrease compliance burdens and costs."More than half of the guidance documents, interpretive rules, policy statements and advisory opinions were issued by former CFPB Director Rohit Chopra under the Biden administration. The CFPB is reducing its enforcement activities "in light of President Trump's directives to deregulate and streamline bureaucracy," Vought said.  There is "no pressing need for interpretive guidance to remain in effect," he wrote. Many of the bureau's enforcement responsibilities, Vought said, overlap with or are duplicative of other federal and state regulators, including the Federal Trade Commission, the Department of Justice and prudential financial regulators. "To reduce this overlap and mitigate the unnecessary compliance burdens posed by duplicative investigative and enforcement authority, the bureau is reducing its own enforcement to only those areas statutorily required."Pulling guidance is one step out of many that the Trump administration has taken to diminish the CFPB's power and reduce enforcement and supervision of banks and financial firms. Vought claims the CFPB's guidance is too heavy-handed and hurts companies, while opponents say that focus ignores the beneficial effect the agency's actions have had for consumers.Vought said the CFPB has a "new policy preference" that is guided by whether guidance imposes costs on companies. He cited an executive order that President Trump signed in his first term, which was later rescinded by President Biden."To the extent guidance materials or portions thereof go beyond the relevant statute or regulation, they are unlawful, undermining any reliance interest in retaining that guidance," he wrote. "Where guidance is not per se unlawful, the bureau nonetheless determines that guidance should be withdrawn and that it should be reissued only if the guidance is necessary and only if it reduces compliance burdens. The bureau determines that the benefits of this policy outweigh the cost to any purported reliance interests."  With the elimination of Chevron deference by the Supreme Court last year, none of the guidance documents or interpretations were binding, said Manny Newburger, at the law firm Barron & Newburger in Austin, Tex. Two of the policy statements that have been withdrawn are the Fair Credit Reporting Act's limited preemption of state laws for debt collectors and the authority of states to enforce the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010. In addition, the CFPB has withdrawn certain interpretations of Regulation F."We doubt that state legislators and regulators will change course as a result of the withdrawal of those policy statements," Newburger said.Current and former CFPB employees said the elimination of guidance is yet another step in which Republicans are trying to destroy the agency without input from Congress. It also means fewer consumers will receive redress for financial crimes because far fewer examiners and enforcement attorneys are on the beat. In a memo last month, Vought said the CFPB will only conduct enforcement of issues affecting seniors and military veterans — specifically referring to members of the military as servicemen, not women. Yet, among the guidance being pulled is a 2021 interpretive rule authorizing the CFPB to examine very large banks and credit unions to assess risks to active-duty servicemembers and their dependents for violations of the Military Lending Act. Many of the guidance documents date to the CFPB's beginning in 2011. The deregulatory effort will reduce regulations for banks, debt collectors, credit card issuers, credit reporting agencies, mortgage lenders and remittance companies. Going forward, the CFPB's leadership will conduct a review to determine if each guidance document is consistent with a relevant statute or regulation, if it is required by law, and if it imposes or reduces costs. "In many instances, this guidance has adopted interpretations that are inconsistent with the statutory text and impose compliance burdens on regulated parties outside of the strictures of notice-and-comment rulemaking," Vought said.Withdrawal, he claimed, "is not necessarily final," but the alternative of leaving the guidance documents in place while the bureau reviews each interpretation to determine its effect "risks imposing unnecessary and illegal compliance burdens in the interim."While some guidance might be reissued in the future, "the bureau does not intend to prioritize the enforcement of such guidance against parties that do not conform to the guidance during the pendency of any withdrawal."Vought is mired in a fraught legal battle with the CFPB's union, which sued him in February to stop the Trump administration from dismantling the bureau. At two separate times he has tried to fire the CFPB's staff but has been stopped by federal judges. Separately, on Friday, CFPB director-designate Jonathan McKernan was nominated to be the Treasury Department's undersecretary for domestic finance. The White House said the president intends to rescind McKernan's nomination to lead the CFPB.Sticking to the Trump administration's executive orders, Vought pulled an interpretive rule that prohibited financial firms from discriminating based on sexual orientation and gender identity under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act and Regulation B.In a major change, the CFPB will no longer publicly disclose consumer complaint narratives or certain credit card complaint data, withdrawing three policy statements from 2015, 2013 and 2012 on consumer complaints. The change benefits banks and financial institutions that have long complained that the bureau did not verify the accuracy of complaints and created reputational risk. "The complaint data and the narrative data together enables institutions to identify, understand, predict and prevent emerging risks," said Marcia Tal, founder and CEO of Tal Solution, which analyzes consumer complaint data. "Insights extracted from the voice of consumers adds to best practices."

