Federal Reserve expected to raise US interest rates this week as all eyes on predictions for 2019 December 16, 2018 The US Federal Reserve is this week widely expected to raise interest rates for the fourth time this year, with an anticipated range of between 2.25 and 2.50 per cent. But doubts have begun to emerge about Wednesday’s announcement among analysts, after comments from Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell that the level of interest rates [...]
Editor’s Notes: The Bank of England must protect its independence December 7, 2018 Former chair of the US Federal Reserve Janet Yellen once said “the principle that a central bank should be independent from the government is unassailable.” Donald Trump probably thinks unassailable means you can’t sell it, but even if he understood Yellan’s point he seems determined to ignore it. His broadsides against Fed policy are quite [...]
From Northern Rock to lunch tables, no one is immune from the herd mentality December 5, 2018 The Bank of England and Federal Reserve held a two-day conference last week in London on big data and machine learning. All very interesting stuff. There was an intriguing vignette as we emerged from the conference room for the frugal lunch on the first day. Straight ahead was a table with sandwiches, fruit and the like. [...]
Rigged and ready: After recent gains, are oil prices set to recover? December 4, 2018 The oil market has had a tough time this year, with prices sliding since October. And yet, there’s been a radical turn of events over recent days, with the picture looking drastically different as the markets opened for trading this week. In fact, one of yesterday’s biggest market movements was oil, with brent crude surging [...]
Will markets have a jolly festive season this year? December 4, 2018 It's December and time to deck the halls with boughs of holly. Or in CNBC’s case, it’s time for the business channel to be immersed in chatter of a potential Santa Claus rally and 2019 fortunes. Santa’s performance for the Dow Jones Industrial Average has been fairly reliable over the past five years, with investors rewarded [...]
Stocks soar on Fed chair’s dovish signal on interest rates November 28, 2018 The chair of the Federal Reserve took a softer line on interest rates yesterday, after being slammed by President Donald Trump over his hawkish policies. Jerome Powell hinted he may end interest rate hikes, saying rates are now “just below” the level which would not impact a healthy economy. Buoyed by the statement, Wall Street [...]
Five reasons why tech stocks are in trouble November 27, 2018 For months, technology stocks have been the holy grail for growth, with valuations reaching dizzying heights. So, considering that what goes up must come down, perhaps it’s not surprising that stocks started tumbling last week. Share prices for each of the five tech giants – Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix, and Google (the so-called Faangs) – [...]
Is central bank independence even a thing? November 13, 2018 Parents often find it tough to let go of the control they have on their children’s lives, no matter how old they are. While children usually tend to wriggle out of these constraints, the constant jostling between two often opposing opinions is a worldwide phenomenon. And such is the relationship between the government and the [...]
Federal Reserve will now publish semi-annual stability reports in bid to tackle risk November 10, 2018 The Federal Reserve will now publish periodic reports on the US financial system's stability twice a year, starting on November 28. The report will feature an overview of how the Federal Reserve's governors assess the financial sector's resilience and try to detail any risk as the country's economy continues to expand. “We learned from the financial [...]
Fed keeps US interest rates stable ahead of next month’s anticipated hike November 8, 2018 US stocks ticked upwards as the Federal Reserve said it would keep its interest rate benchmark stable for at least another month. The S&P 500, which had been trading down 0.30 per cent ahead of the announcement, clawed back some of its losses, closing down 0.25 per cent to 2,807. The Fed said it would keep [...]