FOMC Hikes Policy Rate by 75 Basis Points, Meeting Market Expectations

The Federal Reserve Open Market Committee (FOMC) lifted the federal funds rate to the 2.25% to 2.50% range and will continue its balance sheet runoff. The Fed updated its language to reflect recent economic data, stating that “indicators of spending and production have softened. Nonetheless, job gains have been robust in recent months, and the […]

The FOMC to Advance Meeting by Meeting

The move to a broadly neutral stance and the circumstances the US economy faces are increasingly leading the FOMC to take a more balanced view of the risks regarding inflation and activity. The July FOMC meeting saw a very important shift in the Committee’s communications regarding the future path of policy, with Chair Powell highlighting […]

FOMC Raises Rates by 75 bps and Indicates More to Come

Summary The FOMC raised rates by 75 bps at today’s meeting, which was widely expected. All 12 voting members of the Committee supported the decision to hike rates by 75 bps. Inflation remains forefront in the minds of most Committee members. The statement announcing the decision to hike rates noted that “the Committee is strongly […]

USD Remains on Back Foot in Asian Dealings

Markets The Fed as expected lifted policy rates by 75 bps to what is now considered a neutral 2.25/2.50%. Chair Powell made clear that more tightening is appropriate as inflation remains high and the labour market still strong. And although the new statement mentions the softening in spending and production indicators, Powell refused to accept […]

Powell Sparks Buy Everything Rally

You had the feeling that Wall Street, with perpetually itchy buy-button trigger fingers, was primed for this FOMC. As expected, the FOMC raised the Fed Funds target by 0.75%, to a target range of 2.25%-2.50%. It was what Mr Powell said afterwards that turbocharged the FOMO gnomes of Wall Steet. Mr Powell said that it […]

Fed Boosted Bitcoin

Bitcoin has surpassed the $23170 mark, adding more than 9% in the past 24 hours. Ethereum jumped 13% to $1640. Other leading altcoins in the top 10 have gained between 6% (BNB) and 15% (Polkadot). The total capitalisation of the crypto market, according to CoinMarketCap, rose 8.9% overnight to $1.06 trillion. Bitcoin buying picked up […]

Ethereum Outperforms Bitcoin as Merge Continues to Attract Attention

The major cryptocurrencies have been steadily climbing since mid-June, recovering somewhat from the heavy losses suffered from April and emulating the stock rebound on Wall Street. Bitcoin has gained a healthy 30% from the June low point, but its rival Ether – the world’s second most popular crypto – has staged an even more impressive […]

Aussie Joins Post-FOMC Rally, US GDP Looms

US dollar sinks after FOMC rate hike There were no surprises from the Federal Reserve, which delivered a second straight 0.75% hike on Wednesday. The markets had priced in this move, although it was a live meeting, as there was an outside chance of the Fed firing a massive 1.00% salvo in order to curb […]

US Economic Growth Records Second Consecutive Quarter of Contraction  

Real GDP contracted by 0.9% quarter-over-quarter (annualized) in the second quarter of 2022. The reading came in below the consensus forecast, which called for a modest gain of 0.4% q/q. Consumer spending grew by 1% – a deceleration from the 1.8% recorded in Q1. Spending on services (4.1%) accounted for all the gains, while durable […]

Sunset Market Commentary

Markets It was the bad-news-show today. First up: German inflation. The pre-market regional print in North Rein-Westphalia already suggested a nasty surprise and so it happened. The national number eased less than expected, from 7.6% to 7.6% in July. The harmonized figure even unexpectedly accelerated from 8.2% to 8.5%, suggesting upwards risks for the European […]