Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell this week lent some credence to predictions that banks will start tightening credit standards. On Wednesday, Powell called the country’s banking sector “sound and resilient.”But he added a cautionary note: “Events in the banking system over the past two weeks are likely to result in tighter credit conditions for households…
When Nashville, Tenn. native Stephen Parker recently listed a mobile home that he owns on the rental market, he received about 30 applications in one week. “I priced it competitively,” he said. Parker, who is also a real-estate agent, said that he sees rent growth staying strong as people find it too expensive to purchase homes,…
U.S. stocks face downside risk after the Federal Reserve went ahead with an interest-rate hike Wednesday to battle high inflation after bank failures earlier this month, according to SoFi’s Liz Young. “I still think that something is probably going to keep breaking,” said Young, head of investment strategy at SoFi, in a phone interview. “I…
Bitcoin fell Wednesday after the Federal Reserve raised its key interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point, as widely expected, while the Fed chairman Jerome Powell said it’s “the most likely case” that the central bank would refrain from cutting its key interest rate this year. The largest cryptocurrency BTCUSD, -0.47% dropped 4%…
U.S. stocks traded modestly lower at midday Wednesday as traders eyed the difficult choice facing the Federal Reserve to raise its interest rate to fight inflation or pause to quell concerns about banking sector stability. How are stock indexes trading The S&P 500 SPX, -0.08% was off 6 points, or 0.2%, to 3,996 The Dow…
SYDNEY — The Reserve Bank of Australia said Tuesday that it will discuss a pause in interest rate increases at its forthcoming policy meeting on April 4. “Members agreed to reconsider the case for a pause at the following meeting, recognizing that pausing would allow additional time to reassess the outlook for the economy,” the…
Markets may be in a vulnerable position ahead of the Federal Reserve’s meeting this week, as traders bet the banking crisis could lead to meaningful interest-rate cuts over the next year. The Fed, which on March 12 announced the creation of its emergency Bank Term Funding Program to help banks meet the needs of their…
One of the mysteries for the first two months of the year was the fact that the U.S. economy was seemingly absorbing a wave of Federal Reserve interest-rate hike without a hiccup. After the events of the last two weeks, that notion can be put to bed. “Every rate hiking cycle of the last 70…
Credit Suisse bonds plunged Friday in a new signal that the financial markets are questioning whether the beleaguered Swiss bank will survive – despite the rescue package announced by the Swiss central bank earlier this week. Credit Suisse one-year bonds were yielding 18% by the close Friday, meaning lenders were demanding at least that rate…
The numbers: U.S. industrial production was flat in February, the Federal Reserve reported Friday. The unchanged reading was in line with economists expectations, according to a survey by The Wall Street Journal. Output rose a revised 0.3% in January, revised up from the initial estimate of a flat reading, but there were deep declines in…
Gold prices rose on Friday to trade just shy of a 6-week high reached earlier this week as expectations that the Federal Reserve might be nearing the end of its interest rate-hiking cycle weighed on the U.S. dollar. Price action Gold futures for April delivery GC00, +1.53% GCJ23, +1.53% gained $16.70, or 0.9%, to $1,940…
“‘There are real questions about why the bank didn’t anticipate one of the most fundamental financial facts that everybody should know, which is interest rates go up and they go down. You can’t bet on them staying low forever.”’” That was Rep. Katie Porter pinning most of the blame for Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse on…
Analysts played down the threat to the U.S. banking system after the collapse of a regional lender Friday, but the failure of Silicon Valley Bank served to underline longstanding worries that the Federal Reserve’s aggressive series of interest rate hikes will eventually cause something in the world’s financial plumbing to break. And so, U.S. stocks…
(Updated with news of Silicon Valley Bank’s failure.) As interest rates have risen, many banks have become more profitable because the spreads between what they earn on loans and investments and what they pay for funding has widened. But there are always exceptions. Below is a screen of banks that are bucking the industry trend…
TOKYO — The Bank of Japan kept its interest-rate targets unchanged Friday at Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda’s final meeting after 10 years on the job, but analysts expect policy to shift under his successor, Kazuo Ueda. The bank maintained its cap on the 10-year Japanese government bond yield at 0.5% and kept short-term interest rates at…
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell set the stage for further rounds of interest-rate increases on March 7, sending bond yields higher and stock prices lower. Below are lists of the day’s biggest losers among the broad U.S. stock indexes. Bank stocks were hit particularly hard, as investors considered the Fed’s efforts to slow the economy…
Hi, MarketWatchers. Don’t miss these top stories. Money, mania and LSD: A rich Malibu doctor’s tragic final weeks under yoga gurus’ sway ‘I’m afraid there will be violence’: Mark Sawusch entered a mental spiral following acid trips with gurus Anthony Flores and Anna Moore, testimony shows Read More ‘Consumers on both sides of the transaction…
One of the bond market’s most reliable gauges of impending U.S. recessions plunged further below zero into triple-digit negative territory on Tuesday after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell pointed to the need for higher interest rates and a possible reacceleration in the pace of hikes. The widely followed spread between 2- and 10-year Treasury yields…
U.S. stock losses mounted midsession Tuesday as investors soaked in Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s hawkish message to Congress that the central bank will not rule out bigger interest rate rises in order to tame stubborn inflation. How are stocks are trading The S&P 500 SPX, -1.16% is down 43 points, or 1%, to 4,004…
Gold futures moved sharply lower Tuesday after remarks by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell left the door open to more aggressive interest rate hikes as the central bank continues its battle to rein in inflation. Price action Gold for April delivery GCJ23, -1.77% fell $29, or 1.6%, to $1,825.50 an ounce on Comex. May silver…