A North Carolina resident claims Wells Fargo denied her government-mandated COVID-19 loss mitigation options, which resulted in the forced short-sale of her house.The plaintiff, Marian Elgin, lost her job in 2020 due to the pandemic and applied for CARES Act forbearance, but was denied by the bank, litigation filed in a federal court in California reads. Subsequently in mid-2022, Wells Fargo sent notice to Elgin that it was offering her an opportunity to pursue a short sale of her home to avoid foreclosure, which she agreed to.Three years later, in April 2025, Wells Fargo sent a notice to the plaintiff apologizing for previously denying her for loss mitigation options. Along with the letter, the bank also attached a check of almost $11,000, and offered the opportunity to mediate the situation, if necessary."During a review of the Wells Fargo account, we identified that when the loan was considered for payment assistance options, it may have been improperly denied," the bank's communication dated April 15 read. "As a result we are enclosing a check…we apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused." Elgin, who wants the case to be certified as a class action, claims Wells Fargo's mistake cost her the house, equity of her home, costs associated with the sale of her home and a worsened credit score, as the bank allegedly reported her nonpayments to credit reporting agencies. Law360 first reported on the litigation. The complaint, filed May 6, predicts there are "hundreds if not thousands" of Wells Fargo customers similarly affected by the bank's alleged negligence.Wells Fargo declined to comment on the pending litigation Friday.The plaintiff is accusing Wells Fargo of negligence and unjust enrichment. Elgin is seeking undisclosed damages sustained by her and others similarly impacted "as a result of Wells Fargo's negligence in charging plaintiff and class members improper interest and fees, during periods of forbearance."Additionally, the plaintiff is demanding for Wells Fargo to admit it was negligent in reporting the status of mortgage accounts and to refund "all unjust benefits to Plaintiff and the Class Members, together with prejudgment interest."Litigation regarding COVID-19 loss mitigationThe COVID-19 emergency and the federal government's response to it initially created widespread confusion in housing. A notable number of borrowers reported not understanding how to enter and exit COVID-19 related forbearance, per a survey released by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Meanwhile, financial institutions were also caught off guard by the fast pace of changing federal regulations pertaining to COVID-19.As a result, many mortgage firms were hit with litigation following the onset of the pandemic.Mr. Cooper, for example, was accused in a class action of improperly denying borrowers with Federal Housing Administration-insured loans proper COVID-19 loss mitigation relief. Late last year, a Pennsylvania federal judge sided with Mr. Cooper and tossed the litigation out with prejudice.Carrington Mortgage was also sued and fined $5 million by the CFPB for unlawfully withholding protections in the processing of COVID-19 forbearances.

A lack of housing inventory, fluctuating mortgage interest rates and home prices are the subjects that worry loan originators this year, those participating in the annual National Mortgage News Top Producers survey said.The annual survey had 327 originators participate, a number slightly smaller from last year, but the outcomes were notable.Surprisingly, LOs seem rather unfazed by the uncertain future of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, consolidation within the mortgage industry and even their job security.Of course splashy headlines, such as one lender acquiring another, get LOs talking, but it is not what keeps them up at night.READ MORE: The Top Producers of 2025: The complete listLOs have more concerns about boots on the ground topics, and as the mortgage market has yet to show any signs of relief for independent mortgage banks, originators increasing aim to amp up loan production across the board.The desire to use any available tool or product to survive the tough market is reflected in NMN's survey results of the originators who produced the highest dollar volume of loans last year.  Those striving loan officers are increasingly prioritizing non-QM and home equity-related products.Loan product prioritizationFor 2025, LOs are doubling down on originating all loan products under the sun. Prioritizing the origination of non-QM loans and home equity-related products is a notable shift from the year prior. Loan officer concerns for 2025The majority of respondents (59%) say they are not concerned about their job security in 2025. Meanwhile, housing inventory shortages (31%), rising home prices (24%), rising mortgage rates (24%) were ranked as the main topics of worry.

