EghtesadOnline: Accused Russian agent Maria Butina had wider high-level contacts in Washington than previously known, taking part in 2015 meetings between a visiting Russian official and two senior officials at the U.S. Federal Reserve and Treasury Department.
EghtesadOnline: Jerome Powell wasn’t a lock to be President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Federal Reserve.
EghtesadOnline: The dollar was on tenterhooks, trading sideways against major rivals on Wednesday as investors awaited the outcome of the Federal Reserve’s meeting at which it was expected to announce plans to trim its $4.2 trillion in bond holdings.
EghtesadOnline: Stocks fluctuated near peaks and the dollar held above its recent lows with a highly anticipated Federal Reserve policy decision pending, and as investors girded for another round of geopolitical tensions after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to annihilate North Korea.
EghtesadOnline: Asian investors deferred taking any major positions ahead of the Federal Reserve’s policy meeting that’s expected to focus on unwinding stimulus efforts. Stocks in the region diverged, while China’s yuan slipped as the dollar maintained gains.
EghtesadOnline: Stocks and corporate bonds may be the surprise big losers once the Federal Reserve starts reducing its $4.5 trillion balance sheet.
EghtesadOnline: The stock market's steady rise, still low long-term bond yields and a sagging dollar are girding the Fed's intent to raise interest rates again this year despite concerns about weak inflation, according to comments this week from Fed officials and analysts anticipating remarks next week by Chair Janet Yellen.
EghtesadOnline: U.S. consumer prices rose slightly in July as higher food costs were partly offset by falling prices for a range of other goods, suggesting benign inflation that could persuade a cautious Federal Reserve to delay raising interest rates until December.
EghtesadOnline: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis President Neel Kashkari said his colleagues at the U.S. central bank have voted to raise interest rates because they are worried about accelerating inflation in the future, a concern he likened to a “ghost story.”
EghtesadOnline: It’s becoming an endless wait for U.S. inflation to pick up. And the fifth straight miss on core-price forecasts adds to the burden on Federal Reserve policy makers to explain why they’re moving toward a December interest-rate increase.