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☆ Premarket stocks: Fed Chair Powell is about to get grilled by Congress. Here’s what markets want to hear
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-06 | by ( Nicole Goodkind | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Fed Chair Jerome Powell has a chance to provide more insight when he testifies before Congress on Wednesday and Thursday. Those reports pushed back market bets on when the Fed will start cutting interest rates. Investors will closely listen for any hints from Powell about what the Fed is looking for, data-wise, before it begins to lower interest rates. Powell will also be asked about the economic pain Americans are feeling as a result of elevated inflation and interest rates. When interest rates fall, holding income-paying assets (like bonds) becomes less appealing than owning the precious metal.

Persons: Jerome Powell, there’s, ”, Powell, —, Emanuel Cleaver, Dave Sekera, Claudia Sahm, ” Powell, Krystal Hur, Samantha Murphy Kelly, “, ” Mengmeng Zhang Organizations: CNN Business, Bell, New York CNN, Federal, Investors, Missouri Democrat, Politico, Morningstar, Morningstar . New York Community Bank, Fitch, Moody’s Investors Service, Federal Reserve, Costco, Apple, Counterpoint Research, Huawei, Counterpoint Locations: New York, Missouri, Morningstar ., China

☆ Premarket stocks: Why it’s not all doom and gloom for commercial real estate
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-04 | by ( Nicole Goodkind | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

New York CNN —After decades of growth bolstered by low interest rates and easy credit, commercial real estate has hit a wall. I take that as a signal of a potential turn in the CMBS market in terms of the market sentiment. It’s not just all gloom and doom in the CRE market. Richmond Federal Reserve President Tom Barkin echoed the idea that the central bank may not cut interest rates this year. OPEC+, a coalition of the world’s top oil producing countries, had announced voluntary oil cuts of 2.2 million barrels per day in November.

Persons: Tracy Chen, Chen, that’s, Bell, Banks aren’t, CMBS, We’ve, they’ve, —, Jerome Powell, Torsten Slok, “, Tom Barkin, ” Barkin, “ I’m, Eva Rothenberg, Brent, Goldman Sachs Organizations: CNN Business, Bell, New York CNN, New York Community Bancorp, Brandywine, Intercontinental Exchange and Bank of America, outperformance, Fed, New York Community Bank, York Community Bank, Federal, Apollo Global Management, Richmond Federal, CNBC, OPEC, AAA Locations: New York, Japan, Switzerland, Germany, New, New York City, Richmond, OPEC, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, United States

☆ The US economy is so strong that there might not be any rate cuts in 2024
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-01 | by ( Nicole Goodkind | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Now, some economists think the Fed won’t cut interest rates at all this year. “The Fed will not cut rates this year and rates are going to stay higher for longer,” he added. Richmond Federal Reserve President Tom Barkin echoed the idea that the central bank may not cut interest rates this year. In some ways, the expectations of interest rate cuts by the Fed undermined their efforts to actually cut the rates. Still, about half of investors are expecting an interest rate cut at the Fed’s June meeting, according to the CME FedWatch tool.

Persons: —, that’s, Jerome Powell, Torsten Slok, “, Tom Barkin, ” Barkin, “ I’m, ” Robert Frick, ”, Powell Organizations: New, New York CNN, Federal, Apollo Global Management, Richmond Federal, CNBC, Navy Federal Credit Union, CNN, Fed, National Federation of Independent, Investors, Financial Services, Senate Locations: New York, Richmond

☆ Oil down in thin trade as U.S. gears up for Presidents' Day
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-19 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

A pump jack at an oil lot connected to the Petroleos del Peru SA Talara refinery in Piura, Peru, on Wednesday, Dec. 13, 2023. Oil prices edged down on Monday morning as markets digested comments from U.S. Federal Reserve officials pointing to a more patient stance regarding potential interest rate cuts, in thin early trade on what is a public holiday in the United States. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was 35 cents, or 0.44%, lower at $78.84 at 0138 GMT. Markets are yet to see the direction of demand from China after that country returns from a week-long Lunar New Year holiday, while Presidents' Day in the United States is set to keep trade relatively muted. Higher rates keep up the cost of buying oil, providing for a bearish market trend.

