US DEC BUDGET DEFICIT SLOWED – BUT ONLY ON THE SURFACE
WASHINGTON (MaceNews) – The December budget deficit was just $13.5 billion, the Treasury Department said Wednesday and after the usual apples-to-apples adjustment, was $45 billion in the red, heading toward what the Congressional Budget Office says will be about $900 billion by the end of the fiscal year. So while the official number is 10% […]
US JAN CONSUMER INFLATION RESTRAINED BY FUELS BUT GAINS WIDESPREAD
–Dominant Shelter Index +3.2%/12 M0s, An Upward Pull WASHINGTON (MaceNews) – The key signposts within the Consumer Price Index, the annual rates of increase for shelter and rents, show strong upward pressure on the inflation rate, increases through January above 3%. The Federal Reserve reflexively looks past energy as an important long-term inflation determinant, disdains […]
WHAT RECESSION? BLOWOUT JAN JOBS REASSURES EVEN WITH DEC CUT
By Denny Gulino WASHINGTON (MaceNews) – The January jobs report Friday blew away December’s recession fears with its 304,000 addition to payrolls, 3.2% annual growth in earnings and a labor participation rate suggesting a sturdier work force. High-end forecasts looked pessimistic in retrospect with government shutdown ripples evident, yet in the end not a factor […]
BOC’S WILKINS: ‘WORRY A LOT’ ABOUT DOWNSIDE
–Hints that Canada’s Central Bank to Echo Fed’s Dovishness By Peter Diekmeyer OTTAWA (MaceNews) – Senior Deputy Governor Carolyn Wilkins provided hints Thursday that the Bank of Canada will continue to mirror the U.S. Federal Reserve’s increasingly dovish policies. “We worry a lot about the downside,” said Wilkins to Toronto Board of Trade audience members following […]
FED’S POWELL DOESN’T SPOIL THE FUN; DATA/UNCERTAINTY RULE
–Cross-Currents To Continue and So ‘Patience’ Remains Watchword By Denny Gulino WASHINGTON (MaceNews) – The markets were hanging on Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s every word Wednesday afternoon and as he answered questions after the Federal Open Market Committee meeting stocks were roaring, the dollar was weakening, Treasury prices were rallying and pundits everywhere mostly […]
FOMC: NORMALIZATION? READY TO ADJUST IF NECESSARY
WASHINGTON (MaceNews) – The Federal Open Market Committee, having repeated its willingness to be “patient” in its judgments about a strong economy, Wednesday issued a separate statement that was equally reassuring about the pace of normalization – yet refrained from any actual action. There was no assessment of the balance of risks and no big […]
US TSY REFUNDING: TBAC SEES 10-YEAR FINANCING GAP
WASHINGTON (MaceNews) – The private-sector committee of bond market participants advised the Treasury Department that it saw a “significant financing gap” opening up in the next decade as budget deficits expand and foreign participation diminishes. The minutes of the Treasury Borrowing Advisory Committee or “TBAC” were released Wednesday morning along with the department’s borrowing estimates […]
US TSY: NO INCREASE IN AUCTION SIZES; $84B BORROW IN QTR
–$38 Bln in 3-years, $27 Bln in 10-years;$19 Bln in 30-year bonds WASHINGTON (MaceNews) – In its quarterly refunding annouoncement Wednesday morning, Treasury said it plans to offer $84 billion in securities to refund $54.1 billioin in notes and bonds, about what was expected for the upcoming quarter, in which no increase in issuance […]
ECB ACKNOWLEDGES DOWNSIDE RISKS; POLICY UNCHANGED
–Euro Area Risks ‘Have Moved to the Downside’ By Laurie Laird FRANKFURT (MaceNews) – The European Central Bank said Thursday it has no immediate plans to loosen monetary policy, despite acknowledging a substantial loss of economic momentum in the euro zone and highlighting potential headwinds to the euro zone expansion. “The risks surrounding the euro […]
FED’S BEIGE BK: ‘MANY’ DISTRICTS REPORT LESS OPTIMISM
–Dallas ‘Markedly Less Optimistic’; Boston ‘Somewhat Slower’ WASHINGTON (MaceNews) – The Federal Reserve’s latest “Beige Book” survey of economic conditions around the country Wednesday found the usual “modest to moderate” expansion continuing in eight of the regional bank districts – coupled with a somewhat ominous observation that in “many” of the districts, optimism has dimmed. […]