The window dressing phenomenon is expected to again influence financial market movements throughout 2025, especially as each quarter approaches its close. This strategy is generally employed by investment managers to enhance portfolio performance in periodic reports, often encouraging the strengthening of risky assets such as stocks. However, this shift in sentiment also has different implications for hedge funds, particularly gold. Quarter One (Q1): Limited Pressure for Gold At the end of March 2025, Q1 window dressing tended to be moderate. Funds began flowing into blue-chip stocks after...
A 50-basis point interest rate cut next month could potentially send the wrong signal to markets about the state of the U.S. labor market, San Francisco Federal Reserve President Mary Daly told the Wall Street Journal. A soft July jobs report, as well as muted inflation data for the month, have fueled increased expectations that the Fed will slash borrowing costs at its September meeting. It would be the first drawdown by the central bank since it paused its policy easing cycle last December. Investors are now all but pricing in a 25-basis point reduction after the Fed's September 16-17...
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Wednesday that short-term interest rates should be 1.5 to 1.75 percentage points lower than current levels, urging the Fed to begin a series of cuts starting with a 50bps reduction in September. Speaking to Bloomberg News television network, he said, "We should probably be 150, 175 lower. I think the committee needs to step back." The Fed's benchmark rate has been at an effective 4.33% since January, after three cuts late last year, as it monitors the economic impact of tariffs. President Trump has also pushed for cuts since early this year,...
Traders are now pricing in a 99% probability of a 25-bps interest rate cut at the September 17, 2025, Federal Reserve meeting, according to Investing.com's Fed Rate Monitor Tool. This is up from yesterday's probability of 91.4%. Further, traders now see a 1.4% probability of a 50-basis point cut at the upcoming meeting. Previously, there was zero chance of such an outcome. The current federal funds rate is at 4-1/4 to 4-1/2 percent. President Donald Trump and his administration have been pressing Fed Chair Jerome Powell for a cut for months, saying the high rates are costing the...
Richmond Fed President Thomas Barkin believes that consumer spending behavior—now increasingly selective and inclined to "trade down"—can mitigate price spikes caused by import tariffs, potentially making future inflationary pressures more moderate than feared. He conveyed this view in a series of speeches and comments this week, including ahead of an event titled "Why the Consumer Matters" scheduled for Wednesday evening WIB at the Greenville Chamber of Commerce. Barkin also signaled caution regarding the possibility of an interest rate cut in September, emphasizing the uncertainty...
Australia's seasonally adjusted Wage Price Index rose 3.4% year-on-year in Q2 2025, matching the previous quarter's pace and exceeding expectations for a 3.3% increase. Acceleration in both the public and private sectors drove stronger-than-expected growth. Public sector wages jumped 4.7%, up from 3.6% in Q1, while private sector wages rose 3.4%, compared with 3.3% previously. This marks a recovery for the private sector, which had previously recorded its weakest growth since Q2 2022 in the previous two quarters. Overall, the electricity, gas, water, and waste services industry recorded...
Asian stock markets fell in unison on Thursday, following Wall Street's decline. A brief rally in tech stocks led by Nvidia quickly faded, prompting investors to turn away from riskier assets like...
Pasangan mata uang EUR/USD mengawali pekan ini dengan nada sedikit melemah di sesi Asia, diperdagangkan di sekitar 1,1730, turun kurang dari 0,10% dalam sehari. Meski terkoreksi, euro masih berada...
US President Donald Trump said on Monday that the United States may store and possibly sell oil seized off the coast of Venezuela in recent weeks, as Reuters reported on Monday.
Trump added that...