The Federal Reserve cut interest rates by a quarter percentage point on Wednesday and indicated it would continue lowering borrowing costs through the end of the year, as policymakers responded to signs of weakness in the labor market. The move received broad internal support, including from most of President Donald Trump's appointees to the central bank. Only Stephen Miran, who was sworn in as Fed chairman on Tuesday and is on leave as head of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, dissented from the half-percentage-point reduction in borrowing costs. This rate cut, along with...
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 consensus. The committee also kept the interest rate on Exchange Settlement balances at 4.0%. Source: Trading Economics
In an interview with CNBC on Friday, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago President Austan Goolsbee said they should wait for things to get clearer when there is so much uncertainty. Key points "There has been a clear shift toward anxiety and anticipation of capital spending among business contacts." "The current conditions may be a shock to the economy depending on how long they last." "The Fed needs to be calm and take a long-term view of the economy." "Markets want information quickly but that's not realistic right now." "There's still a lot of strength in the economy right...
Will the Fed signal more or less rate cuts? Higher inflation expectations and dimmer growth prospects compete with each other. All eyes are on Chair Powell. Fed may opt for patience amid panicThe Federal Reserve (Fed) is projected to leave interest rates unchanged at its March meeting. However, every word that Chair Jerome Powell says and every change to the bank's forecasts are critical for markets. In the last "dot plot" in December, the bank signaled only two rate cuts are due in 2025, half of what it previously forecasted. That hawkish twist came as the economy looked strong and...
The United States (US) Federal Reserve (Fed) will announce its monetary policy decision and release its revised Summary of Economic Projections (SEP), known as the dot plot, after its March policy meeting on Wednesday. Market participants widely anticipate the US central bank to leave policy settings unchanged for the second straight meeting, after cutting interest rates by 25 basis points (bps) to a range of 4.25%-4.5% in December. The CME FedWatch Tool shows that investors see little chance of a rate cut in March while pricing in about a 30% chance of a 25 bps cut in May. Therefore, the...
The Bank of Japan kept its key policy rate unchanged, as authorities continued to assess the potential impact on the global economy from escalating trade tensions. Governor Kazuo Ueda's board voted to keep the policy rate at 0.5% Wednesday at the end of a two-day gathering, according to its statement. The result was in line with the expectations of all 52 economists surveyed by Bloomberg. The central bank added a reference to the evolving situation regarding trade and other policies to its list of risks to the outlook. The stand-pat decision comes as domestic...
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...