Untouched Muni Tax Perk Eases Urge to Flood the Market
Most muni bonds pay interest that's exempt from federal taxes, a perk that entices investors without raising an issuer's borrowing costs. Public finance groups had feared the removal of the exemption would be looked at as a way to help fund President Donald Trump's tax cuts, but with the pressure off for now, Barclays municipal strategist Mikhail Foux said municipalities may push back plans for bond sales.
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Yahoo
20 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Here's what needs to happen for the Lloyds share price to reach £1
2025 has been a fantastic year so far for the Lloyds (LSE:LLOY) share price. The leading British banking stock has seen its valuation climb by almost 40% since the start of the year, reaching its highest point since 2015. But could it continue to climb to £1 for the first time since 2008? Let's explore. Investigating Lloyds' performance There are a variety of factors driving Lloyds shares upward right now. But arguably the most significant is the higher interest rate environment bolstering the bank's lending margins. Lloyds isn't the only financial institution benefiting from this favourable environment, with shares like Barclays and NatWest also surging to impressive heights. With the Bank of England cutting interest rates, this gravy train won't last forever. But looking at the bank's structural hedge portfolio, its elevated profitability could continue for a little while longer even in a falling interest rate environment. That's because these structural hedges effectively allow Lloyds to lock in a fixed interest rate for a prespecified duration through complex floating-to-fixed cash flow conversion derivatives. As more money is flowing to the bottom line, management has been busy executing an enormous £1.7bn share buyback programme as well as hiking dividends. So, with that in mind, it's not surprising to see the Lloyds share price outperform across the first half of the year. But what will it take for shares to climb even higher? The journey to £1 A big driver of the Lloyds share price is its ties to the British economy. As a huge business and mortgage lender, the bank is sensitive to shifts in UK GDP growth. Sadly, for the most part, economic expansion in Britain has been sluggish for most of the last 15 years. And while there was hope of a potential turnaround in 2025, such performance has so far proven to be quite elusive. For Lloyds shares to continue climbing to £1, the economic landscape would likely need to improve. Similarly, some clarity in the regulatory landscape would likely go a long way to boosting investor sentiment. That is, of course, if the Court ruling regarding motor finance reselling goes in Lloyds' favour, or if it doesn't, the fallout doesn't exceed the £1.15bn the bank has set aside to cover claims. These are obviously out of management's control. But the leadership team can still strive to achieve higher margins through improving operational efficiency. The bottom line All things considered, I think the odds of Lloyds reaching a £1 share price again are pretty good in the long term, providing that economic conditions steadily improve over time and no new spanners are thrown into the works. Having said that, this price target is reliant on a combination of positive catalysts that may not materialise in 2025. In other words, it could be several years before this threshold is met – a conclusion that institutional analysts have seemingly also reached, given the average 12-month share price target is currently only 80p. Nevertheless, for long-term investors seeking exposure to the British banking sector, investigating Lloyds further could be worthwhile. The post Here's what needs to happen for the Lloyds share price to reach £1 appeared first on The Motley Fool UK. More reading 5 Stocks For Trying To Build Wealth After 50 One Top Growth Stock from the Motley Fool Zaven Boyrazian has no position in any of the shares mentioned. The Motley Fool UK has recommended Lloyds Banking Group Plc. Views expressed on the companies mentioned in this article are those of the writer and therefore may differ from the official recommendations we make in our subscription services such as Share Advisor, Hidden Winners and Pro. Here at The Motley Fool we believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. Motley Fool UK 2025 Sign in to access your portfolio
Boston Globe
21 minutes ago
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Trump's attack on in-state tuition for Dreamers is bad law — and worse policy
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New York Times
22 minutes ago
- New York Times
In The Hunt, Readers Get to Choose Their Dream Home, Too
Times Insider explains who we are and what we do and delivers behind-the-scenes insights into how our journalism comes together. For more than 20 years, the weekly New York Times real estate column known as The Hunt has chronicled New Yorkers' search for a home. Subjects have included college graduates looking for their first rental apartment in the city and a doctor looking to buy a beachfront home in the Hamptons — with a budget of $4 million. What ties them all together: the travails of navigating the cutthroat New York City housing market, where waiting means losing out; remarkable candor about personal finances; and a desire to help other searchers find their own dream homes. 'We strive to feature as many different types of buyers as we can find, whether it's people with a $150,000 budget or a $1.5 million budget,' said Matthew Oshinsky, a senior staff editor on The Times's Real Estate desk, who has edited the column since 2018. The column first appeared in The Times in 2004, but over the past several years, it has undergone a marked evolution under Mr. Oshinsky. In 2019, Vivian Toy, then the editor for Real Estate, asked him to take what had been a straightforward weekly column about New York City and transform it into an interactive quiz that would cover the entire country and, eventually, the world. In an interview, Mr. Oshinsky, who lives in Brooklyn, discussed the process of putting the column together each week, the reader feedback he receives, and takeaways from a piece that followed up with first-time home buyers who had previously been featured. These are edited excerpts from the conversation. Tell me about the reporting process for the column. As soon as we have hunters that have agreed to be featured, a reporter and then a photographer will visit them in their new home. The actual process is pretty straightforward. Sometimes the more difficult thing is confirming that the hunters are comfortable being featured in The New York Times. Sometimes they get cold feet and back out at the last minute. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
