• Apr 24, 2025

Wall Street watchdog staff shrinks 16% in last year, includes key units, sources say

WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) -The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has lost 16% of its workforce since this time last year, two sources briefed on the matter said, leaving Wall Street's top regulator with gaps across key divisions at a time of market turmoil. Most of those staff members left since February when more than 600 accepted Trump administration offers to resign and retire early, according to one of the sources and a second source familiar with the matter. Chief Operating Officer Kenneth Johnson cited the 16% figure on Tuesday in an email to certain staff that was described by the first two sources.

  • Apr 24, 2025

CRE market sentiment dropped by most in Q1 since pandemic, survey finds

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Optimism in the U.S. market for commercial real estate financing witnessed its second largest drop ever in the first quarter, triggered by President Donald Trump's new tariff policies, a new survey found. In a survey of CRE financing participants conducted from March 31 to April 7, the CRE Finance Council said Wednesday that optimism in the sector fell 30.5% since the fourth quarter. Eighty percent of those surveyed said they expected economic conditions to worsen over the next 12 months, versus just 12% saying so in the fourth quarter of 2024, according to the survey.