FED’S POWELL: TO TAKE A LONG TIME TO RAISE INFL RATE
–Virus Resurgence to Hit First-Quarter Economy By Denny Gulino WASHINGTON (MaceNews) – Federal Reserve Chair Jay Powell Wednesday said reaching the inflation target is going to take “some time” in an environment of disinflation around the world, when price pressure in any sector is no longer persistent. In the near term, however, he warned the […]
FOMC: RATES NEAR ZERO THRU 2023
WASHINGTON (MaceNews) – The Federal Open Market Committee, as expected, stood still in its latest policy statement Wednesday, accompanied by quarterly projections that saw the federal funds rate at 0.1% through 2023. The following is the text of the FOMC statement: The Federal Reserve is committed to using its full range of tools to support […]
US LABELS SWITZERLAND, VIETNAM CURRENCY MANIPULATORS; NOT CHINA
–Tracking China Interventions ‘Closely’ By Denny Gulino WASHINGTON (MaceNews) – The U.S. Treasury Department Wednesday signaled that Switzerland and to a much lesser extent Vietnam are manipulating their currencies, in part at least, for a competitive advantage in trade while China, having briefly been so designated up until January, was not included. Switzerland renewed its […]
JAPAN NOV EXPORTS UNEXPECTEDLY SLUMP, WEAK ENERGY PRICES KEEP TRADE IN SURPLUS
By Max Sato (MaceNews) – Japanese exports took one step back from the recent pickup trend and posted an unexpected fall in November, remaining below year-earlier levels for two years as the global economy faces pandemic-caused uncertainty, data released Wednesday by the Ministry of Finance showed. The outlook for domestic growth and a return to […]
BoA FUND MANAGER SURVEY: GLOBAL INVESTORS EYE POST-COVID-19 RECOVERY IN 2021, PUT CASH TO WORK IN DEC
By Vicki Schmelzer NEW YORK (MaceNews) – In anticipation of a post-COVID-19 economic recovery in 2021, global investors began more markedly to put cash to work in December, according to the findings of BofA Global Research’s monthly fund manager survey, released Tuesday. In December, a net 89% of fund managers looked for global growth […]
STATUS CHECK COMMENTARY: A SPECIAL DAY, A SPECIAL VACCINE
WASHINGTON (MaceNews) – The following is Monday’s status check of developments in the U.S. that can influence economic, health and political outcomes. A special day, certainly. The first vaccinations, the Electoral College certification of the Biden win, Geraldo Rivera on Fox News saying, “It’s over.” And a few Senate Republicans, certainly not all, finally late […]
JAPAN: BOJ DEC TANKAN BUSINESS CONFIDENCE JUMPS BUT BIG FIRMS REVISE DOWN CAPEX PLANS
By Max Sato (MaceNews) – Japanese firms nearly across the board reported their sentiment improved substantially in December from three months earlier, thanks to Chinese and U.S. economic recovery as well as a gradual pickup in domestic demand, according to the Bank of Japan’s quarterly Tankan business survey released Monday. But the survey also showed […]
AFTER SUPREME COURT REJECTION OF BALLOT CHALLENGE, NEXT STEP IS ELECTORAL COLLEGE VOTES FOR BIDEN
By Denny Gulino WASHINGTON (MaceNews) – After Friday night’s Supreme Court rejection of the Texas lawsuit seeking to overturn swing-state votes, President-Elect Joe Biden can look forward to Electoral College certification of his victory on Monday. The 7-2 decision found Texas could not ask the high court to judge its arguments because of the state’s […]
DATA PREVIEW: RETAIL SALES, HOUSING STARTS, FED MEETING
By Denny Gulino WASHINGTON (MaceNews) – The November retail sales report from the Census Bureau is the highlight among the upcoming week’s economic data with housing starts along for the ride, readings in two industries doing better than expected during the pandemic. Retail sales through October were up 5.7% from a year earlier according to […]
PREVIEW: FOMC TO REAFFIRM EASY MONEY POLICY; EXTEND FORWARD GUIDANCE TO BOND BUYING
By Steven K. Beckner (MaceNews) – For the Federal Reserve these days, it’s all about shaping and managing expectations – expectations for indefinite continuation of ultra-accommodative monetary policy. That effort will continue at the Fed’s Dec. 15-16 Federal Open Market Committee meeting. The FOMC heads toward its final meeting of 2020 amid very unusual circumstances […]