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[hfe_template id='11223'] [ad_1] Federal Reserve officials are widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged Wednesday as they await clarity on the Trump administration’s trade policies, a move likely to frustrate the president and anyone else seeking answers about the US central bank’s next move. An aggressive slew of tariffs on imported goods is denting consumer confidence, with households bracing for a potential spike in consumer prices and a weakening job market. Yet the latest data show inflation decelerated in March, while the unemployment rate remained steady in April. Bloomberg Fed officials have stressed in recent public comments that while uncertainty is unusually high, monetary policy is still in a good place to balance their goals of fostering maximum employment and stable prices.“Hard data is still holding up,” said Sarah House, senior US economist for Wells Fargo. “I think we’ll also hear that uncertainty is high in this environment, and they are ready ...

[hfe_template id='11223'] [ad_1] It's a packed week ahead with U.S. inflation data, the start of Q3 earnings, a French budget and possibly a big rate cut from New Zealand. Investors are also on edge as Middle East tensions escalate, while Japan's new Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba is in the spotlight. 1. ONE YEAR OF WAR One year on from Hamas' Oct. 7 attack on Israel and the region looks on the brink of a sprawling war that could potentially reshape the oil-rich Middle East. The conflict, which has killed more than 42,000 people, the vast majority in Gaza, is spreading. Israeli troops are now in neighbouring Lebanon, home to Iran-backed Hezbollah; Iran launched a large scale missile attack on Israel earlier this week. Global markets have remained broadly unfazed. Oil prices, the main conduit for tremors further afield, have jumped about 8% this week, but soft demand and ample supply globally have kept a lid on gains. A further escalation between Iran and Is...

[hfe_template id='11223'] [ad_1] Asian shares crept cautiously higher on Monday, while the dollar and bond yields were on the wane ahead of inflation data that investors hope will pave the way for rate cuts in the United States and Europe. Oil prices climbed 0.7% after Israel and Hezabollah traded rocket salvos and air strikes on Sunday, stirring worries about possible supply disruptions if the conflict escalated. Brent rose 51 cents to $79.53 a barrel, while U.S. crude added 50 cents to $75.33 per barrel. [O/R] Investors are also anxiously awaiting earnings from AI darling Nvidia on Wednesday to see if it can match the market's uber-high expectations. The stock is up some 150% year-to-date, accounting for around a quarter of the S&P 500's 17% year-to-date gain. "Nvidia will beat consensus expectations, they always do, but investors are so ingrained in seeing revenue come in $2 billion plus above the analysts' consensus or we could easily see a sel...

[hfe_template id='11223'] [ad_1] Wall Street banks are ramping up expectations for an aggressive Federal Reserve easing cycle based on the latest evidence that the labour market is cooling. Economists at Bank of America, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase revamped their forecasts for US monetary policy Friday after data showed the US unemployment rate rose again in July, calling for earlier, bigger or more interest-rate cuts. Economists at Citigroup - already among the most aggressive in calling for the Fed to cut interest rates this year - said they expect half-point rate cuts in September and November and a quarter-point cut in December, having previously predicted quarter-point cuts at all three meetings. The Fed will then reduce rates by a quarter point at each meeting until mid-2025, bringing the policy band to 3%-3.25%, Veronica Clark and Andrew Hollenhorst predicted. JPMorgan economist Michael Feroli went a step further. While he also predicted half-point...

[hfe_template id='11223'] [ad_1] Surprisingly weak U.S. employment data on Friday stoked fears of a recession ahead, prompting investors to dump stocks and turn to safe-haven bonds. Treasury prices surged, sending yields to multi-month lows. Oil price benchmarks fell by more than $3 per barrel at their session lows. The U.S. dollar index dropped over 1% to its weakest since March. Richly valued technology firms bore much of the pain, and an index of European bank stocks headed for its largest weekly decline in 17 months on soft earnings. The VIX stock market volatility measure, dubbed Wall Street's fear gauge, surged over 40%. Friday's U.S. jobs report showed job growth slowed more than expected in July and unemployment increased to 4.3%, pointing to possible weakness in the labor market and greater vulnerability to recession. Markets were already rattled by downbeat earnings updates from Amazon and Intel and Thursday's softer-than-expected U.S. U.S. factor...

[hfe_template id='11223'] [ad_1] Economic fears are roiling Wall Street, as worries grow that the Federal Reserve may have left interest rates elevated for too long, allowing them to hurt U.S. growth. Alarming economic data in recent days have deepened those concerns. U.S. job growth slowed more than expected in July, a Friday report showed, while the unemployment rate increased to 4.3%, heightening fears that a deteriorating labor market could make the economy vulnerable to a recession. The jobs report exacerbated a selloff in stocks that began on Thursday, when data showing weakness in the labor market and manufacturing sector pushed investors to dump everything from chip stocks to industrials while piling into defensive plays. Richly valued tech stocks tumbled further on Friday, extending losses in the Nasdaq Composite to more than 10% from a record closing high reached in July. The benchmark S&P 500 index has slid 5.7% from its July peak. "This is what a g...

[hfe_template id='11223'] [ad_1] The Nasdaq ended sharply lower on Thursday, hit by losses in Nvidia, Apple and Tesla as investors rotated into smaller companies after softer-than-expected inflation data fed bets the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates in September. The S&P 500 also lost ground after a Labor Department report showed U.S. consumer prices fell unexpectedly in June and the annual increase was the smallest in a year, drawing the Fed closer a September rate cut. The Dow finished with modest gains. Interest rates futures suggest traders see an over 90% chance the Fed will cut rates by its September meeting, up from about 74% on Wednesday, according to CME Group's Fedwatch. Despite signs of receding inflation, Wall Street's most valuable companies lost ground, with Microsoft and Amazon each losing more than 2% and Meta Platforms dropping about 4%. Tesla tumbled 8.4%, its biggest one-day percentage drop since January, after Bloomberg News repor...

[hfe_template id='11223'] [ad_1] Stocks in Asia edged higher ahead of Jerome Powell’s testimony to Congress and the start of the US earnings season. Equity benchmarks rose in Japan, Australia, and South Korea , while futures pointed to losses in Hong Kong after an index of Chinese shares in the US dropped on Monday. US futures gained in early Asian trading after the S&P 500 closed a fraction higher to set its 35th record this year. The dollar and Treasuries were little changed. Traders will be focused on Powell’s testimony beginning Tuesday for guidance on the Federal Reserve’s outlook. He faces pressure from lawmakers growing impatient for interest-rate cuts and others who are unhappy with the Fed’s latest plan to boost capital requirements for Wall Street lenders. Markets are pricing the chance of two rate cuts this year, with a roughly 70% chance of the first in September, according to swaps data compiled by Bloomberg. “With the recent signs of softer growth and l...