The stock market

[URL unfurl="true"]https://finance.yahoo.com/news/why-the-fed-risks-relearning-the-painful-inflation-lessons-of-the-1970s-100029895.html[/URL]

[URL unfurl="true"]https://www.foxbusiness.com/economy/ppi-wholesale-inflation-march-2024[/URL]

[URL unfurl="true"]https://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/samsung-overtakes-apple-top-phonemaker-spot-report[/URL]

[URL unfurl="true"]https://finance.yahoo.com/news/profits-surge-at-goldman-sachs-on-wall-street-revival-112940260.html[/URL]

[URL unfurl="true"]https://finance.yahoo.com/news/stock-market-today-us-futures-rise-as-nerves-settle-after-iran-attack-105101167.html[/URL]

[URL unfurl="true"]https://www.foxbusiness.com/economy/tesla-to-lay-off-more-than-10-of-workforce-report-says[/URL]

And in today's No Shit Sherlock Moment...

[HEADING=2][SIZE=7]Powell Suggests Interest Rates Could Stay High for a Longer Period[/SIZE][/HEADING]
The Fed chair, along with the central bank’s No. 2 policymaker, stressed uncertainties over job growth and the persistence of elevated inflation.

The Federal Reserve is likely to wait longer than initially expected to cut interest rates, given stubborn inflation readings in recent months, the central bank’s top two officials said Tuesday.

Policymakers came into 2024 looking for evidence that inflation was continuing to cool rapidly, as it did late last year. Instead, progress on inflation has stalled or even reversed by some measures.

“The recent data have clearly not given us greater confidence and instead indicate that it’s likely to take longer than expected to achieve that confidence,” Jerome H. Powell, the Fed chair, said at an event in Washington on Tuesday.

In a separate speech on Tuesday, Philip N. Jefferson, the Fed’s vice chair, also said the central bank should be prepared to delay rate cuts if inflation remains hot. “While we have seen considerable progress in lowering inflation,” Mr. Jefferson said in a speech at a Fed research conference in Washington, “the job of sustainably restoring 2 percent inflation is not yet done.”

Fed officials in December indicated that they expected to cut rates three times by the end of 2024, and they held to that forecast last month despite hotter-than-expected inflation readings to start the year. Mr. Powell and Mr. Jefferson did not back away from that forecast on Tuesday, but they also did not reiterate it.

Investors have closely watched Fed officials in recent weeks for any hint of changing views on when rate cuts might begin. When the year began, Wall Street analysts expected officials to begin cutting rates in quarter-point increments as early as this spring. That’s because annual inflation had been falling steadily from a high of about 9 percent to about 3 percent, closing in on the Fed’s target.

But progress on inflation has since slowed. Annual inflation, as measured by the Consumer Price Index, [ticked up to 3.5 percent in March]('https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/10/business/cpi-inflation-fed.html'). The Personal Consumption Expenditure price index, the measure preferred by the Fed, was up 2.7 percent in February from a year earlier.

As a result, investors have repeatedly pushed back their estimates for when the first rate cut will occur. Hardly anyone expects the Fed to make a move at its next meeting in two weeks, and most investors no longer anticipate a cut in June, either. Investors now see a cut at the central bank’s meeting in July as a coin toss, with many expecting the Fed to wait until September or perhaps even longer.

Other economic indicators have [remained strong]('https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/13/business/economy/economy-inflation-interest-rates.html'). Job growth has consistently exceeded expectations, the unemployment rate has remained low, and consumer spending has proved resilient. That has given policymakers confidence that they can keep interest rates higher without threatening to cause a recession.

“Right now, given the strength of the labor market and progress on inflation so far, it’s appropriate to allow restrictive policy further time to work and let the data and the evolving outlook guide us,” Mr. Powell said, noting that the Fed has the flexibility to cut rates if the labor market weakens unexpectedly.

At the same time, Mr. Powell said he sees signs that the labor market is rebalancing and that the forces that contributed to rapid inflation are continuing to ease. Mr. Jefferson agreed.

“My baseline outlook continues to be that inflation will decline further, with the policy rate held steady at its current level, and that the labor market will remain strong, with labor demand and supply continuing to rebalance,” Mr. Jefferson said.

“Of course,” he added, “the outlook is still quite uncertain, and if incoming data suggest that inflation is more persistent than I currently expect it to be, it will be appropriate to hold in place the current restrictive stance of policy for longer.”

And in today's No Shit Sherlock Moment...

