The past week has been a rollercoaster ride for investors, with significant developments in the global financial markets. Meanwhile, President Trump?s proposed tariffs continue to stir debate, and his recent threats against Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell have added another layer of uncertainty. Let?s dive into the details.
JOHANNESBURG -Investors have flocked to South Africa's domestic bond markets, betting the country can stay the course on reforms despite political fractures, but tariff threats and the prospect of a global growth slowdown are casting a long shadow.
Crypto analyst Benjamin Cowen anticipates that Bitcoin will maintain its dominance over altcoins until there are alterations in the US monetary policy. What Happened: In a video post on Wednesday, Cowen communicated his insights to his 892,000 YouTube subscribers. Cowen?s prediction is that Bitcoin will continue to outperform altcoins until the US Federal Reserve relaxes its monetary policy.
-San Francisco Federal Reserve President Mary Daly said on Friday that while she is still comfortable with a couple of interest rate cuts this year, rising risks of inflation mean the central bank may need to do less, especially given that uncertainty over President Donald Trump's trade policy has so far done little to disrupt still-solid U.S. economic growth.
* Daly says rate cuts should be gradual, patient. * Fed may hold policy tighter due to elevated inflation risks. * Trump's trade policy uncertainty has not slowed economic growth.
U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday said Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell should reduce interest rates. Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that inflation was going down, and Powell should respond by reducing interest rates. "If we had a Fed chairman that understood what he was doing, interest rates would be coming down.
* Hassett remarks show possibility of Powell firing under active consideration. * Comments follow escalation of Trump's feud with Powell. * Economists, markets looking on with trepidation. By Andrea Shalal.
Capital One Financial Corporation (COF) and Discover Financial Services (DFS) today announced that the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency have approved Capital One?s proposed acquisition of Discover. This press release features multimedia.
San Francisco Federal Reserve President Mary Daly said on Friday that uncertainty over Trump administration policies is weighing on sentiment but not yet on U.S. economic growth, even as monetary policy continues to put downward pressure on inflation, leaving the Fed in no rush to adjust interest rates.
White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett on Friday said President Donald Trump and his team were continuing to study if they could fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, a sign that such a move, a matter of great consequence for the central bank's independence and for global markets, is still an option.
White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett said on Friday that President Donald Trump and his team would study the matter when asked if firing Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell was an option. "The president and his team will continue to study that matter," Hassett told reporters at the White House in response to a question.
The Federal Reserve kicked off a sweeping effort to overhaul its annual stress tests of large banks on Thursday, proposing to average results over two years in setting capital requirements. The central bank also proposed giving banks three more months to adjust to the capital requirements set by the exam, as part of its overarching bid to make the process more transparent and less volatile.
Japan's government warned of uncertainty over the impact of U.S. trade policies as tariffs could hurt the global economy but it also said in a monthly report on Friday that the domestic economy was recovering moderately thanks to a solid corporate sector.
U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is an exemplary central banker, telling the unflattering truth about the U.S. economy and not bowing to political pressure, European Central Bank policymaker Francois Villeroy de Galhau said on Friday.
U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is an exemplary central banker, telling the unflattering truth about the U.S. economy and not bowing to political pressure, European Central Bank policymaker Francois Villeroy de Galhau said on Friday.
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The inflation risk from trade tensions seems weak and could even be on the decline, European Central Bank policymaker Francois Villeroy de Galhau said on Friday. Speaking to the Boursorama website, Villeroy, who is also head of the Bank of France, said: "This inflation risk seems rather low.
China is widely expected to leave its benchmark lending rates unchanged at the monthly fixing on Monday, a Reuters survey showed, but markets are wagering on more stimulus being rolled out soon in the face of an escalating Sino-U.S. trade war.
China is widely expected to leave its benchmark lending rates unchanged at the monthly fixing on Monday, a Reuters survey showed, but markets are wagering on more stimulus being rolled out soon in the face of an escalating Sino-U.S. trade war.
Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda said on Friday the central bank will keep raising interest rates if underlying inflation accelerates toward its 2% target, as it projects. But Ueda told parliament the BOJ will scrutinise "without pre-conception" whether the economy will move in line with its forecasts given uncertainty over the impact of U.S. tariffs.
Japan's core inflation accelerated in March due to persistent rises in food costs, data showed on Friday, complicating the central bank's task of weighing mounting price pressures against risks to the economy from higher U.S. tariffs.
U.S. stock futures trade mixed in a choppy session on Thursday night, amid President?Donald Trump?s?reassurance of a trade deal with Europe and China in the afternoon, following a fresh jab at Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell for not cutting interest rates.
Traders saw the all-clear on Thursday from the European Central Bank to bet on even steeper interest rate cuts ahead, confident the central bank will ease policy further if trade tensions dent a fragile economy.
* March core CPI rises 3.2% yr/yr, matches forecast. * Index excluding fresh food, fuel up 2.9% yr/yr in March. * Core inflation exceeded BOJ target for 36 consecutive months. * BOJ chief Ueda says pressure from rising food costs to dissipate. * Data comes ahead of BOJ's policy meeting April 30-May 1. By Leika Kihara.
* March core CPI rises 3.2% yr/yr, matches forecast. * Index excluding fresh food, fuel up 2.9% yr/yr in March. * Data comes ahead of BOJ's policy meeting April 30-May 1. By Leika Kihara.
Japan is "deeply concerned" about global economic fallout from U.S. President Donald Trump's trade tariffs, Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato said on Thursday in the government's strongest warning yet as the two nations began trade talks.
* BANK OF CANADA TO AUCTION C$3 BILLION OF 3.5% BONDS DUE 2057 ON APRIL 23. * BANK OF CANADA TO AUCTION C$5.25 BILLION OF 2.75% BONDS DUE 2030 ON APRIL 24 Source text: https://www.bankofcanada.ca/markets/government-securities-auctions/calls-for-tenders-and-results/nominal-bonds/
The Federal Reserve kicked off a sweeping effort to overhaul its annual stress tests of large banks on Thursday, proposing to average results over two years in setting capital requirements. The central bank also proposed giving banks three more months to adjust to the capital requirements set by the exam, as part of its overarching bid to make the process more transparent and less volatile.
The Federal Reserve kicked off a sweeping effort to overhaul its annual stress tests of large banks on Thursday, proposing to average results over two years in setting capital requirements. The central bank also proposed giving banks three more months to adjust to the capital requirements set by the exam, as part of its overarching bid to make the process more transparent and less volatile.
Netflix (NFLX) exceeded Wall Street expectations in its quarterly earnings report and offered a bullish revenue outlook on Thursday, signaling confidence amid the economic uncertainty surrounding President Donald Trump's erratic tariff plans.
Personal finance expert Ramit Sethi is sharing his tips and advice for investors in the wake of tariffs from President Donald Trump weighing on the markets and the minds of Americans. The author, best known for the book "I Will Teach You to Be Rich," recently said that increasing savings is one of the most important things?people can do given the current macroeconomic concerns.
President Donald Trump has privately discussed firing Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell for months and talked about it with former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh, including the possibility of then selecting Warsh as Powell's replacement, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday.
In general the bond market is volatile, and fixed income securities carry interest rate risk. (As interest rates rise, bond prices usually fall, and vice versa. This effect is usually more pronounced for longer-term securities.) Fixed income securities also carry inflation risk and credit and default risks for both issuers and counterparties. Unlike individual bonds, most bond funds do not have a maturity date, so avoiding losses caused by price volatility by holding them until maturity is not possible.
Lower-quality debt securities generally offer higher yields, but also involve greater risk of default or price changes due to potential changes in the credit quality of the issuer. Any fixed income security sold or redeemed prior to maturity may be subject to loss.
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