Federal Reserve raises the interest rate to the target range of 2.25% to 2.5% as of December 2018.

Charlene Vos

2018-12-22 14:38:00 Sat ET

Federal Reserve raises the interest rate to the target range of 2.25% to 2.5% as of December 2018. Fed Chair Jerome Powell highlights the dovish interest rate hike that the U.S. economy seems sluggish in terms of real GDP per capita economic growth, employment, and capital investment. Some economic indicators such as household income and wage momentum soften in the current macro outlook.

Wall Street reacts negatively to the Powell comment about continuing to shrink the Federal Reserve balance sheet. Several stock market indices slump to the lowest levels in the fiscal year 2018. Dow Jones declines 352 points or 1.5%; S&P 500 also declines 1.5%; and NASDAQ plunges 2.3% as of mid-December 2018. This stock market pain extends to global markets: European and Asian stocks exhibit sharp losses around 3% on the next business day.

The Federal Reserve expects to ease the current interest rate hike with no more than 2 to 3 rate increases in 2019. Chairman Powell conveys his unusual dovish tone that the current interest rate hike reflects healthy fundamental recalibration in U.S. financial markets. This rate hike benefits most savers and traders who receive dividend and interest income from their stock and bond market investments.

 


If any of our AYA Analytica financial health memos (FHM), blog posts, ebooks, newsletters, and notifications etc, or any other form of online content curation, involves potential copyright concerns, please feel free to contact us at service@ayafintech.network so that we can remove relevant content in response to any such request within a reasonable time frame.

Blog+More

China poses new economic, technological, and military threats to the U.S. and many western allies.

Joseph Corr

2024-02-05 11:26:00 Monday ET

China poses new economic, technological, and military threats to the U.S. and many western allies.

China poses new economic, technological, and military threats to the U.S. and many western allies. In the U.S. government assessment, China poses new eco

+See More

Fed Chair Jerome Powell sees a remarkably positive outlook for the U.S. economy in early-October 2018.

Charlene Vos

2018-10-03 11:37:00 Wednesday ET

Fed Chair Jerome Powell sees a remarkably positive outlook for the U.S. economy in early-October 2018.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell sees a remarkably positive outlook for the U.S. economy right after the recent interest rate hike as of September 2018. He humbly su

+See More

Warren Buffett places his $58 billion stock bets on Apple, American Express, and Goldman Sachs.

Rose Prince

2019-04-05 08:25:00 Friday ET

Warren Buffett places his $58 billion stock bets on Apple, American Express, and Goldman Sachs.

Warren Buffett places his $58 billion stock bets on Apple, American Express, and Goldman Sachs. Berkshire Hathaway owns $18 billion equity stakes in America

+See More

The Economist offers a special report that the new normal state of economic affairs shines fresh light on the division of labor between central banks and governments.

Jonah Whanau

2019-11-15 13:34:00 Friday ET

The Economist offers a special report that the new normal state of economic affairs shines fresh light on the division of labor between central banks and governments.

The Economist offers a special report that the new normal state of economic affairs shines fresh light on the division of labor between central banks and go

+See More

AT&T wins court approval to take over Time Warner with a trademark $85 billion bid despite the Trump prior dissent due to antitrust concerns.

Chanel Holden

2018-06-07 10:36:00 Thursday ET

AT&T wins court approval to take over Time Warner with a trademark $85 billion bid despite the Trump prior dissent due to antitrust concerns.

AT&T wins court approval to take over Time Warner with a trademark $85 billion bid despite the Trump administration prior dissent due to antitrust conce

+See More

Is higher stock market concentration good or bad for Corporate America?

Laura Hermes

2025-03-03 04:11:06 Monday ET

Is higher stock market concentration good or bad for Corporate America?

Is higher stock market concentration good or bad for Corporate America? In recent years, S&P 500 stock market returns exhibit spectacular concentrati

+See More