Market Analysis

Bond Traders Are Vindicated as Powell Sets Up September Fed Cut
  • August 23, 2024

Bond Traders Are Vindicated as Powell Sets Up September Fed Cut

(Bloomberg) -- Bond investors’ big bet on US Treasuries is paying off after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell cemented expectations for an interest-rate cut next month.Most Read from BloombergChicago's Migrant Surge Is Stirring Trouble for Democrats in DNC Host CitySydney Central Train Station Is Now an Architectural DestinationWith Housing Costs High, Democrats Hone YIMBY MessageWith Self-Driving Vans, Hamburg Tries to Make Microtransit WorkUK Transport Minister Clears Path for More 20mph Spe

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TSX hits record high as Fed chief signs off on rate cuts
  • August 23, 2024

TSX hits record high as Fed chief signs off on rate cuts

(Reuters) -Canada's main stock index rose to a record high on Friday, with energy and financials contributing to broad-based gains as Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell endorsed the start of rate cuts, raising hopes the economy could avoid recession. For the week, the TSX added 1%, its third straight week of gains. Wall Street's major indexes also rose after Powell said, "The time has come" to reduce interest rates.

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Stocks surge while Treasury yields, dollars retreat after Fed signals lower rates
  • August 23, 2024

Stocks surge while Treasury yields, dollars retreat after Fed signals lower rates

(Reuters) -Wall Street and global shares jumped on Friday toward all-time highs, while Treasury yields slumped and the dollar languished, after a speech by U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell confirmed the United States would soon begin interest rate cuts. Powell, in remarks on Friday at the annual economic symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, said "the time has come" to cut interest rates as rising risks to the job market left no room for further weakness and inflation was in reach of the Fed's 2% target, offering an explicit endorsement of an imminent policy easing. "Powell gave the market just enough dovishness to support the market while avoiding the potential pitfall of inducing fear," Carl Ludwigson, managing director at Bel Air Investment Advisors, said in an email.

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Takeaways from Fed Chair Powell's speech at Jackson Hole
  • August 23, 2024

Takeaways from Fed Chair Powell's speech at Jackson Hole

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell all but proclaimed victory in the fight against inflation and signaled that interest rate cuts are coming in a much-anticipated speech Friday in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Under Powell, the Fed raised its benchmark rate to the highest level in 23 years to subdue inflation that two years ago was running at the hottest pace in more than four decades.

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Fed's Goolsbee: Current rate policy too tight for economy
  • August 23, 2024

Fed's Goolsbee: Current rate policy too tight for economy

(Reuters) -Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago President Austan Goolsbee said on Friday monetary policy is quite tight and is no longer aligned with current economic conditions, although he declined to provide specific guidance on what lies ahead for it. "I usually don't like saying, tying our hands before a meeting, but I've been saying for some time, if you take the level of tightness" now seen in the Fed's interest rate target, "you only want to be that tight on purpose if you're trying to cool an overheating economy, and this is not overheating," Goolsbee said in a CNBC interview. Goolsbee spoke on the cable television network after a speech earlier in the day from Fed Chairman Jerome Powell, who clearly signaled the time of Fed rate cuts is fast arriving amid falling inflation pressures and rising risks to the job market.

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Analysis-Powell's Fed not shy about election-year cuts, ready to defend job market
  • August 23, 2024

Analysis-Powell's Fed not shy about election-year cuts, ready to defend job market

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell made it clear on Friday the U.S. central bank would not shy away from pivoting to interest rate cuts in the final weeks of a presidential election campaign and that protecting the job market was now its top priority. "The time has come for policy to adjust," Powell said in a speech to the Kansas City Fed's annual Jackson Hole conference in a strong signal the central bank will start cutting rates in mid-September, roughly seven weeks before the Nov. 5 election. His remarks - essentially a declaration that the Fed's fight with inflation was over and safeguarding employment was now at the top of its to-do list - came the morning after Vice President Kamala Harris accepted the Democratic nomination for president, a development that has disrupted a contest that had been leaning toward former President Donald Trump, the Republican candidate.

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Summers Says Fed Recovered From ‘Egregious’ Inflation Mistake
  • August 23, 2024

Summers Says Fed Recovered From ‘Egregious’ Inflation Mistake

(Bloomberg) -- Former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers said that, while the Federal Reserve hit a “low point” in its monetary policy history by failing to act quickly against the 2021 inflation surge, in the end it did enough to right the economy.Most Read from BloombergChicago's Migrant Surge Is Stirring Trouble for Democrats in DNC Host CitySydney Central Train Station Is Now an Architectural DestinationWith Housing Costs High, Democrats Hone YIMBY MessageWith Self-Driving Vans, Hamburg Tri

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Fires break out on abandoned Greek-flagged oil tanker Sounion that Yemen rebels attacked in Red Sea
  • August 23, 2024

Fires break out on abandoned Greek-flagged oil tanker Sounion that Yemen rebels attacked in Red Sea

Fires broke out Friday on a Greek-flagged oil tanker previously attacked by Yemen's Houthi rebels this week, with the vessel now appearing to be adrift in the Red Sea, authorities said. It wasn't immediately clear what had happened to the oil tanker Sounion, which had been abandoned by its crew on Thursday and reportedly anchored in place. The Houthis didn't immediately acknowledge the fire.

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How to prepare for the Fed's forthcoming interest rate cuts
  • August 23, 2024

How to prepare for the Fed's forthcoming interest rate cuts

The Federal Reserve is poised to cut its benchmark interest rate next month from its 23-year high, with consequences for consumers when it comes to debt, savings, auto loans and mortgages. Right now, most experts envision three quarter-point Fed cuts — in September, November and December — though even steeper rate cuts are possible. “The time has come” for the Fed to reduce interest rates, Powell said Friday in his keynote speech at the Fed’s annual economic conference in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

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