FOMC Minutes
China Uncertainty Weighing on Stocks
November 20, 2019
For some time now, much of the day-to-day swings in financial market sentiment has been attributed to shifting perceptions about U.S.-Sino trade talks, and oftentimes in the absence of concrete understanding of how those talks are really progressing. It makes one wonder if the trade talks have been a convenient excuse for explaining away normal […] More
Sterling Up, Yuan Down
August 22, 2019
Sterling strengthened 0.9% against the dollar and euro overnight. This appreciation was a response to remarks by German Chancellor Merkel after talks with British Prime Minister Johnson. Merkel considers a solution on the contentious border issue between Northern Ireland and the rest of Ireland still possible by the October 31st Brexit deadline. The Chinese yuan […] More
Wednesday Brings Mix of Data and Market Movements
August 21, 2019
Compared to closing dollar levels on Tuesday, the greenback has declined 0.4% against the loonie and peso and by 0.3% relative to the Australian dollar. Alternatively, the U.S. dollar is up 0.3% against the Swiss franc, 0.2% versus the yen and sterling and 0.1% against the yuan. Once more the euro shows no net change […] More
FOMC Minutes
April 10, 2019
Today’s published FOMC minutes from the March 19-20 meeting do not include startling revelations not covered at Chairman Powell’s press conference. It was one of the most newsworthy meetings in a considerably long time, as policymakers scrapped plans for rate hikes in 2019 and implied no more than one hike in 2020, announced a decrease […] More
Global Slowdown Concerns Remain in Play
January 10, 2019
FOMC minutes yesterday revealed less clarity about the future path of the fed funds target. Some committee members had been hesitant to endorse December’s rate hike, the ninth of this tightening cycle, although a consensus persists that a few more increase are probable in the future. Ultimately, policy will be reactive to the data, and […] More
Comments on the FOMC Minutes from November 7-8
November 29, 2018
FOMC minutes released today suggest a lesser shift in Fed policy intentions that markets perhaps assumed after yesterday’s speech by Chairman Powell. His remark regarding the federal funds rate perhaps now only being slightly lower than rate neutrality is ascribed in these minutes to just a few committee participants. A few participants, while viewing further […] More
Trump Fighting a Two-Front War Against Fed and Over His Stance on Saudi Arabia
October 18, 2018
Minutes from the FOMC September meeting minutes at which monetary officials again raised interest rates reveal confidence in continuing growth, a view shared by some that the fed funds target is likely to spend a while above the perceived long-run level, and a considerable time allotted to discussion of the ramifications of U.S.-Sino trade tensions. […] More
FOMC Minutes
May 23, 2018
Comments within the May 1-2 minutes regarding U.S. economic conditions and prospects are unsurprising and embody little change. The labor market is strengthening, GDP growth is moderately paced, and inflation is hovering not far from target. One excerpt always of interest is the language on likely future monetary policy: With regard to the medium-term outlook for […] More
Three-Pronged Blow to European Confidence
May 23, 2018
Italy is poised to get a populist, anti-euro, anti-austerity, and pro-Russia governing coalition. Being the third largest economy to use the euro, this development poses an existential risk to the common European currency that is far greater than the debt problems of Greece. Ten-year sovereign debt yields rose 10 basis points today in Italy in […] More
FOMC Minutes
February 21, 2018
Minutes from the last Federal Open Market Committee on January 30-31, which also was the last one of the Janet Yellen era, note that economic growth in 2018 appears likely to be somewhat faster than imagined at the prior meeting. However, no urgency is expressed to speed up the likely progression of future interest rate […] More
