Market Analysis

French destroyer rescues 29 mariners from oil tanker stricken in Red Sea attacks by Yemen rebels
  • August 22, 2024

French destroyer rescues 29 mariners from oil tanker stricken in Red Sea attacks by Yemen rebels

A French destroyer rescued 29 mariners from an oil tanker that came under repeated attack in the Red Sea by Yemen's Houthi rebels, officials said Thursday, while also destroying a bomb-carrying drone boat in the area. The assault on the Sounion, the most serious in the Red Sea in weeks, comes during a monthslong campaign by the Houthis targeting ships over the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip that has disrupted a trade route through which $1 trillion in cargo typically passes each year. The Sounion is now at anchor in the Red Sea and no longer drifting, the European Union's Operation Aspides said.

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Mexico’s Weak Economic Growth and Inflation Slowdown Set Up New Interest Rate Cut
  • August 22, 2024

Mexico’s Weak Economic Growth and Inflation Slowdown Set Up New Interest Rate Cut

(Bloomberg) -- Mexico’s annual inflation slowed much more than expected while economic growth remained feeble, according to separate reports published Thursday, paving the way for another interest-rate cut next month.Most Read from BloombergChicago's Migrant Surge Is Stirring Trouble for Democrats in DNC Host CityUK Transport Minister Clears Path for More 20mph Speed ZonesWith Self-Driving Vans, Hamburg Tries to Make Microtransit WorkThe Serious Work That Free Play Can DoOfficial data showed con

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Fed has 'clear path' to achieving goals without recession, Collins says
  • August 22, 2024

Fed has 'clear path' to achieving goals without recession, Collins says

Boston Federal Reserve President Susan Collins on Thursday expressed confidence the U.S. central bank will be able to bring inflation down without triggering a recession, and signaled her support for starting interest rate cuts next month. "I think there's a clear path to achieving our goals without an unneeded downturn, and with a labor market that continues to be healthy," Collins said in an interview with Reuters in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, where global central bankers are gathering for the Kansas City Fed's annual economic symposium. "The importance of preserving the healthy labor market as we continue to bring inflation down is one of the reasons why the timing seems appropriate to me to begin easing."

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Fed's Harker is ready to start methodical course of rate cuts
  • August 22, 2024

Fed's Harker is ready to start methodical course of rate cuts

NEW YORK (Reuters) -Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia President Patrick Harker said Thursday he was on board with a September rate cut as long as the data performs as he expects it to, and cautioned that it's better to focus on the prospect of a steady course of easing rather than on the size of a given policy action. When it comes to an imminent move down in the cost of short-term borrowing, “for me, barring any surprise in the data we'll get between now and then, I think we need to start this process” of lowering rates, Harker said in an interview with Reuters as he attends the Kansas City Fed’s annual research conference in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Harker said the size of any given move was less important than how the overall scope of cuts plays out, noting “I think a slow, methodical approach down is the right way to go.”

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Fed Officials Argue for Gradual Pace of Cuts Starting Soon
  • August 22, 2024

Fed Officials Argue for Gradual Pace of Cuts Starting Soon

(Bloomberg) -- Two Federal Reserve officials said they believe it’s appropriate for the US central bank to begin lowering interest rates soon, and that the pace of subsequent cutting should be “gradual” and “methodical.”Most Read from BloombergChicago's Migrant Surge Is Stirring Trouble for Democrats in DNC Host CityUK Transport Minister Clears Path for More 20mph Speed ZonesWith Self-Driving Vans, Hamburg Tries to Make Microtransit WorkThe Serious Work That Free Play Can DoBoston Fed President

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Turkey Has Decision to Make Soon to Show If Inflation Fight Real
  • August 22, 2024

Turkey Has Decision to Make Soon to Show If Inflation Fight Real

(Bloomberg) -- Turkey’s minimum wage outlook is already being gamed out for clues that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will dial back populist economic policies and deliver on a commitment to curb one of the world’s highest rates of inflation.Most Read from BloombergChicago's Migrant Surge Is Stirring Trouble for Democrats in DNC Host CityUK Transport Minister Clears Path for More 20mph Speed ZonesWith Self-Driving Vans, Hamburg Tries to Make Microtransit WorkThe Serious Work That Free Play Can D

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US Mortgage Rates Drop to a 2024 Low as Buyers Await Fed Cuts
  • August 22, 2024

US Mortgage Rates Drop to a 2024 Low as Buyers Await Fed Cuts

(Bloomberg) -- Mortgage rates in the US resumed their downward path, dropping to a new low for the year. Most Read from BloombergChicago's Migrant Surge Is Stirring Trouble for Democrats in DNC Host CityUK Transport Minister Clears Path for More 20mph Speed ZonesWith Self-Driving Vans, Hamburg Tries to Make Microtransit WorkThe Serious Work That Free Play Can DoThe average for a 30-year, fixed loan was 6.46%, down from 6.49% last week, Freddie Mac said in a statement Thursday.Borrowing costs are

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  • August 22, 2024

Fed policymakers flag rate cuts as job market cools

JACKSON HOLE, Wyoming (Reuters) -Federal Reserve policymakers on Thursday lined up in support of U.S. interest-rate cuts starting next month now that inflation is well down from its highs and the U.S. labor market is cooling, though one signaled he is in no rush to ease policy. "For me, barring any surprise in the data we'll get between now and then, I think we need to start this process” of lowering rates, Philadephia Fed Bank President Patrick Harker said in an interview with Reuters. “I think a slow, methodical approach down is the right way to go.”

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U.S. applications for unemployment benefits inch up, but remain at historically healthy levels
  • August 22, 2024

U.S. applications for unemployment benefits inch up, but remain at historically healthy levels

Jobless claims rose by 4,000 to 232,000 for the week of Aug. 17, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Weekly filings for unemployment benefits, which are a proxy for layoffs, remain low by historic standards. The Federal Reserve, fighting inflation that hit a four-decade just over two years ago, raised its benchmark interest rate 11 times in 2022 and 2023, taking it to a 23-year high.

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