A similar share of consumers used private mortgage insurance as credit enhancement in the first quarter compared with the prior year, but only one underwriter exceeded $10 billion in new insurance written.This narrowed the market share spread among the six active underwriters, according to data compiled by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods.As a group, NIW totaled $57.9 billion, down from the fourth quarter's $78.3 billion and relatively flat with $58.2 billion produced in the first quarter of 2024.During the first quarter, lenders originated $384 billion, slightly more than $377 billion done one-year prior, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. By units, 1.068 million were produced in the period ended March 31, compared with 1.076 million for the same three months in 2024. "MI management teams across the industry continue to stress that pricing remains balanced and constructive, and that recent increase in macro uncertainty has not significantly shifted pricing dynamics to date," Bose George, an analyst at KBW, wrote in the earnings wrap report for NMI Holdings.The following is a roundup of the first quarter results at the six active underwriters, as well as some recent industry news.

As it adopts a new software-first approach, mortgage technology firm Blend Labs announced it is selling its title insurance unit. After acquiring the Title365 business from Mr. Cooper in a $500 million deal during the mortgage boom of 2021, a new strategic pivot led Blend leaders to the decision to part with its "capital-intensive" title-agency operation, according to company leaders.  "We began our journey to become a software focused company, enhancing customer value and improving our unit economics by transitioning to strategic platform partnerships rather than building noncore services ourselves," said Blend CEO Nima Ghamsari in the company's first-quarter earnings call.  "As a significant step in this evolution, we are pleased to announce that we are in an exclusive process with a leading title and mortgage services provider for the potential sale of our title insurance business," he continued. The company faced a significant housing market slowdown in the ensuing four years limiting gains from the title acquisition, and a new competitive environment has the San Francisco-based fintech focused on partnerships, which would better provide benefits as the mortgage outlook improves.         How Rocket's acquisitions impact BlendThe news comes in the wake of the recent merger announcement between Rocket Cos. and Mr. Cooper, a deal that stands to negatively impact Blend's bottom line as they consolidate, analysts predicted. Since the deal was announced in March, Blend introduced a new technology partnership with Crosscountry Mortgage and launched a unit dedicated exclusively to working with nonbanks. The pivot toward partnerships gives it the chance to focus on its software offerings, which provide the fintech with better opportunities for growth than the ownership of an outlier business."Being the best in the world of the two or three things you do really well is materially better than being just really good at those things," Ghamsari said. While the merger has already set off disruption in the mortgage market among lenders, servicers and tech providers, Amir Jafari, Blend's head of finance and administration, said it had the potential to be a "catalytic moment" transforming the way the industry works.Ghamsari likened it to how Rocket led the push into digital and mobile lending, "things that we all take for granted," he noted."The recently announced Mr. Cooper and Rocket alliance has a similar tone to it for the market, and it impacts our own trajectory as well as a result," Blend's CEO said. "Their creation of an end-to-end platform underscores the increasing expectation of borrowers to be treated as valued customers, demanding personalized experiences, acknowledging their ongoing relationship with financial institutions."Blend remarked that Mr. Cooper still continues to be a customer, with its contract not expiring until 2028. Mr. Cooper also retained a small stake in Title365 after the 2021 acquisition.  Blend by the numbersThe company finished in the red in the first quarter, with net loss attributable to shareholders or $14.7 million compared to $6.5 million in the prior three months. The first-quarter number improved from a $22.1 million loss one year ago. Numbers were adjusted according to Generally Accepted Accounting Principles.Title365, which is now classified as "discontinued operations" in the company's financial statements, dragged numbers downward in the first quarter with a $2.8 net loss for the unit.Ghamsari touted new customer additions, some of which signed off in the weeks following the Rocket announcement. "We signed a top five mortgage servicer, a top 10 mortgage originator across our mortgage, home equity and closed solutions. These customers will typically deploy in two quarters or so," he said.Total revenue from still-existing mortgage and consumer banking platforms and services totaled $26.8 million, down from $30.1 million three months earlier, but inching upward from $23.8 million in the first quarter of 2024.

