Investors cheered Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's Jackson Hole address, which gave a green light to buy risky assets on the hope the central bank is ready to cut rates, but took his dovish message with a note of caution as they see a risk of stagflation ahead and worry markets are over-optimistic. In his final address as Fed chair at the Jackson Hole, Wyoming, economic symposium, Powell hinted at a September interest rate cut but stopped short of committing, striking a careful balance between mounting job-market risks and lingering inflation worries. The speech on Friday came amid...
The British pound fell to $1.22566, its lowest since November 2023, as concerns over Britain's fiscal and inflation outlook weighed on investor sentiment. The decline came despite a surge in UK bond yields, with the 30-year yield at its highest since 1998 and the 10-year yield at a level not seen since 2008. Higher yields typically boost currencies, but the drop suggests capital flight is being driven by persistent inflation concerns and fiscal instability. Rising borrowing costs are also weighing on Chancellor Rachel Reeves, whose fiscal flexibility is shrinking. In October, Reeves...
China's latest inflation figures are out on Thursday, and they could not be coming at a more fascinating - some might say alarming - time for global bond markets. Long-term yields around the world are shooting higher as investors bet that sticky inflation will force the U.S. Federal Reserve and other central banks to dial down or even halt their rate-cutting cycles. The 30-year UK gilt yield is the highest since 1998, the 30-year U.S. Treasury yield is a whisker from 5%, and the U.S. 'term premium' - the risk premium investors demand for lending long to Uncle Sam rather than rolling over...
Private businesses in the US added 122K workers to their payrolls in December 2024, the least in four months, compared to 146K in November and below forecasts of 140K. "The labor market downshifted to a more modest pace of growth in the final month of 2024, with a slowdown in both hiring and pay gains. Health care stood out in the second half of the year, creating more jobs than any other sector", said Nela Richardson, chief economist, ADP. The service-producing sector added 112K jobs, led by education/health services (57K); leisure/hospitality (22K); financial activities (12K);...
The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits fell to 201K in the week ending Jan. 5, 2025 That was down from the estimate of 214K and the previous weekly reading of 211K, the Labor Department said Wednesday. Source: Newsmaker23
Job openings rose by 259,000 to 8.098 million in November 2024, from an upwardly revised 7.839 million in October and above market expectations of 7.70 million. Job openings rose in professional and business services (+273,000), finance and insurance (+105,000), and private educational services (+38,000) but declined in information (-89,000). Meanwhile, total hires and total layoffs were flat at 5.3 million and 5.1 million, respectively. In layoffs, resignations fell by 218,000 to 3.1 million and layoffs and terminations were flat at 1.8 million. Source: Trading Economics
President Donald Trump said he would fire Lisa Cook from the Federal Reserve's Board of Governors if she does not resign her post over mortgage-fraud accusations from a top...
The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) maintained its cash rate at 4.1% during its April meeting, holding borrowing costs unchanged after slashing 25 bps in the February meeting, aligning with market...