Customers of First Republic—the San Francisco-headquartered bank that caters to high-net-worth clients and businesses—were lining up at various California branches ton Monday following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and Signature Bank over the weekend. That day waiting outside First Republic’s Montgomery Street branch in San Francisco, a California business owner named Chad told The…
Bank of Canada Hits Pause, Doesn’t Mention Risk of US Fed’s Further Rate Hikes
News Analysis OTTAWA—As widely expected, the Bank of Canada enacted its pause of interest rate hikes on March 8, but what may be the most compelling reason for the BoC to start raising rates again was not mentioned in its statement. Economists and investors have long said that there are limits on how much monetary…
Fed Officials Debate Higher Versus Just Longer After January Inflation Jump
WASHINGTON—U.S. Federal Reserve officials were divided Wednesday over whether recent high inflation data and a continually hot jobs market will require even more restrictive interest rates, or just patience in maintaining tight monetary policy for a longer period of time. In remarks to a business event in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Minneapolis Fed President Neel…
Fed Must Be Ready to Hike Rates for Longer Than Now Expected, Logan Says
The U.S. central bank will need to keep gradually raising interest rates to beat inflation, Dallas Federal Reserve President Lorie Logan said on Tuesday, putting investors on notice that borrowing costs may ultimately need to go higher than is now widely expected. “We must remain prepared to continue rate increases for a longer period than…
Minimum Wage & the Fed’s Biggest Fear
Commentary How does the minimum wage affect the Fed’s biggest fear? I touched on this subject previously as the Fed began its rate-hiking campaign. However, while the issue of the “millions of people” who aren’t paid a “living wage” for work makes headlines, the actual numbers are pretty underwhelming. As of the end of 2021,…
Minimum Wage and the Fed’s Biggest Fear
Commentary How does the minimum wage affect the Fed’s biggest fear? I touched on this subject previously as the Fed began its rate-hiking campaign. However, while the issue of the “millions of people” who aren’t paid a “living wage” for work makes headlines, the actual numbers are pretty underwhelming. As of the end of 2021,…
Fed Official Says Central Bank ‘Needs to Raise Rates Aggressively to Put a Ceiling on Inflation’
Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari said on Feb. 7 that the central bank will need to keep aggressively raising interest rates, pointing to a stronger-than-expected jobs report in January. Kashkari told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” that the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) report published on Feb. 3 (pdf) shows that the Federal Reserve’s aggressive monetary tightening policies over…
Why Credit and Inflation Are Highly Uncertain
Commentary U.S. inflation is coming down, but there are various reasons for this. Market analysts tend to follow the majority of views that the overall number is lowered by energy-related items. Official academics like those working for the Fed tend to find evidence for supply-side arguments. They employ the old structural equation models to decompose…
Fed’s Williams Says Fed Needs More Rate Rises to Cool Inflation
NEW YORK—Federal Reserve Bank of New York President John Williams said on Thursday the U.S. central bank has more rate hikes ahead and sees signs inflationary pressures might be starting to cool off from torrid levels. “With inflation still high and indications of continued supply-demand imbalances, it is clear that monetary policy still has more…
Fed Policymakers Signal Rate-Hike Slowdown Coming, but No Easing
Federal Reserve policymakers on Thursday expressed relief that inflation continued easing in December, paving the way for a possible step down to a quarter-point interest rate increase when the U.S. central bank meets in just under three weeks. U.S. consumer prices fell in December in the first month-to-month decline in more than 2–1/2 years, and…
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