Pound reverses all damage done during Liz Truss premiership markets The pound has strengthened to its highest level against the US dollar in three months, reversing all the damage done to the currency since Liz Truss’s ill-fated premiership. Sterling today climbed 0.7 per cent against the greenback, hitting $1.21. A combination of the US Federal Reserve signalling it will slow its aggressive interest rate hike [...]
Markets cheer US inflation slowdown as Nasdaq flies over five per cent us economy Global markets have cheered signs that US inflation is falling much faster than experts expected, dialling down pressure on the Federal Reserve to keep hiking interest rates aggressively. Wall Street’s tech-heavy Nasdaq index flew more than five per cent, while the S&P 500 and Dow Jones shot up more than four per cent and nearly [...]
Euro on course to stay below US dollar parity for some time, Goldman warns markets The euro is on course to stay below parity with the US dollar for some time if gas prices do not fall markedly, a top Wall Street bank has said. The currency used by the 19 countries that make up the eurozone is set to drop to $0.94, according to Goldman Sachs. The euro last [...]
Federal Reserve hikes rates 75bps again and Powell signals higher peak November 2, 2022 The US Federal Reserve today hoisted the world’s most important interest rate 75 basis points for the fourth time in a row and signalled the borrowing cost peak will be higher than previously thought, scrapping any bets on a so-called “Fed pivot”. The Washington headquartered central bank hiked rates to a target range of 3.75-four [...]
All market eyes on the Fed today as interest rates are set to rise by another 75bps November 2, 2022 While European markets started the month on a positive note, and look set to continue that vibe this morning, US markets lost their early momentum, finishing the session lower, after the latest job openings numbers, and ISM manufacturing report, showed that the US economy remained in decent shape, despite concerns over an economic slowdown. “We [...]
Ex Fed official says Bank of England ‘contributed to the Truss govt’s demise’ October 28, 2022 A top former official with the US Federal Reserve has claimed the Bank of England ousted Liz Truss. Narayana Kocherlakota, the ex president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, made his comments in a piece for Bloomberg this week. This comes after Truss left office following weeks of chaos in UK financial markets sparked [...]
Fed pivot hopes fade after US economy returns to strong growth October 27, 2022 The US economy has surprisingly shaken off a series of steep rate rises, indicating the Federal Reserve’s campaign to tame historic high inflation is not over yet, new figures out today reveal. Gross domestic product (GDP) across the pond climbed 2.6 per cent last quarter, swinging from a 0.6 per cent contraction in the three [...]
ECB fires second successive jumbo rate hike in push to end Europe’s cheap money addiction October 27, 2022 The European Central Bank (ECB) today fired its second jumbo rate hike in a row in another sign that it is putting years of ultra-cheap money to the sword. The central bank that oversees the financial system of the 19 countries using the euro lifted borrowing costs 75 basis points to 1.5 per cent as [...]
Backing the central bank pivot is a risky bet October 25, 2022 It is easy to criticise central banks for heaping pain on households and businesses. But, this is exactly what they are supposed to do under current economic conditions. Inflation in the UK, US and eurozone has hit 10.1 per cent, 8.2 per cent and 9.9 per cent respectively, all historic highs. The Bank of England [...]
US inflation tops expectations in sign Federal Reserve has more work to do October 13, 2022 US inflation climbed higher than expected on a monthly basis in September in a sign the Federal Reserve’s series of steep rate hikes are failing to tame the toughest price pressures. Inflation hit 0.4 per cent last month, above Wall Street’s expectations of a 0.2 per cent increase and higher than August’s print, figures from [...]