Julian Marx (Flossbach von Storch) | The US Federal Reserve has just announced the second interest rate cut of the year. It is going down by 25 basis points to a new range of 4.5 to 4.75 per cent. The Fed’s confidence in today’s interest rate move may also have been drawn from the latest ‘Beige Book’, which is considered a barometer of the US economy and is published two…

J. P. Marín-Arrese | Jerome Powell boasts having curbed the recent inflation flare through resolute tightening of monetary policy.  While the need to perform rate hikes seems obvious, it seems far from evident it stood as the paramount driving force. For, as is now clear, the Fed delivered negative rates throughout the inflationary bout and only undertook lukewarm efforts to drain the excess liquidity fearing the danger of a credit-crunch….

The Fed has lowered interest rates by 0.5 points, thus aligning with the market, which anticipated a roughly 70% probability of a 50 basis point cut. As a financial institution noted this morning, “the risk for credit markets is that a 50 basis point cut may be interpreted as an emergency measure. Consequently, the gradual approach and soft landing that have benefited this type of asset could be disrupted. On…

Link Securities | According to a Reuters poll, a majority of economists surveyed believe that the Federal Reserve (Fed) will cut its policy rate by 25 basis points at each of the three remaining policy meetings this year (September, November and December). Moreover, only nine economists out of 101 surveyed expected a cut of half a percentage point next week, when the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meets, while 92…

Bankinter: The Fed meets expectations and keeps interest rates (Fed Funds) at 5.25%/5.50%. With respect to the macro picture, it maintains the GDP forecasts for 2024, 2025 and 2026. However, it revises upwards both Inflation (PCE) and Underlying Inflation in 2025 and 2026 and continues to miss the 2% target until 2026. The Unemployment Rate is also revised slightly upwards in 2025, 2026 and in the longer term. With regard…

Banc March: Round of statements from Fed members, where the word “patience” has been recurrent in their speeches and they delay the first cut to the end of the year and even 2025. The Atlanta Fed president believes that inflation is too high and does not consider it appropriate to lower the cost of money until the end of the year. He also said he was open to raising rates…

BancaMarch: Federal Reserve Chairman has confirmed the peak in official interest rates. Jerome Powell, has kept his January speech unchanged, indicating that monetary policy will change course at “some point this year”, without specifying a date. He also emphasised the risks of bringing forward the cuts too soon, resulting in a return of inflation and the need for an even tighter policy. Thus, the Fed will not cut rates until…

Norbolsa| Banks are finally signing up for a US Federal Reserve funding mechanism that has been largely dormant for more than two years, putting them in a stronger position to cope with any stress. It is unclear, however, whether they will want to use it in the event of a crisis. The Standing Repo Facility allows banks to borrow emergency overnight cash from the Federal Reserve through a repurchase agreement,…

Bankinter: The main messages to come out of the 31 January meeting are: Growth outlook revised upwards after a solid Q4. Employment and wages remain strong but have moderated. The overall and underlying PCE readings will continue to decelerate in 2024, but are still off target. Uncertainty in the projections remains high, but has been reduced. Risks to the inflation projections stand out. Fed members put on the table the…