US The relative lack of concern on the part of US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell surrounding the recent downdraft in risk asset markets during his post rate-hike conference on Wednesday sent markets tumbling to fresh 2018 lows. While noting the Fed is no longer on a preset course of quarterly rates hikes, he did [...]
US US consumers are catching a break on inflation just in time for the holiday shopping season. After rising for seven straight months, the consumer price index was unchanged in November. Lower prices at the pump thanks to oil prices tumbling have led to an easing in inflation. After increasing2.9% on a year-on-year basis as [...]
US The front-end of the yield curve inverted last week, with two- and three-year Treasury yields rising above the five-year yield.Given that many analysts view an inversion as an omen for an economic downturn, the inversion brought heightened sensitivity among markets to the increased probability of a recession on the horizon. It is to be [...]
US The US Federal Reserve has seemingly been on autopilot for the past two years, raising rates on a quarterly basis except in September 2017, when it announced plans to shrink the balance sheet. But minutes of the November meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee released this week indicate the Fed might switch off [...]
