Fed Officials Keep Door Open to Resumption of Easing, But Patient For Now
– Daly, Goolsbee, Collins, Bostic, Bowman All in Cautious ‘Wait and See’ Mode By Steven K. Beckner (MaceNews) – Federal Reserve officials have been united in supporting the Federal Open Market Committee’s decision to leave interest rates unchanged when the Fed’s rate-setting body met last Wednesday, but their seeming unanimity tends to fade into uncertainty […]
FOMC Pauses Rate Cuts Amid Uncertainty About Economic, Policy Outlook
– Powell: FOMC ‘In No Hurry’ To Adjust Rates; Policy, Economy ‘In Good Place’ – Powell: Need to See ‘Further Progress’ On Inflation; Watching Labor Market By Steven K. Beckner (MaceNews) – After cutting interest rates at three consecutive meetings, the Federal Reserve’s policymaking Federal Open Market Committee kept them unchanged Wednesday and gave no […]
Fed Officials Continue Cautious Monetary Policy Mood in Wake of December Data
By Steven K. Beckner (MaceNews) – Federal Reserve officials reaffirmed their sense of caution about the future course of monetary policy in wake of a surprisingly strong December employment report, which was widely interpreted as greatly diminishing hopes for interest rate cuts this year. Officials were already speaking hesitantly about resuming monetary easing, variously calling […]
UPDATE: Fed Officials Take Cautious Approach to Further Rate Cuts As Late Jan FOMC Nears
– Harker Still Sees Rates Heading Lower; But Now ‘Appropriate To Take A Pause’ – Collins Calls for ‘Patient Approach to Policy’; Cuts Could Go Faster or Slower – Schmid: Funds Rate May Already Be ‘Neutral;’ Favors Further Balance Sheet Shrinkage – Bowman Urges ‘Caution;’ Monetary Policy Not As Restrictive As Some Think By Steven […]
Fed Gov. Cook, Other Fed Officials Tread Carefully on Monetary Policy Outlook as 2025 Begins
By Steven K. Beckner (MaceNews) – Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook joined other Fed officials Monday in opening the new year with ambiguous comments about the outlook for monetary policy. Cook, like several colleagues, gave no indication she is eager to resume interest rate reductions in 2025, preferring to wait to see how inflation and […]
FOMC Cuts Funds Rate 25 BP; Strongly Hints at Rate-Cutting Pause
– Powell: After 100 BP of Cuts, Policy Rate Closer to Neutrality – Powell: Now Appropriate to Ease More Cautiously, Slowly By Steven K. Beckner (MaceNews) – Three months after it began a decisive easing of monetary policy, the Fed took a tentative step on Wednesday toward slowing or perhaps interrupting that process. Much as […]
BofA Global Research Fund Manager Survey: US Growth Optimism, Fed Rate Cut Expectations Drive ‘Super Bullish’ Sentiment at Year-end
–US Stock Allocation Highest on Record –Cash Allocation at All-Time Lows, Triggers Contrarian Sell Signal, BOA Says By Vicki Schmelzer NEW YORK (MaceNews) – U.S. growth optimism and Fed rate cut expectations drove the “super-bullish” risk sentiment seen at year-end, according to BofA Global Research’s monthly fund manager survey, released Tuesday. A net 7% of […]
Cleveland Fed’s Hammack: FOMC Is Getting Close To Needing to Slow Rate Cuts
– Need to Keep Monetary Policy ‘Modestly Restrictive’ To Reduce Still High Inflation By Steven K. Beckner (MaceNews) – The Federal Reserve is approaching a point where it should “slow the pace” of interest rate reductions, new Cleveland Federal Reserve Bank President Beth Hammack said Friday. Hammack, a voting member of the Fed’s rate-setting Federal […]
Powell: Fed Can Afford to Be ‘More Cautious’ About Easing Toward ‘Neutral’
– Cites Strong Growth; Low Unemployment; ‘Higher’ Inflation By Steven K. Beckner (MaceNews) – Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell strongly suggested Wednesday that he favors a gradual, careful approach to further interest rate reductions. Powell said the Fed is in the process of lowering short-term interest rates to a “more neutral” level but said the […]
Fed Gov. Waller Leans toward Dec. 18 Rate Cut but Allows for Pause
By Steven K. Beckner (MaceNews) – Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller said Monday that he is “leaning” toward supporting a quarter percentage point cut in short-term interest rates when the Fed holds its mid-December monetary policy meeting but opened the door to a pause in the monetary easing process if incoming economic data so warrant. […]