The Federal Open Market Committee maintained its federal funds rate target at 3.50% to 3.75%, as expected, but four officials dissented, its statement Wednesday afternoon showed. Fed Governor Stephen Miran again sought a 25-basis-point rate. There were few changes from the previous meeting's statement, keeping the focus on the committee's repeated pledge to adjust policy if risks emerge.
Demand for US durable goods rebounded more than projected in March, led by computers and electronic products, while new orders for civilian aircraft slumped, government data showed Wednesday. Orders for tangible items with an average life of at least three years increased 0.8% sequentially to $318.88 billion last month, following a 1.2% drop in February, the Census Bureau said.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell closed out eight years as head of the U.S. central bank on Wednesday with interest rates on hold, rising concern about inflation, and an announcement that he would stay on as a Fed governor for now to defend the agency's independence from Trump administration "battering."
The Federal Reserve will not cut interest rates this year, and traders of short-term U.S. interest-rate futures are now betting the U.S. central bank will raise in the first half of next year, after the Fed left short-term borrowing costs on hold for the third straight meeting this year and three policymakers dissented against its "easing bias."
U.S. Treasury debt yields rose on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve held interest rates steady, but in its most divided decision since 1992 noted rising concerns about inflation. The U.S. central bank's policy statement drew three dissents from officials who no longer feel the U.S. central bank should communicate a bias towards lowering borrowing costs.
The Federal Reserve held the benchmark federal funds rate at 3.50-3.75% on Wednesday, in what is widely expected to be Chair Jerome Powell?s final policy decision before passing leadership to Kevin Warsh on May 15. Governor Stephen Miran again dissented in favor of a quarter-point cut.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell closed out eight years as head of the U.S. central bank on Wednesday with interest rates on hold, rising concern about inflation, and an announcement that he would stay on as a Fed governor for now to defend the agency's independence from Trump administration "battering."
* Fed leaves benchmark overnight interest rate in 3.50%-3.75% range. * Iran war clouds economic, monetary policy outlook. * Senate panel advances nomination of Warsh to succeed Powell as Fed chief. * Powell says he will remain as governor as long as legal threats to Fed continue. * Four Fed policymakers issue dissents. By Howard Schneider and Ann Saphir.
"Clearly, issuers still need access to this very important financing tool," said State of Michigan Treasurer Rachael Eubanks, who also serves as this year's president of the National Association of State Treasurers.
US housing starts unexpectedly jumped in March amid strength in both single-unit and multi-family projects, while building permits fell sharply, government data showed Wednesday. Starts surged nearly 11% sequentially to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.5 million units last month, according to the Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
US equity indexes traded lower after midday on Wednesday as crude oil futures and government bond yields jumped amid concern that Iran's blockade will be extended to force Tehran into a peace deal.
The Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas today reported net income of $121.9 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2026. Total assets at March 31, 2026 were $97.1 billion, compared with $108.5 billion at December 31, 2025. Advances totaled $44.2 billion at March 31, 2026, compared with $50.8 billion at December 31, 2025.
The Bank of Canada left its policy rate at 2.25% on Wednesday as expected, but the overall tone of the accompanying statement leaned somewhat dovish relative to market expectations, said ING.
British shares drifted lower on Wednesday as investors parsed a mixed bag of corporate earnings, with attention turning towards central bank decisions on both sides of the Atlantic. The blue-chip FTSE 100 index fell 1.2%, slipping for the seventh time in eight sessions and closing at its lowest in a month.
The Bank of Canada left its policy rate unchanged on Wednesday as expected in the face of rising inflation and once again it reiterated that it will be looking through the Iran war's immediate consumer price index impact, said National Bank of Canada.
US equity indexes traded lower around midday Wednesday as crude oil futures and government bond yields rose amid concern that Iran's blockade will be extended to force Tehran into a peace deal.
The US Senate Banking Committee voted Wednesday to advance Kevin Warsh's nomination as Federal Reserve chair to the Republican-controlled Senate. Warsh is President Donald Trump's pick to replace Jerome Powell, whose term as Fed chief expires on May 15.
Kevin Warsh, U.S. President Donald Trump's pick to lead the Federal Reserve, cleared a key procedural hurdle on Wednesday, opening the way for him to succeed Jerome Powell next month amid the White House's unprecedented efforts to exert control over the world's most powerful central bank.
The Bank of Canada held rates steady at 2.25% on Wednesday, as expected, said Bank of Montreal. The policy statement held to the facts, highlighting the uncertainty around the outlook for oil prices and trade, noted the bank. The labor market remains soft. The BoC will look through higher headline inflation for now, but will not let that become persistent inflation, stated BMO.
* Wall Street trading is choppy, dollar up ahead of Fed meeting. * Microsoft (MSFT), Alphabet, Amazon (AMZN) and Meta earnings due. * Trump unhappy with latest proposal from Tehran. * Oil prices rise after report US will extend blockade. By Sin?ad Carew and Elizabeth Howcroft.
* Fed expected to hold rates, focus on Powell's future and war's economic impact. * Oil prices rise, boosting dollar demand as safe haven. * Yen inches towards intervention levels. By Chibuike Oguh and Amanda Cooper.
AM Best has affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of A+ and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Ratings of ?aa-? of the members of Old Republic Insurance Companies.
Later today, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell will hold what is probably the final meeting of his tenure. Fed entered 2026 flirting with a rate cut down the road. Yet, that hope dispersed once the war with Iran drove renewed cost-side inflation.