[HEADING=2][SIZE=7]Powell Suggests Interest Rates Could Stay High for a Longer Period[/SIZE][/HEADING]
The Fed chair, along with the central bank’s No. 2 policymaker, stressed uncertainties over job growth and the persistence of elevated inflation.

The Federal Reserve is likely to wait longer than initially expected to cut interest rates, given stubborn inflation readings in recent months, the central bank’s top two officials said Tuesday.

Policymakers came into 2024 looking for evidence that inflation was continuing to cool rapidly, as it did late last year. Instead, progress on inflation has stalled or even reversed by some measures.

“The recent data have clearly not given us greater confidence and instead indicate that it’s likely to take longer than expected to achieve that confidence,” Jerome H. Powell, the Fed chair, said at an event in Washington on Tuesday.

In a separate speech on Tuesday, Philip N. Jefferson, the Fed’s vice chair, also said the central bank should be prepared to delay rate cuts if inflation remains hot. “While we have seen considerable progress in lowering inflation,” Mr. Jefferson said in a speech at a Fed research conference in Washington, “the job of sustainably restoring 2 percent inflation is not yet done.”

Fed officials in December indicated that they expected to cut rates three times by the end of 2024, and they held to that forecast last month despite hotter-than-expected inflation readings to start the year. Mr. Powell and Mr. Jefferson did not back away from that forecast on Tuesday, but they also did not reiterate it.

Investors have closely watched Fed officials in recent weeks for any hint of changing views on when rate cuts might begin. When the year began, Wall Street analysts expected officials to begin cutting rates in quarter-point increments as early as this spring. That’s because annual inflation had been falling steadily from a high of about 9 percent to about 3 percent, closing in on the Fed’s target.

But progress on inflation has since slowed. Annual inflation, as measured by the Consumer Price Index, [ticked up to 3.5 percent in March]('https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/10/business/cpi-inflation-fed.html'). The Personal Consumption Expenditure price index, the measure preferred by the Fed, was up 2.7 percent in February from a year earlier.

As a result, investors have repeatedly pushed back their estimates for when the first rate cut will occur. Hardly anyone expects the Fed to make a move at its next meeting in two weeks, and most investors no longer anticipate a cut in June, either. Investors now see a cut at the central bank’s meeting in July as a coin toss, with many expecting the Fed to wait until September or perhaps even longer.

Other economic indicators have [remained strong]('https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/13/business/economy/economy-inflation-interest-rates.html'). Job growth has consistently exceeded expectations, the unemployment rate has remained low, and consumer spending has proved resilient. That has given policymakers confidence that they can keep interest rates higher without threatening to cause a recession.

“Right now, given the strength of the labor market and progress on inflation so far, it’s appropriate to allow restrictive policy further time to work and let the data and the evolving outlook guide us,” Mr. Powell said, noting that the Fed has the flexibility to cut rates if the labor market weakens unexpectedly.

At the same time, Mr. Powell said he sees signs that the labor market is rebalancing and that the forces that contributed to rapid inflation are continuing to ease. Mr. Jefferson agreed.

“My baseline outlook continues to be that inflation will decline further, with the policy rate held steady at its current level, and that the labor market will remain strong, with labor demand and supply continuing to rebalance,” Mr. Jefferson said.

“Of course,” he added, “the outlook is still quite uncertain, and if incoming data suggest that inflation is more persistent than I currently expect it to be, it will be appropriate to hold in place the current restrictive stance of policy for longer.”

And actually hearing a few economic guys talking 1/4 point increase to break the back of the inflation monster Biden created. I would agree.

And actually hearing a few economic guys talking 1/4 point increase to break the back of the inflation monster Biden created. I would agree.

I dunno................

Don't take that as an I support Biden thing. I dislike both of them. Trump just scares me more.

[URL unfurl="true"]https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/columnist/2024/04/10/inflation-biden-economy-americans-spending-income-wages/73275197007/[/URL]

I dunno................

Don't take that as an I support Biden thing. I dislike both of them. Trump just scares me more.

[URL unfurl="true"]https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/columnist/2024/04/10/inflation-biden-economy-americans-spending-income-wages/73275197007/[/URL]

What are you “scared” of? You keep posting nonsense. You disagreed with stimulus during a pandemic?????? Your savior had a chance to put spending back to 2019 and chose to piss it all on a green agenda. Wake up.

He was warned. STOP spending. So you got what you voted for.

What are you “scared” of? You keep posting nonsense. You disagreed with stimulus during a pandemic?????? Your savior had a chance to put spending back to 2019 and chose to piss it all on a green agenda. Wake up.

