DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

Unlike a growing number of central banks in Asia who have pressed the pause button or are close to doing so, the BoE and ECB are both expected to continue raising rates in their battle to get inflation back down towards target. St Louis Fed president James Bullard is much more hawkish though, as he confirmed in an interview with Reuters. The central banks of Australia, Indonesia, India, Singapore and South Korea have all paused, and the Philippine central bank governor signaled a pause in May. But the road ahead looks bumpy, and other indicators for March were mixed - retail sales smashed forecasts, but investment fell short. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

Fed bank directors don't vote on monetary policy, but they do express their views through non-binding votes on the discount rate, which is what the Fed charges to commercial banks for emergency loans. Fed bank presidents say their directors provide key information on the state of the economy. Despite their boards' preference for something different, Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee and Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari joined other Fed policymakers in a unanimous vote last month to lift the benchmark overnight interest rate to the 4.75%-5.00% range. St. Louis Fed President James Bullard and Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester do not cast policy votes this year. Fed meeting minutes never specify which policymakers made which comments.

☆ Fed should stick to raising rates while labor market strong, Bullard says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( Lindsay Dunsmuir | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

April 6 (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve should stick to raising interest rates to lower inflation while the labor market remains strong, given the high probability recent financial stresses will continue to abate and absent a marked tightening of credit conditions, St. Louis Fed President James Bullard said on Thursday. Economic data since the Fed's March 21-22 policy meeting has been mixed, with encouraging signs of a loosening in the labor market and a further abatement in high inflation tempered by both remaining too strong for comfort. The Labor Department's employment report for March is due to be released on Friday. Bullard said this week's better-than-expected report on labor market openings still showed a job market that remained very strong by historical standards. Investors are almost evenly divided as to whether the Fed will keep its policy rate unchanged at its May 2-3 meeting or proceed with a quarter-of-a-percentage-point increase.

That spread , which has been in negative territory since November, plunged to new lows this week, standing at nearly minus 170 basis points on Thursday. Fed Chair Jerome Powell said last year that the 18-month U.S. Treasury yield curve was the most reliable warning of an upcoming recession. "Powell's curve ... continues to plunge to fresh century lows," Citi rates strategists William O'Donnell and Edward Acton said in a note on Thursday. Refinitiv data showed the curve was the most inverted since at least 2007. But market participants believe tighter monetary policy is already starting to hurt growth and are betting on rate cuts later this year.

☆ The Fed should keep raising rates as overblown credit fears make a recession unlikely, Fed President Bullard says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( Filip De Mott | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The Fed can keep raising rates as there's little risk of recession caused by recent bank stress, Fed president James Bullard said. The lending facilities extended to banks have been working, offsetting a bigger credit crunch. "It's not clear to me that there will be much of a pullback on lending by these types of banks," Bullard said. Bullard had previously forecast a Fed rate of 5.50%-5.75%, and has been a proponent of the bank's aggressive policy in order to tame high prices. And rate cuts may not be the most effective answer to current credit anxieties, Bank of America explained in a note published Thursday.

☆ Stock futures are little changed as investors weigh health of job market and economy: Live updates
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( Alex Harring | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Stock futures were near flat Wednesday night as investors considered what the latest data suggested about the health of the broader economy. Those moves come as investors digest the latest data released this week to see if the labor market has shown signs of weakening. Investors will watch Thursday for jobless claims data for more insights into the strength of the labor market. Thursday will cap off a shortened trading week with the market closed for Good Friday. But investors will still follow Friday's data on nonfarm payrolls, the unemployment rate and hourly wages.

☆ Treasury yields rise as investors weigh banking sector developments
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( Sophie Kiderlin | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Yields and prices move in opposite directions and one basis point equals 0.01%. ET, the yield on the 10-year Treasury was up by close to five basis points to 3.4265%. The 2-year Treasury was trading at around 3.8875% after rising by over 11 basis points. U.S. Treasury yields climbed on Monday as investors assessed the latest changes in the banking sector and concerns about its future eased slightly. Investors considered fresh developments in the banking sector.

"It was a quirky situation," St. Louis Fed President James Bullard said in comments to a St. Louis community group. 'FELT VERY STABLE'The Fed raised interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point on Wednesday, its ninth straight increase. This wasn't a straightforward decision," Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic said in an interview with National Public Radio, a U.S. media outlet. But "that's a different issue than the macro policy issue that we were dealing with in terms of interest rates," Bostic said. So the conditions were right to do monetary policy the way we want to do monetary policy."

☆ St. Louis Fed president says the probability of global financial crisis very low
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailSt. Louis Fed president says the probability of global financial crisis very lowSt. Louis Fed President James Bullard says the market is pricing in a lot of bad things for the second half, and will have to change if the current financial stress abates.

