All articles tagged with #fed
A Senate hearing for Kevin Warsh’s Federal Reserve chair nomination has been postponed because the Banking Committee hasn’t received required paperwork, delaying a planned April hearing and clouding a mid‑May confirmation as Sen. Thom Tillis blocks the nomination until DOJ drops a criminal probe into Powell.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell said the central bank is watching energy-price spikes tied to the Iran war and other factors, but the Fed has limited tools to directly influence energy markets.
US Treasuries rebounded after Powell said the Fed has limited ability to control supply shocks, prompting traders to shift away from bets on further rate hikes and toward the possibility of cuts later this year as Iran-related oil-price pressures and slower growth concerns weigh on inflation.
Goldman Sachs says traders have misinterpreted the Fed path as oil prices rise, arguing the oil-driven fears of imminent rate hikes may be overstated and the central bank’s tightening path could be less aggressive than currently priced in.
Fed Governor Stephen Miran again urged rate cuts, saying policy could be about a point lower over the year even as oil prices spike, arguing the energy shock won’t drive inflation unless wage-price dynamics deteriorate and inflation expectations rise. He notes policy acts with a lag and inflation expectations remain anchored, and he has dissented at every meeting since September 2025; markets expect no moves this year, and Warsh’s chairmanship remains blocked.
Richmond Fed President Tom Barkin argues that the U.S. economy keeps moving despite lingering policy fog, AI-driven uncertainty, and geopolitical shocks. Inflation has cooled from its peak but remains above target, unemployment sits low while the labor market feels fragile, and demand is narrow and skewed toward AI-related activity and wealthier consumers. The Fed has cut rates but held steady recently to await clearer signals about the path forward, as policymakers weigh risks from oil price shocks and global dynamics.
The Federal Reserve is opposing the Justice Department’s bid to reinstate subpoenas tied to a probe of Chair Jerome Powell’s congressional testimony, after the DOJ acknowledged it has no evidence of misconduct. Court filings show the Fed arguing subpoenas were improper and that a prior ruling quashing them could be reconsidered, potentially inviting an appeal. The standoff casts a cloud over Powell’s leadership as the White House weighs a successor and the Senate stalls on confirmation, delaying Fed policy and with potential global economic implications.
Top-tier 30-year fixed mortgage rates climbed above 6.5% (about 6.53% today, +0.10) driven by geopolitics and a hawkish global rate outlook, with Iran-related fuel-cost pressures boosting inflation expectations; analysts say sustained improvements are unlikely in the near term as Fed/ECB and other central banks maintain a hawkish stance.
US Federal Reserve proposes easing Basel III-style capital rules, cutting risk-weighted requirements for megabanks by about 4.8%, regional banks by 5.2%, and smaller banks under $100B by 7.7%, a shift supporters say will boost growth while critics warn it weakens safeguards and increases bailout risk after SVB’s collapse.
Initial unemployment claims fell to 205,000 for the week ending March 14 (lowest since mid‑January), while continuing claims rose to 1.86 million for the week ending March 7. Federal Reserve Chair Powell described the 4.4% unemployment rate as stable and said hiring and layoffs remain unusually low. Fed officials project unemployment around 4.4% this year, with GDP growth seen at about 2.4% in 2026 and 2.3% in 2027, and they expect at least one quarter-point rate cut later this year as the economy stays resilient despite layoffs at large firms.
President Trump endorses a DOJ criminal probe of Fed Chair Jerome Powell tied to Powell’s testimony about the Federal Reserve HQ renovation, a move that could delay the confirmation of Trump’s pick to replace Powell, Kevin Warsh. Powell says he expects to stay on as acting chair if no successor is confirmed, while a federal judge ruled that subpoenas in the probe were a pretext to pressure rate cuts; Sen. Thom Tillis says he will not vote on nominees until the probe is resolved.
Fed Chair Powell rejects the stagflation label and says he’ll stay through an ongoing investigation as the Fed holds rates at 3.5%–3.75% and signals two potential cuts this year if inflation progresses. Oil-price shocks from the Iran war push near‑term inflation higher, though higher U.S. energy production could cushion some effects. Markets fell as investors weighed the policy stance against ongoing Middle East uncertainty.
U.S. producer prices rose 0.7% in February—the largest monthly gain in seven months—driven by a 0.5% rise in services and a rebound in food and energy as the Middle East conflict pushes oil higher; the year-on-year PPI climbed 3.4%. The report underscores inflation pressures from tariffs and services margins, with several components posting sizable gains. The Fed kept rates steady and projected higher inflation with only one rate cut this year, suggesting tariff pass-through and energy costs could keep inflation hotter even if oil prices retreat.
The Federal Reserve kept its benchmark rate at 3.5-3.75% amid elevated uncertainty about the outlook, citing a cooling labour market and rising prices driven in part by geopolitical tensions after US-Israel strikes on Iran; energy costs and wholesale inflation have picked up, while unemployment rose to 4.4% and job openings stayed at 6.9 million, prompting policymakers to stay cautious on future moves.
US stocks slide with the Dow down over 750 points to a 2026 low as the Fed keeps rates unchanged amid hotter inflation data and Iran-related energy risk; Powell says he’ll remain chair unless his successor is confirmed by May, while Iran’s attack on Qatar’s Ras Laffan gas hub threatens energy supplies. A 60-day Jones Act waiver eases shipping; Micron posts near-tripling revenue on AI demand, and China accelerates AI adoption with OpenClaw.