Japan Week Ahead: Tokyo CPI Data Expected to See Signs of Growing Upside Risks to Inflation, AI Projects Boon for Factory Output but Damper for Consumers

–BOJ Tankan Survey to Show AI Boom Lifting Manufacturer Sentiment, High Costs Making Services Sector Slightly Less Confident By Max Sato (MaceNews) – Behind the Bank of Japan’s accelerated pace of interest rate increases this month were creeping upside risks to inflation as the lingering Iran war and the stubbornly weak yen threaten to keep […]

Fed Officials Forewarn More ‘Pain’ For the Economy After Initial Rate Hike

– Goolsbee: Getting Inflation Down to 2% Target ‘Won’t Be Painless’ – Barkin: Inflation ‘Troublemaker’ Will Need More Than One ‘Talking-To’ – Paulson: ‘Recalibration’ Brought FFR ‘Closer’ But More Hikes Likely Needed – Williams: ‘Reasonable’ To Expect More Fed Tightening – Collins: Upside Inflation Risks Worsening; Need ‘More Restrictive’ Stance By Steven K. Beckner (MaceNews) […]

FOMC Hikes Funds Rate 25 BP For First Time In 3 Years To 3.75-4.0% Range

– Warsh: Strong Economy, High Inflation Made FOMC ‘Remove Dose of Accommodation’ – Warsh: Rate Hike Should Ensure ‘Timelier Return’ to Fed’s 2% Inflation Target – Warsh Refuses to ‘Prejudge’ Future FOMC Actions; No ‘Forward Guidance’ – FOMC Participants Project Funds Rate At 4.1% end ‘26; 4.1% end ‘27; 3.9% End ‘28 – PCE Inflation […]

Fed Officials Willing to Raise Rates, But Only If Convinced Inflation Not Receding

– Key Inflation, Other Data Eagerly Awaited Before Some Make Up Their Minds By Steven K. Beckner (MaceNews) – With barely two weeks to go before Federal Reserve policymakers gather to take fresh stock of the economy and reconsider their short-term interest rate settings, Fed officials are letting it be known they are willing to […]

Fed’s Warsh Issues Strong Warnings About Inflation at Fed’s Jackson Hole Symposium

– Warns Expectations Could Become Unanchored if Inflation Stays Elevated – Reaffirms that the Fed’s Job Is To ‘Deliver Stable Prices’ – Sees Labor Markets, Economy Performing Strongly Without Financial Restraint – Says Inflation ‘Has Not Meaningfully improved’ – Again Rejects ‘Forward Guidance’ Or Revealing Fed ‘Reaction Function’ By Steven K. Beckner (MaceNews) – Although […]

Japan Week Ahead: July Data to Show Mixed Start to Q3 after BOJ Deputy Governor Himino Downplays Weak Q2 GDP Growth, Keeps September Rate Hike Talk Alive

–July Factory Output to Show Pullback After Recent Gains, Heat Wave Props Up Retail Sales, Sluggish Household Spending Continues amid High Costs By Max Sato (MaceNews) – Financial markets have largely priced in a follow-up interest rate hike by the Bank of Japan in September, with only a three-month interval instead of an earlier expectation […]

Fed’s Collins: ‘Appropriate to Tighten Policy Soon’ If Inflation Doesn’t Recede

By Steven K. Beckner (MaceNews) – Boston Federal Reserve Bank President Susan Collins is willing to support an increase in short-term interest rates if forthcoming reports on inflation don’t show it coming down as she hopes, comments released by the bank Tuesday reveal. Without evidence of moderating inflation, she believes “it will be appropriate to […]