(Bloomberg) — The Federal Reserve signaled it will start raising interest rates “soon” and shrink its bond holdings after liftoff has begun, moving toward ending ultra-easy pandemic support to fight the hottest inflation in a generation. “With inflation well above 2% and a strong labor market, the committee expects it will soon be appropriate to […]
Read More(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 More(Bloomberg) — The process by which the Federal Reserve ultimately shrinks its balance sheet in the coming months or years will be different from the last time officials embarked on so-called quantitative tightening and could include outright sales from its bond portfolio. That’s the view of Credit Suisse Group AG strategist Zoltan Pozsar, who said that […]
Read More(Bloomberg) — As the Nasdaq 100 comes off its worst week since the pandemic selloff in March 2020, investors now have to contend with Wednesday’s Fed meeting, where officials are expected to signal that they’ll raise interest rates in March and shrink their balance sheet soon after. Here’s a look at how the U.S. stock […]
Read MoreInvestors should buckle up as it could get hairy this year with the Federal Reserve poised to begin lifting interest rates from rock bottom levels. “I definitely think we will experience more volatility in 2022 than what we have seen certainly over the last year, but even going back over the last decade. We started […]
Read MoreThe Federal Reserve hasn’t done anything with interest rates yet, but bank earnings released Friday show that the mere anticipation of a pullback in easy money policies is weighing on the industry. On Friday, three of the nation’s four largest banks reported earnings covering the final quarter of 2021: JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Citigroup (C), and […]
Read MoreThe president of the Kansas City Federal Reserve said the central bank should move soon to reduce its enormous $8.5 trillion pile of bond holdings to help curb the highest U.S. inflation in almost 40 years. Esther George on Tuesday said the Fed’s effort to reduce inflation would be more effective if the bank drew […]
Read More(Bloomberg) — In the front-end of the U.S. rates curve, serious money is being put to work as traders position for the strong possibility that the Federal Reserve will hike interest rates at the March monetary policy meeting. The move follows a number of bank strategists adjusting forecasts and calling for the Fed to raise […]
Read More(Bloomberg) — The Federal Reserve has managed to do something that’s rarely seen in the U.S. these days: Get members of the Democratic and Republican parties to agree. At this year’s annual meeting of the American Economic Association, prominent economists from both sides of the political spectrum argued that the Fed is behind the curve […]
Read More(Bloomberg) — Sign up for the New Economy Daily newsletter, follow us @economics and subscribe to our podcast. Federal Reserve policy makers could start to raise their target interest rate as soon as March and shrink the central bank’s balance sheet as a next step in response to surging inflation, Federal Reserve Bank of St. […]
Read MoreThe bond bears have been in ascendance this week, even before the release of the latest minutes from the last Federal Open Market Committee meeting. The yield on the 10-year Treasury has jumped 23.7 basis points this week, the largest four-day yield gain since June 5, 2020, as the Fed minutes showed discussion of a […]
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 More(Bloomberg) — The U.S. economy will spend 2022 learning to live with the coronavirus without much in the way of help from the Federal Reserve or the federal government — especially with the derailing of President Joe Biden’s $1.75 trillion spending plan. The Fed’s pivot last week toward tighter credit — ending its emergency bond-buying […]
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