☆ Stock futures are up slightly as investors weigh bank troubles, Fed decision: Live updates
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Alex Harring | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Stock futures were slightly higher Thursday night as investors' attention shifted from this week's Federal Reserve meeting back to the U.S. banking system. S&P 500 futures gained 0.2%, while Nasdaq-100 futures were up 0.1%. The Nasdaq Composite posted the largest gain, at 1%, as technology shares continued to rally on a hunch that interest rate hikes would be coming to an end. Investors continued responding Thursday to the quarter percentage point interest rate hike announced by the Fed on Wednesday. The central bank also signaled that the interest rate hikes, meant to cool inflation, could be coming the end.

☆ Bank troubles roil markets and make Fed's decision next week more fraught
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( Patti Domm | In | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Even with Friday's sell-off, the S & P 500 and Nasdaq scored gains for the week. The S & P 500 rose 1.4%, compared to a tiny loss of 0.2% in the Dow . "If the U.S. economy is going into a recession, they're going to be buying less cloud service. On Friday, durable goods for February is reported, and there are releases of flash S & P Global PMI data for services and manufacturing. Durable goods 9:30 a.m. St. Louis Fed President James Bullard 9:45 a.m. S & P Global Manufacturing PMI 9:45 a.m. S & P Global Services PMI

"We've been talking about impending recession for several quarters now," said Malone, whose Virginia Beach-based company has a national footprint. So has unexpectedly strong consumer spending and, for the world outlook, the reopening of China's economy from strict COVID lockdowns. That poured cold water on the idea that the Fed would "pivot" on a dime to lower rates. "Government bond yields are up" since the last Fed policy meeting, Durham wrote. "It kind of seems the U.S. economy might be more resilient than markets thought six or eight weeks ago."

"It's going to take more effort on the part of the Fed to get inflation on that sustainable downward path to 2%." She is among the minority of Fed policymakers who back in December thought they would need to lift the policy rate to 5.4% to stop inflation, while most believed 5.1% would suffice. Similarly none of the other Fed policymakers who spoke Friday, including the normally hawkish Governor Christopher Waller and St. Louis Fed President James Bullard, focused on the fresh inflation data to argue for a more muscular Fed response, though all continued to signal more rate hikes would be required. And traders largely erased what had been consistent bets on Fed rate cuts towards the end of the year, pricing in a year-end Fed policy rate of 5.26%. "It looks like the Fed will have to be more aggressive," said Yelena Shulyatyeva, an economist at BNP Paribas.

☆ Global shares, U.S. Treasury yields fall; Fed minutes called 'outdated'
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Chibuike Oguh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

U.S. Treasury yields retreated after surging to three-month highs. "The bond market has already priced in more rate hikes but the stock market hasn't repriced to reflect all of the movement in the rates," Mounah added. The U.S. dollar gained due to the unexpected strength of the American economy revealed in recent economic data, notwithstanding interest rate hikes by the Fed. Oil prices fell 2% on growing concerns over oil demand as the Fed aims to keep hiking rates to reduce surging consumer prices. Gold prices fell as the U.S. dollar gained.

☆ Speculative bets are cool again and Reddit's army of retail investors is partying like it's 2021
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

And yet, despite the dip this week, markets right now are brimming with bullishness — and Reddit-loving retail investors are partying like it's 2021. Retail investors are rebuffing Jerome Powell in piling into speculative assets. Remember, at the start of the pandemic, government stimulus and near-zero interest rates gave retail investors the perfect opportunity to lay down speculative bets. "With all of these headwinds, retail investors are jumping in on maybe some ill-conceived optimism," Goldman said. But economic data be damned, retail investors are still piling into the riskiest corners of the market.

☆ Premarket stocks: It's bulls vs. hawks on Wall Street
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Nicole Goodkind | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

New York CNN —There’s a new tussle brewing in the animal kingdom of Wall Street: Hawks vs. Bulls. The question is, will the Fed be able to break through and convince Wall Street to finally give in to market pessimism? “Setting aside what financial market participants expected us to do, I saw a compelling economic case for a 50 basis-point increase,” she said at an event in Florida. Asda told CNN that it was temporarily limiting purchases of some items to three packs per customer. Morrisons told CNN that it had imposed a cap of two packs per customer on the same products.

☆ Gold firms on softer dollar but Fed's rate-hike views limit advance
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

A one-kilogram gold bar sits at Gold Investments Ltd. bullion dealers in this arranged photograph in London, U.K., on Wednesday, July 29, 2020. Gold prices rose on Thursday, helped by a slight pullback in the dollar, although prospects of U.S. interest rates staying higher for longer kept bullion on a tight leash. Elevated interest rates dampen gold's appeal as an inflation hedge while raising the opportunity cost of holding the non-yielding asset. St. Louis Fed President James Bullard reiterated on Wednesday that a Fed policy rate in the range of 5.25%-5.5% would be adequate to tame inflation. Investor attention is now on the U.S. personal consumption expenditures data, the Fed's preferred inflation measure, due on Friday.

