House Republicans Push Bill to Restrict Federal Reserve's Digital Currency Plans
House Republicans are set to pass a bill preventing the Federal Reserve from implementing a central bank digital currency (CBDC) without congressional approval. Sponsored by House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, the CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act aims to address privacy concerns. While likely to pass in the Republican-majority House with some bipartisan support, the bill faces […]
UN’s Top Court Orders Israel To ‘Immediately Halt’ Rafah Offensive
UN’s Top Court Orders Israel To ‘Immediately Halt’ Rafah Offensive The top United Nations court, the International Court of Justice (ICJ), has on Friday issued an emergency order for Israel to halt its military operations in the southern Gaza city of Rafah. “Israel must immediately halt its military offensive,” judges at the ICJ, or world […]
Walmart and Target Cut Prices Amid Persistent Inflation Concerns
Walmart and Target are reducing prices on thousands of items, offering some relief to consumers despite ongoing inflation. Walmart reported a 3.8% increase in first-quarter sales and announced price cuts on nearly 7,000 items, highlighting deflationary trends in general merchandise. Target also slashed prices on over 1,500 items, responding to the strain higher prices have […]
Flat Treasury Yields Reflect Investor Caution Amid Varied Economic Reports
U.S. Treasury yields remained mostly unchanged on Friday as investors evaluated recent economic data. The 10-year yield rose to 4.478% and the 2-year yield increased to 4.9375%. Despite the University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index for May beating estimates, it dropped to its lowest level since November 2023. April’s durable goods orders exceeded expectations, and […]
Goldman Again Changes Forecast For First Fed Cut, Pushes Back To September From July
Goldman Again Changes Forecast For First Fed Cut, Pushes Back To September From July At the start of 2024, with the Fed reportedly “winning the fight against inflation”, Goldman triumphantly announced it expects the Fed to cut rates no less than five times with the first rate cut expected to take place in March as […]
Fed's Mester Urges Acknowledgment of Economic Uncertainties
Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester, nearing mandatory retirement, emphasized the importance of acknowledging uncertainties in economic forecasting and policy. Reflecting on nearly 40 years at the Federal Reserve, Mester noted that while transparency has increased, the Fed cannot predict future economic conditions with precision. She stressed that central bankers should adapt their policies as the […]
Trump Says Bronx Residents Being Left Behind By Biden Policies During Raucous NYC Campaign Rally
Trump Says Bronx Residents Being Left Behind By Biden Policies During Raucous NYC Campaign Rally Former President Donald Trump took aim at President Joe Biden over a range of issues while vowing to turn New York City around “very quickly” at a rally in the South Bronx on Thursday. President Trump made the comments in […]
Rising U.S. Gasoline Demand Stabilizes Oil Prices Despite Fed Rate Worries
Oil prices remained steady on Friday as rising U.S. gasoline demand balanced concerns over interest rate uncertainties following the Federal Reserve’s recent comments. Brent crude futures were slightly up at $81.37 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures edged down to $76.85. Both benchmarks had hit multi-month lows on Thursday. Investors are evaluating […]
UMich Sentiment & Inflation Expectations Worsen In May (But Bounce From Flash Prints)
UMich Sentiment & Inflation Expectations Worsen In May (But Bounce From Flash Prints) Today’s final UMich sentiment survey data was expected to confirm the ugly preliminary data, but it seems that – thanks, we suspect, to lower gas prices – sentiment improved intra-month as inflation expectations fell. Inflation expectations did actually rise MoM (from 2.9% […]
“The Situation In The UK Has Turned Tragicomical”
“The Situation In The UK Has Turned Tragicomical” By Stefan Koopman, Senior Macro strategist at Rabobank Things Can Only Get Better Let’s go back to Wednesday afternoon. In a moment of political irony, UK Prime Minister Sunak stepped out of his office to announce an election, hoping for a reset after a series of failed […]