Fed Vice Chair Lael Brainard’s departure to the White House stimulated speculation over who will replace her as all policymakers weigh how much further to raise interest rates.Fed watchers wasted no time in coming up with some names of their own after Brainard’s name surfaced last month as a major …
Read More »US Stocks Slide Following Strong Retail Sales Data
Wall Street’s main stock indexes fell on Wednesday after stronger-than-expected retail sales data offered more evidence of resilience in the U.S. economy, fueling worries that the U.S. Federal Reserve could stick to its rate-hike campaign.Retail sales surged 3% in January, driven by purchases of motor vehicles and other goods. Economists …
Read More »ECB’s Lagarde: I intend to raise rates by 50 bps in March
European Central Bank President, Christine Lagarde has said that even though most measures of longer-term inflation expectations currently stand at around 2%, these measures warrant continued monitoring.She also noted that price pressures remain strong and underlying inflation is still high. She intends to lift rates by 50 basis points at …
Read More »Bitcoin surpasses $24K hitting two-week high
Investors liquidated about $60 million of BTC short positions over the past 24 hours, pushing the price higher Wednesday, data shows. Ether also climbed. Bitcoin price chart showed the cryptocurrency’s price jump on Wednesday. Bitcoin bolted past $24,000 for the first time in two weeks after surging more than 8% …
Read More »Gold Abandons 2023 Gains On US Recession-Linked Fears
Gold prices dropped to new 6-week lows on Wednesday, erasing almost the last of 2023’s previous 7.2% gains against the Dollar as the US currency rose and New York’s stock markets retreated with bond prices in the face of rising interest-rate expectations across developed-world economies. Dipping as low as $1832 …
Read More »Australian Employment Preview: Forecasts by major banks
Australia is set to report its January employment figures on Thursday, February 16 at 00:30 GMT and as we get closer to the release time, here are forecasts from economists and researchers at five major banks regarding the upcoming employment data. Australia is expected to have added 20K jobs vs. …
Read More »US: Retail Sales rise by 3% in January vs. 1.8% expected
Retail Sales in the United States rose by 3% to $697 billion in January, the US Census Bureau reported on Wednesday. This reading followed December’s decrease of 1.1% and came in better than the market expectation for an increase of 1.8%. Retail Sales ex-Autos expanded by 2.3% in the same …
Read More »Britain and European allies send military equipment to Ukraine
Britain announced on Wednesday that it and other European countries will provide Ukraine with military equipment, including spare parts for tanks and ammunition for artillery. The British Ministry of Defense said Britain had agreed with the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Iceland and Lithuania to send an initial support package to …
Read More »US Dollar rose after US inflation data and firm statements from the Federal Reserve
The dollar rose on Wednesday following data showing rising inflation in the United States and firm statements on interest rates from Federal Reserve officials. U.S. consumer price inflation accelerated month-on-month in January and rose 0.5 percent, as expected. This is due, among other things, to the high costs of rent …
Read More »China ponders downgrading Covid status
China said today that US high altitude balloons flew over its Xinjiang and Tibet regions, and it will take measures against US entities that undermine Chinese sovereignty as a diplomatic dispute festered. China said earlier this week that US balloons had flown over its airspace without permission more than 10 …
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