Could Overly Easy Credit and a Soaring Stock Market Threaten the Fed’s Fight Against Inflation? As the Federal Reserve kicks off its two-day meeting, stocks continue to rally, with the S&P 500 ending January with a gain of 6.2%. The tech sector performed even better, with a 9.2% increase in the same period. Meanwhile, interest … Read more
The Federal Reserve is predicted to increase interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point and also likely indicate that it will continue to remain cautious in its efforts to combat inflation, even as it decreases the magnitude of its hikes. On Wednesday at 2 PM ET, the Fed will announce its latest rate … Read more
U.S. stocks churned ahead Friday as investors neared the end of a turbulent trading week marked by mixed retail earnings and a chorus of hawkish Fedspeak. The S&P 500 (^GSPC) rose 0.4%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) added 180 points, or 0.6%. The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) lagged, wavering around the flatline. Treasury … Read more
U.S. stocks sank lower early Thursday as Wall Street reeled from assertions by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell that hopes for a policy pivot were “premature” after the central bank delivered a fourth consecutive interest rate hike of 75 basis points. The S&P 500 (^GSPC) fell 1.2% at open after the index plunged 2.5% in the previous session, … Read more
As the Federal Reserve ramps up efforts to tame inflation, sending the dollar surging and bonds and stocks into a tailspin, concern is rising that the central bank’s campaign will have unintended and potentially dire consequences. Markets entered a perilous new phase in the past week, one in which statistically unusual moves across asset classes are becoming … Read more
BitcoinBTCUSD –4.79% traded a new one-year low on Monday and other cryptocurrencies followed it lower ahead of what’s expected to be the third straight outsize interest rate hike from the Federal Reserve when the central bank meets this week. Bitcoin has fallen to $18,688, down 6.1% over the past 24 hours, according to CoinDesk. The world’s largest … Read more
Bond yields were little changed on Thursday from the previous session, with most trading around just one basis point lower as investors digest Wednesday’s market gains, which gave Wall Street its best day in nearly a month. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note was down 1 basis point at 3.25% at around 5:40 a.m. ET. The yield … Read more
Traders are now seeing a near-certainty that the Federal Reserve enacts its third consecutive 0.75 percentage point interest rate increase when it meets later this month. The probability of a three-quarter point hike moved to 82% Wednesday morning, according to the CME Group’s FedWatch tracker of fed funds futures bets. That follows a series of positive economic data and … Read more
Bitcoin dropped below $20,000 on Monday as investors dumped risk assets after the Federal Reserve affirmed its commitment to an aggressive tightening path. The world’s largest digital currency tumbled 5% from Friday’s close to hitting a low of $19,526 overnight, a level unseen since July 13, according to Coin Metrics data. Other major digital tokens also … Read more
Federal Reserve Vice Chair Lael Brainard became the latest official to speak out on crypto, saying Friday that regulation is needed or the industry could become a wider danger. “Innovation has the potential to make financial services faster, cheaper, and more inclusive, and to do so in ways that are native to the digital ecosystem,” … Read more
