Attention shifting to employment data…   Markets continue their shift in focus away from inflation data points and towards the jobs data. Last Friday, the Labor Department released its August jobs report and Wall Street was not impressed. The popular S&P 500 index closed down 1.7% and ended the week with its largest weekly loss...Read More

Times, they are a changing… As Fed Chair Powell announced that “the time has come for policy to adjust” at his Jackson Hole speech last Friday. Of all of Powell’s recent public statements, this is the first time he has clearly and definitively communicated the central bank’s intention to start cutting the overnight Federal Funds...Read More

A tumultuous stretch as the markets eagerly look towards an initial rate cut… In early August, the broader stock market collapsed almost 7% in a matter of days on the back of July’s weak jobs report and the unwinding of the yen “carry trade.” Non-farm payrolls came in sharply beneath expectations at 114k as opposed...Read More

Is it time for the Fed to act? After months of looking for signs that inflation has sufficiently cooled, the Federal Reserve may be on the cusp of finally seeing what it needs to start reducing interest rates. Following the Federal Open Market Committee’s (FOMC) mid-June meeting, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell announced that the...Read More

Will it soon be time to take action?   Today is Fed Day, the day that the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) releases its update on its interest rate outlook. Earlier this afternoon, officials moved closer to lowering interest rates from their two-decade high by signaling the likelihood of a September rate cut.  The US...Read More

No recent love for the Magnificent Seven…   Following the horrific assassination attempt on a former President, polling data is now strongly predicting a second Trump Administration. Meanwhile, President Biden is facing continued pressure to step down from the Democratic ticket for the upcoming election. Markets have been digesting the forecast of another Trump presidency...Read More

Still waiting for the Fed as the presidential election heats up… On Tuesday, Fed Chair Jerome Powell released statements that sounded more dovish than other recent comments. Powell stated that the Federal Reserve has seen “a lot of progress” in relation to inflation, but that policymakers need more data before cutting interest rates to verify...Read More

HIGHER FOR LONGER, BUT DOES IT MATTER? Stubbornly persistent inflation pressures continued in March, likely derailing the case for the Fed to begin reducing rates in June and also raising questions as to whether rate cuts can be implemented this year without sign of an economic slowdown. The last mile, or in this case, the...Read More

Still trying to figure out inflation……….and the Fed   Based on the CME Fedwatch tool, bond traders are no longer predicting that the Fed will cut interest rates by more than 75 basis points this year – their view finally now moving in line with what has been the central bank’s projected likeliest outcome for months....Read More

Cautionary inflation and consumer readings spread concerns… Following the long weekend, investors returned today staring down earnings from the nation’s biggest retailers and an update on the Federal Reserve’s rate path perspective. Additionally, market star Nvidia (NVDA) shares its latest results on Wednesday afternoon. Last week, however, did close on a down note – ending a...Read More