Wall Street wobbles to mixed close, Treasury yields inch higher as Powell concludes testimony
NEW YORK, March 8 (Reuters) – The S&P 500 ended an indecisive session with a nominal increase and Treasury yields edged up on Wednesday as a spate of economic data appeared to support Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s reassertion, in his second day of congressional testimony, that the central bank would continue to ratchet up […]
Fed’s Powell sees long-term damage if US debt ceiling not raised
NEW YORK, March 7 (Reuters) – The United States risks long-term damage if Congress does not raise the national debt ceiling, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said on Tuesday.”Congress really needs to raise the debt ceiling … if we fail to do so, I think that the consequences are hard to estimate, but they could […]
Fed “acutely aware” of trouble inflation is causing – report
WASHINGTON, March 3 (Reuters) – The U.S. Federal Reserve is “acutely aware” of the challenges high inflation poses to the economy and is “strongly committed” to its 2% target for price increases, the central bank said on Friday in its latest semiannual report to Congress on monetary policy and the economy.While largely a backward-looking summary […]
Dollar index hits seven-week high on higher-for-longer U.S. rates
LONDON, Feb 23 (Reuters) – The dollar index rose to its highest in nearly seven weeks on Thursday, a day after minutes from the Federal Reserve’s last policy meeting that supported, but did not add to markets’ view the central bank will raise rates further.The index , which tracks the greenback against six major peers […]
Analysis: Fed’s quandary: Can the economy keep motoring and inflation fall?
WASHINGTON, Feb 21 (Reuters) – A year into the U.S. Federal Reserve’s most aggressive monetary crackdown since the 1980s the strength of the U.S. economy has befuddled policymakers now faced with an unexpected dilemma: Are things too good?There’s little sign the U.S. job market, currently sporting a more-than-half-century low 3.4% unemployment rate, is weakening. Consumers […]
Global shares sink, dollar soars on rate-hike outlook
LONDON, Feb 17 (Reuters) – Stock markets dropped across the globe on Friday and the dollar leapt to six-week highs as jobs data revived expectations the U.S. central bank would stick to its monetary tightening path.Data from the U.S. Labor Department overnight showed monthly producer prices had accelerated in January and the number of Americans […]
At least two more Fed rate hikes and no cut this year, say economists: Reuters poll
BENGALURU, Feb 14 (Reuters) – The U.S. Federal Reserve will raise interest rates at least twice more in coming months, with the risk they go higher still, according to a majority of economists in a Reuters poll who see no cut by year-end.This brings the majority of private-sector forecasters in line with the central bank’s […]
Morning Bid: Powell confesses ‘This time it’s different’
A look at the day ahead in U.S. and global markets from Mike Dolan.Jerome Powell calmed the horses, a bit.In attempting to parse last week’s blockbuster January jobs report, the Federal Reserve Chair on Tuesday reprised his take from last Wednesday’s policy meeting – essentially that another couple of Fed rate hikes were probably needed […]
Global shares slide as interest-rate risk rises and geopolitics heat up
U.S. stock futures slip, European shares dropYen skids as market eyes possible BOJ governorInvestors ponder U.S. rates with host of Fed speakers dueLONDON, Feb 6 (Reuters) – Global shares slipped on Monday, after a run of upbeat economic data suggested interest rates will have to rise further and stay higher for longer, while a stronger […]
Fed’s Powell says no rate cuts this year, and markets hear it differently
Feb 2 (Reuters) – Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell had a clear message on Wednesday: as “gratifying” as it is that inflation has begun to slow, the central bank is nowhere near to reversing course or declaring victory.”It’s going to take some time” for disinflation to spread through the economy, Powell said in a news […]