News

June Outlook: Progress on Inflation? Investors everywhere are asking the same question: When will the Federal Reserve finally lower rates? The consensus keeps moving that date back – perhaps to November 2024, maybe to next year.   With all eyes on Fed policy and on inflation, Federal Reserve Bank of New York President John Williams took the…

May Outlook: ‘Higher for Longer’ Mantra Reflects Delayed Rate Cuts Federal Reserve rate cuts keep fading further into the future. The culprits include stronger-than-expected inflation and a still-robust job market.   The latest inflation reading climbed to 3.5%, well above the Fed’s 2% target. And unemployment remains well below 4%.   Investors, economists, and lenders…

April Outlook: Strong Economy Postpones Rate Cuts Inflation is on the run, but it is still not defeated. Meanwhile, the U.S. job market remains near full employment, and stocks and home prices continue to boom.   By most measures, the U.S. economy is firing on all cylinders. Ever the tightrope walker, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell has…

March Outlook: Addressing the housing shortage By all accounts, the nation needs more housing units. There are not enough resale properties on the market, largely because many homeowners do not want to give up those 3% mortgage rates they grabbed during the pandemic. The much-discussed “lock-in effect” has frozen the housing market.   And new…

February Outlook: Fed Puts Off Rate Cuts — Again Investors keep expecting the Federal Reserve to cut its benchmark federal funds rate from its current target of 5.25% to 5.5%, the highest level in decades. And a resilient U.S. economy keeps sabotaging the script.   In the most recent example, the Federal Open Markets Committee…