The August report bolsters the case for another quarter-point interest rate cut when the Federal Reserve meets on September 17-18. Officials will cite the slowdown in job growth and softening manufacturing data, but will also likely reiterate that the economy remains on solid footing overall.
Read MoreFor the first time in a decade, the Federal Reserve is likely to cut interest rates. Citing the “crosscurrents” of slowing global growth, uncertainty over trade policy, and static prices, the central bank will preemptively shave 0.25 percent from the fed funds rate, putting the new range at 2-2.25 percent.
Read MoreAs corporate earnings dribble in and the results of the Federal Reserve’s next policy meeting are more than a week away, it’s a good time for a reality check across a few key areas:
Read MoreDow 27K! S&P 500 3K! NASDAQ 8200! Just months after the bull market in stocks and the current expansion each became the longest on record, U.S. equity indexes reached more milestones last week. Sure, the economy is expanding, but you can thank one person for the recent leg up in the bull market rally: Fed Chairman Jerome Powell.
Read MoreStocks reversed multi-week losses and you can thank Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell. The week began with hand wringing over the potential Mexican tariffs. On Tuesday, Powell announced that the central bank was keeping an eye on trade developments, their impact on the U.S. economy, and would “act as appropriate to sustain the expansion.”
Read MoreThe government reported that the economy added a better than expected 263,000 jobs in April. It was the 103rd straight month of job growth, the longest streak on record. Nearly ten years into the expansion, job creation is 205,000 for the first four months of 2019, just above the monthly amount added since the labor market bottomed out in 2010.
Read MoreLast week, the Federal Reserve decided not to raise interest rates. The more dovish Fed outlook pushed down interest rates, which led mortgage rates to 14-month lows. The current 30-year fixed rate loan stands at just under 4.3 percent, just in time for the spring home buying season.
Read MoreTwo words from Fed Chair Jerome Powell moved markets last week: “JUST BELOW.” He was talking about short-term interest rates, which are just below neutral, a Goldilocks level that is designed to neither speed up-nor slow down-economic growth. Powell’s assessment was a change from a comment he made in early October, when he said rates were a “long way” from neutral.
Read MoreThe U.S. economy is experiencing “a particularly bright moment,” according to Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, which is why Fed officials increased interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point to a new range of 2 to 2.25 percent and are likely to hike one more time by the end of the year. The strength is likely to persist into next year. According to the central bank’s “dot plot,” which is intended to forecast future actions, there will be four rate hikes by the end of 2019.
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