Former Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Board Member Jonathan McKernan, who has been tapped to lead the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, will be nominated as Treasury undersecretary for domestic finance. Bloomberg News WASHINGTON — Jonathan McKernan, who is awaiting final confirmation as head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, will also be nominated in a key Treasury bank regulation post, the Treasury Department said. McKernan has already been serving as an advisor to the Treasury Department, the agency said, and would be nominated by the president as Treasury's undersecretary for domestic finance. "During that time, McKernan has become an integral part of the Secretary's senior team. His continued service at Treasury will ensure that his experience and expertise are best put to advancing the President's America First agenda," the Treasury Department said. The Treasury did not immediately respond to a request for comment about whether McKernan still plans to lead the CFPB, which is undergoing a dramatic change under the Trump administration. Treasury said in a statement simply that McKernan has been advising the department "while awaiting Senate confirmation to lead the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection."President Donald Trump plans to nominate McKernan as Treasury's undersecretary of domestic finance, a position previously held by Nellie Liang during the Biden administration. McKernan's nomination to lead the CFPB has been especially closely watched as the Trump administration attempts to dismantle the bureau. His nomination was initially met with relief from the banking industry, which has had an antagonistic relationship with the bureau since its inception at the end of the 2008 financial crisis, but which nonetheless wanted to see an intact agency so that it could roll back regulation that remains in place and could be enforced again under a new administration. His nomination for the CFPB advanced out of the Senate Banking Committee in a 13-11 party line vote. The future of the CFPB, currently being led by Project 2025 architect and Office of Management and Budget head Russell Vought, is unclear even under McKernan. McKernan promised repeatedly during his confirmation hearing that he would "fully execute the law" but consistently declined to say whether he would stand in the way of President Donald Trump and billionaire White House advisor Elon Musk's attempts to dismantle the agency entirely. "If confirmed, I will fully execute the law … and perform each of its other statutorily assigned functions," McKernan said in his opening statement. "The CFPB will do this by centering its regulation on real risk to consumers and by focusing its enforcement on bad actors."The CFPB and the Trump administration's planned reduction-in-force, which would decimate the bureau's staffing, has been the subject of a contentious lawsuit, and is currently on pause due to an injunction issued by a federal judge.As Treasury undersecretary, McKernan would have a more senior position to Luke Pettit, currently a staffer for Sen. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., who is awaiting confirmation as assistant secretary of the Treasury for financial institutions. All confirmations are currently battling for floor time. Earlier this week, Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., the chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, tried to pass Pettit's nomination on the Senate floor via unanimous consent, which would have bypassed the need for floor time or a broader vote. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., objected to passing the nomination with unanimous consent, delaying the final vote which would require only a simple majority to pass. "My litmus test for any executive branch nominee is, will they enforce the law and uphold our Constitution, or will they simply bend the knee to the orders of President Trump," Warren said on Wednesday. "I'm worried that Mr. Pettit will simply go along with the Trump administration's deregulatory agenda instead of fighting to protect consumers and to ensure financial stability." McKernan previously served on the board of directors of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and has had senior roles at the Federal Housing Finance Agency, the Treasury Department and the U.S. Senate.

