Wednesday, December 25

Finance, Investing

High finance, equity markets and economic data related to it.

U.S. Inflation Remains ‘Highly Uncertain,’ Fed Chair Says
30Nov By Patti MohrNo Comments
Currency, Debt, National Budgets & Interest Rates, Types of News: Brief

U.S. Inflation Remains ‘Highly Uncertain,’ Fed Chair Says

November 30, 2022—Although increases in consumer prices ebbed slightly in the United States in the latest numbers, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell warned on Wednesday that inflation's path remains "highly uncertain." He noted that October's figure of 7.7 percent annual growth is better than the previous Consumer Price Index estimates but said the single-month improvement doesn't reflect a trend. Powell said the Fed policy is likely to remain "restrictive for some time to come." Addressing an audience at the Brookings Institution, he said price trends differ in three categories: core goods, housing, and services. Prices in core goods are moderating while housing service prices rose rapidly. Meanwhile, prices in services are likely to rise due to unmet demand in the labor market. ...
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For All The Fuss With Truss, It’s Over
20Oct By Patti MohrNo Comments
Currency, Debt, National Budgets & Interest Rates, Domestic Politics, Types of News: Brief

For All The Fuss With Truss, It’s Over

Proposed Deficit Spending Put The British Economy At Risk And Created Turmoil October 20, 2022--British Prime Minister Liz Truss announced today she'll be stepping down next week when her party chooses a new leader. She said she informed King Charles she is resigning as leader of the Conservative Party and head of the country's government. "This will ensure we remain on a path to deliver our fiscal plans and maintain our country’s economic stability and national security," Truss said on Twitter. It's been a bruising time for Truss. She served a total of 44 days after Queen Elizabeth made Truss's appointment to office official before peacefully passing away. As the country buried their beloved queen, an era of British strength faded with her. U.K. Prime Minister Liz Truss resig...
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The World’s 10 Largest Investment Firms
12Oct By Patti MohrNo Comments
Finance, Investing, Types of News: Infographic

The World’s 10 Largest Investment Firms

Who's Managing the World's Money? October 18, 2022—As public officials increasingly look to private money to solve global issues like climate change, it is worth devoting more attention to the world of investment management. It is a multi-trillion dollar industry impacting decisions on investments and money flows. Asset management (AUM) includes mutual funds, ETFs, hedge funds and other structured funds managed by investment firms. Today, the largest asset management firm is BlackRock. Two of the top 10 largest are headquartered in China. Notably, the largest ten asset management firms oversee $38 trillion in investments. Their decisions impact corporate boards, company decisions, climate action, and the bottom line. Source: Mohr Media Last year, asset management by the world's...
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As The Fed Raises Rates, U.S. Debt Matters More
4Oct By Patti MohrNo Comments
Currency, Debt, National Budgets & Interest Rates, Types of News: Brief

As The Fed Raises Rates, U.S. Debt Matters More

October 4, 2022—For years, the policy wonks and heads of government departments told the public that the U.S. national debt didn't matter because borrowing costs were so low. Now, as the Federal Reserve leads central banks in raising interest rates, the price of debt suddenly matters. For the first time, the U.S. debt topped $31 trillion, U.S. Treasury reports. That's up from $16 trillion in 10 years. Moreover, that figure is set to rise. For one, Congress keeps spending more than it is taking in with revenues. By August, the government ran a budget deficit of $944 billion during the first 11 months of the fiscal year, the Congressional Budget Office reported. Here's a look at the FY2022 budget. Source: Treasury, August Monthly Statement Rising Costs of Deficits and Debt ...
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U.S. Inflation Rattles Markets And Consumers
13Sep By Patti MohrNo Comments
Currency, Debt, National Budgets & Interest Rates, Types of News: Brief

U.S. Inflation Rattles Markets And Consumers

Once Dismissive Of Inflation, Fed Chair Draws Lessons About Economy From the 1970s September 13, 2022--One might guess that a fraction of a number like 0.1 would have little impact on the global economy. But that guess would be wrong. Today, the U.S. markets took a nose dive, and it was a fall unlike any other since June 2020. The S&P 500 fell 4.3 percent, while the tech-heavy NASDAQ fell 5.16 percent. It all came in response to inflation figures for August, and that's where the figure 0.1 matters. Inflation Holding Strong Economists had expected the inflation figure to drop by 0.1 percent for August. Instead, it rose by 0.1 percent. That means all items the Bureau of Labor Statistics tracks rose 8.3 percent for the year. According to the BLS release, food, shelter, and medica...
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Path To Normal For ECB Poses Challenges To High Debt Countries
15Jun By Patti MohrNo Comments
Currency, Debt, National Budgets & Interest Rates, Europe, EU, Eurozone, Types of News: Bit

