Japan Weekahead: Ruling, Opposition Parties Gear Up for October Snap Elections Widely Expected after Conservative LDP Picks Leader

–Bank of Japan to Stand Pat amid Political Storm Following PM Ishiba’s Resignation, Board Monitors Trump Tariff Impact on Q3 Data–August Data to Highlight Tariff Impact: Japan Carmakers’ Discount Strategy Keeps Their US Market Share but Depresses Export Values–Core CPI to Ease Below 3% on Summer Fuel Subsidies, Yen’s Relative Strength Vs. Slump in Early […]

Fed Officials Still Divided, Unsure About When and How Much To Cut Interest Rates

By Steven K. Beckner (MaceNews) – Federal Reserve officials have continued this week to muse about cutting interest rates for the first time since December when the Fed’s rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee meets in mid- September, but the FOMC remains divided and unsure. Despite an uptick in inflation, labor market worries have come to […]

US TARIFFS STATE OF PLAY: New Reciprocal Tariffs Don’t Dispel Uncertainty, Confusion 

–Trump Fires Head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics because of alleged manipulation By Denny Gulino  WASHINGTON (MaceNews) – With new reciprocal levies raising America’s average tariff rate to above 18% and the latest jobs and ISM reports raising stagflation fears, the overall era of uncertainty seems to have intensified, not diminished.  The environment of […]

TRANSCRIPT: Fed’s Powell Stays Away From Promises of a September Rate Cut

.WASHINGTON (MaceNews) – The following is a rough transcript of Wednesday afternoon’s post-FOMC meeting news conference with Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell: Despite elevated uncertainty, the economy is in a solid position. The unemployment rate remains low and the labor market is at or near maximum employment. Inflation has been running somewhat above our 2% […]

US ISM Manufacturing Stays in Contraction in June as Uncertainty Over Trade Conflicts Keeps Firms on Sidelines, Leading to Weak Demand, More Layoffs

–ISM Manufacturing Index at 49.0 Vs. 48.5 in May, Consensus at 48.8–ISM’s Spence: Production Up but Still Fragile, New Orders Falling–Spence: Orders Unlikely to Pick Up Until Trade, Geopolitical Risks Wane By Max Sato (MaceNews) – U.S. manufacturing activity was in contraction for the fourth straight month in June as the uncertainty over protectionist U.S. […]