Featured Content As of October 2024, inflation in the U.S. has cooled to a three-year low, standing at 2.5%. This progress has been driven by a combination of tighter monetary policy, easing supply chain disruptions, and more stable consumer demand. While inflation is edging closer to the Federal Reserve’s 2% target, concerns about wage growth, […]
Read MoreThe 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) — Former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers warned that the assumption embedded in the bond market that the era of low interest rates — anchored by disinflationary pressures — is coming back is likely to be wrong. Most Read from Bloomberg “I suspect tumult” for markets in 2023, Summers told Bloomberg Television’s “Wall Street Week” […]
Read More(Bloomberg) — The Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation measures eased in November while consumer spending stagnated, suggesting the central bank’s interest-rate hikes are helping to cool both price pressures and broader demand — with more tightening on the way. The personal consumption expenditures price index excluding food and energy, which Fed Chair Jerome Powell has stressed […]
Read More(Bloomberg) — BlackRock Inc. strategists say traders that have started to bet on a sharp slowdown in inflation are setting themselves up for disappointment. While they acknowledge that prices pressures are ebbing faster than expected, they contest consensus bets that see the rate tumbling toward the Federal Reserve’s 2% target. That’s leading the world’s biggest […]
Read More(Bloomberg) — Professional speculators with billions in bearish trades on the line endured a rough ride after Tuesday’s report on US consumer prices brought the latest sign that the Federal Reserve is making progress in its battle against inflation. Hedge funds that had amassed the biggest short position against Treasuries since March 2020 were caught […]
Read More(Bloomberg) — A key gauge of US consumer prices posted the smallest monthly advance in more than a year, indicating the worst of inflation has likely passed and validating an anticipated slowing in the pace of Federal Reserve interest-rate hikes. Excluding food and energy, the consumer price index rose 0.2% in November and was up […]
Read More(Bloomberg) — As the US economy veered toward the biggest inflation shock in four decades, investors flocked to the one corner of Wall Street that seemed a sure-fire refuge: Treasuries that provide extra compensation to keep up with rising consumer prices. Then the brutal reality of bond-market math shredded that sense of safety. The Federal […]
Read More(Bloomberg) — The latest US jobs report doused nascent optimism that the American economy was weakening enough to warrant a go-slower approach by the Federal Reserve in its battle against inflation. Hiring topped estimates and wage growth accelerated more than expected last month, upending expectations that had built across Wall Street in recent weeks. Futures […]
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) — The euphoria that’s sweeping through the stock market Thursday has strong justification in history: whenever inflation has peaked, double-digit gains have followed. The S&P 500 Index, which has shed 18% in 2022, surged 4.7% on Thursday after the rise in the consumer price index cooled in October by more than forecast, putting the […]
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) — Gold Fields Ltd. said it won’t raise its offer for Yamana Gold Inc. after two Canadian rivals teamed up with an unsolicited $4.8 billion bid to break up an earlier merger agreement with the South African miner. Its offer for Yamana is “strategically and financially superior” to the deal put together by Pan […]
Read More(Bloomberg) — Another tech plunge, another shot in the arm for stock quants mounting a big comeback in Wall Street’s awful year. As the Federal Reserve ramped up its hawkish policy guidance this week on still-raging inflation, the once-booming Faang megapcaps lost a further $568 billion in market value, bringing the cohort’s total capitalization to […]
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 […]
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