For the third consecutive month, U.S. factory activity contracted as manufacturers’ cost of materials fell their most in more than a year.
Tag: Federal Reserve
HIGH-RISK BONDS ARE BACK IN STYLE
High interest rates are not keeping investors away from high-yield bonds, also known as junk bonds.
RISING MORTGAGE RATES SPOOK HOME BUYERS
The average U.S. rate on a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage rose last week to 6.88 percent from 6.82 percent the week before, the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. (Freddie Mac) reported.
SPOTLIGHT: BIGS GETTING BIGGER
Merger and Acquisition took a break when the Federal Reserve and EU began aggressively raising interest rates from their zero and negative levels back in March and July 2022 respectively.
MARKET LIQUIDITY CRISIS MEANS MUCH MORE WAR, AND HIGHER STOCK PRICES
The Federal Reserve REPO program involves the moving of VAST amounts of cash back and forth between itself and major financial institutions OVERNIGHT.
GLOBAL CORPORATE DEFAULTS SPIKE FIVEFOLD
Last November, four corporations monitored by Moody’s Analytics defaulted on their debts. That number jumped to 20 in December, a fivefold increase.
FED HOLDS RATES STEADY, PROJECTS THREE CUTS IN 2024
At its mid-December meeting, the U.S. Federal Reserve’s Open Market Committee not only froze interest rates at their current levels, but also said it expects to make three quarter-point rate cuts next year and drop rates by a full point in 2025.
INVESTORS SNAP UP CORPORATE BONDS AT FASTEST PACE IN MORE THAN THREE YEARS
Believing that the U.S. Federal Reserve has completed its campaign of interest rate hikes, investors are buying corporate bonds at the fastest clip since July 2020, the Financial Times reported.
ECONOMIC UPDATE – MARKET OVERVIEW
What a difference a month makes. The U.S. equity market continues its November spike.
FED HOLDS RATES STEADY
On 1 November, the U.S. Federal Reserve announced it will continue to hold its key interest rates steady at 5.25 percent on deposits and 5.5 percent on loans. The Fed has not changed the rates since July.