Good morning! For Thursday, May 21, U.S. stock futures forecasted a 17-point decline from yesterday's close. This morning, U.S. jobless claims remained at a near 15-year low. Claims registered at roughly 274,000, a little higher than economist expectations of 271,000.
Good morning! For Thursday, May 21, U.S. stock futures forecasted a 17-point decline from yesterday's close. This morning, U.S. jobless claims remained at a near 15-year low. Claims registered at roughly 274,000, a little higher than economist expectations of 271,000.
The DJIA Index and S&P 500 retreated from record highs during an afternoon sell-off late in the trading session. Earlier, the U.S. Federal Reserve released minutes from its April FOMC meeting, and oil prices rose on geopolitical tensions and falling inventory levels.
The Fed FOMC meeting minutes release today (Wednesday) was yet another in a long line of U.S. Federal Reserve communications that had financial pundits abuzz but delivered nothing new.
The Fed minutes released today - documenting the discussions of the Fed's Federal Open Market Committee three weeks ago - indicated that the Fed has progressed little on pinning down a timeline for raising the Fed funds rate from its 0% to 0.25% target.
But as usual, these Fed minutes skirted the real issues...
The U.S. Federal Reserve's Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting minutes today (Wednesday) will have one thing working in its favor.
It will be able to carry on its aimless monetary policy with impunity. The lead dissenters have all but been silenced in 2015.
Good morning! U.S. stock futures for Thursday, Feb. 19, forecasted a 20-point decrease from yesterday's close. Oil futures are down roughly 4%, and Greece-EU negotiations rage on.
On Wednesday, the Dow Jones slipped 17 points after the U.S. Federal Reserve released minutes from its January Federal Open Market Committee meeting. It seems the central bank is unlikely to raise interest rates in the near future.
Today, investors shifted focus back to Europe, and kept an eye on global crude oil prices. Greece's leftist government announced plans to submit a request to extend its loan agreement for another six months. The news raises hopes for a last-minute deal to keep the country's finances in order.
The Federal Open Market Committee Meeting (FOMC) meeting minutes told us much of the same.
QE3 is over, rate hikes will happen after a "considerable" time, and markets are still sensitive to humdrum Fedspeak.
Here's what you should be doing with your money on Fed days like these...
The FOMC meeting today will mean one thing: accommodative monetary policy is ending.
This may spook some investors who have rode this Fed-driven bull market to big gains.
Here's how you can keep scoring gains even with less easy money flooding the markets.
The Fed balance sheet has been expanding at an alarming rate since the financial collapse in 2007.
And there's no surprise the markets have gone along for the ride.
But this week's FOMC meeting will mark an end to that, and no longer will markets be able to fall back on easy money policy.
Here's where the Fed is now, how it got here, and how you can invest around it.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average soared 274 points Wednesday following the Federal Open Market Committee's release of its September meeting minutes. The release marked the last of the Quantitative Easing 3 era.
According to the minutes, many Fed officials are seeking a new way to convince others that they are not prepared to raise interest rates according to the previous timeline.
Here are the top stories from today’s trading…
The Federal Open Market Committee Meeting (FOMC) meeting minutes were expected to mirror the same sentiments and monetary policy guidelines the U.S. Federal Reserve has been touting for months.
And on that front, this minutes release did not disappoint.
But that doesn’t mean these minutes were not important. Here’s what to look for moving forward…
Ever since former U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke announced the tapering of the Fed's current bond-buying program in December, the release of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting minutes have been unsurprising and awash in technical central-banker jargon.
It's followed the same pattern each time: the Fed will have its meetings, release a statement, and then three weeks later they will release the minutes of that meeting as per Fed protocol.
But, here’s why these minutes are important, if for no other reason than the timing of them…
Today's gold prices fell to levels not seen since mid-June. By market close Thursday, the yellow metal will have fallen for a fifth-straight session - its longest slump since June 2.
Money Morning's Chief Investment Strategist Keith Fitz-Gerald joined CNBC's"Closing Bell" program yesterday and said the newly released Fed meeting minutes show that one thing is clear: The Federal Reserve is just "making things up as they go along."
Even more unnerving - the Fed's ridiculous conclusions have triggered some concerning moves in the markets.
Take a look:
The three major indexes all dropped in unison shortly after the release of the minutes from the U.S. Federal Reserve's July Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting, reflecting Fed sentiment that accommodative monetary policy could end sooner than expected if improvements continue in the labor market.
While the Fed made no remarks on an explicit timetable for interest rate hikes, which is what the markets are observing attentively, the minutes did indicate that the situation in the labor market was looking healthier and improving quicker than expected.
Here's what the Fed's agenda will be for the rest of the year...
The U.S. Federal Reserve's Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting minutes from July will be released this afternoon and once again the nation's central bank won't be looking to pull any tricks.
All in all, the announcements this year out of the Fed have been predictable, and current Fed chairwoman Janet Yellen has continued to follow the same path that her predecessor Bernanke left her when he departed from the post in February.
But even the predictable Fed talk can be felt on Wall Street...
