President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, Eric Rosengren, said on Wednesday that economic recovery could be slower in case the number of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) cases increased. “Recent economic data have been encouraging, but I believe the most difficult part of the recovery is still ahead of us.” …
Read More »Fed’s Evans Not Worried About Inflation Above 2%
President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, Charles Evans, said on Wednesday that he does not fear stronger accommodation in the pursuit of clearly overshooting the 2% inflation target, even reaching above 2.5%. The Fed needs to maintain interest rates close to zero to sustainably maintain inflation at 2% …
Read More »US PMI Declines in September but Manufacturing Sector Advances
The IHS Markit Flash U.S. Composite PMI Output Index posted 54.4 at the end of the third quarter (Q3) of 2020, down from 54.6 in August, adjusted for seasonal factors. However, the index’s quarterly average was the highest since the opening three months of 2019. The seasonally adjusted IHS Markit …
Read More »Powell: Main Street Program Saw Modest Use
The Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said on Wednesday in his testimony to the House of Representatives Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus that companies have made only modest use of the Fed’s Main Street Lending Program. However, the Fed is not planning any major changes to its lending policy. “If …
Read More »Powell: Fed and Congress Need to Work Against COVID
The United States Congress and the Federal Reserve need to work in order to help the American economy recover from the impacts of the COVID-19 crisis, said the Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Wednesday. Powell noted in his testimony in front of the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus …
Read More »US Oil Stockpiles Fall Less Than Expected
Crude oil inventories in the United States declined by 1.6 million barrels last week, according to data by the US Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) weekly report. The decline came below experts’ expectations of a 2.3 million barrel decrease in crude stockpiles.
Read More »US Markit Manufacturing PMI Edges Higher to 53.5
The business activity in the US manufacturing sector is seen expanding at a robust pace in September with the IHS Markit’s advanced Manufacturing PMI rising from 53.1 in August to 53.5. This reading came in better than the market expectation of 53.2. Further details of the publication revealed that the …
Read More »US Housing Price Index Up 0.1% in July
The Housing Price Index (HPI) in the US rose 1% in July, the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s (FHFA) monthly report showed on Wednesday. This reading matched June’s reading (revised from 0.9%) and came in higher than the market expectation of 0.5%. Earlier in the day, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) …
Read More »Oil is Rising Near $ 42, All Eyes on Libya and US Stocks
Oil prices rose to about $ 42 a barrel on Wednesday, September 23, after a report said that US fuel stocks declined, but the increase in crude oil supply and the high number of cases of Coronavirus, which increases concern about demand faltering limited the gains. The American Petroleum Institute …
Read More »German Cabinet Approves Draft Budget for 2021, EUR96.2 B in New debt
A German government official said on Wednesday, the Cabinet approved a draft budget for next year, as proposed by the Finance Minister Olaf Scholz. The budget sets aside a net new debt of EUR96.2 billion euros or $112.43 billion to offer further financial support to cushion the impact of the …
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