(Bloomberg) — When stocks plunged in 2018, Jerome Powell was there, buoying sentiment. Two years later as shares careened into the fastest bear market ever, he stepped up again, flooding the system with support. After the Nasdaq 100’s worst week since March 2020, investors are wondering what it would take for the Federal Reserve chairman […]
Read MoreMortgage rates rose markedly in the first week of 2022 — potentially setting the tone for a year in which economist expect interest rates to move steadily higher. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 3.22% for the week ending Jan. 6, up 11 basis points from the previous week, Freddie Mac FMCC, reported Thursday. This is […]
Read MoreMarkets will see the latest minutes from the Fed’s monetary policy committee Wednesday. Karen Bleier/AFP/Getty Images Stocks fell Wednesday after the minutes from the last FOMC meeting confirmed that the Federal Reserve will begin raising interest rates soon to combat inflation. The release of the Fed minutes is usually a dull affair, as they usually […]
Read More(Bloomberg) — Federal Reserve officials said a strengthening economy and higher inflation could lead to earlier and faster interest-rate increases than previously expected, with some policy makers also favoring starting to shrink the balance sheet soon after. “Participants generally noted that, given their individual outlooks for the economy, the labor market, and inflation, it may […]
Read MoreFederal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell speaks during Wednesday’s live-streamed news conference. Michael Nagle/Bloomberg Inflation will ease markedly while interest rates remain historically low and negative in real terms, even as the labor market returns to full employment, according to the latest economic projections from the Federal Reserve. This would be the best of all economic […]
Read MoreAll eyes were on Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell as the market digested the news Wednesday on what the central bank will do to keep the economy rebounding from the pandemic while countering the hot inflation that has consumers’ wallets sizzling. Market observers were betting the Fed will conclude its bond buying — a move […]
Read More(Bloomberg) — Federal Reserve officials intensified their battle against the hottest inflation in a generation by shifting to an earlier end of their asset-buying program and signaling they favor raising interest rates in 2022 at a faster pace than economists were expecting. Heralding one of the most hawkish policy pivots in years, the central bank […]
Read MoreA pivot is defined as a turn or a twist. Its safe to say there will be twists and turns on Wednesday as Fed Chairman Jerome Powell is widely expected to adopt a more hawkish stance in his postmeeting news conference Wednesday. On display will be “the limits of Fed hawkishness,” said David Kelly, chief […]
Read More(Bloomberg) — The U.S. went on a borrowing binge last year and the hangover could make it harder for the Federal Reserve to fight inflation without crashing the economy. Corporate debt has surged $1.3 trillion since the start of 2020 as borrowers took advantage of emergency Fed action as the pandemic spread, slashing interest rates […]
Read MoreThe Biden administration looks set to soon announce its pick for who will lead the nation’s economic steward: the Federal Reserve. The White House appears to be weighing two options: keeping Jerome Powell as Fed chair or replacing him with current Fed Governor Lael Brainard. Both reportedly met with President Joe Biden earlier in the […]
Read MorePreparation pays dividends. Stock-market investors took the Federal Reserve’s decision Wednesday to begin tapering its monthly bond purchases without a hitch. “This taper was probably the best telegraphed or advertised move in monetary policy history,” said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at B Riley-National, in a phone interview. That’s in contrast to 2013, when the Fed’s […]
Read MoreAs investors awaits details of when and how the Federal Reserve plans to taper its massive monetary stimulus — and with inflation running as hot as ever — at least one investor thinks the market is likely to pull back from records as the central bank confronts price pressures that are throttling businesses and consumers. […]
Read MoreThe headlines of the story about Wednesday’s Federal Reserve policy meeting have already been written. The devil, as they say, will be in the details. On the likely news, it is a “foregone conclusion” the Fed will announce Wednesday that a tapering of asset purchases will begin later this month, according to Michael Gapen, chief […]
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