Last week was chaotic. The Federal Reserve’s (Fed) hawkish 25bp cut, the hint from the dot plot that there would be only two rate cuts next year instead of four – because the US economy is too strong to continue the cuts as previously predicted – and the US debt limit shenanigans even before Trump […]

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The financial markets were jolted by Fed’s hawkish rate cut last week, sending ripples across stocks, bonds, currencies, precious metals, and even cryptocurrencies. Fed’s indication of prolonged restrictive monetary policy fueled risk aversion, pushing Dollar to end the week as the strongest performer in the currency markets, supported by surging yields and elevated Fed expectations. […]

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The Federal Reserve’s policy change and economic projections have significantly impacted markets, leading to a rise in US yields. The US PCE data released on Friday rose less than expected, alleviating some selling pressure on US equities. The Bank of Japan held rates steady, defying expectations of a rate cut, while the risk of a […]

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Canadian Highlights The Fall Economic Statement (FES) was delivered amid a chaotic week for the federal government. Larger deficits and modest stimulus were features, although the FES is unlikely to change the Bank of Canada’s thinking on policy. Data on the real economy was mixed, with gains in home sales and starts in November, but […]

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Summary United States: That’s a Wrap The outlook for 2025 is riddled with uncertainty, yet data released this week demonstrate a U.S. economy that retains momentum. Ascertaining what level of policy restraint achieves the careful balance of keeping inflation in check and easing stress on interest-rate sensitive sectors will dominate the monetary policy discussion come […]

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The tradition of central banks hosting meetings just before Christmas continued this year with policy decisions in the US, Japan, UK, Norway, and Sweden. The largest present came from the US Federal Reserve in the shape of a significant hawkish surprise. Fed cut the policy rate target by 25bp to 4.25-4.50% as expected, but Powell delivered […]

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The U.S. dollar ends the year on a strong note, hitting two-year highs at 108.45. The Fed expects a 50-point rate cut for the full year 2025 versus 4 cuts one quarter earlier, citing higher inflation forecasts and a stubbornly strong labour market. This fundamental change has given a new impetus to the dollar’s rise […]

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Dollar’s strong rally paused in early US trading after PCE inflation data came in below expectations, easing concerns that Fed might maintain higher rates for an extended period. Markets are also digesting remarks from Fed officials following the hawkish rate cut earlier in the week. Most notably, Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack, the sole dissenter […]

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Markets A looming US government shutdown starting as soon as tonight is capturing market and media attention. Policymakers had agreed on a bipartisan deal to fund spending through March 24. Enter Trump and Musk. Both urged Republicans to kill the deal, a.o. because it didn’t raise the debt ceiling. Trump otherwise has to address the […]

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A week packed with central bank decisions is coming to an end with a sour taste in everybody’s mouth. The Federal Reserve (Fed)’s decision to cut rates by 25bp was fully meaningless and the incoming data is a proof. The US Q3 growth was revised to 3.1% from 2.8% printed earlier, the sales growth was […]

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Key insights from the week that was. As is tradition in Australia, the Federal Government delivered its mid-year economic and fiscal outlook in the lead up to Christmas. As anticipated, this update highlighted a troubling combination of fading revenue windfalls and persistent strength in spending across critical services, infrastructure, cost-of-living measures and state/local grants. While […]

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Markets Yesterday’s hawkish FOMC cut still resonated today. The front end of the curve outperformed slightly after US money markets even outhawked the Fed, looking to only 1 instead 2 rate cuts next year. The US 2-yr yield returns 4.5 bps of yesterday’s 15 bps gain. Long-end US bond yields remain upwardly oriented with the […]

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The New Zealand dollar had a miserable Wednesday, plummeting 2.3%. NZD/USD has reversed directions Thursday and is trading at 0.5659 in the European session, up 0.66% on the day at the time of writing. The New Zealand dollar has been on a sharp descent, falling 10.8% since Oct. 1. US dollar soars after Fed rate […]

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Markets The Fed lowered policy rates yesterday from 4.5%-4.75% to 4.25-4.5%, a level chair Powell said is still “meaningfully restrictive”. The decision was expected but not unanimous. Cleveland Fed Hammack voted to keep rates steady which given the circumstances had a lot to say for. The economy is doing fine with GDP forecasts left unchanged […]

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Fed’s hawkish rate cut overnight sparked an outsized market reaction, with DOW plunging over -1100 points and NASDAQ losing -3.5%. Fed’s messages didn’t deviate from expectations leading to the meeting, indicating a slower easing path in 2025 with likely just two more rate cuts and a terminal rate near or above 3.0%. But markets responded […]

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In focus today A packed European central bank day kicks off with the Riksbank decision at 9:30 CET. We expect a 25bp cut to 2.50% and that the central bank will maintain a message of more cuts at the beginning of 2025. Following the November decision to cut by 50bp to 2.75%, the communication has […]

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Sometimes, the truth is hard to say—and even harder to hear. The Federal Reserve (Fed) announced another 25bp cut as widely expected and priced in, but hinted that there will be just about two rate cuts throughout next year. The GDP forecasts for this year and the next were revised higher, the unemployment rate lower, […]

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Summary As widely expected, the FOMC cut the target range for the federal funds rate by 25 bps at today’s meeting. However, one Committee member, who preferred to keep rates on hold, dissented. Wording in the post-meeting statement was changed to signal that further easing may proceed at a slower pace. The median dot for […]

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The Federal Reserve Open Market Committee (FOMC) cut the federal funds rate to the 4.25% to 4.50% range and announced it would continue its balance sheet runoff. The Fed maintained its language on growth and inflation, stating “economic activity has continued to expand at a solid pace”, that the “labor market conditions have generally eased” […]

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Fed lowered its benchmark interest rate by 25 bps to 4.25–4.50%, as widely expected. However, the decision was not unanimous, with Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack dissenting, favoring a pause in rate cuts. The updated median economic projections reflect a more cautious approach to easing. Fed now expects rates to fall to 3.9% by the […]

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