Economists and investors alike are having a hard time digesting the Fed's comments after the most recent Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting. The general consensus was that the Fed's stance was relatively dovish, and they expect the Fed will begin lowering interest rates later this year. However, there was disagreement on how many times the Fed would cut rates with the overall range of estimates falling between one and four times.
Tag: inflation
Fears About Stagflation are Mounting in the U.S. It’s Every Central Banker’s Worst Nightmare (Macro News for April 27, 2024 – May 3, 2024)
Strong U.S. economic growth for the past few years was dampened by the first quarter 2024 results. U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) dipped to an annualized rate of 1.6% relative to the robust 3.4% rate posted in the fourth quarter of 2023. While those results seem to align with the Federal Reserve's contractionary monetary policy, the inflation results do not. Inflation is once again moving higher and farther away from the Fed's 2% target rate.
European Central Bank’s Lagarde Signals June Rate Cut But Says Future Rate Path Uncertain (Macro News for March 23, 2024 – March 29, 2024)
Christine Lagarde, head of the European Central Bank (ECB), stated that ECB policymakers are considering lowering interest rates in the June 2024 meeting. Lagarde also stated that forecasting bank actions beyond that date was impossible until they received additional data on inflation and union wage negotiations.
Turkish Annual Inflation Soars to 67% in February (Micro News for March 2, 2024 – March 8, 2024)
Consumer prices in Turkey increased by more than a 67% annualized rate in February 2024. The highest price increases occurred in the hotel, café, and restaurant sector where prices rose by an annualized rate of 95% for the month. The education sector also posted over a 91% annualized gain while health care costs soared by over 81%. The overall annualized rate exceeded expectations by about 2%.
Pearson Economic News 