I didn't have "a savior". What is wrong with your reading comprehension? I have stated over & over on numerous occasions that I didn't vote for either of these losers.
:rolleyes:

And my nonsense is no more grievious then your nonsense.....

So let's leave that there - shall we.

I didn't have "a savior". What is wrong with your reading comprehension? I have stated over & over on numerous occasions that I didn't vote for either of these losers.
:rolleyes:

Making no choice was a choice. 4 years went really well. And now look at the last 3.

What are you "scared" of. Please, do tell us.

I voted 3rd Party for the last two Presidential cycles. That's the last time I'm going to say that. As far as the rest of it - I have neither the patience, time or motivation to post why Dump scares me as it will be a waste of time & bandwith & will not alter a damn thing.

You are all too deep into the Kool-Aid if you can't see why.

I voted 3rd Party for the last two Presidential cycles. That's the last time I'm going to say that. As far as the rest of it - I have neither the patience, time or motivation to post why Dump scares me as it will be a waste of time & bandwith & will not alter a damn thing.

You are all too deep into the Kool-Aid if you can't see why.

What is so scary??

What is so scary??

I have neither the patience, time or motivation to post why Dump scares me as it will be a waste of time & bandwith & will not alter a damn thing.

You are all too deep into the Kool-Aid if you can't see why.

Rinse - Repeat

What is so scary??

I was terrified by the great economy until they sabotaged it with Covid. No Russian invasions, unlike the current prez and his prior boss. Peace treaties in the Middle East. Korea stopped lobbing missiles and developing nuclear weapons. God knows we don't want to revisit that horror.

I was terrified by the great economy until they sabotaged it with Covid. No Russian invasions, unlike the current prez and his prior boss. Peace treaties in the Middle East. Korea stopped lobbing missiles and developing nuclear weapons. God knows we don't want to revisit that horror.

That’s what I was looking for.

Well, that was an extensive GMPing, poofing a whole slew of random drivel having nothing to do with the stock market...

[URL unfurl="true"]https://finance.yahoo.com/news/asia-open-looks-mixed-treasuries-223159706.html[/URL]

For you folks who like international plays, looks like the UK has the data to loosen their prime rate, along with the EU...

[HEADING=2][SIZE=7]Inflation in U.K. Slows to 3.2%, Lowest in More Than 2 Years[/SIZE][/HEADING]
As the economy cools, pressure is building on the Bank of England to cut interest rates.

Consumer prices in Britain rose at the slowest rate in two and a half years, the country’s [Office for National Statistics reported]('https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/inflationandpriceindices/bulletins/consumerpriceinflation/latest') on Wednesday.

Inflation was 3.2 percent in the year through March, down from 3.4 percent in February but a touch higher than the 3.1 percent economists expected, a sign that the path to cooler inflation could be bumpy. Core inflation, which strips out volatile food and energy prices, was 4.2 percent, down from 4.5 percent the month before.

Economists expect inflation to continue to slow over the next few months, possibly going below the Bank of England’s target of 2 percent, as household energy bills fall. Overall inflation peaked at 11.1 percent in October 2022.

The [weakness of the economy]('https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/15/business/uk-economy-recession.html') has put pressure on the central bank to cut interest rates. Britain’s [unemployment rate]('https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/employmentandemployeetypes/bulletins/employmentintheuk/april2024#unemployment') rose more than expected in its latest reading, published this week.

This presents a “difficult balancing act” for the Bank of England, Jake Finney, an economist at PwC, wrote in a note. Slowing inflation puts pressure on the bank to cut rates “to get the economy growing again,” he said, but policymakers probably want “more conclusive evidence that we have achieved a sustainable return to target before they pivot to rate cuts.”

Last month, the [Bank of England]('https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/21/business/bank-of-england-rates-inflation.html') left its key rate at 5.25 percent for the fifth consecutive meeting. Traders pushed their expectations for the central bank’s first rate cut to later this year, after the somewhat hotter-than-expected inflation report on Wednesday.

The U.S. Federal Reserve has also [held rates steady]('https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/20/business/fed-meeting-interest-rates.html') at recent meetings. The Fed is likely to wait longer than initially expected to cut rates, given stubborn inflation data in the United States, its top two officials [said this week]('https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/16/business/powell-interest-rates-inflation.html').

Last week, the [European Central Bank]('https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/11/business/european-central-bank-rates.html') gave its clearest signal yet that it might lower interest rates at its policy meeting in June, as inflation in the eurozone slows and the region’s economy languishes.