Tag - federal-reserve

 
 

FEDERAL RESERVE

The yen has gained more than 4% this month versus the dollar amid expectations the U.S. Federal Reserve will start cutting interest rates this week.
BUSINESS / Markets
Sep 17, 2024
Hedge funds start to split on long-yen trades before Fed and BOJ meets
Some short-term funds locked in profits ahead of the monetary policy decisions this week, while others are looking to increase their long-yen positions.
Hong Kong’s property tycoons are eagerly awaiting interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve due to their struggles with slow home sales, vacant office buildings and tenants pushing for lease renegotiations.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 12, 2024
The Fed is making Hong Kong's billionaire landlords anxious
Many Hong Kong property companies have significant amounts of debt at floating interest rates tied to Hibor, which tracks the Fed's rate changes.
The U.S. dollar has fallen 5% from its 2024 highs, close to its lowest level in about a year against a basket of peers following a sharp drop last month.
BUSINESS / Markets
Sep 6, 2024
Market sentiment mixed on pace of dollar's weakening ahead of Fed rate cuts
The currency has declined rapidly against peers as anticipated interest rate cuts threaten to end the greenback's yearslong period of strength.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda "predictably unpredictable" actions and policy shifts highlight the need for improved communication, reflecting modern central banking practices.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 28, 2024
How long can the BOJ get away with rate shocks?
The BOJ’s shifting policies and Kazuo Ueda’s unpredictable approach reflect the need for better alignment with modern central banking practices.
The yen traded in the 143 range against the dollar on Monday, a three-week high.
BUSINESS / Markets
Aug 26, 2024
Dollar sinks against the yen, hovers near 2½-year low to sterling
The U.S. dollar also hovered near its lowest in 13 months against the euro.
U.S. Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 26, 2024
Powell’s pivot leaves traders debating size and path of rate cuts
Bond traders are now focusing in on bets over the size of the first U.S. interest rate reduction and the future path of easing.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda speaks during a Lower House financial affairs committee meeting in Tokyo on Friday.
BUSINESS / Economy / ANALYSIS
Aug 24, 2024
Fed's dovish shift a mixed blessing for BOJ rate hike plan
The BOJ's efforts to raise interest rates could be complicated if the two central banks' diverging policy paths keep markets jittery.
A television station broadcasts U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Chair Jerome Powell speaking in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in New York on Friday.
BUSINESS / Economy / ANALYSIS
Aug 24, 2024
Powell's Fed not shy about election-year cuts and ready to defend job market
The Fed chief sent a strong signal that the central bank will start cutting interest rates in mid-September, roughly seven weeks before the Nov. 5 election.
Investors are grappling with the possibility that the Federal Reserve may need to loosen its tight grip on the economy much faster than anticipated to avoid a recession.
BUSINESS / ANALYSIS
Aug 3, 2024
U.S. recession scare fuels searing rally in bonds and puts yield curve flip in view
Investors are grappling with the possibility the Federal Reserve may need to loosen its grip on the economy faster than anticipated to avoid a recession.
Japanese stocks are down 10% from their July peak as the yen strengthens.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jul 26, 2024
Yen melt-up nudges Japanese stocks into correction territory
Japan’s benchmark index is now down 10% from its July peak, meeting the textbook definition of a market correction.
How policymakers have responded to past economic crises, such as the 2008-09 financial crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic, will shape their preparedness in dealing with future recessions. 
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 8, 2024
Policy lessons from recent economic crises
Eventually, the world will face another recession. How will policymakers use the lessons learned from the 2008-09 financial crisis and COVID-19 pandemic to respond?
The weakness of the yen is posing a big problem for small and midsize businesses. As for desired exchange rates, 69.5% said they want the yen trading between ¥110 and ¥135 to the dollar.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 4, 2024
Weak yen inflicts major damage to small and midsize businesses, survey says
While some larger, export driven companies have benefited from the weak currency, smaller firms are struggling to adjust.
The yen’s depreciation is largely down to the gap in interest rates between the U.S. and Japan. Therefore, U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is, to all intents and purposes, “Mr. Yen.”
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 1, 2024
There’s a new 'Mr. Yen' in town
No matter what the Bank of Japan or the Finance Ministry do, ultimate control over the yen's value lies in the hands of U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.
The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo on June 12
BUSINESS / Markets
Jun 24, 2024
Yen nears lows as Bank of Japan leans dovish
The BOJ has suggested in recent weeks that it might not hurry in tightening monetary policy, unsettling the market.
U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell delivers remarks during a press conference following the announcement that the Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged, in Washington on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jun 13, 2024
Fed leaves rates unchanged and says cuts delayed to possibly December
U.S. policymakers are content to leave rates where they are until the economy sends a clear signal that something else is needed.
The U.S. flag is magnified in Federal Reserve Bank Chair Jerome Powell's glasses during a news conference on May 1 in Washington. In his first term as U.S. president, Donald Trump broke with decades of precedent by openly attacking Powell, first for raising interest rates and then for not cutting them further.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 3, 2024
Traders and economists see Trump win as risk to Fed autonomy, survey shows
A push to roll back the central bank’s independence would likely rock financial markets, undermine investors’ faith and expose it to political pressure to cut interest rates.
One analyst said Japanese policymakers "hid the intervention well," pointing to the ways they may have used to fund currency interventions recently.
BUSINESS / Markets
May 6, 2024
Market hunts for signs of yen intervention in Fed accounts
Recent data suggests that Japanese policymakers may have funded currency interventions using a Fed facility where central banks stash overnight cash.
U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell holds a news conference following a two-day meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee on interest rate policy in Washington on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Markets
May 2, 2024
U.S. market swings reveal inflation uncertainty ahead of key data
Some may be less likely to take the Fed chair at his word this time around after a dovish pivot in December was followed by months of upside surprises.
Then-U.S. President Donald Trump announces Jerome Powell as his nominee to become chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington in November 2017.
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
Apr 29, 2024
Trump’s economic confidants battle for sway on taxes and Fed policy
For months, the Trump campaign has been trying to rein in proposals from various factions with limited success.
The dollar's resurgence has come on the back of a slew of signs that the U.S. economy avoided the slowdown many anticipated.
BUSINESS / Markets
Apr 23, 2024
U.S. dollar’s extended reign delivers stark wake-up call to markets
Global investors are talking about "U.S. exceptionalism” after a predicted slowdown to the nation's economy didn't transpire.

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Visitors walk past Sou Fujimoto's Grand Ring, which has been recognized as the largest wooden structure in the world.
Can a World Expo still matter? Japan is about to find out.