U.S. retail sales are expected to rise 4.4% this year, up from 3.9% growth in 2025, industry body National Retail Federation said on Wednesday, pointing to resilient consumer spending despite persisting macroeconomic pressures.
For decades, investors have relied on a simple market correlation. But BlackRock (BLK) is now warning that this relationship is breaking down?and the reason lies in a mix of geopolitics, energy shocks, and stubborn inflation.
Editor?s Note: Article has been updated with additional information. The Federal Reserve held interest rates unchanged at 3.50%?3.75% for the third straight meeting on Wednesday, as widely expected by market participants. The FOMC statement noted that while economic activity has been expanding at a solid pace, job gains have remained low, and inflation remains somewhat elevated.
The Federal Reserve kept its benchmark lending rate steady Wednesday, saying the ongoing Middle East conflict poses uncertainty to the US economic outlook. The central bank's Federal Open Market Committee left interest rates unchanged in a range of 3.50% to 3.75%, in line with Wall Street's expectations and marking its second consecutive pause.
* Dollar index edges up in calmer trading. * Fed leaves interest rates unchanged. By Chibuike Oguh. The U.S. dollar strengthened against other major currencies on Wednesday, on track to claw back losses from the past two sessions after the U.S. Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged.
The Federal Open Market Committee kept the Federal Funds rate target unchanged at 3.50% to 3.75%, its statement Wednesday afternoon showed. The policy committee's vote was mostly unanimous, with Governor Stephen Miran being the lone dissenter, preferring to lower the target range for the Fed Funds rate by 25 basis points.
The Federal Reserve held its policy rate steady on Wednesday, as was widely expected, citing somewhat elevated inflation and giving little indication when it might next cut short-term borrowing costs.
After two-and-a-half years of consensus at the Federal Reserve that the central bank's next move on interest rates will be downward, one Fed policymaker on Wednesday penciled in a rate hike for next year. The forecast is in the minority: the bulk of Fed policymakers still see the next move as a cut this year, as they did in December.
The Federal Reserve held interest rates unchanged at 3.50%?3.75% for the third straight meeting on Wednesday, as widely expected by market participants. The FOMC statement noted that while economic activity has been expanding at a solid pace, job gains have remained low and inflation remains somewhat elevated.
Financial stocks fell in Wednesday afternoon trading with the NYSE Financial Index decreasing 0.6% and the State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF shedding 0.7%. The Philadelphia Housing Index declined 1.4%, and the State Street Real Estate Select Sector SPDR ETF lost 0.7%. Bitcoin dropped 3.5% to $71,397, and the yield for 10-year US Treasuries was up 3 basis points to 4.23%. In economic...
After two-and-a-half years of consensus at the Federal Reserve that the central bank's next move on interest rates will be downward, one Fed policymaker on Wednesday penciled in a rate hike for next year. The forecast is in the minority: the bulk of Fed policymakers still see the next move as a cut this year, as they did in December.
Financial stocks were lower in Wednesday afternoon trading, with the NYSE Financial Index decreasing 0.4% and the State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF shedding 0.6%. The Philadelphia Housing Index was falling 1.4%, and the State Street Real Estate Select Sector SPDR ETF was down 0.8%. Bitcoin was declining 3.5% to $71,397, and the yield for 10-year US Treasuries was up 3 basis points t...
US equity indexes fell in midday trading Wednesday after US producer prices rose more than expected in February. The Nasdaq Composite fell 0.7% to 22,326.3, with the S&P 500 down 0.7% to 6,669.3 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average 1% lower to 46,544.5. Most US sectors were in the red, with consumer staples and health sectors leading the decliners.
* FTSE 100 down 0.9%, FTSE 250 fall 0.5% * Unilever (UL) considers separation of its food assets, Bloomberg News reports. * Diploma hits record high after raising fiscal guidance. By Tharuniyaa Lakshmi.
AM Best has downgraded the Financial Strength Rating to B- from B++ and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating to ?bb-? from ?bbb+? of Cadence Indemnity Inc.. Additionally, AM Best has placed these Credit Ratings under review with negative implications.
* Brent crude futures jump to nearly $110 a barrel. * Stocks fall as oil turns higher, PPI hotter than expected. * Fed likely to keep rates unchanged. By Chuck Mikolajczak. Global stocks fell on Wednesday, erasing earlier gains as oil prices reversed course to head up, while a reading on U.S. inflation was higher than expected ahead of a Federal Reserve monetary policy announcement.
Armory Arts Collective Will Be the Sixth Housing Community in the Nonprofit's Hometown ?. LONG BEACH, Calif. About Linc HousingLinc Housing, one of California's leading nonprofit developers of affordable housing, is committed to building communities and strengthening neighborhoods for underserved populations.
The Bank of Canada kept its key overnight lending rate steady at 2.25% on Wednesday for the third consecutive meeting as widely expected, said Bank of Montreal. The tone of the press release and Governor Tiff Macklem's opening comments had a little bit of something for both the doves and the hawks, noted the bank.
Neither Wednesday's monetary decision to hold interest steady nor the guidance that the Bank of Canada will "look through the war's immediate impact on inflation" comes as a big surprise, said National Bank of Canada. Governor Tiff Macklem added that "immediate" is measured in months, not weeks.
Ratings agency S&P Global revised the outlook on Cliffwater LLC's flagship private credit fund to "negative" from "stable" on Wednesday, citing higher investor redemption requests.
