As if wasn’t already tough enough to make a major purchase at a time when living costs are skyrocketing, the interest rates to finance those pricey purchases are going up. Now consumers are confrontin...
Tag: Monetary Policy
After Fed Raises Interest Rates Wednesday, Investors to Look for Clues About What’s Next
After the Federal Reserve lifts its benchmark interest rate on Wednesday, attention will turn to what Chairman Jerome Powell says about a rate increase at the central bank’s meeting in September. The ...
Here’s what Bill Ackman says Powell should tell traders about Fed rate-hike plans
“‘Tomorrow, Powell is likely to be asked: “Market pricing implies that the terminal FF rate will peak at 3.4% in 12/22 immediately declining thereafter to 2.7% by YE ‘23. What factors would cause the ...
A Fed Rate-Hike Surprise Could Be a Problem for Stocks
Text size The Federal Reserve continues to play catch-up in its fight against inflation, and there’s no doubt that interest rates are headed higher after its meeting ends on Wednesday. Chip Somo...
Expect Two Recessions, and a Quick End to the Fed’s Interest-Rate Hikes
Forward guidance sounds like a great idea. Central bankers should lay out their longer-term goals to influence financial markets. Just as hockey great Wayne Gretzky would skate where the puck was head...
The Fed’s next rate hike could be huge. One simple way to profit from it
Some pros are speculating that the Fed could raise interest rates 1% at their July 26 meeting. Getty Images/iStockphoto Experts predict that the Federal Reserve will raise rates at their July 26 meeti...
Expect Two Recessions, and a Quick End to the Fed’s Hikes
Forward guidance sounds like a great idea. Central bankers should lay out their longer-term goals to influence financial markets. Just as hockey great Wayne Gretzky would skate where the puck was head...
Fed can’t stop hiking interest rates even if there is a recession, former top central banker says
The Federal Reserve has to emulate Mario Draghi and do “whatever it takes” to bring inflation down and that means continuing to raise interest rates even if there is a recession, said former Richmond ...
Adjustable-rate mortgage vs. fixed-rate mortgage: Which one is better for you?
Hello and welcome to Financial Face-off, a MarketWatch column where we help you weigh financial decisions. Our columnist will give her verdict. Tell us whether you think she’s right in the comments. A...
The Fed’s next interest rate hike ‘might be the biggest in decades.’ So we asked 6 real estate pros: What might that do to mortgage rates?
What might happen to mortgage rates soon? Getty Images/iStockphoto Word on the street is that the Federal Reserve may raise rates by 1% at their July 26 meeting — as they try to quell inflation that n...
Fed’s Bullard Raises Target for Year-End Funds Rate
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard said Friday that unexpectedly high inflation calls for a more aggressive path of short-term interest rate rises this year. Inflation “has come...
75 or 100 basis points? Lost in market debate over Fed’s next rate hike is ‘how long inflation stays at these levels’
Debate has been simmering over whether Federal Reserve policy makers will raise the fed-funds rate by three-quarters of a percentage point later this month, as they did in June, or step up their infla...
Fed Finally Is Focusing on the Big Picture in Inflation Fight
Text size A modest decline in gasoline prices has raised some hope that inflation is abating. Gene J. Puskar/AP/Shutterstock “Don’t fight the Fed” has long been the mantra of investors. As the U.S. ce...
Stock Outlook Brightens as Jobs Stay Strong, Commodities Prices Decline
Text size The jobless rate held steady at 3.6% in June. Above, looking for work at a job fair in Florida. Joe Raedle/Getty Images The economy looks resilient, and inflation is coming down. That combin...
This type of ETF is seeing near-record inflows and pays dividends
It’s a type of ETF seeing near-record inflows. New data shows dividend exchange-traded funds totaled almost $50 billion in fresh money in the first half of 2022, according to Todd Rosenbluth of ...
Commodity price declines may shape Fed’s rate-hike path, says economist
A significant downturn in commodity prices could give the Federal Reserve cover to change its aggressive pace of planned interest rate hikes, according to a report from Capital Economics. The centra...
Bank of Mexico Minutes Show Board Open to More 0.75-Point Rate Increases
MEXICO CITY—Bank of Mexico governors all agreed to raise the reference interest rate by three-quarters of a percentage point last month to rein in inflation, and most are willing to consider further i...
Fed’s James Bullard Says 0.75-Point July Rate Rise Is Likely
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard said he is ready to follow the U.S. central bank’s supersize June rate rise with the same thing at the end of this month. “Our goal has been t...
S&P 500, Nasdaq book 3rd day of gains after Fed minutes point to another big rate increase this month to tackle inflation
U.S. stocks end higher Wednesday after minutes of the Federal Reserve’s June policy meeting signaled another big interest rate-hike is likely later this month despite the risk of slowing economic grow...
Investor delivers new tech ‘bubble’ warning
The recent tech rally may be doomed. Money manager Dan Suzuki of Richard Bernstein Advisors warns the market is far from bottoming — and it’s a concept investors fail to grasp, particularly when...
Stock Market Today: U.S. Futures Wobble, Global Stocks Rise on July 4 Holiday
Text size Wall Street is closed for the Fourth of July. Angela Weiss/AFP/Getty Images Global stocks were mostly higher and U.S. futures wavered on the Fourth of July. While it is set to be a quiet day...
China’s Slowdown Could Tamp Down Global Inflation
China’s slowdown may have a silver lining for the rest of the world: weaker inflation. Growth in the world’s second-largest economy has tumbled this year as Covid-19 outbreaks triggered mass lockdowns...
Opinion: Stocks could drop 50%, Nouriel Roubini argues. Things will get much worse before they get better.
NEW YORK (Project Syndicate)—The global financial and economic outlook for the year ahead has soured rapidly in recent months, with policy makers, investors, and households now asking how much they sh...
RBC top analyst sees comeback
Investors who are “apathetic” or negative toward banks will change their stance in the year’s second half, according to RBC Capital Markets’ top banking analyst. Gerard Cassidy...
Bowman backs steep rate hikes and wants to ‘get the Fed out’ of housing market
Federal Reserve Gov. Michelle Bowman said she supports an aggressive series of interest-rate increases to try to tame inflation and eventually wants the central bank to stop intervening in the U.S. ho...
Opinion: Jerome Powell is the worst Federal Reserve policy maker in my lifetime
In the history of the Federal Reserve, the most revered chairmen are William McChesney Martin, Paul Volcker and Alan Greenspan. All gained their reputation by decisive monetary policy action at times ...
This dividend fund is down 3% vs. S&P’s 20% drop. Here are its top stock picks
By now even the most ardent tech and growth-stock enthusiasts realize the bull market is over. John Kornitzer’s approach to selecting high-quality stocks for the Buffalo Flexible Income Fund is one th...
Powell says U.S. economy can handle the additional rate hikes that are coming
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell on Wednesday pushed back against economists who argue that aggressive Fed interest-rate hikes have increased the odds of a recession or hard landing for the U.S....
A Double-Dip Recession Is Coming. It Will Be Worse if the Fed Caves on Inflation
A double-dip recession like the one experienced in the early 1980s is likely, writes Robert Heller. Above, a line of people waiting to apply for jobs at a hotel in Tampa Bay, Fla., in 1982. AP/Shutter...