The Federal Reserve announced on June 14 that it has “paused” its relentless pace of interest-rate hikes for the first time in 15 months. In March,2022, the Fed commenced hikes, then continued as follows: Fed Meeting Rate Increase Target Rate March 15–16, 2022 +25 basis points 0.25–0.5 percent May 3–4, 2022 +50 basis points 0.75–1.0…
Don’t Let the Fed Pause Become a Fed Surrender to a Higher Inflation Target Rate
Stocks Rally Stalls, Eyes Powell Testimony for Rate Clues
LONDON, SYDNEY—Global shares drifted on Monday, consolidating gains after hitting a 14-month high last week, as investors awaited testimony from U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell in markets that remain dominated by monetary policy bets. The MSCI’s broad gauge of world stocks was steady, with Wall Street markets closed for the Juneteenth holiday. In Europe,…
Inflation Is the Least of Our Problems
Commentary The Federal Open Market Committee’s unanimous decision on Wednesday not to raise the federal funds rate, which banks charge each other for overnight loans, has champagne corks popping in some quarters, where it is hailed as evidence of the long-in-coming conquest of inflation; while others see Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell turning chicken in…
Gas Price Data, Critics Dispute Schumer Claim Democrats Have Lowered Energy Costs
When Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) told journalists after the June 13 party caucus meetings that Democrats under President Joe Biden have “lowered energy costs,” none of the listening scribes challenged the New Yorker to document his claim. Schumer’s comment about energy costs came in a series of similar cost-cutting claims he made on…
US Consumer Sentiment Jumps to Four-Month High on Debt-Cap Deal
Declining fears over inflation lifted American consumers’ spirits this month. U.S. consumer sentiment reading rebounded in June following a decline in May, after concerns over the debt-ceiling crisis faded and investor were buoyed by a strong labor market and stock market gains due to artificial intelligence (AI). Consumers’ near-term inflation expectations dropped to more than…
Fed’s Barkin Says ‘Comfortable Doing More’ If Inflation Does Not Fall
WASHINGTON—Richmond Federal Reserve president Thomas Barkin said Friday he is comfortable with further interest rate increases if coming data does not show that weakening demand for goods and services is feeding through to slower inflation. “I am still looking to be convinced of the plausible story that slowing demand returns inflation relatively quickly” to the…
The Coming Mild Recession
Commentary Debate on recession prospects has three sides. One points to still strong jobs growth and contends that the economy will avoid recession altogether. A second side contends that the jobs numbers are misleading and that a recession is imminent. Yet a third splits the difference, arguing that a recession will wait until 2024. Forecasting…
Tesco Boss Sees ‘Early Signs’ Food Inflation Starting to Ease
There are “encouraging early signs that inflation is starting to ease,” Tesco’s boss has said as the retail giant reported higher sales for the past quarter. Ken Murphy, chief executive of the UK’s largest grocery chain, suggested that rampant food inflation could have passed its peak, though he stressed that customers continue to face cost-of-living…
High Borrowing Costs Signify a New Era of Inflation: Bankrate.com
How is the Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision impacting regular Americans? And what can you do to protect your money? NTD speaks to Sarah Foster, principal U.S. economic reporter at financial information platform Bankrate.com. …
BOJ, ECB Rate Decisions Send Yen to Fresh 15-year Low Against Euro
LONDON/SINGAPORE—The yen fell to a new 15-year low against the euro on Friday after the Bank of Japan (BOJ) kept ultra-low interest rates and forecast that inflation will slow later this year in contrast with the European Central Bank’s (ECB) rate hike on Thursday. As widely expected, the BOJ maintained its -0.1 percent short-term interest…
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