January 31, 2024   United States: Fed to Hold Interest Rates Steady But Start Considering Cuts The Federal Reserve will likely hold interest rates steady for a fourth straight meeting but avoid signaling an imminent interest-rate cut. The Federal Open Market Committee is poised to keep rates in a range of 5.25% to 5.5% at

January 30, 2024   United States: Banks Are Hawking US Recession Hedges Tied to Both Stocks, Bonds Investors’ lingering fears of recession have prompted Wall Street banks to hawk a complex hedge: exotic options that pay off if stocks fall and bond yields also drop. These options are relatively cheap now, in part, because correlations

January 29, 2024   United States: US Treasury Seen Boosting Long-Term Debt Sales One Last Time Wall Street is widely expecting the US Treasury to announce a final increase to its sales of long-term debt this week, after a steady ramp up in supply that’s sometimes tested buyers’ appetites for funding a widening budget deficit.

January 26, 2024   United States: Fed’s Preferred Core Price Gauge Cools Amid Robust Spending The Federal Reserve’s preferred gauge of underlying inflation cooled to an almost three-year low even with robust holiday spending, keeping the debate alive over whether officials will soon cut borrowing costs. The so-called core personal consumption expenditures price index, which