The current high inflation environment is often compared to the 1970s. But perhaps a more apt comparison would be to the 1870s. According to Bank of America, government bonds are on track for their worst year since 1865, the year the U.S. Civil War ended. Meanwhile, the stock market, when adjusted for inflation, is on […]
Read More(Bloomberg) — Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the US economy is in “strong shape” and the central bank can reduce inflation to 2% while maintaining a solid labor market, even though that task has become more challenging in recent months. He also vowed to ensure rapid price increases don’t become entrenched, saying that “we […]
Read More(Bloomberg) — Cathie Wood on Tuesday said she erred in her prediction inflation would unravel as the prices of goods and services in the US soared to 40-year highs. “We were wrong on one thing, and that was inflation being as sustained as it has been,” Wood, founder and chief executive officer of Ark Investment […]
Read More(Bloomberg) — Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the central bank will keep raising interest rates to tame inflation following the steepest hike in almost three decades, though policy makers must be “nimble” as various shocks buffet the world’s largest economy. “We anticipate that ongoing rate increases will be appropriate,” Powell said Wednesday in his […]
Read More(Bloomberg) — Federal Reserve officials raised their main interest rate by three-quarters of a percentage point — the biggest increase since 1994 — and signaled they will keep hiking aggressively this year, resorting to drastic measures to restrain the rampant inflation they failed to forecast. Slammed by critics for not anticipating the fastest price gains […]
Read More(Bloomberg) — Stocks and bonds face more pain when markets open in Asia on Monday following a shock US inflation print that heaped pressure on the Federal Reserve to intensify monetary tightening. Equity futures indicate declines in Japan and Hong Kong after the worst drop in global stocks last week since October 2020. Asian sovereign […]
Read More(Bloomberg) — Treasury traders are throwing down the gauntlet to a Federal Reserve that’s fallen further behind in its fight to cool the hottest inflation in four decades. A bruising bond selloff ensued Friday, led by policy-sensitive short-term yields, after May data dashed any idea that inflation has peaked. The rout deepened when traders boosted […]
Read More(Bloomberg) — US inflation accelerated to a fresh 40-year high in May, a sign that price pressures are becoming entrenched in the economy. That will likely push the Federal Reserve to extend an aggressive series of interest-rate hikes and adds to political problems for the White House and Democrats. The consumer price index increased 8.6% […]
Read More(Bloomberg) — Investors are putting billions of dollars into cash and stock funds as they seek protection from surging inflation. Cash saw the biggest inflows in six weeks at about $54 billion, while exchange-traded funds led additions of about $12 billion into equities in the week through June 8, according to Bank of America Corp. […]
Read More(Bloomberg) — Cathie Wood says the massive inventories now held by US companies suggest that inflation will die down. “I’ve never seen inventory surges like this in my career and I’ve been around for a long time,” the head of Ark Investment Management said in an interview with Bloomberg Television Wednesday. “This inventory issue highlights […]
Read More(Bloomberg) — A glut of fertilizers at the biggest Brazilian ports signals that the price of the nutrients may have to drop further before farmers start buying. In Paranagua, private warehouses reached theirs maximum storage capacity of 3.5 million tons, according to Luiz Teixeira da Silva, Paranagua’s operations director. A terminal operated by VLI Logistics, […]
Read More(Bloomberg) — Wheat in Chicago plunged the most allowed by the exchange on improved prospects for Ukraine grain shipments and US crop weather. Corn and soybeans also tumbled. Russia discussed Black Sea exports with Turkey on Monday and said it is willing to help ensure Ukrainian exports, though the Kremlin provided no details and some […]
Read More(Bloomberg) — Treasuries dropped across the curve as higher oil prices added to inflation concerns, and a Federal Reserve official backed additional 50 basis-point rate hikes. US five-year yields jumped as much as 12 basis points to 2.84%, while benchmark 10-year yields climbed 11 basis points to 2.85%. Treasuries also played catch up to other […]
Read More(Bloomberg) — Fertilizer prices that had hit records are now plunging as buyers reel from sticker shock. The June spot price in Tampa, Florida for the nitrogen fertilizer ammonia settled at $1,000 per metric ton, a drop of 30% from May’s $1,425 per metric ton, according to Green Markets, a Bloomberg company. Demand destruction is […]
Read More(Bloomberg) — Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard said the central bank should front-load an aggressive series of interest-rate hikes to push rates to 3.5% at year’s end, which if successful would push down inflation and could lead to policy easing in 2023 or 2024. “I have also said we should get […]
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