The Federal Reserve (Fed) plays a critical role in the U.S. economy by adjusting interest rates, a tool used to control inflation, manage employment levels, and stabilize financial markets. The decision to raise or lower interest rates can have far-reaching effects on everything from consumer spending to business investment. Understanding why the Fed adjusts rates […]
Read More(Bloomberg) — The Federal Reserve hasn’t had much success so far in wrestling down sky-high inflation, but its monetary tightening campaign is having a major impact in deflating asset bubbles that swelled during the pandemic. The cryptocurrency market — once valued at $3 trillion — has shrunk by more than two-thirds Investor-favored technology stocks have […]
Read More(Bloomberg) — The US dollar has erased more than half of this year’s gains amid growing expectations the Federal Reserve will temper its aggressive rate hikes, and as optimism grows over China’s reopening plans. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index has pared its 2022 advance to about 7%, after gaining as much as 16% earlier, as […]
Read More(Bloomberg) — A key gauge of US consumer prices posted the second-smallest increase this year while spending accelerated, offering hope that the Federal Reserve’s interest-rate hikes are cooling inflation without sparking a recession. The personal consumption expenditures price index excluding food and energy, which Fed Chair Jerome Powell stressed this week is a more accurate […]
Read More(Bloomberg) — Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank President Esther George said ample US savings will help to buffer households but could also mean higher interest rates are needed to cool spending. George told a panel Tuesday in Santiago hosted by the Central Bank of Chile that if savings are concentrated in wealthier households who tend […]
Read More(Bloomberg) — Wall Street’s biggest banks agree the Federal Reserve will hike US interest rates further into next year, but are at odds over how high it will take them and whether it will be cutting by the end of 2023. In a reflection of how tough Chair Jerome Powell’s job is becoming, leading economists […]
Read More(Bloomberg) — The Federal Reserve needs to raise interest rates significantly higher, to perhaps 6%, to reduce inflation, influential monetary economist John Taylor said on Friday. He told an economic conference in New York that rates were still “quite low” when measured in real, inflation-adjusted terms or when compared to monetary policy rules like the […]
Read More(Bloomberg) — Bond traders are declaring victory over the Federal Reserve’s war on inflation after it slowed last month to a weaker pace than economist forecasts. A part of the yield curve that Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell watches closely to monitor recession risks inverted for the first time since the pandemic hit in early […]
Read More(Bloomberg) — The Federal Reserve “hasn’t accomplished anything” in loosening the US labor market even after four consecutive 75-basis-point hikes, former New York Fed President Bill Dudley said. Friday’s jobs report showing a 261,000 gain in payrolls and a slight uptick in unemployment in October is “not consistent with a loosening labor market,” Dudley, chair […]
Read More(Bloomberg) — The Federal Reserve suggested on Friday that lofty home prices could be susceptible to steep declines after big run-ups in recent years on the back of ultra-low interest rates. “With valuations at high levels, house prices could be particularly sensitive to shocks,” the Fed said in its semiannual Financial Stability Report released Friday. […]
Read More(Bloomberg) — Wall Street had already come to terms with prospects that the Fed would again raise interest rates by 75 basis points. But Wednesday afternoon was full of drama as traders first took hope from the central bank’s statement but then slumped following stern comments by Chair Jerome Powell. Stocks initially jumped and Treasury […]
Read More(Bloomberg) — Equities erased early gains ahead of the Federal Reserve’s policy meeting Wednesday. A gauge of the dollar fell and gold rose. European stocks and US futures were little changed after euro-area manufacturing activity sank to the lowest level since the first Covid-19 lockdowns in 2020 as record inflation and a weakening global economy […]
Read More(Bloomberg) — The Federal Reserve looks set to deliver a fourth straight super-sized rate increase with Chair Jerome Powell repeating his resolute message on inflation and opening the door to a downshift — without necessarily pivoting yet. The Federal Open Market Committee is expected to raise rates by 75 basis points on Wednesday to a […]
Read More(Bloomberg) — Investors just got over a hectic week, contending with a blitz of earnings from some of America’s biggest companies as well as a pile of uncertain economic and geopolitical news. But what’s coming may be even worse. In the span of just seven trading sessions, there will be four major events that could […]
Read More(Bloomberg) — Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard said he expects the central bank to end its ‘’front-loading” of aggressive interest-rate hikes by early next year and shift to keeping policy sufficiently restrictive with small adjustments as inflation cools. “You do have to think about what the reasonable level is,” Bullard said […]
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