Persons: Brent, Alexei Navalny, Vladimir Putin's Organizations: del, del Peru SA Talara, U.S . Federal, . West Texas, Yemen's, of, Petroleum, ANZ Research, International Energy Agency, ANZ, United Nations Security Council Locations: del Peru, Piura, Peru, U.S, United States, China, Gaza, Yemen's Iran, India, Algerian, Israel, Europe, Russia, Ukrainian, Avdiivka, Moscow

☆ Gold atop 6-month peak on softer U.S. dollar, bets on Fed
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-27 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Spot gold was up 0.4% at $2,009.69 per ounce by 0404 GMT. U.S. gold futures rose 0.3% to $2,009.50. "What's moving gold at the moment is the lower U.S. dollar because of the recent soft data," said Kyle Rodda, a financial market analyst at Capital.com. Gold rose sharply earlier in the session, hitting as high as $2,017.82 an ounce. Earlier this month, another inflation print showed weaker-than-expected consumer inflation, boosting hopes that the Fed could begin easing monetary conditions sooner than expected.

Persons: Kyle Rodda, Rodda, CME's Organizations: U.S . Federal, U.S, Fed, Traders, Bank of Locations: U.S, Bank of Japan

WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Reserve officials concluded earlier this month that inflation was steadily falling and agreed to closely monitor incoming data to ensure that the pace of price increases would continue slowing toward their 2% target, according to the minutes of their meeting released Tuesday. As a result, the policymakers decided to leave their key benchmark rate unchanged but to keep it elevated for an extended period. The officials agreed at the Oct. 31-Nov. 1 meeting that they would raise their key rate again if incoming economic data “indicated that progress” toward the 2% target “was insufficient,” the minutes said. The minutes released Tuesday suggested that the Fed's policymakers hope to see forthcoming data confirm that inflation is headed back toward their target level. He said “we're making progress” in taming inflation, though he acknowledged that such progress would come “in lumps and be bumpy."

Persons: Jerome Powell, “ Organizations: WASHINGTON, — Federal, Fed

At the same time, in a panel discussion at the International Monetary Fund, Powell did not rule out another rate hike to help reduce inflation to the Fed's 2% target level. “We are not confident," he said, that the Fed’s benchmark rate is high enough to steadily reduce inflation to its 2% target. Political Cartoons View All 1237 ImagesPowell said that "if it becomes appropriate” to raise rates further, “we will not hesitate to do so” but said that for now it isn’t ”appropriate” to increase the Fed's benchmark rate. The central bank's benchmark short-term rate, now about 5.4%, is at its highest level in 22 years. O’Neill Paese said “it would be unwise to suggest that further rate hikes are off the table.”But she added that the Fed’s benchmark rate is “exerting modest downward pressure on inflation,” so officials “can afford to await further data before concluding” that more rate hikes might be needed.

Persons: Jerome Powell, Powell, ”, Powell’s, Tom Barkin, ” Barkin, ” Kathleen O’Neill Paese, Louis, O’Neill Paese Organizations: WASHINGTON, —, International Monetary Fund, Fed, Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, Federal Reserve Bank of St Locations: United States

WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said Thursday that inflation remains too high and that bringing it down to the Fed's target level will likely require a slower-growing economy and job market. Powell noted that inflation has cooled significantly from a year ago. But he cautioned that it's not yet clear whether inflation is on a clear path back to the Fed's 2% target. That would allow the Fed to stay on hold and observe how growth and inflation evolve in the coming months. Political Cartoons View All 1211 ImagesBut several recent economic reports have suggested that the economy is growing robustly and that inflation could remain persistently elevated, which could require further Fed action.

