Stephen Miran, a Federal Reserve governor whose term ends at the end of January, said Thursday that he is looking for 150 basis points of interest-rate cuts this year to boost the U.S. labor market. Miran told Bloomberg Television's Surveillance program that Fed officials had room to further reduce rates given his view that underlying inflation was likely running at 2.3%. "I'm looking for about a point and a half of cuts. A lot of that is driven by my view of inflation," Miran said. "Underlying inflation is running within noise of our target, and that's a good indication of where overall...
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell appeared at Stanford's Hoover Institution as part of the George P. Shultz Memorial Lecture Series: Shultz and Economic Policy. Instead of discussing inflation, interest rates, or the direction of monetary policy, Powell focused on paying tribute to the late George Shultz, one of the key figures behind US economic policy and diplomacy in the 20th century. In his remarks, Powell highlighted Shultz's career, which included serving as Secretary of State, Secretary of the Treasury, Secretary of Labor, and Director of the Budget. He emphasized Shultz's...
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...
Bank of Japan (BOJ) Governor Kazuo Ueda stated that achieving 2% inflation is getting closer, although real inflation remains low. Ueda emphasized that the BOJ will continue to raise interest rates...
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...