Asset managers and strategists have for years touted mortgage bonds as a haven when the economy stumbles, but the debt has underwhelmed since President Donald Trump announced his tariff blitz. Agency mortgage backed securities have slipped about 1.1% since the start of April, trailing Treasuries and the broader US bond market. MBS tend to suffer when there's more uncertainty about the direction of interest rates. The most liquid part of the market, known as current coupon bonds, has also lagged Treasuries. READ MORE: What do the recent FHFA shifts mean for mortgage lenders?Usually the bonds perform well during recessions, as the Federal Reserve cuts rates, and the direction of monetary policy and bond yields becomes a little more predictable. Mortgage bonds are supported by government-backed companies like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, giving them little credit risk. Often the biggest factor for their valuations is how quickly or slowly principal will come back to investors, which is tied to the probable direction of interest rates.But their recent underperformance underscores a real risk with mortgage bonds: they can get hit when rates markets fluctuate wildly. In this market, there's still ample ambiguity about where rates are headed and if a recession is coming. This week, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said he "couldn't confidently predict" future policy. A measure of interest-rate uncertainty, the ICE BofA MOVE Index, is up since mid-February. "MBS performance was worse last month than some investors anticipated," said Zachary Aronson, a portfolio manager at MacKay Shields, a money manager owned by New York Life. "While agency bonds are protected against defaults, they remain vulnerable to uncertainty — especially around interest rates and Fed policy." READ MORE: What the latest Fed meeting means for mortgage lendersPrices on Treasuries have been in turmoil since at least the start of April, when Trump announced widespread tariffs aimed at a series of nations. Since then he's delayed the implementation of those levies, and talked more about negotiating bilateral trade agreements with multiple countries, which has helped soothe markets. Mortgage bond spreads have tightened modestly this week, and some investors see the potential for more of that to come. "During the volatility of last month's tariff news MBS underperformed pretty significantly, including against corporate bonds," said Brian Quigley, a portfolio manager at Vanguard. "But it's in the second leg of risk off that MBS has the real advantage. If economic growth slows, the credit guarantee of MBS helps it outperform compared with corporates, which could see higher defaults."Stubbornly HighMoney managers' bulging ownership of MBS may have helped push risk premiums wider during April's tumult, according to Citigroup Inc. strategist Ankur Mehta. As investors yanked money from bond funds, money managers, heftily weighted toward the bonds over Treasuries, were forced to offload some of those holdings."There was a dash for cash as funds rushed to meet redemptions, and the selling was skewed towards MBS given their overweights in the sector," Mehta said.A month after Trump's tariff announcement first rocked markets, MBS risk premiums remain "stubbornly elevated," said strategists at Bank of America Corp earlier this week. Analysts at Goldman Sachs also this week noted the relatively high levels for MBS spreads even as spreads on corporate bonds have retreated even as spreads on corporate bonds have retreated. Performance over a few weeks isn't how most investors look at returns. MBS aren't doing terribly so far this year, having gained 2.3%, outperforming credit and the broader market, not to mention US equities, which are down 3.3% through Thursday's close on a total return basis.The outlook for the rest of the year is much harder to forecast. Corporate bonds can sell off during economic downturns as investors worry about companies paying the bills and revenue shrinking, while bonds with less credit risk can perform better. "We think these assets are incredibly attractive," said Bryan Whalen, fixed income chief investment officer of TCW, referring to mortgage bonds. "We're comfortable where we are, acknowledging that the short-term has the potential to be a little bit rocky." 

While folks debate whether mortgage rates are going higher or lower, most expect a boom if they eventually do come down.Even Dave Ramsey, who is known for being a very shrewd financial guru, thinks so.In a new interview with TheStreet, he said if rates sink a point or two, prospective buyers will likely return in droves.And that could create a “fire” in the housing market, which has suffered lately from a severe lack of affordability.But Ramsey also some very strict rules for home buying, which still might not pencil even if rates come back down to record lows.Ramsey Expects Lower Mortgage Rates, Housing Market ComebackWhile he wasn’t too specific, Dave Ramsey told TheStreet that mortgage rates will “probably fall,” and with that he expects “this market to come back.”He didn’t specify why mortgage rates might come down, just that they’d improve, perhaps because he’s an optimist.Maybe because like everyone else, he knows the housing market isn’t