Persons: Jerome Powell, Powell, it's, ” Powell, “, ” Organizations: WASHINGTON, —, Economic, of New, Wall Locations: of New York, ”

Such cautious views are generally seen as evidence that the Fed isn't necessarily inclined to raise rates in the near future. Economic data from the past several months “generally suggested that inflation was slowing,” the minutes of the Sept. 19-20 meeting said. For most of the past two years, the Fed had said the risks were heavily tilted toward not raising rates enough. Waller also underscored the Fed’s cautious approach in his remarks in Park City, Utah, during a question-and-answer session. They showed that Fed officials expected to cut rates only twice next year.

Persons: Christopher Waller, Waller, “, ” Waller, ”, Jerome Powell, we’ve Organizations: WASHINGTON, — Federal, Fed, United Auto Workers, Detroit Locations: U.S, China, United States, Park City , Utah

On a visit Monday to York, Pennsylvania, Chair Jerome Powell got an earful from a group with a decidedly different perspective: Small-business people who are grappling personally with inflation, high interest rates, labor shortages and other challenges of the post-pandemic economy. It's very hard to operate a business without predictability.”Political Cartoons View All 1190 ImagesKeene noted that her parents had experienced high inflation when they ran the business back in the 1980s. As a result, her father said, “I don't have any wisdom to give you.”“We'll get inflation down," Powell said after listening to her concerns. The policymakers predicted that inflation would fall to about 2.6% by the end of 2024, with only a small rise in the unemployment rate. “What we all desire," Powell said, “is a sustained period of strong labor market conditions,” which can boost wages for the lowest-income workers.

Persons: Jerome Powell, Powell, Patrick Harker, Patties, “, ”, Julie Flinchbaugh Keene, Keene Organizations: — Federal Reserve, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, Farm Locations: Washington, York , Pennsylvania, York, Orchard

WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell swore in three members of the central bank's governing board Wednesday, including Philip Jefferson as vice chair and Adriana Kugler to fill a vacant seat as the central bank's first Latina governor. As Fed governors, they will vote at the Fed's eight yearly meetings on interest rate policies as well as on changes to financial regulations. Political Cartoons View All 1157 ImagesJefferson, who first joined the board last year, was sworn in as vice chair and will therefore work closely with Powell on interest rate policy. His term as vice chair will end Sept. 7, 2027, though he can remain on the board as a governor until 2036. She was a Marshall scholar at Oxford University and holds a Ph.D. in economics from the University of California, Berkeley.

Persons: Jerome Powell, Philip Jefferson, Adriana Kugler, Joe Biden, aren't, Kugler, Lael Brainard, Obama, Jefferson, Powell, Biden, Lisa Cook, Cook Organizations: WASHINGTON, —, Latina, Georgetown University, Fed, United States ’, World Bank, Labor, Davidson College, University of Virginia, Michigan State University, Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, Oxford University, University of California Locations: Georgetown, United States, North Carolina, Marshall, Berkeley

☆ Powell duped by Russian pranksters who claimed to be Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Christina Wilkie | In | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

WASHINGTON — Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell spoke by phone with two Russian pranksters earlier this year who falsely claimed to be President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine. "Chair Powell participated in a conversation in January with someone who misrepresented himself as the Ukrainian president," a Fed spokesperson told CNBC on Thursday. The video appears to have been edited, the Fed spokesperson said, adding that they could not confirm the video's accuracy. Powell does not appear to have said anything controversial during his call with the Zelenskyy impersonators, according to Bloomberg, which first reported the prank. Yet the sheer fact that two well known allies of Russian President Vladimir Putin were able to evade detection and speak to Powell directly raises serious questions about security procedures at the central bank's Washington headquarters.

☆ Fed minutes show members resolved to keep fighting inflation
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Jeff Cox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Consequently, the Fed approved a 0.25 percentage point rate increase that was the smallest hike since the first of this tightening cycle in March 2022. But the minutes said that the reduced pace came with a high level of concern that inflation was still a threat. A "few" members said they wanted a half-point, or 50 basis point, increase that would show even greater resolve to get inflation down. Since the meeting, Fed officials have emphasized the need to stay vigilant even while expressing optimism that recent inflation data has been encouraging. "Participants observed that the uncertainty associated with their outlooks for economic activity, the labor market, and inflation was high," the minutes said.

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