The numbers: Commercial and industrial loans — a key economic driver — rebounded by a seasonally adjusted $6.9 billion to $2.76 trillion in the week ending Aug. 30, the Federal Reserve said Friday. Lending has been dropping for four straight months through July following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank. Key details: Lending by large…
The U.S. dollar isn’t about to lose its global leadership position despite challenges such as China’s increasing importance to the world economy, according to Wells Fargo Investment Institute. “We do not foresee a meaningful risk of the greenback losing its status as the world’s primary reserve currency,” strategists at Wells Fargo Investment Institute said in…
Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee on Thursday suggested the Fed is almost done raising interest rates. “We are very rapidly approaching the time when our argument is not going to be about how high should the rates go,” Goolsbee said, in an interview on NPR’s Marketplace radio program. “It’s going to be an argument of…
The outlook: The U.S. economy grew at a modest pace in July and August, bolstered by “the last stage of pent-up demand” for leisure activities, according to the Federal Reserve’s latest survey of economic conditions that is known as the “Beige Book.” What happened: Outside of leisure travel, nonessential retail sales slowed, the survey said….
The numbers: The U.S. trade deficit in goods widened 2.6% to $91.2 billion in July, according to the Commerce Department’s advanced estimate released Wednesday. Economists polled by Econoday were looking for the deficit to rise to $90.8 billion deficit. Key details: Exports of goods increased $2.4 billion to $164.8 in July. Imports rose $4.7 billion…
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Friday said the central bank remains unsure of whether more interest rate hikes are needed. In a speech kicking off the Jackson Hole retreat, Powell promised that the central bank will move carefully given “cloudy” economic outlook and said the central bank would assess the incoming data. “Based on…
Most Federal Reserve officials last month continued to see serious inflation risks which could require more interest-rate hikes, according to the minutes of the July policy meeting. The big question facing Fed officials continues to be whether the level of the policy interest rate is now “sufficiently restrictive” to bring inflation down to 2% target….
The numbers: Total bank lending rose by $4.6 billion to $12.1 trillion in the week ending May 31, the Federal Reserve said Friday. This is the third straight week of gains. Total bank deposits rose $46 billion last week to $17.3 trillion. Deposits had recently fallen to the lowest level in almost two years. Key…
Minutes of the Federal Reserve’s May policy meeting show that officials were divided over the path forward. At their meeting, the Fed hiked its benchmark interest rate by a quarter of one percentage point to a range of 5%-5.25%. The central bank also altered its forward guidance to indicate it could pause at their next…
San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank President Mary Daly said Monday she wants central bankers to keep an open mind when they gather in June to decide what to do with interest rates at that meeting and at the other four policy meetings scheduled for this year. “I really think at this point in our tightening…
St. Louis Fed President James Bullard on Monday said he would like to see two more quarter-percentage-point interest-rate hikes this year. “I think we’re going to have to grind higher with the policy rate in order to put downward pressure on inflation,” Bullard said in a moderated discussion at the American Gas Association’s Financial Forum…
If the economic storms get more difficult, traders and investors seem to think the Federal Reserve will be like a lifeguard and rescue all swimmers from the rip tides. Economists see such confidence as misplaced given the high inflation environment. In general, investors and traders have been steadfast in their view they can count on…
Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank President Raphael Bostic on Monday said that he would like to see the central bank pause its steady rate hikes in order to gauge the health of the economy. “I think the appropriate policy is really to just wait and see how much the economy slows from the policy actions that…
The numbers: Deposits at commercial U.S. banks declined in the week ended May 3, according to the Federal Reserve on Friday. Deposits fell to $17.15 trillion from $17.16 trillion in the prior week, the Fed said. There has been a steady erosion in deposits as interest rates have risen. A main reason is that money-market…
New York Federal Reserve President John Williams said Tuesday he is seeing more signs of a further tightening of credit in the wake of the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, but added it is hard tell how big a tightening it will be compared to other episodes. “We’re seeing more signs —especially maybe in the…
Wholesale inventories were flat for the second straight month in March, the government said Monday. Sales fell 2.1% in the month after a 0.4% gain in February. As a result, the inventory-to-sales ratio rose to 1.4 months from 1.37. A year ago the ratio stood at a much lower 1.25. The…
The numbers: Deposits at commercial U.S. banks declined in the week ending April 26, according to a report from the Federal Reserve on Friday. Deposits fell to $17.17 trillion from $17.18 trillion in the prior week, the Fed said. At the same time, lending at commercial banks rose to $12.14 trillion from $12.1 trillion in…
The Federal Reserve on Wednesday raised its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points, to a range of 5%-5.25%, close to the peak seen just before the Great Recession in 2008. Beyond that headline, here are key takeaways from Powell’s press conference: Fed is ‘on hold’ The new forward guidance from the Fed means the…
The Federal Reserve is expected to raise its benchmark interest rate by another quarter of one percentage point on Wednesday, in what could very well be the last rate hike of this cycle, economists said. The 25 basis point move would push the Fed’s benchmark interest rate to a range of 5%-5.25%. That is seen…
The numbers: Total bank lending rose to $12.1 trillion in the seven days ended April 19 from $12.09 trillion in the prior week, the Federal Reserve said Friday. This is the third straight weekly gain. Deposits at banks rose slightly to $17.20 trillion from $17.18 trillion in the prior week. They are down from $17.26…
A “de-dollarization” mania is gripping Washington and Wall Street. Wall Street analysts, corporations, policy wonks and others are trying to ascertain whether there is any real threat to the U.S. dollar’s standing as the dominant global currency, along with how changes in the international monetary system might impact markets and the U.S. economy. Interest in…