Donald Trump said Monday that ?a third-grade student? would know it?s time to cut rates and called for an emergency Fed meeting. Polymarket traders have put $500 million behind a 99.7% chance the Fed holds at 3.50%-3.75%. Oil near $100 a barrel is pushing inflation up while the labor market is cooling with a 92,000-job loss in February.
The Bank of Canada left its policy overnight interest rate unchanged at 2.25% on Wednesday, as widely predicted, citing the volatility in energy and financial markets and the "heightened risks to the global economy," said ING.
In this Market Intelligence analysis, Jeff Lipton warns that granting states access to Chapter 9 would be deeply disruptive, likely forcing muni yields higher and liquidity lower, while underscoring why states' legal protections and reserves still support strong willingness to pay.
S&P Global: * S&P: CLIFFWATER CORPORATE LENDING FUND 'A' RATING AFFIRMED; OUTLOOK REVISED TO NEGATIVE ON LARGE REDEMPTION PAYOUTS. * S&P: OUTLOOK REVISION REFLECTS THE CLIFFWATER CORPORATE LENDING FUND'S DECISION TO MEET REDEMPTION REQUESTS IN EXCESS OF THE 5% MINIMUM.
* Iran's huge Gulf gas field struck in major escalation. * Fed likely to hold rates steady as Iran war shocks policy debate. * US producer prices surge in February. By Ashitha Shivaprasad.
US producer prices rose at the fastest pace in seven months in February amid notable spikes in wholesale costs of food and energy, as markets braced for higher inflation prints due to the ongoing Iran war.
* TSX down 0.9%, on track for biggest intraday drop in a week. * BoC holds rates at 2.25%, opens door to hikes if required. * Materials sector drops over 4% to more than two-month low. By Rashika Singh.
* Bank of Canada keeps policy rate at 2.25%, as expected. * Governor: Looking through Iran war's impact on prices for now. * But will act if energy price rises lead to persistent inflation. * Next policy rate decision on April 29, markets expect hold. By Promit Mukherjee and David Ljunggren.
* Dollar index edges up in calmer trading. * Central banks set to hold interest rates amid MidEast conflict. * Traders look for Fed comments on inflation and outlook. By Chibuike Oguh. The U.S. dollar strengthened against other major currencies on Wednesday, clawing back losses from the past two sessions after data showed a more-than-expected increase in U.S. producer prices.
* Producer price index increases 0.7% in February. * Services account for more than half of the rise in PPI. * Food, energy prices rebound; Middle East war boosts oil prices. * Fed projects higher inflation, steady unemployment, single rate cut this year. By Lucia Mutikani.
The Bank of Canada held its policy rate at 2.25% on Wednesday, in line with market expectations, said TD. The BoC highlighted the uncertainty coming from the energy shock, noted the bank. What matters in the coming months will be how the assessment and identification of those spillovers are communicated, stated TD. The war in the Middle East is the dominant factor here, according to the bank.
The Bank of Canada held the policy rate steady again on Wednesday at 2.25%, but flagged that risks to economic growth are tilted to the downside while risks to inflation are tilted to the upside, said Desjardins. Overall, the suite of communications released alongside the rate decision was largely balanced, if not tilted toward a dovish view, noted the bank.
* Indexes off: Dow 0.35%, S&P 500 0.19%, Nasdaq 0.16% * Traders price out Fed rate cuts in 2026. * Fed rate decision expected at 2 p.m. ET. * Crude prices reverse losses; Brent last up over 5% By Johann M Cherian and Utkarsh Hathi.
The Bank of Canada's Wednesday decision to keep interest rates unchanged came as no surprise to markets, given the cross currents of a weak labor market, decelerating core inflation and the threat of an energy shock to inflation ahead, said CIBC.
* Brent crude futures spike 4.7% to $108.32 a barrel. * U.S. futures fall, Europe's STOXX 600 reverses course. * Fed 'dot plot' may indicate whether a rate cut this year remains likely. * Busy central bank calendar ahead. By Stella Qiu and Lucy Raitano.
Canada's main stock index opened lower on Wednesday, pressured by broad declines as oil prices rose, while investors awaited interest rate decisions from the Bank of Canada and the U.S. Federal Reserve. At 09:30 a.m. ET, the S&P/TSX composite index was down 0.9% at 32,626.16 points.
Wall Street's main indexes opened lower on Wednesday after data showed producer prices rose more than expected in February, prompting investors to price out any expectations for an interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve this year.
The Bank of Canada is widely expected at Wednesday's policy decision due shortly to keep its policy rate unchanged at 2.25%, the low end of the neutral range, says Societe Generale. The shock decline in employment and drop of the headline consumer price index to 1.8% year over year in February won't compel the BoC to change its view, writes SocGen.
The broad market exchange-traded fund SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust was down 0.3% and the actively traded Invesco QQQ Trust was 0.3% lower in Wednesday's premarket activity, ahead of key economic data to be released later in the day, followed by the Federal Open Market Committee's latest monetary policy decision.
* Israel strikes central Beirut as war expands. * Fed likely to hold rates steady as Iran war shocks policy debate. * US producer prices surge in February. By Ashitha Shivaprasad.
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.
Before investing, consider the funds' investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses. Contact Fidelity for a prospectus or, if available, a summary prospectus containing this information. Read it carefully.
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