As expected the FED message was higher for longer.

The recent policy move by the US Federal Reserve to reduce rates by 0.25 was expected by the market, thus not much surprise. What was interesting about this move was the statement.  In short, the FED thinks things are going…

Our monetary policy forecast stays the same.  In short, we believe that the FED will raise more times and to a greater degree than the consensus three rate rises forecast. Thus, equity investors should take precautions since we see four…

Our forecast has been for the FED to raise rates in June.  Although the economic data has been weaker as of late, we are sticking by our forecast. This is in-line with our overall view for 2017 that the FED…

The market now sees 3 rate hikes instead of 2 for for 2017.  We have had this position for some time in our previous forecasts. Regarding the pace of rate hikes, it depends on economic growth and inflation.  Surveys currently…

The FED meeting today is important for setting up future rate moves.  I would pay less attention to the data and more attention to the tone of the language. Regarding the risk of a hike today, it is close to…

Our forecast for future rate hikes by the FED in 2017 depend on inflationary pressures arising from the new economic policies of Trump.  In general, inflation seems to be picking up, or we should say inflationary expectations are picking up…

Today the PPI (Producer Price Index) not including food and energy came in negative.   The CPI (Consumer Price Index) is the next one to look at. Irregardless inflation expectations have risen quite a bit as can be seen clearly…

The FMOC meetings confirm a divided FED.  This should be expected at turning points at times of uncertainty. Our view has always been that the November rate hike was highly unlikely for two reasons - the data was not conclusive…