sustainable at rates and prices like these.To that end, he doesn’t believe homes prices are going to fall, even though inventory is beginning to rise and put pressure on sellers.In a nutshell, he said they aren’t going to come down because there’s more demand than supply.I suppose that varies based on the city in question, and there’s certainly been a shift to a buyer’s market in 2025 relative to prior years.But he believes there’s still a lot of pent-up demand from prospective home buyers, who continue to play the waiting game.And if mortgage rates somehow see a sizable drop, that could be the catalyst necessary to get things going again.For the record, 2024 saw the lowest existing home sales going back to 1995, and was similar to the depressed levels seen in 2023 as well.So far, 2025 doesn’t appear to be markedly better, though it depends on the direction of the economy, mortgage rates, and the trade war and tariffs.Does a Home Purchase Pencil Today Using Ramsey’s Math?One issue with Dave’s optimism is he’s pretty strict when it comes to home buying math.He’s got all sorts of rules you should abide by if you’re wanting to purchase a home, including a 25% rule, where only 25% of your take-home pay can be used toward the housing payment.This is much lower than the maximum DTI ratios allowed by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, the FHA, and so on, which accept ratios in the 40s and beyond.And those use gross income, not net, after-tax pay. That can be tough these days with home prices and mortgage rates where they are.On top of that, he has said in the past that “the only kind of mortgage I recommend is a 15-year, fixed-rate loan.”So let’s just pretend you make $100,000 annually and homes are going for $360,000, which is around the national average.Using ADP’s gross-to-net calculator, gross pay is $8,333 and take-home pay is $6,561 per month (using their default settings).If you can muster a 20% down payment, which Ramsey strongly advises, you’re looking at a loan amount of $288,000.So we’ll use a 6% 15-year fixed mortgage rate, which gives you a monthly principal and interest payment of $2,430.Next, we add in property taxes of roughly $375 per month and another $100 monthly for hazard insurance.All in you’re at $2,905, which would be about 44% of take-home pay using that ADP calculator.Ultimately, you can only allocate $1,640 toward PITI using Dave’s rules. And I was being pretty lenient here with a $100k salary and $360,000 purchase price.By His Rules, We Need Much Lower Mortgage RatesIf we abide by Dave’s many rules, we need significantly lower mortgage rates to make it all work.How low exactly? Well, using my example above we can only allocate $1,640 toward the housing payment.The property taxes and hazard insurance are fixed at about $475 per month and part of the housing payment.That leaves $1,165 for the principal and interest portion of the payment. Not a lot of money, especially when we have to take out a 15-year mortgage instead of a 30-year mortgage.Not even a 1% mortgage rate would get us there. But I suppose he knows the vast majority of home buyers out there don’t abide by all his rules.If they did, we wouldn’t have many homes sales (if any). Or we’d need salaries to be a whole lot higher. Or home prices a whole lot lower.But he said he doesn’t see home prices falling, so it appears the pent-up demand either makes a lot more money, or will break some of these stringent rules to get in the door and buy a home.One also has to wonder if mortgage rates actually do fall one or two percentage points, what will the economy look like?We all want mortgage rates to ease to boost housing affordability, but a big drop like that might only come from a major economic downturn. Before creating this site, I worked as an account executive for a wholesale mortgage lender in Los Angeles. My hands-on experience in the early 2000s inspired me to begin writing about mortgages 19 years ago to help prospective (and existing) home buyers better navigate the home loan process. Follow me on X for hot takes.Latest posts by Colin Robertson (see all)

(Bloomberg) -- US Treasuries sank as investors took job market data and a US-UK trade framework as reasons to embrace riskier assets and pare back their bets on interest-rate cuts.The declines on Thursday pushed two- to 10-year yields higher by at least 10 basis points on the day after President Donald Trump urged people to buy stocks based on the latest trade developments. Yields on 30-year bonds were up about eight basis points to 4.85% after an auction was met with tepid investor demand."The hard data has not yet followed the soft data. A trade deal is done. Risk appetite is better. The Fed is in no hurry," said George Catrambone, head of fixed income at DWS Americas. Because of all that, "some of the rate-cut expectations have walked themselves out of the market."Swaps priced in a 15% chance of a quarter-point rate cut at the next Federal Reserve meeting in June, compared to about 30% on Tuesday and more than 50% a week ago. Markets see barely three reductions this year, which would bring rates to a range of 3.5% to 3.75%. At the end of April, four rate cuts were fully priced in.Short-term yields had already been rising as traders pared bets on cuts. Chair Jerome Powell