FOMC Leaves Funds Rate Unchanged in 3.50-3.75% Target Range
– Participants Project one 25 BP Rate Cut to 3.25-3.50% By End Of 2026 – Gov. Miran Only Dissent; Favored 25 BP Rate Cut – FOMC: Economic ‘Implications of Developments in Middle East…Uncertain’ – Participants Revise ‘Longer Run” (Neutral) Funds Rate From 3.0% to 3.1% – Powell: Must ‘Wait and See’ War Impact; Balance Upside […]
TRANSCRIPT: Fed’s Powell: Outlook Highly Uncertain for Effect of Higher Gasoline Prices on Consumption
WASHINGTON (MaceNews) – The following is a rough transcript of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s post Federal Open Market Committee news conference Wednesday: Powell>> Good afternoon, my colleagues and I remain squarely focused on achieving our dual mand goals for the maximum employment for the benefit of the U.S. people. The employment is stable and […]
FOMC Holds Rates Steady As Expected; Says Iran War Implications ”Uncertain’
WASHINGTON (MaceNews) – The Federal Open Market Committee’s abbreviated policy statement Wednesday made minimal changes to projections for the future while saying simply at the implications of the Iran war are “uncertain.” The text of the statement follows: Available indicators suggest that economic activity has been expanding at a solid pace. Job gains have remained […]
Japan Week Ahead: BOJ Set to Hold Policy Rate amid Uncertainty over Mideast War’s Impact on Inflation, Growth; PM Takaischi Pushing for Swift Budget Approval
–Board Expected to Repeat BOJ Needs to Raise Rates Further After December Hike, 4th in Normalization Process That Ueda Launched in March 2024 By Max Sato (MaceNews) – Here are the key Japanese events for the coming week. The government is pushing its record-high annual budget through the Diet to keep the economy afloat while […]
Fed Officials Still Lean Against Near-Term Rate Cuts Despite Job Losses…
By Steven K. Beckner (MaceNews) – Until very recently, it had become all but a foregone conclusion that the Federal Reserve would leave short-term interest rates unchanged at its mid-March meeting, and even beyond that there was little indication of a consensus for the resumption of rate cuts until later in the year. In the […]
Most Fed Officials Content to Prolong Pause on Interest Rate Cuts
By Steven K. Beckner (MaceNews) – As their mid-March monetary policy meeting draws nearer, Federal Reserve policymakers are seemingly becoming more firmly ensconced in a wait-and-see posture, hoping for more statistical clarification of the progress they’re making toward the Fed’s dual mandate objectives of “maximum employment” and “price stability” before considering further interest rate adjustments. […]
Japan’s Government Sticks to Modest Economic Recovery Outlook as Firms Tiding Over Trump Tariff Storms, Inflation Drifting Lower on Easing Food, Energy Costs
–PM Takaichi Quiet on BOJ’s Unwinding of Stimulus; Mainichi Says She Showed Reluctance to Further Rate Hikes in Recent Meeting with Governor Ueda –Government Nominates Academic Types with Possible Reflationary Bias to Replace Two Outgoing BOJ Board Members By Max Sato (MaceNews) – Japan’s government continues to predict a modest economic recovery, noting that corporate […]
Most Federal Reserve Officials Nowhere Near Ready to Cut Rates Again
By Steven K. Beckner (MaceNews) – Few Federal Reserve officials have completely foreclosed the possibility of resuming interest rate reductions at some point, but for the foreseeable future, the U.S. central bank appears to be firmly on hold. The Federal Open Market Committee may well get around to cutting the federal funds rate at least […]
Update: IMF Official: BOJ Expected to Raise Policy Rate to 1.5% by Two 25-Basis Point Hikes This Year, One Next Year
–Updates with Official Remarks at Briefing, Background –IMF: BOJ Policy Interest Rate Below Estimated Neutral Rate, Echoing Recent Comments of BOJ Governor Ueda –IMF: Continued Unwinding of Monetary Stimulus to Lift BOJ’s Overnight Rate to Neutral In 2027 –IMF Advises Against Lowering 10% Sales Tax, Hails PM Takaichi Plan to Suspend it for 2 Years […]
BofA Global Research Fund Manager Survey: Fund Managers Stay Bullish in February
–Investors Favor Eurozone, EM Markets over U.S. By Vicki Schmelzer NEW YORK (MaceNews) – Global fund managers remained “uber-bullish” in February, according to the latest Bof Global Fund Managers survey, released Tuesday. Given this mindset, any rise in asset prices during the first quarter of 2026 may prove “much harder when all positioned for it,” […]