FEBRUARY 3, 2025 – FED LEAVES RATES ALONE AS INFLATION TICKS UP The Federal Reserve met last week and left interest rates unchanged. They have entered a wait-and-see stance, choosing to see where inflation goes before acting. Fed Chair Powell pointed out that rates are much less restrictive now than they were a year ago. He is optimistic inflation will …
January 27, 2025 — The Fed Meets this Week
JANUARY 27, 2025 – THE FED MEETS THIS WEEK The Federal Reserve meets this week on Tuesday and Wednesday where no action is expected on interest rates despite President Trump’s call to lower interest rates immediately. The President wants to boost the economy, even though it is outperforming its peers around the world. It was announced last week that existing …
January 21, 2025 — Inflation Rises in December, New Hopes for Rate Cuts
JANUARY 21, 2025 – INFLATION RISES IN DECEMBER, NEW HOPES FOR RATE CUTS December’s inflation rate ticked up 0.2 percent to 2.9 percent for the year, and up 0.4 percent from November, driven for the most part by gas prices. The core CPI rose by 0.2 percent, its smallest gain since July and below expectations for a 0.3 percent rise. …
January 13, 2025 — New Jobs Soar, Rate Cuts Likely to be Slowed
JANUARY 13, 2025 – NEW JOBS SOAR, RATE CUTS LIKELY TO BE SLOWED The Labor Department released the December employment report which reported 256,000 new jobs were created, far exceeding the expectation for 150,000 new jobs. The unemployment rate fell to 4.1 percent from 4.2 percent in November. A good employment indicates the labor market has recovered from the slow …
December 16, 2024 — Inflation Rises to 2.7 Percent in November
DECEMBER 16, 2024 – INFLATION RISES TO 2.7 PERCENT IN NOVEMBER The November inflation rate edged up slightly, 0.3 percent for the month or 2.7 percent for the year, in line with expectations. For comparison, month-over-month inflation has come in at 0.2 percent for each of the last four months. Core inflation rose 0.3 percent fo the month, while year-over-year …
December 9, 2025 — Jobs Rise by 227,000 in November
DECEMBER 9, 2024 – JOBS RISE BY 227,000 IN NOVEMBER In better-than-expected news, the US economy added 227,000 new jobs in November, and the unemployment rate edged up slightly to 4.2 percent. Following this encouraging report, expectations have risen for the Fed to lower rates at their meeting on December 17-18. Jobs rebounded from October, when the economy only added …
December 2, 2024 — Federal Reserve Discussed Slowing Rate Cuts
DECEMBER 2, 2024 – FEDERAL RESERVE DISCUSSED SLOWING RATE CUTS In the release of the minutes of the Fed’s November meeting it was reported officials discussed the possibility of slowing down or pausing interest rate cuts if inflation does continue to drop. The data will have to show inflation is continuing to trend downward if rates are to move to …
November 25, 2024 — Where Will Rates Go in 2025
NOVEMBER 25, 2024 – WHERE WILL RATES GO IN 2025 The Fed’s last meeting of 2024 will take place on December 17-18. In the last few days, futures traders have become less certain there will be a rate cut, after it was a near certainty the week before. They are also pricing in three quarter-percent reductions in 2025, lower than …
November 18, 2024 — Inflation Edges Up in October
NOVEMBER 18, 2024 – INFLATION EDGES UP IN OCTOBER The Consumer Price Index moved up slightly in October to 2.6 percent. This was disappointing after the September CPI of 2.4 percent was the lowest in three and a half years. It seems the path to the Fed’s two percent target is anything but linear. Core prices were up 3.3 percent. …
November 11, 2024 — Rates Drop by 0.25 Percent
NOVEMBER 11, 2024 — RATES DROP BY 0.25 PERCENT The Federal Reserve met last week and cut rates by a quarter of a percent, as expected. The benchmark rate has now fallen into a range of 4.5 to 4.75 percent. There remains an expectation for a further similar cut to take place in December. Fed officials want to lower rates …