The U.S. Federal Reserve will raise its benchmark federal funds interest rate by a half-point in September as its concerns grow that the economy is heading toward recession, according to a Reuters poll of 94 economists this month. A half-point bump would place the fed funds rate between 2.75 and 3 percent. Only 18 of...
Category: TRENDS ON THE U.S. ECONOMIC FRONT
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FED STRIKES CAUTIOUS TONE ON INTEREST RATES
The U.S. Federal Reserve’s Open Market Committee agreed on the need to keep raising interest rates to combat inflation but also hinted at a more cautious approach to future hikes, minutes of the group’s last meeting showed. The Fed has raised rates three times in its last three meetings, by a quarter-point in March, a...
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CONSUMER SPENDING FLAT
Falling gas prices last month gave consumers more money to spend on everyday items, especially online, where spending shot up 2.7 percent for the month. Consumer spending overall was flat from June, the U.S. commerce department reported. Spending at gas stations was off 1.8 percent and vehicle sales, which make up about 20 percent of...
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THE JOBS MARKET SHRINK
Fifty-two percent of U.S. companies have imposed a hiring freeze, half are planning or beginning layoffs, more than 40 percent have rescinded recent job offers, and an equal number have eliminated hiring bonuses they dangled in a tight labor market, according to a survey this month of more than 700 U.S. employers by financial and...
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SPACs: WHAT GOES UP…
Special-purpose acquisition companies (SPACs), a sneaky way to skirt federal regulations and take fledgling companies public, was one of the hottest investment vehicles of 2021, attracting celebrities from Serena Williams to Jay-Z. Now their temperature is sub-zero. A SPAC or “blank-check company” is a special category of company that goes public, typically at $10 a...
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U.S. HOUSING MARKET BUST?
In July, U.S. home sales fell to 4.81 million units, 6 percent less than June’s level and 20 percent below that in July 2020 to set the slowest pace since November 2015, except for the early days of the COVID infestation, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported. Sales of homes priced below $250,000 were...
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ECONOMIC UPDATE – MARKET OVERVIEW
ECONOMIC UPDATE It’s one sick joke the politicians keep playing, the Presstitute media keeps selling, and the people keep swallowing. Two and a half years ago, January 2020, the Year of the Rat, the COVID War was launched in China. Following their draconian lockdown mandates to kill the coronavirus, Italy’s political dictators were the first...
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WARREN REBUKES FED CHAIR POWELL
Saying a report by the U.S. Federal Reserve’s inspector general (IG) was “troubling,” Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) castigated Fed chair Jerome Powell in a letter for withholding information about trades by Fed officials. The IG’s investigation was sparked by revelations that Robert Kaplan, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, and Eric Rosengren, president...
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REAL ESTATE CLOSINGS GO VIRTUAL
As of 9 August, 43 states have passed laws allowing real estate closings to take place online and the remaining seven states are facing growing pressure to make the shift unanimous. The new laws permit online notarization of documents, a key step in closings. Before the COVID virus arrived, only 22 states allowed virtual notarization,...
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TWO JPMORGAN EX-TRADERS CONVICTED OF FRAUD
Two former JPMorgan traders were convicted in Chicago on federal charges of commodities fraud, wire fraud, and attempted market manipulation for their role in rigging gold markets over a period of years. The jury deliberated for eight days before finding top gold trader Gregg Smith and precious-metals desk chief Michael Nowak guilty on charges related...