said Wednesday the Fed wasn't in a rush to lower borrowing costs. Officials voted unanimously to keep the benchmark federal funds rate in a range of 4.25% to 4.5%, where it has been since December.In a statement, policymakers said they see a growing risk of both higher inflation and rising unemployment. Still, Powell said the labor market remains resilient amid the trade uncertainties — which was reinforced Thursday by a drop in the weekly tally of new jobless."The idea of preemptive cuts is not on the table, which means they may end up being a little bit late to whatever happens," said David Rogal, portfolio manager, fundamental fixed income group at BlackRock. "There's just a lot of uncertainty in both directions."On Thursday, the S&P 500 rose after Trump touted what he described as a comprehensive trade agreement with the UK, marking the first of his promised deals with countries around the world. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose by 0.7%, the biggest jump in over a month.Trump criticized the Fed's policy stance again on Thursday, saying there's virtually no inflation in the US and that Powell "doesn't have a clue." The president has been calling for the central bank to lower rates to boost the economy, and has even suggested he could remove the Fed Chair before the end of his term."Powell definitely gave a whiff of sort of stagflationary risks, but because of the political noise around it at the moment, he was very careful not to say anything inflammatory," said Neil Sutherland, portfolio manager at Schroder Investment Management. "It's really difficult for them to make a big call one way or the other."Pimco's Chief Investment Officer Dan Ivascyn said in an interview with the Financial Times that the probability of a US economic recession is the highest it's been in a few years. The firm has made small increases to its Treasury holdings over the previous two months, focusing on short maturities.--With assistance from James Hirai and Anya Andrianova.(Updates yield levels.)More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com

Property taxes for all homeowners in the U.S. rose between 2021 and 2023, but varied widely in different regions of the country.Median property taxes lurched upwards by an average of 10.4% to an annual payment of $2,969, or $247 a month, putting additional burden on property owners, according to a LendingTree analysis.Though taxes rose across the board, the increases ranged widely across the 50 largest metros ranging from $1,091 to $9,937 annually, the financial services platform said in its report.While LendingTree did not include data from 2024, a similar analysis by another vendor found that last year homeowners paid an average of $4,172 in property taxes. "There are already so many factors stacked up against homeowners today," said Matt Schulz, chief consumer finance analyst at LendingTree, commenting on the property tax increases."The fact that property taxes have risen so quickly just makes a challenging situation that much more difficult," he added in a statement. "That extra money that has to go to pay taxes is money that can't go toward dealing with high grocery prices, building an emergency fund, growing your retirement savings or other financial goals."Homeowners in Tampa, Florida (23.3%), Indianapolis (19.8%) and Dallas (19%) saw the steepest property tax increases in the nation over the three-year period. In contrast, Pittsburgh (4.4%), Philadelphia (8.2%) and Milwaukee (8.3%) recorded the smallest increases.Some Southern metro areas had the lowest overall median property taxes, according to LendingTree's analysis. Among the 50 largest metro areas, residents of Birmingham, Alabama, paid the lowest median property tax at $1,091 annually. Homeowners in Memphis, Tennessee, and Louisville, Kentucky, followed with average annual payments of $1,856 and $1,912, respectively.Unsurprisingly, residents in metro areas such as New York ($9,937), San Jose, California ($9,554), and San Francisco ($8,156) pay the highest property taxes in the nation.Among the 10 metro areas with the highest property taxes, four are in California — San Jose, San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego — and two are in Texas: Austin and Dallas."Those states are known for their relatively high tax rates and housing prices," Schulz said. "As a homeowner in Austin, I can tell you I'm not surprised to find my metro near the top. As Austin has boomed in recent years, many people have moved here from California and other places because of relatively low housing prices, only to be unpleasantly surprised by the size of their yearly property tax bill. It's a big deal."On a state-by-state level legislation cropped up to neutralize the spike in property taxes. Two states, Florida and Georgia, passed measures tying their property tax burden to the pace of inflation last year.Meanwhile, Florida's Governor Ron DeSantis announced a plan to wipe out the state's property levies.Critics of the idea have pointed out that the state's lawmakers would have to raise $43 billion to maintain the same level of public services, according to estimates from the Florida Policy Institute. Tax levies, though a nuisance to some, are essential for funding public schools, law enforcement and infrastructure.