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  • Aug 23, 2024

With Fed rate cut set, Powell may focus on explaining US economic conditions at Jackson Hole

U.S. economic data is giving the Federal Reserve the green light to cut interest rates, financial markets are aligned for the first move, and the central bank all but gave the game away on Wednesday when a readout of its July meeting showed a "vast majority" of policymakers agreed the policy easing likely would begin next month. With all that in place, Fed Chair Jerome Powell's goal in his keynote speech on Friday to the Kansas City Fed's annual Jackson Hole research conference may be less about further shaping expectations and more about assessing where the economy stands ahead of what he has called a "consequential" first step. "I don't think he needs to do a lot beyond the press conference in July," said Richard Clarida, a former Fed vice chair who is now global economic adviser for Pimco, referring to how Powell leaned strongly toward a rate cut at the Sept. 17-18 meeting in remarks to reporters after the July 30-31 meeting.

  • Aug 23, 2024

Oil set to end week lower on demand concerns, easing supply woes

(Reuters) -Oil prices were little changed on Friday but on track to end the week lower, as weaker U.S. employment data raised concerns over demand, and renewed ceasefire talks in Gaza eased worries about supply disruptions. Brent crude futures rose 16 cents, or 0.2%, to $77.38 a barrel at 0642 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures inched up 15 cents to $73.16.

  • Aug 23, 2024

How fast will interest rates fall? Fed Chair Powell may provide clues in high-profile speech

With the Federal Reserve considered certain to start cutting its benchmark interest rate next month, Chair Jerome Powell's highly anticipated speech Friday morning at an economic conference will be closely watched for any hints about how many additional rate cuts might be in the pipeline. Powell is expected to say the Fed has become more confident that inflation is nearing its 2% target, more than two years after it hit a painful four-decade high. Economists note that forthcoming economic data, including a monthly jobs report on Sept. 6, will help determine the size of future Fed rate cuts — whether a typical quarter-point cut or a more aggressive half-point drop — and how fast they occur.

  • Aug 23, 2024

Singapore July core inflation 2.5% y/y, lowest in more than two years

Singapore's key consumer price gauge rose 2.5% in July from a year earlier, the smallest increase since February 2022, official data showed on Friday. The core inflation rate - which excludes private road transport and accommodation costs - was lower than a 2.9% forecast in a Reuters poll, and compared with the 2.9% seen in June. Headline inflation in February was up 2.4% from the same month last year, lower than the 2.5% forecast in the poll.

  • Aug 23, 2024

US ambassador to Mexico calls proposed judicial overhaul a democracy 'risk' and economic threat

U.S. Ambassador Ken Salazar said Thursday a judicial overhaul proposed by Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador poses a “risk" to Mexico's democracy and "threatens the historic commercial relationship” between Mexico and the U.S. The proposal, including a provision to require judges be elected, has spurred a fierce outcry from investors and financial institutions in recent days, with the Mexican peso steadily dropping in currency markets. “Democracies can't function without a strong, independent and non-corrupt judicial branch,” Salazar told reporters.

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