Path To Normal For ECB Poses Challenges To High Debt Countries

June 15, 2022— As the central bank for the Eurozone pursues a path to normal policies, the risk it now faces is uneven impact among the 19-member countries. Borrowing costs in so-called vulnerable countries like Italy, Greece, and Spain are soaring in response to monetary tightening last week by the European Central Bank (ECB). Now fragmentation of the Eurozone is a concern. As a result, the ECB announced today it is adjusting its plans. For one, the ECB will consider the vulnerabilities when reinvesting payments maturing from its pandemic relief program, known as PEPP. Those reinvestments of maturing PEPP payments are scheduled to continue through 2024. The program's worth is estimated at 1.85 trillion euro ($1.9 trillion), according to the New York Times.
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ECB Begins ‘Gradual’ Tapering Its Stimulus
10Jun By Patti MohrNo Comments
Currency, Debt, National Budgets & Interest Rates, Types of News: Brief

ECB Begins ‘Gradual’ Tapering Its Stimulus

Central Bank To Leave Some Interest Rates Unchanged While Raising Others By 0.25 Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com With worsening supply-chain disruptions and inflation in Europe rising to 8.1 percent, the European Central Bank is planning to taper its massive monetary stimulus policies. On July 1, the ECB plans to raise its set of interest rates by 25 basis points. ECB President Christine Lagarde signaled the bank would do so again in September if needed. The bank will also stop net asset purchases. The bank said its approach is one of "gradualism." "I think in times of great uncertainty, gradualism is probably appropriate, more so than if the path is clear, well-identified and we all understand where we are heading," Lagarde said. In line with that, the bank is leaving some ...
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‘Very Risky’ Times For Financial Markets, IMF Exec Says
8Jun By Patti MohrNo Comments
Currency, Debt, National Budgets & Interest Rates, Types of News: Brief

‘Very Risky’ Times For Financial Markets, IMF Exec Says

Fund Is Likely To Make A 'Significant' Downgrade For Global Growth Photo by Burak Kebaber on Pexels.com June 8, 2022—Less than two months after adjusting its economic forecast downward due to global fragmentation, the International Monetary Fund is poised to make another reduction when it releases its forecast next month. Moreover, the fund expects to make a "significant" downgrade for global growth, Gita Gopinath, IMF's first deputy managing director, said today. Her comments came during a conversation with the Financial Times's Martin Wolf at that paper's Global Boardroom conference. 'Very Risky' Times In contrast to an analysis by the World Bank, the IMF is not envisioning 1970s-like stagflation as a central possibility. However, negative growth rates in Europe is possibl...
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As Expected, Federal Reserve Raised Its Rate By 50 Basis Points
4May By Patti MohrNo Comments
Currency, Debt, National Budgets & Interest Rates, Global Economics, Types of News: Brief

As Expected, Federal Reserve Raised Its Rate By 50 Basis Points

Photo by Kelly L on Pexels.com May 4, 2022-Global financiers closely watched closely today as the U.S. Federal Reserve raised its Federal Funds rate by 0.50 percent. It marks the first large increase in the Fed rate since 2000. With a balance sheet of $9 trillion and a Fed Funds rate of 0.33 percent up until today, the U.S. Federal Reserve has consider room to maneuver to counter inflation. At the end of its two-day meeting, the Fed announced it would raise that rate to 0.75 to 1 percent. The FOMC statement made note of geopolitical events such as the Russia-Ukraine war and China's aggressive COVID-19 policy of locking down whole cities. Furthermore, the committee said it would consider a wide-range of activities before its next decision. "The Committee would be prepared to adj...
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Crypto In The Russia-Ukraine War
11Apr By Jesús CedeñoNo Comments
Big Tech, Digital Economy, Cryptocurrency, Foreign Aid, International Development, Types of News: Analysis, Types of News: Brief

Crypto In The Russia-Ukraine War

Cryptocurrencies Are Playing Roles In The Battle; And The Battle Is Impacting The Prices This is a follow-up piece to Finance writer Jesús Cedeño's analysis of where cryptocurrencies are today. All viewpoints are his own do not necessarily reflect the views and positions of the Global Economic Report. Neither the writer nor Mohr Media’s GER website are responsible for readers’ investment decisions. April 11, 2022—It’s no coincidence that Bitcoin prices have shown an upward trend since February 25th. Today, we cannot talk about cryptocurrencies without looking at the Russia-Ukraine war. It's a factor that is influencing not only crypto’s value, but also the way governments all over the world are using and reacting to the conflict.   Larry Fink, chairman of BlackRock, says the R...
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