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...
Federal Reserve bank supervisors are monitoring the commercial real estate portfolios of community and regional banks amid concerns over "rising interest rates, stricter underwriting standards, and declining commercial property values," the agency said. The central bank said these factors could impact borrowers' ability to refinance or repay their loans, according to a supervisory and regulatory report released Monday. Officials are monitoring commercial real estate lending trends in addition to closely reviewing underwriting practices and loan loss allowance levels. Among Wall Street...
Conflicting signals from the Federal Reserve on the timing and magnitude of U.S. interest rate cuts have accelerated hedging flows into swaptions and derivatives tied to overnight rates, with investors seeking protection against heightened policy uncertainty. Short-term volatility --specifically three-months and under -- on longer-dated swaptions such as those on 10-year and 30-year swaps has picked up following a prolonged period of compression. Swaptions, which are options on interest rate swaps, are one segment of the more than $600 trillion over-the-counter rate derivatives market....
Markets are pricing in a near-certain 25bp Fed cut in December, influenced by dovish Fed chatter and signs of a slowing US economy, while the US Dollar (USD) shows mixed reactions. Kevin Hassett seen as dovish Fed chair contender"On Friday, I discussed the correction in interest rate expectations for the December meeting in detail, emphasising that it is important not to focus too much on the movements for this particular meeting, but rather to keep an eye on the bigger picture. It seems as if market participants saw it similarly. In recent days, expectations for the December meeting have...
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Tuesday he was concluding a second round of interviews later in the day for a new U.S. Federal Reserve leader, and there was a good chance President Donald Trump would announce his pick before Christmas. White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett is seen by allies and advisers of Trump as the frontrunner, Bloomberg reported, citing unnamed people familiar with the matter. Hassett, like Trump, has said interest rates should be lower than they are now under the leadership of Fed Chair Jerome Powell. Bessent has narrowed the search for a successor...
Allies of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell have laid the groundwork for him to push through an interest rate cut during the central bank's December 9-10 meeting, the Wall Street Journal's Nick Timiraos reported on Monday. But the decision is likely to be contested in an increasingly divided rate-setting committee, especially as a lack of clear data points for October leave the Fed flying blind into its final meeting for the year. Powell is likely to weigh two options, Timiraos said one involving an immediate rate cut before adopting a more cautious stance for further decisions, while...
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...