U.S. central bankers lopped half of a percentage point from their interest rate target in September. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the bigger-than-expected reduction was a sign of confidence that inflation is headed back to the 2% target and should not be seen as any indication of the pace of cuts going forward. Here … Read more
Federal Reserve Board Chairman Jerome Powell. File | Photo Credit: AP Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell signalled Monday that more interest rate cuts are in the pipeline, though their size and speed will depend on the evolution of the economy. Wall Street investors and economists are weighing whether the Fed will follow its larger-than-usual half-point … Read more
Washington, Jul 10, 2024 -The US central bank will not want to wait for inflation to cool to its two percent target before considering a rate cut, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell told lawmakers Wednesday. “We’ve said that you don’t want to wait until inflation gets all the way down to two percent, because inflation … Read more
Inflation “remains above” the U.S. Federal Reserve’s 2% target, but has been improving in recent months and “more good data would strengthen” the case for central bank interest rate cuts, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said on Tuesday in congressional testimony. In comments that appeared to show increasing faith that inflation will return to the Fed’s … Read more
The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits held steady at lower levels last week as the labor market remains fairly tight. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits were unchanged at a seasonally adjusted 208,000 for the week ended April 27, the Labor Department said on Thursday. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast … Read more
The Federal Reserve will likely hold interest rates steady for a fourth straight meeting but avoid signaling an imminent interest-rate cut. The Federal Open Market Committee is poised to keep rates in a range of 5.25% to 5.5% at its two-day policy meeting ending Wednesday, a 22-year high first reached in July. The rate decision … Read more
Investors are facing a pivotal week as a key measure of inflation that hits Tuesday and the Federal Reserve’s interest-rate decision on Wednesday are expected to set the tone for the stock market and economy heading into 2024. Growing speculation that the Fed is done hiking rates and will start cutting by mid-year is fueling … Read more
US Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell on Thursday rattled financial markets worldwide by saying that the central bank was not yet confident that interest rates were at a sufficiently restrictive level to bring inflation to its 2% target. The statement, which leaves the door open for more Fed rate hikes, yanked five-year US bond yields … Read more
Mumbai: Persistent global headwinds exerted pressure on the Indian equities market, which closed lower for the second consecutive day on Thursday. Despite an early dip, the Nifty, however, showed remarkable resilience, rebounding 113 points to conclude the session 46 points down at 19,625. The Sensex, which fell 843 points in the last six trading sessions, … Read more
For the first time since the Federal Reserve started raising interest rates almost 18 months ago, the labor market is showing enough cracks to embolden some of the world’s largest bond investors to bet that the tightening cycle is finally ending. A spate of slowing employment metrics this week, crowned by Friday’s August payrolls report, … Read more