Category: Macro
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We Will Need to Raise Interest Rates to Maintain Restrictive Policy and Reduce Inflation, Says Bowman
Federal Reserve director Michelle Bowman said today that the United States central bank will likely need to raise borrowing costs further to bring inflation back to its 2% target in a reasonable time frame. “My basic economic outlook continues to expect that we will need to raise the federal funds rate to keep policy tight…
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Fed’s Waller: Interest Rates Are Likely High Enough To Bring Inflation Back To 2% Target
A key Federal Reserve official said Tuesday that he is “increasingly confident” that the Fed’s interest rate policies will succeed in bringing inflation back to the central bank’s 2% target level. The official, Christopher Waller, a member of the Fed’s Board of Governors, cautioned that inflation is still too high and that it’s not yet…
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American Consumers More Confident in November
As the crucial holiday shopping season gains momentum, American consumers are displaying a slightly improved sense of confidence. On Tuesday, The Conference Board, a business research group, announced that its consumer confidence index increased to 102, up from October’s 99.1. Analysts had anticipated a reading of 101. It’s worth noting that the October reading was…
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House Prices Continue To Rise
In September, single-family home prices in the United States continued their upward trajectory, although at a slower pace than anticipated, as reported by the S&P/Case-Shiller index published on Tuesday. This index, which tracks price fluctuations in the nation’s 20 major urban areas, experienced a month-on-month increase of 0.3%, falling short of the economists’ expected rate…
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Black Friday Retail Sales Rise 2.5%
According to Mastercard SpendingPulse, Black Friday retail sales in the United States saw an increase this year, building upon the double-digit growth observed in 2022. The report from this payments technology company, which tracks retail sales both in physical stores and online across various payment methods, revealed that on Friday, November 24, U.S. retail sales,…
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GDP, Fed Speakers and Other Can’t Miss Items This Week
This week should be back to normal volume-wise as the market resumes normal trading hours for the entire week. Still in the midst of earnings season, we have Toronto Dominion Bank and Salesforce due out as well as the normal news. Here are 5 themes to watch in the market this week. In summary, these…
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Oil Closes Near Stability, Awaiting OPEC+
The oil prices closed with no clear direction but close to stability, after having risen 6% in the last two sessions due to the expectation of further production cuts to be announced by OPEC+ over the weekend. This outlook remains, but the rally has stalled, at least for now. Prices briefly dropped by a little…
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Fed Indicate a Possibility Of Further Interest Rate Hikes If Inflation Doesn’t Decline Sufficiently
Members of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) agreed in their latest interest rate decision that a new hike may be appropriate if economic data received indicate “insufficient progress” in reducing inflation. The information comes from the minutes released today, regarding the last meeting of the authority held in November when the U.S. interest rate…
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US Weekly Jobless Claims Rise More Than Expected
The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits exceeded expectations last week, indicating that labor market conditions continued to show signs of easing. This development could potentially support the Federal Reserve’s efforts to combat inflation. For the week ending November 11, initial claims for state unemployment benefits increased by 13,000 to a seasonally…
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Retail Sales Slip In October As Consumers Pull Back After Summer Splurges
In October, Americans scaled back their retail spending, breaking a streak of six consecutive months of growth. However, this decline was partly attributed to decreasing prices for gasoline and automobiles. According to a report released by the Commerce Department on Wednesday, retail sales decreased by 0.1% last month, following a robust 0.9% increase in September.…