Tag Archives: Fed

Lael Brainard, President Joe Biden’s pick for the number two spot at the nation’s central bank, said the Federal Reserve stands ready to quell inflation through higher interest rates. “We do have a powerful tool and we are going to use it to bring inflation down over time,” Brainard told the Senate Banking Committee in her confirmation hearing Thursday. Brainard is currently a Fed governor, where she has served since being appointed by the Obama administration in 2014. If confirmed by… Source link

Consumer prices in December rose the most year-over-year since 1982, feeding into the Federal Reserve’s guidance that it may need to raise interest rates three times this year to combat inflation. But one economist says the last year has taught an important lesson: forecasters have to stay humble, and nimble. That means there’s no guarantee that three hikes will be necessary. “I think there’s some downside risk for the economy, and, therefore, three hikes are not necessarily in the… Source link

Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Richard Clarida will leave the central bank two weeks earlier than planned, following increased scrutiny into financial transactions he made in 2020 — while the Fed was taking action to save the U.S. economy. Clarida, who served as the central bank’s No. 2 official on monetary policy efforts through the pandemic, said he will step down from the Fed effective Jan. 14. He was appointed by the Trump administration in September to serve for a term that expired… Source link

This article first appeared in the Morning Brief. Get the Morning Brief sent directly to your inbox every Monday to Friday by 6:30 a.m. ET. Subscribe Thursday, January 6, 2021 Rate hikes no longer theoretical, but ‘front and center’  On Wall Street, there’s an old saying that refers to the market’s reaction to Federal Reserve policy that may be negative for stocks, and implies that investors are having the time of their lives. “Snatching the punch bowl away from the party,” an old… Source link

With the Fed slated to begin its rate hike campaign next year, inflation concerns remain at the top of investors’ minds as a turbulent 2021 comes to a close. According to Gus Faucher, chief economist at PNC Financial Services Group (PNC), there are several key areas that may see reduced price pressures, leading to slowing inflation overall in the coming year. “I do think that we’ll see a gradual slowing in inflation over the course of 2022,” Faucher told Yahoo Finance Live. “After a… Source link

Major indexes are poised to end the year boosted by the “Santa Claus Rally” effect, as the market shrugs off concerns associated with surging COVID-19 case numbers across the U.S. and the world. But according to NJ-based financial services firm Hennon & Walsh, the Omicron variant remains among the top uncertainties in the market heading into the new year, regardless of whether investors are currently interpreting it as such.  “The two biggest uncertainties for investors right now clearly… Source link

The Federal Reserve’s surprisingly hawkish policy turn has had a surprise beneficiary: Cryptocurrencies. Digital coins extended gains on Thursday after the Fed stepped up its taper, and laid the foundation for a tightening cycle that could bring as many as three rate hikes in 2022. Normally, cryptocurrency benefits from loose monetary policy and its inflationary side-effects; but at least for now, investors are taking the longer view. Bitcoin (BTC-USD), barely a week removed from an ugly… Source link

This article first appeared in the Morning Brief. Get the Morning Brief sent directly to your inbox every Monday to Friday by 6:30 a.m. ET. Subscribe Wednesday, December 15, 2021 ‘Spider-Man’ and a high-class inflation problem Donning my Captain Obvious hat, I’ll connect a few dots that by now are fairly apparent: inflation remains implacable in the face of rising COVID-19 infections. That is likely to make the Federal Reserve announce that it’s slowing the spigot of monetary policy,… Source link

Stock futures edged up Tuesday evening as investors looked ahead to the Federal Reserve’s final monetary policy decision of 2021 and weighed the central bank’s potential response to persistent inflationary pressures.  Contracts on the S&P 500 ticked higher. The blue-chip index closed out Tuesday’s session in the red for a second straight session, with technology stocks leading the way lower. The Nasdaq ended the session down by more than 1%.   All eyes on Wednesday will be on the Federal… Source link

How fast does the Federal Reserve want to move on drawing down its pandemic-era stimulus? That’s the question that Fed officials will have to answer in its two-day meeting kicking off Tuesday, where the major discussion will focus on the pace of the central bank’s wind down of its asset purchase program. With inflationary pressures continuing to rise, Fed watchers expect the policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) to lean into a speedier timeline. On Friday, the Consumer Price… Source link