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Investopedia
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As market participants await highly anticipated remarks from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, his colleagues have been providing their own thoughts on interest rates and economic conditions.
Many economists expect Powell, who speaks at the Jackson Hole Economic Symposium on Friday, to once again signal that the Fed could cut the influential fed funds rate soon. They predict he will echo comments from after the last Fed meeting in late July, when he said a September rate cut was on the table.
For more than a year, the Fed has held its benchmark interest rate at its highest levels in more than two decades, raising borrowing costs for businesses and consumers in an effort to discourage spending, balance supply with demand, and, in turn, fight inflation.
But with inflation falling and the labor market weakening, some economists say it’s time to move on interest rates. Not all Fed officials are singing the same tune.
In remarks Tuesday, Federal Reserve Gov. Michelle Bowman said she still sees risks to inflation from issues such as geopolitical tensions and housing demand. These risks, along with uncertainty over how well the labor market is performing, make her want to see more data before committing to an interest rate cut in their next meeting on Sept. 18, she said.
“I will remain cautious in my approach to considering adjustments to the current stance of policy,” Bowman told a group of Alaskan bankers.
Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee also said Tuesday he was waiting for more data.
“I don’t think it’s a certainty,” Goolsbee said when asked by whether the Fed was set to cut interest rates in their next meeting.
In an interview with the , Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari said it was appropriate to have a debate about interest rate cuts in September in light of the weakening labor market. However, Kashkari told the paper he didn’t see the need for a cut larger than a quarter point.
His comments come as some economists have argued the Fed needs to make more aggressive cuts to counter further deterioration in the labor market.
Meanwhile, Federal Reserve Vice Chair Michael Barr, Governor Christopher Waller and Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic didn’t weigh in on interest rates during speaking engagements this week.
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Investopedia
1 h
15
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Stellantis (STLA) said Tuesday that its plan to delay the reopening of an assembly plant in Belvidere, Illinois, is not in violation of its contract with the United Auto Workers (UAW) union.
On Monday, the union said locals representing tens of thousands of workers in several states were preparing to file grievances over the decision, which could culminate in a national strike.
In November 2023, the union said its new contract with the Chrysler parent included a promise to reopen the Belvidere plant that it closed in February of that year and to build a $3.2 billion battery plant there.
Stellantis insists its change of plans is necessary to “preserve U.S. manufacturing jobs” and doesn't violate the union contract.
"[I]t is critical that the business case for all investments is aligned with market conditions and our ability to accommodate a wide range of consumer demands,” Stellantis said Tuesday.
“[T]he UAW agreed to language that expressly allows the company to modify product investments and employment levels. Therefore, the union cannot legally strike over a violation of this letter at this time,” the company added.
The UAW didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
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Investopedia
3 hrs
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A new survey shows that the ranks of job seekers are growing.
A report released this week by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York showed that the share of people looking for new employment in July was at its highest level in more than a decade. In total, 28% of respondents said they were job-hunting, while a record-low 88% of those who had a job four months ago, the last time the survey was conducted, said they still worked the same job.
The survey results come as investors are jittery about labor data after an unexpected jump in the July unemployment rate sent financial markets reeling earlier this month. Federal Reserve officials have said they are beginning to follow labor market trends more closely as inflation comes in line, potentially setting up an interest rate cut at the September meeting of the central bank's policy committee.
The New York Fed's Labor Market Survey for July showed that the proportion of workers who said they were transitioning into new jobs was also at its highest level in the survey’s decade-long history.
One reason that job transitions may have been higher was workers reported being increasingly unhappy with their wages, benefits, and job promotion opportunities. Women were more likely to be dissatisfied with their compensation and more likely to be transitioning to new work.
Workers also lowered their wage expectations, though they are still higher than pre-pandemic levels. The minimum salary they said they would accept was higher than July 2023 levels but down from the peak of March 2024.
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Investopedia
5 hrs
12
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YouTube is rolling out upgrades for "NFL Sunday Ticket," including the ability for subscribers to watch up to four games simultaneously and track their fantasy football teams alongside the games.
The new features come ahead of the second football season since Alphabet's Google (GOOGL) and the NFL signed a seven-year, roughly $14 billion deal to bring the service to YouTube TV. Prior to the 2023 season, "NFL Sunday Ticket" had been distributed by DirecTV for decades.
Earlier this month, a federal judge threw out a jury's verdict against the NFL that would've required the league to pay $4.7 billion to "NFL Sunday Ticket" subscribers. The lawsuit accused the league of inflating prices for the service, which is fans' only option to watch out-of-market games.
Now, "NFL Sunday Ticket" subscribers will be able to connect their Yahoo Fantasy accounts via the "Fantasy View" feature and monitor live statistics alongside the games. They also will have the ability to "build any available combination of two, three, or four" games to view simultaneously.
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Investopedia
6 hrs
13
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As people stayed home during the pandemic, their households stockpiled extra liquid assets—most of which have now run out.
Households accumulated cash, stocks, and interest-earning savings during the pandemic due to government assistance checks and stay-at-home orders that limited consumer spending. However, a recent report from the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco found many households have now spent large amounts of that liquid wealth.
As the pandemic's economic restrictions eased, the average cost of living skyrocketed. The Federal Reserve worked to tame the price increases on everything from groceries to rent by raising borrowing costs to a 23-year high. These interest rates were designed to discourage spending and allow supply to rebalance with demand.
Researchers found that consumers coped by dipping into the assets they collected during the pandemic.
Higher-income households have been able to increase their liquid assets by moving them into money market funds, which earned more interest during the Fed's inflation fight. However, lower- and middle-income households needed to use their liquid assets to contend with high prices and interest rates.
As households ran out of the pandemic-era liquid assets, credit-card delinquency rates rose. Without the extra money they once had, many consumers paid for goods and services with credit cards. But those high borrowing costs are making it harder for people to pay off their debt, bringing delinquency rates to a 12-year high.
Debt not related to housing also increased over the past two years, reaching a record-high $4.9 trillion in the second quarter, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
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Instablog9ja
8 hrs
12
A Chinese investment group is set to list two residential structures it confiscated from Nigeria for sale on global online marketplace eBay.
Peoples Gazette reports that the group is racing to recover up to $70 million in arbitration awards from the West Africa country.
According to the report, Zhongshang Fucheng Industrial Investment Ltd took possession of two buildings linked to the Nigerian government in Liverpool, United Kingdom, in June 2024, years after Nigeria failed to settle an arbitration judgement handed down in 2021.
The properties, 15, Aigburth Hall Road, Liverpool and Beech Lodge, 49, Calderstones Road, Liverpool, were targeted after a December 2021 British court order gave Zhongshang executives the power to seize Nigerian assets in the UK to retrieve the $70 million payment, which remained outstanding as of August 20, 2024, with two per cent monthly interest accruals.
Zhongshang was awarded $55,675,000 plus interest of $9,400,000 and costs of £2,864,445 as of the date of the arbitration verdict on March 26, 2021, court documents said…(continue reading on next slide)
