Fed

MARKET CALL: Investing Without A Trump Or Powell Put

Mar 9, 2025 3 min read

Anything is possible in Trump World. We can't rule out the possibility that a bear market started on February 20, the day after the S&P 500 rose to a record high (chart). It could be like the "flash crashes" that occurred during 1962 and 1987. It could happen quickly and reverse just as quickly. So the selloff could provide buying opportunities, especially in overvalued

Ed Yardeni
Eric Wallerstein

Bond Vigilantes Pushing Back Against Reckless Monetary & Fiscal Policies

Dec 28, 2024 3 min read paid

The 10-year Treasury bond yield is up 100bps since the Fed started lowering the federal funds rate (FFR) by 100bps on September 18 (chart). Even the 2-year Treasury yield is up about 75bps. We warned about this happening back in August. The Bond Vigilantes are sending a loud warning message. They aren't convinced Donald Trump, the new sheriff coming to town, will maintain fiscal law and order any

Ed Yardeni
Eric Wallerstein

MARKET CALL: Get A Neck Brace

Dec 21, 2024 3 min read paid

Wednesday was a bad day for stocks after the release of the FOMC's Summary of Economic Projections (SEP), which showed two cuts in the federal funds rate in 2025 rather than the four cuts shown in September's SEP. Friday was a better day for stocks after two Fed officials suggested that November's PCED inflation report provided justification for rate cutting in 2025. * Goolsbee. "

Ed Yardeni
Eric Wallerstein

Fed's Hawkish Rate Cut Triggers Pausing Tantrum

Dec 18, 2024 3 min read paid

The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) cut the federal funds rate (FFR) by 25bps today, as widely expected. That takes the target range for the overnight rate down from 5.25%-5.50% to 4.25%-4.50%, a full percentage point lower since the Fed's rate cutting cycle started on September 18. A cut was all but guaranteed. Yet the S&P 500 fell almost 3%

Ed Yardeni
Eric Wallerstein

Is the Fed Inflating? Is China Deflating?

Dec 16, 2024 3 min read paid

Last Thursday, we wrote, "After today's PPI, we won't be surprised if Fed officials plant a story in The Wall Street Journal over the weekend titled something like "Fed Officials Might Vote To Pause Rate Cutting Following Hot Inflation Data." We were close. Nick Timiraos, the WSJ's ace Fed watcher, posted after midnight today an article titled "The Fed’s

Ed Yardeni

Will Rate Cuts Continue Unless Inflation Behaves Badly?

Dec 11, 2024 4 min read

Today's CPI report for November matched expectations. The CME FedWatch tool shows 95% odds that the FOMC will cut the federal funds rate (FFR) by 25bps next week, and the Fed doesn't like to surprise market expectations. The Nasdaq front-ran our forecast to reach 20,000 by mid-2025 by reaching that milestone today (chart). Now we are aiming for 22,000 by mid-2025. Our yearend target

Ed Yardeni
Eric Wallerstein

US Jobs Market: Onwards & Upwards

Dec 3, 2024 2 min read paid

We've contended all year that the labor market was normalizing from the unsustainable pace of hiring during the pandemic. We disagreed with the view that it was weakening. Now we are turning more upbeat about the outlook for employment. Our bet is that the animal spirits unleased by Trump 2.0 will soon be reflected in more job openings and a faster pace of hiring. Today's

Ed Yardeni
Eric Wallerstein

MARKET CALL: Powell's Latest Pirouette

Nov 17, 2024 3 min read

Fed Chair Jerome Powell is an accomplished danseur. His pirouette's are masterful. He did another such pivot on Friday in prepared remarks for a speech [starts at 19:00] to business leaders in Dallas. He said that, "the economy is not sending any signals that we need to be in a hurry to lower rates." That's what we've been saying since Powell

Ed Yardeni
Eric Wallerstein

Sticky Landing For Inflation?

Nov 13, 2024 3 min read paid

Today's CPI report suggests that inflation may be getting stuck north of the Fed's 2.0% target. The headline and core CPI inflation rates rose 2.6% and 3.3% y/y during October. Goods prices are still deflating. But supercore inflation, rent inflation, and wage growth all rose last month suggesting they are getting sticky at relatively high rates. This along with strong economic growth

Ed Yardeni
Eric Wallerstein

Powell's Mixed Message Remains Dovish

Nov 7, 2024 3 min read

The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) cut the federal funds rate (FFR) by 25bps today as widely expected. We expected it as well, though we still believe that the now 75bps cut in the FFR since September 18 is too much, too soon because both the economy and the labor market remain strong. In his press conference today, Fed Chair Jerome Powell acknowledged several times that both remain solid. He

Ed Yardeni
Eric Wallerstein

Powell Is Too Dovish

Oct 10, 2024 3 min read paid

The monetary policy hawks may be coming home to roost at the Fed's November 6-7 meeting. September's CPI was hotter-than-expected, thanks to sticky services inflation. Meanwhile, Fed Chair Jerome Powell and the other doves on the Federal Open Market Committee who worried about a weakening economy have less credibility since Friday's jobs report showed the unemployment rate fell further and payrolls reached a new

Ed Yardeni
Eric Wallerstein

Market Call: Back To Higher For Longer?

Oct 6, 2024 2 min read

Remember the "higher for longer" mantra about the outlook for the federal funds rate (FFR) during the spring? It turned into "lower and sooner" this summer in response to the economy's soft patch. After Friday's strong employment report, the consensus might pivot to "no rush to ease further" during the fall. We can't rule out "higher for

Ed Yardeni
Eric Wallerstein

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