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. […]
StL Fed’s Musalem: Must Lean Against Inflation If Expectations Become Unanchored
– May Have To Leave Rates Unchanged Longer Or Hike Rates If Inflation Worsens By Steven K. Beckner (MaceNews) – Although downside risks to the labor market have increased, so have upside risks to inflation and inflation expectations, and such a combination could create a difficult monetary policy dilemma, St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank President […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Italy Eyes More Medium-Long Bonds to Lengthen Debt Life – Sources
According to Rome’s government that has carried out several surveys, longer maturities appeal to Italian families as they tend to have lots of savings they prefer to invest in long term investments, and trust the state to hold their money more than banks. “The era of zero rates is over, which means that the cost […]
US June ISM Manufacturing in Contraction for 3rd Straight Month as Demand Remains Weak amid High Interest Rates
–ISM Manufacturing Index Dips to 48.5 from 48.7 in May, Below Median Forecast of 49.1–ISM’s Fiore: Biggest Concern in June Report is over Falling Production–Fiore: Employment Unlikely to Expand Without Significant Pickup in Demand–Fiore: Manufacturing Still ‘Stable’ During Summer Months When Activity Slows Down By Max Sato (MaceNews) – U.S. manufacturing activity was in contraction […]
Japan May Export Rise Led by Automobiles, Semiconductors as in April; Trade Balance in Deficit for 2nd Straight Month
–Imports Up on Higher Demand for Crude Oil, Products, Computers; Chips Down–Exports to China Post 6th Straight Y/Y Rise, Picking Up from Last Year’s Slump–Exports to US Remain Robust; Those to EU Mark 2nd Straight Y/Y Slip By Max Sato (MaceNews) –Japanese export values rose 13.5% on year in May for the sixth straight increase, […]
INTERVIEW: Ex-BOJ Policymaker Kiuchi Sees Flexible JGB Purchase Program as Fine-Tuning Tool, Expects Only Gradual Rate Hikes to Below 1%
By Max Sato TOKYO (MaceNews) – The Bank of Japan is likely to maintain its “flexible” Japanese government bond purchase program as a “fine-tuning tool” so it can respond to both upside and downside risks to growth and inflation, instead of clearly reducing JGB buying from the current monthly pace of about ¥6 trillion, Takahide […]