The Bank of Canada held rates steady at 2.25% on Wednesday, as expected, said ING. USD/CAD briefly traded on the strong side after Wednesday's BoC announcement, although market pricing did not shift meaningfully, noted the bank. Expectations remain for a 25bps rate hike at the October meeting, so more hawkish than ING's baseline call.
Tradeweb Markets (TW) released first-quarter financial results and hosted an earnings call on Wednesday. This transcript is brought to you by Benzinga APIs.
* TSX down 0.3% * Bank of Canada holds benchmark rate at 2.25% * Oil prices climb almost 4%; gold slips. By Tharuniyaa Lakshmi. Canada's main stock index slipped into the red on Wednesday as investors digested the Bank of Canada's latest interest-rate decision and braced for a policy update from the U.S. Federal Reserve.
Euro zone bond yields rose to new multi-week highs on Wednesday as efforts to end the Iran war appeared to be in a stalemate,driving up oil prices again andspurring worries about persistent inflation. Euro zone inflation data for April due on Thursday will reinforce or assuage such worries just before the European Central Bank announces its interest rate decision.
The Bank of Canada kept its key interest rate unchanged on Wednesday as expected and said any changes in the rate could be small if its projections for the economy held true. But Governor Tiff Macklem - citing uncertainty caused by the Middle East war and U.S. tariffs - said if oil prices stayed high and began pushing up inflation, it might have to respond with consecutive rate hikes.
Complaint alleges Sallie Mae established a plan and scheme to circumvent federal data-privacy protections related to the use and disclosure of student data, and retaliated against the executive who reported it. WILMINGTON, Del. At the heart of the complaint is a two-entity structure.
The Bank of Canada's Governing Council left rates unchanged at 2.25% on Wednesday and signaled that elevated oil prices won't do much to boost gross domestic product or underlying inflationary pressures, said Desjardins. For its projections, the BoC assumed that Brent oil prices will fall to around US$75/barrel by mid-2027, roughly in line with the bank's forecasts.
* Core capital goods orders increase 3.3% in March. * Shipments of core capital goods rise 1.2% * Goods trade deficit widens 5.3% to $87.9 billion. * Single-family housing starts jump 9.7%, but permits fall 3.8% By Lucia Mutikani.
The US Senate Banking Committee on Wednesday voted 13-11 to advance Kevin Warsh's nomination as the next chair of the Federal Reserve, according to media reports. Warsh is on track to be confirmed by the full Senate before current Fed Chair Jerome Powell's term ends on May 15, the reports said. MT Newswires does not provide investment advice.
The Bank of Canada will be standing on "guard for thee," but that's not just against elevated inflation, but also sluggish growth and excessive slack, a two-way risk that is keeping interest rates frozen in place, said CIBC after Wednesday's policy statement. The decision to leave the policy rate at 2.25% came as no surprise, given the clouded outlook ahead, noted the bank.
* Senate Banking Committee votes 13-11 to advance Warsh's nomination. * Confirmation by full Senate expected in week of May 11. * Powell's leadership term ends May 15. * Powell to stay on Fed board for undetermined period. By David Lawder.
The Bank of Canada on Wednesday said it slightly lifts its growth forecast for the economy to 1.2% this year, rising to 1.6% in 2027, slightly above potential output growth as exports and business investment gradually pick up. The gross domestic product is projected to expand by 1.7% in 2028, writes the central bank in its quarterly Monetary Policy Report.
The Bank of Canada held its key interest rate at 2.25% on Wednesday, due to "heightened volatility" caused by the Middle East conflict and U.S. trade policy reshaping global trade patterns. The Bank said Governing Council is looking through the war's immediate impact on inflation but will not let higher energy prices become persistent inflation.
The South African rand fell sharply on Wednesday as investors waited for the U.S. Federal Reserve's interest rate decision later in the day, against a backdrop of an Iran war that shows little sign of imminent resolution. * At 1405 GMT the rand traded at 16.7350 against the dollar, down 1.3% from its previous close.
Greystone, a leading national commercial real estate finance company, in partnership with Cushman & Wakefield (CWK), announced they have arranged the sale and provided, $28,219,000 in Freddie Mac financing for the acquisition of Landmark Apartments, a 264-unit multifamily property in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Landmark Apartments is a garden-style community built in 2007 and situated on more than 23 acres.
* Indexes off: Dow 0.56%, S&P 500 0.18%, Nasdaq 0.17% * Data-storage stocks gain after Seagate's (STX) upbeat forecast. * Starbucks (SBUX) up after lifting forecast. By Niket Nishant and Utkarsh Hathi. Wall Street's main indexes fell on Wednesday as investors treaded carefully ahead of several Big Tech earnings reports and a Federal Reserve meeting expected to be the last for Jerome Powell as its Chair.
AM Best has affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of B++, the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of ?bbb+?, and the Vietnam National Scale Rating of aaa.VN of Vietnam National Reinsurance Corporation.
* The BoC kept rates steady at 2.25%, unchanged since October. * April inflation likely to shoot up to about 3%, BoC says. * The bank lifted its 2026 growth forecast to 1.2% from the 1.1% By Promit Mukherjee and David Ljunggren.
AM Best has affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of B+ and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of ?bbb-? of New Zealand Medical Indemnity Insurance Limited. The ratings reflect NZMII?s balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses as adequate, as well as its adequate operating performance, limited business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management.
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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