UPDATE: TARIFFS STATE OF PLAY: AS DUST SETTLES FOR NOW, BEHEMOTHS CHINA AND USA FACE OFF
WASHINGTON (MaceNews) – As U.S stocks rocketed up spectacularly Wednesday after President Trump’s pivot on tariffs, the battle of titans – the USA and China – emerged as the main event for months to come. At an afternoon White House event, President Trump said, “Somebody had to do it,” vs. China. A more skeptical former […]
US TARIFFS STATE OF PLAY: Pres Trump Imposes Massive Global Tariffs Likely to Cause Widespread USA Price Hikes
WASHINGTON (MaceNews) – Amid much pessimism about severe economic domestic consequences, President Trump Wednesday imposed massive tariffs on several dozen countries including China and the European Union and a blanket 10% levy on all the rest. The Rose Garden announcement shook stock futures into large negatives while interest rates maintained lows last hit in October. […]
FOMC: Standstill Policy Statement Accompanied by Dot Plot Assumptions Still for Two Rate Cuts This Year
WASHINGTON (MaceNews): The Federal Ope Market Committee Wednesday provided no surprises in its latest policy statement and the dot plot of participants still saw two rate cuts this year. The text of the statement follows: Recent indicators suggest that economic activity has continued to expand at a solid pace. The unemployment rate has stabilized at […]
TARIFFS STATE OF PLAY: Trump Tariffs Go Global – A Small Start Compared to What’s Coming
WASHINGTON (MaceNews) – The new worldwide 25% U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum Wednesday – with no exemptions – piled atop the now 20% levied on China goods, 22 days away from the start of the nation’s far bigger experiment in confrontational trade policy, “reciprocal tariffs.” As expected, retaliatory tariffs also began to accumulate, first […]
Bank of Canada Continues to Provide Measured Rate Relief Amid High Uncertainty over Growth, Inflation Triggered by Trade War
–BOC Trims Policy Rate By 25 Basis Points To 2.75% in 7th Straight Rate Cut as Widely Expected–Governor Macklem: Governing Council Will Proceed ‘Carefully’ with Any Further Changes to Policy Rate–Macklem: Council Didn’t Seriously Consider 50-Basis Point Cut Due to Uncertainty Over When and How Much Trade War Will Boost Prices–BOC Surveys: Threats of New […]
Powell Repeats Economy ‘In Good Place’: FOMC Needn’t Be in Hurry To Ease
– Largely Brushes Off Signs of Softening, Uncertainty For Now – Economy Doesn’t Need Fed to Do Anything: ‘We Can And We Should Wait’ – Other Fed Officials Sounding More Concerned About Economic Outlook By Steven K. Beckner (MaceNews) – Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell continued Friday to say that the Fed need not be […]
ISM: US Services Sector Expands for 8th Straight Month in February While Concerns Over Trump Tariffs Darken Outlook
–ISM Services Index at 53.5 in February Vs. 52.8 in January, Above Median Forecast 52.7–ISM’s Miller: Services PMI Has Been Trending Down but More Stable Now, Points to Sustained Growth on Year–Miller: Jump in ISM February Manufacturing Prices Paid Index Amid Higher Commodities Markets Not Yet Feeding Through to Services Prices By Max Sato (MaceNews) […]
TARIFFS STATE OF PLAY: Confusion as Tariffs and Tariff Threats Multiply
WASHINGTON (MaceNews) – As one round of tariffs took effect Tuesday and more were threatened, rampant uncertainty permeated plunging U.S. stock markets while interest rates continued to dramatically ease. Analysts found themselves giving contradictory assessments on the business channels as the probabilities for more Federal Reserve rate cuts this year were coupled with dire predictions […]
US ISM Manufacturing Stays Just Above Neutral Line in February after Ending 2 Years of Contraction in January as Trump Tariffs Trigger Greater Uncertainties
–ISM Manufacturing Index at 50.3 Vs. 50.9 in January, Below Consensus (50.5)–ISM’s Fiore: February Report ‘Overshadowed’ by Tariff Talk among Firms–Fiore: Lower New Orders, Higher Inventories, Slower Supply Deliveries ‘One-Month Blip, Might Clear Up in March or April–Fiore: This Doesn’t Indicate Decline in Overall ISM Manufacturing Activity By Max Sato (MaceNews) – U.S. manufacturing activity […]
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 […]