Reuters US Economy

NEW YORK (Reuters) – A decision by S&P Global Ratings to change the outlook on Colombia’s credit rating to “negative” on Thursday was met with skepticism by Wall Street banks and investors, who said the move was “unexpected” and “inconsistent.” S&P affirmed Colombia’s “BB+/B” foreign currency sovereign credit ratings, but effectively put the country on …

Wall Street skeptical over S&P’s negative Colombia outlook Read More »

By Promit Mukherjee OTTAWA (Reuters) -Canada posted a surprise 0.2% month-on-month decline in retail sales in November led by a slowdown in sales of food and beverages, data showed on Friday, although initial estimates suggested a rebound during the December holiday season. Statistics Canada’s preliminary estimate of a 0.8% gain in December, if realized, would …

Canada’s November retail sales decline but rebound seen in December Read More »

By Mike Dolan LONDON (Reuters) – ‘Pushback’ has emerged as one of the financial market words of the year so far, but ‘humility’ could well take its place. To varying degrees, top central bankers have this month attempted to dampen what they see as overexcited interest rate cut expectations in markets for 2024. And they’ve …

Column-Obstinate ECB suggests ‘humility’ all around: Mike Dolan Read More »

By Michael S. Derby (Reuters) – Lower-income Americans are starting to face nascent signs of financial turbulence now that government support programs tied to the coronavirus pandemic have wound down, but any problems are relatively contained so far. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York said in a report Thursday that for lower income households, …

NY Fed finds lower-incomes facing more financial stress Read More »

By Amina Niasse NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. mortgage rates fell this week to the lowest since May 2023, Freddie Mac reported on Thursday, providing a possible boost to buyer traffic in the housing market. The average fixed-rate 30-year mortgage fell to 6.60% as of Thursday from 6.66% the week prior, Freddie Mac said in …

US mortgage rates fall to 8-month low, says Freddie Mac Read More »

By Lucia Mutikani WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell last week to the lowest level in nearly 1-1/2 years, suggesting job growth likely remained solid in January. The unexpected decline in initial claims reported by the Labor Department on Thursday added to strong retail sales growth in …

US weekly jobless claims at 16-month low; homebuilding takes breather Read More »

By Howard Schneider WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Atlanta Federal Reserve President Raphael Bostic said on Thursday he was open to reducing U.S. interest rates sooner than he had anticipated if there is “convincing” evidence in coming months that inflation is falling faster than he expected. Bostic had previously said he expected it would be appropriate to …

Fed’s Bostic says open to earlier rate cuts on faster drop in inflation Read More »

(Reuters) – J.P.Morgan said on Thursday it expects the Bank of England to start cutting interest rates in August this year, citing a possible easing in inflation and optimism about a soft landing. The brokerage now expects a 75-basis point rate cut by end 2024, taking J.P.Morgan’s policy rate forecast to 4.5%, while the central …

J.P.Morgan now expects BoE to start cutting interest rates in August Read More »

By Jamie McGeever ORLANDO, Florida (Reuters) -As the amount of cash parked at the Federal Reserve’s overnight reverse repo facility (ON RRP) hurtles towards zero, the Fed’s visibility on the minimum level of bank reserves needed to ensure the financial system functions smoothly also diminishes. Once the banking system gets close to what is considered …

Focus sharpens on Fed’s disappearing reverse repo: McGeever Read More »