☆ Treasury yields hold steady as investors assess Fed policy outlook
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Sophie Kiderlin | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Yields and prices have an inverted relationship and one basis point equals 0.01%. U.S. Treasury yields were little changed on Thursday as investors digested the latest Federal Reserve meeting minutes and considered the outlook for the central bank's interest rate policy. They also noted that further interest rate hikes are likely. The Fed increased interest rates by 25 basis points at its last meeting, marking the eighth consecutive rate hike. Investors will be looking to further Fed speakers, including Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic on Thursday, for fresh hints about the path ahead for interest rates.

☆ U.S. dollar strengthens as Fed minutes signal higher rates
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Laura Matthews | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The dollar index was up 0.40% at 104.57, easing off the high of 104.59 it reached earlier in the day. "The Fed minutes were just released indicating that a few officials could have supported a 50-bps hike in the last meeting, though most backed the 25bps outcome. "The theme throughout February has been a bias towards higher rates, and these minutes are consistent with that perspective." But Fed funds futures traders are now pricing the fed funds rate to reach 5.38% in July, and remaining above 5% all year. "Stronger-than-expected U.S. data releases since the start of this month have reinforced the Fed's messages about stronger for longer interest rates."

☆ Global shares, U.S. Treasury yields fall after Fed minutes
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Chibuike Oguh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

U.S. Treasury yields retreated after surging to three-month highs. Benchmark 10-year yields made gains but were still lower at 3.9175% after the release of the minutes. The U.S. Treasury yield curve that measures the gap between yields on two- and 10-year Treasury notes , seen as an indicator of economic expectations, remained deeply inverted at minus 77.40 basis points. Oil prices fell 2% on growing concerns over oil demand as the Fed aims to keep hiking rates to reduce surging consumer prices. Gold prices fell as the U.S. dollar gained.

☆ Global shares, U.S. Treasury yields, fall ahead of Fed minutes
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Chibuike Oguh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/3] The German share price index DAX graph is pictured at the stock exchange in Frankfurt, Germany, February 16, 2023. U.S. Treasury yields retreated after surging to three-month highs. The U.S. Treasury yield curve that measures the gap between yields on two- and 10-year Treasury notes , seen as an indicator of economic expectations, remained deeply inverted at minus 77.40 basis points. Oil prices fell 2% on growing concerns over oil demand as the Fed aims to keep hiking rates to reduce surging consumer prices. Reporting by Chibuike Oguh in New York; Editing by Chris Reese and Sharon SingletonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Wall St slightly higher as investors focus on Fed minutes
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Johann M Cherian | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

U.S. stocks shed more than 2% on Tuesday after a rebound in business activity in February stoked fears of interest rates staying higher for longer. New York Fed President John Williams, a voting member of the rate-setting committee this year, is scheduled to speak later in the day. Following a market rout in 2022, the three major indexes logged monthly gains in January as investors hoped the Fed would pause its rate hikes and perhaps pivot around year-end. However, stocks have had a volatile run in February, leaving the Dow flat for the year as traders priced in higher interest rates for longer, assuming that inflation remains higher in a sturdy economy. The S&P index recorded three new 52-week highs and one new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 21 new highs and 92 new low.

Survey data released on Tuesday showed U.S. business activity unexpectedly rebounded in February to reach its highest in eight months. He is the latest Fed official to signal that higher interest rates is likely needed to bring inflation back to desired levels. "Stronger-than-expected U.S. data releases since the start of this month have reinforced the Fed's messages about stronger for longer interest rates." The dollar index up 0.1% at 104.19, but off the high of 104.34 reached earlier in the day. A blockbuster U.S. employment report in early February sparked the rebound in the dollar, which has been helped along by a series of strong data releases.

☆ Wall St set for higher open as investors focus on Fed minutes
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Johann M Cherian | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

SummarySummary Companies Fed minutes due at 2:00 p.m. U.S. stocks shed more than 2% on Tuesday as investors worried that a rebound in U.S. business activity in February could mean interest rates might need to stay higher for longer. ET (1900 GMT), are expected to detail the breadth of debate at the central bank over how much further interest rates may need to be raised to slow inflation. However, stocks have had a volatile run in February as traders priced in higher interest rates for longer, considering inflation remains above the 2% target in the face of a sturdy economy. Money market participants expect rates to peak at 5.35% by July and stay around those levels till the end of 2023.

☆ Bullard calls on Fed to get inflation under control this year
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Feb 22 (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve needs to get inflation on to a sustainable path down toward its 2% goal this year or else risk a repeat of the 1970s, when interest rates had to be repeatedly ratcheted up, St. Louis Fed President James Bullard said on Wednesday. "If inflation doesn't start to come down, you risk this replay of the 1970s where you had 15 years where you're trying to battle the inflation drag," Bullard told broadcaster CNBC in an interview. "... That's why I've said let's be sharp now, let's get inflation under control in 2023 and it's a good time to fight inflation because the labor market is still strong." Bullard also repeated his view that a Fed policy rate in the range of 5.25% to 5.5% would be adequate for the task. Reporting by Lindsay Dunsmuir; editing by John Stonestreet and Chizu NomiyamaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Search resuls for: "Louis Fed Pres"

25 mentions found