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Showing posts with the label Equities

FOMC Rates: What a Hold—or Cut—Means for Stocks, Bonds, and the Dollar (Sept 2025)

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FOMC rate decisions have an outsized impact on global financial markets. Many investors are laser-focused on the next announcement. In this post, using the latest FOMC outcome, we’ll explain—in four key angles—how hikes or cuts affect our portfolios and what the rate outlook might be.   🎯 Key Takeaways ✅ What this post covers (3-line preview) ✅ How FOMC rate moves affect equities, bonds, and the dollar ✅ Why rates were held recently—and what’s next With the latest FOMC decision to hold the policy rate, uncertainty has increased. Investors hoping for cuts were disappointed. Higher rates raise corporate financing costs and can pressure stocks; lower rates can revive sentiment. Because the decision also moves bonds and the dollar, it’s crucial to anticipate the path ahead. 🔍 Why the Market’s Watching & Why the Hold At the July 2025 FOMC meeting, the target range was kept a...

Jackson Hole 2025: Powell Stresses Data Dependence, No Preset Path

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Held every August, the Jackson Hole meeting is where you can glimpse the Fed’s true thinking. This year, Chair Powell mentioned cooling in jobs and growth alongside tariff-driven inflation pressures, stressing that policy is data-dependent , not on a preset course.   🎯 Key Takeaways ✅ Labor slowdown: recent average monthly job gains ≈ 35k; unemployment at 4.2% ✅ Growth cooling: H1 GDP at 1.2–2%, roughly half of last year’s pace ✅ Inflation: core PCE 2.9%; tariff-driven pressures hinted as “possibly one-off” ✅ Policy: rates not on a preset path → cautious, data-dependent adjustments; target is a “clear 2%” ✅ Markets: seen as “less hawkish than feared” → short-term rally in stocks/crypto ✅ Risks: political pressure (Trump factor) puts Fed independence in the spotlight 💎 Core point: With “no signal of fu...