US wholesale inflation cooled in July in sign that price pressures are continuing to ease
WASHINGTON (AP) — US wholesale inflation cooled in July in sign that price pressures are continuing to ease.
WASHINGTON (AP) — US wholesale inflation cooled in July in sign that price pressures are continuing to ease.
“This is a Fed that believes they are behind the curve,” Robert Minter, director of ETF Investment Strategy at abrdn, told Fortune.
Investors digested the Fed's first interest rate cut since 2020.
The U.S., Europe, and Asia are all struggling with excessive debt loans, Desmond Lachman writes in a guest commentary.
The 12 reserve banks, once big moneymakers for the Treasury, are now posting losses. Rate cuts will help, but not for years.
Chinese homebuyers on a tight budget have long sought out Hegang, an ex-coal boomtown on the Russian border. Now, as China's property crisis spreads, Hegang's basement prices are showing up in wealthier regions in a new threat to the economy. Average prices of new homes in 70 major cities including Beijing slumped for the 14th month in August despite dramatic reversals in China's once-restrictive purchase policies.
The Russian army is set to increase by 180,000, which would make it the second-largest in the world. It's already straining the economy, experts said.
The US Federal Reserve cut its key lending rate by half a percentage-point Wednesday in its first reduction for more than four years, sharply lowering borrowing costs shortly before November's presidential election.They also penciled in an additional half-point of cuts before the end of this year, and an added percentage-point of cuts in 2025.
Barclays strategists believe the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates by 25 basis points (bps) on Wednesday, despite market pricing heavily favoring a 50 bps reduction. This marks a sharp surge from just weeks ago when the probability of a 50bp cut was around 17%. According to Barclays, there are valid reasons for the Fed to consider a 50bp reduction.
The U.S. dollar rose broadly on Thursday, recovering from an earlier tumble in the immediate aftermath of the Federal Reserve's outsized interest rate cut that had been largely priced in by markets. The U.S. central bank on Wednesday kicked off its monetary easing cycle with a larger-than-usual half-percentage-point reduction that Chair Jerome Powell said was meant to show policymakers' commitment to sustaining a low unemployment rate now that inflation has eased. It rebounded from a more than one-year low against a basket of currencies in the previous session and was last marginally higher at 101.03.
Companies forcing staff back into the office full-time are “dinosaurs” who wrongly believe their staff are “snowflakes”, according to the professor who coined the term “presenteeism”.
TOKYO (Reuters) -Japan's export growth slowed sharply in August as shipments to the U.S. dropped for the first time in three years, while machinery orders unexpectedly shrank in July in a worrying sign for an economy struggling to mount a solid recovery. The frail external demand undermines Japan's quest to drive sustainable economic growth, analysts say, especially given a growing risk of a slowdown in the U.S. and further weakness in China's economy, two major trading partners. "Japan's exports are bound to struggle as the global economy is failing to pick up momentum, with growth in both the U.S. and China economies seen slowing down next year," said Takeshi Minami, chief economist at Norinchukin Research Institute.
U.S. retail sales unexpectedly rose in August as a decline in receipts at auto dealerships was more than offset by strength in online purchases, suggesting that the economy remained on solid footing through much of the third quarter. The report from the Commerce Department on Tuesday also showed retail sales were a bit stronger than initially thought in July. It combined with the decline in the unemployment rate last month to push against financial market expectations for a half-percentage-point interest rate cut from the Federal Reserve on Wednesday.
U.S. stock indexes remained stuck in place on Tuesday as Wall Street made few big moves ahead of what’s expected to be the first cut to interest rates in more than four years. Now that inflation is down substantially from its peak two summers ago, the Fed believes it can shift its focus more toward protecting the job market and economy.
Central bank officials predict changes to come with interest rates expected to tick down to 4.4% this year.
The Federal Reserve is set to cut interest rates by at least a quarter of a percentage point Wednesday, putting the politically independent agency in the crosshairs of a heated election in which inflation and economic pains have been central issues. Fed Chair Jerome Powell has taken blows from both sides of the aisle for…
JAKARTA (Reuters) -Indonesia's trade surplus rose to a three-month high in August, topping forecasts, as exports grew much faster than expected, official data showed on Tuesday. The August trade data is among economic indicators the central bank will analyse during its two-day policy meeting starting on Tuesday. Economists polled by Reuters ahead of the trade data expected Bank Indonesia (BI) to leave rates unchanged.
Ahead of the Federal Reserve's expected rate cut announcement, Comerica Bank chief economist Bill Adams joins Madison Mills and Brad Smith on Morning Brief to discuss what to expect from the Fed on Wednesday and how it could affect the economy going forward. The economist tells Yahoo Finance that he sees a 25 basis point cut as the most likely outcome of Wednesday's meeting, saying "the economy is in a pretty good place." Adams notes that no matter the size of the cut, "as long as the Fed signals that they expect to make substantial further cuts into 2025, I think that will provide the reassurance that financial markets and the economy more broadly needs." "I don't see a recession around the corner," Adams says, adding he's been watching the Sahm indicator and unemployment for signs of a recession. "Historically, when the unemployment rate has risen as much as it has, the economy has been in recession, but this time ... seems different because we're seeing very rapid labor force growth in 2024." He adds that coming out of the Fed meeting, the outlook, given through the dot plot and Jerome Powell's remarks, may ultimately be more important to the market than the cut. "I think forward guidance is going to matter more than the immediate decision," he says. Adams tells Morning Brief, that he expects "actual policy is going to probably end up more dovish than what we see in the dot plot." Adams reminds investors that fiscal policy is among the factors that are outside of the Fed's control and will not be reactive to rate cuts. As the presidential election fuels uncertainty about the market and economy, the economist says he's been reminding clients "that fiscal policy depends as much or more on what happens in Congress" and while "the presidential election is what's eating up all the bandwidth, but what happens in the legislative branch is really going to determine what happens with fiscal policy." For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Morning Brief. This post was written by Naomi Buchanan.
The Federal Reserve slashed its benchmark interest rate target by half a percentage point on Wednesday. In a press conference following the decision, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell argued the central bank was not behind the curve, as some had argued. Rather, he says, this cut was "a sign of our commitment not to get behind." In the video above, Yahoo Finance Federal Reserve Reporter Jennifer Schonberger recaps what else Powell told reporters. For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Market Domination. This post was written by Stephanie Mikulich.
Interest rate announcements affect millions of homeowners with variable-rate mortgages
NEW YORK (Reuters) -Oil prices slipped lower on Wednesday as a rate cut announcement from the Federal Reserve raised worries about the health of the U.S. economy, while investors largely shrugged off a crude oil inventory decline that they attributed to the impact of short-lived weather. Brent crude futures for November settled at $73.65 a barrel, losing 5 cents, while WTI crude futures for October settled at $70.91 a barrel, falling 28 cents. Meanwhile, crude inventories fell by 1.6 million barrels to 417.5 million barrels in the week ending Sept. 13, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said, compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 500,000-barrel draw.