July 31, 2024
United States:
Fed Expected to Hold Rates and Signal September Cut
Federal Reserve officials are likely to move closer to lowering interest rates from a two-decade high this week by signaling a potential rate cut in September, though they may stop short of providing details beyond that.
The US central bank’s Federal Open Market Committee will keep its benchmark rate in a range of 5.25% to 5.5%, a peak reached a year ago, at the conclusion of its two-day policy meeting Wednesday, according to economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. The decision will be announced via a post-meeting statement at 2 p.m. in Washington. Fed Chair Jerome Powell will hold a press conference 30 minutes later.
United Kingdom:
UK Chancellor Reeves Poised to Raise Taxes in October Budget
Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves gave the clearest sign yet that she’s poised to raise taxes in her first UK budget in October to fill a £16.4 billion ($21 billion) black hole in the public accounts that she says she inherited from the previous Conservative government.
“I think that we will have to increase taxes in the budget,” Reeves told The News Agents podcast on Tuesday. She repeated her commitment not to raise income tax, national insurance or value-added tax, but refused to rule-out increasing capital gains tax, inheritance tax and pension reform.
Asia:
Yen Gains After BOJ But Outlook Remains Uncertain, Analysts Say
The yen eventually swung to a gain as investors digested the Bank of Japan rate hike and Governor Kazuo Ueda’s press conference but there are still plenty of uncertainties about the longer-term outlook for the currency, analysts and strategists said.
Many traders were just waiting for a signal to buy the yen and they got it after Ueda’s press conference, according to StoneX Financial. I don’t see the BOJ statement as bullish for the yen given the expectations — it was generally a mixed outcome for Japanese assets, says RBC Capital Markets.
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