County Jerome Financial News

Investing.com -- Markets gear up for an all-important Federal Reserve policy meeting this week, with comments from Fed Chair Jerome Powell likely to play a key role in expectations for possible future interest rate cuts by the U.S. central bank. Elsewhere, Cigna (NYSE:CI) reportedly ends talks to merge with rival Humana (NYSE:HUM), abandoning a deal that would have created a $140 billion insurance giant.

US President Joe Biden calls labor market numbers ‘a sweet spot,’ expects Fed to call off interest rate hikes In its last policy meeting on November 1, Jerome Powell-led Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) decided to keep the key overnight interest rates unchanged at 5.25-5.50 per cent. The central bank had kept interest rates steady at a 22-year high for the second time in a row, as inflation still remains above the Fed's 2 per cent target level.

RBI monetary policy: Governor Das says central bank working on establishing cloud facility for financials Biden’s predecessor, Donald Trump, however, repeatedly attacked Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell over the bank’s policy. Trump nominated Powell to lead the Fed in 2017, and Powell took over the next year.

The U.S. labor market unexpectedly strengthened in November with pickups in employment and wages, deflating hopes for the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates early next year.

By Howard Schneider

Investing.com-- Gold prices moved little in Asian trade on Wednesday after falling sharply from record highs this week, with traders now seeking more cues on when the Federal Reserve will begin trimming interest rates.

Investing.com — European stock markets traded higher Wednesday, buoyed by renewed confidence that the major central banks' tightening cycle has peaked. 

El-Erian said the Fed may well tolerate higher inflation instead of pushing the economy into recession to hit its 2% target. But he also said investors are over-reacting by pricing in sharp rate cuts. Market prices have swung wildly in recent days as traders bet on a drop in borrowing costs amid signs that inflation is falling and comments from Fed Chair Jerome Powell that the actions taken so far have pushed policy «well into restrictive territory.» Speaking to Bloomberg Radio on Tuesday, El-Erian warned that the Fed needs to recover its credibility on forward guidance with the markets or the recent «tremendous loosening of financial conditions» will undermine its policy.

By Ankur Banerjee

Investing.com -- U.S. stocks point lower as markets gear up for fresh job openings data that will serve as a precursor to Friday's much-anticipated nonfarm payrolls report. Elsewhere, the Reserve Bank of Australia leaves interest rates unchanged and flags some uncertainty around the global outlook, while a private survey shows that activity in China's services sector expanded at a faster than expected rate in November.

Indian rupee hovered in a tight range on Tuesday, ending little changed against the U.S. dollar, as likely intervention by the central bank offset local demand for the greenback. The rupee ended at 83.3825 against the dollar, barely changed from its close at 83.3650 in the previous session. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) sold dollars near the start of the spot trading session and also intermittently stepped in during the day, traders said. Meanwhile, importers, including local oil marketing companies, were seen bidding for dollars on Tuesday, a foreign exchange trader at a state-run bank said. The dollar index was steady at 103.6 while Asian currencies were mostly lower between 0.1% to 0.6%. The offshore Chinese yuan held steady, likely supported by dollar sales from state-run banks in China after rating agency Moody's cut China's government credit rating outlook to negative. The dollar has started the week on a positive note having risen 0.4% so far after three consecutive weeks of declines. «We suspect markets may be positioning ahead of next week's Fed meeting, when Chair Jerome Powell may insist on his pushback against rate cut bets,» ING Bank said in a note, referring to the dollar's recovery. The RBI and U.S.

BNB (0.8%), Avalanche (2%), and Polkadot (0.1%) were trading in the green, while Ethereum (-0.45%), XRP (-1.8%), Solana (-6.9%), Cardano (-0.6%), Polygon (-3.2%) and Dogecoin (-0.3%) were trading in the red. However, the global cryptocurrency market cap surged by 0.44% to around $1.55 trillion in the last 24 hours. At 11.30 a.m., BTC was trading 1% higher at $41,900. In the last 24 hours, the market cap of Bitcoin, the world's largest cryptocurrency, surged to $819 billion. «Speculation around an impending approval of Bitcoin spot ETF has fueled the asset into a 19-month high near $42,000. While BTC encounters strong resistance at this level, once breached, there is a clear path to $48,000 in the upcoming weeks,» said Vikram Subburaj, CEO of Giottus Crypto Platform.

inflation pressures in the United States decreased in October compared to the preceding month. The Multivariate Core Trend (MCT) inflation gauge, disclosed by the bank, revealed a reading of 2.6 percent for October, down from September's 2.88 percent. The bank attributed the higher MCT level, compared to its pre-pandemic average, to specific trends in housing and non-housing services.

The Federal Reserve needs to cut interest rates at least five times next year to avoid tipping the U.S. economy into a recession, according to portfolio manager Paul Gambles.

US stocks ended lower on Monday, interrupting last week's rally, as investors turned cautious ahead of employment data due this week that could alter expectations that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates early next year. The S&P 500 receded, with megacaps Microsoft, Apple, Nvidia and Amazon dipping over 1%, pressured by higher U.S. Treasury yields, which made returns on stocks less attractive. The S&P 500 registered its highest close of the year on Friday as remarks from Fed Chair Jerome Powell acknowledged the central bank's need to «move forward carefully» amid signs of economic softening, comments that bolstered expectations the Fed has finished raising rates. Small-cap stocks rose on Monday, with the Russell 2000 rallying about 1% and bringing its gain this year to almost 7%. «There is a lot of chop around here that is not necessarily meaningful,» said Tom Martin, a senior portfolio manager at GLOBALT Investments in Atlanta. «We have a really important Fed meeting coming up, and what makes it important is that all of a sudden, the market has decided that they're going to cut early next year.» The S&P 500 declined 0.54% to end the session at 4,569.78 points. The Nasdaq declined 0.84% to 14,185.49 points, while Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.11% to 36,204.44 points. Volume on U.S.

By Lucia Mutikani

TrendMacro CIO Donald Luskin shares his economic outlook on ‘Mornings with Maria.’

Gold fell more than 2% after hitting an all-time high on Monday as the dollar rebounded, but expectations of a cut in US interest rates in 2024 stemmed zero-yield bullion's retreat. Spot gold slipped 2.3% to $2,022.99 per ounce by 10:52 a.m. ET (1552 GMT). U.S.

TJM Institutional Services director James Iuorio analyzes Q3 earnings and the Fed's ability to control inflation and future rate decisions.

US stocks are headed for a rocky end to the year after rallying in November as bond yields fluctuate, according to Morgan Stanley’s Michael Wilson.

Gold price rose to the highest on record at more than Rs 64,000 per 10 gm on Monday, dampening demand as the new wedding season has just begun and raising concerns among people who have marriages planned in their families. The yellow metal touched Rs 64,200 per 10 gm on the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) in early morning trade, taking a cue from the international market. Silver, which is termed as a poor man’s gold, also rose to a new high at Rs 78,331 per kg on the MCX.