FOMC

The Fed's monetary policy setting arm, namely the Federal Open Market Committee, or FOMC, is deep into deliberations in a two-day meeting that began Tuesday. With the verdict due shortly, most see no surprise elements in it. Hold Mode Close To A Year The central bank has been holding the Fed...

The Fed's task is now cut out. The U.S. economy is chugging along at a fairly decent clip and the job market, the spotlight of the Federal Reserve in its monetary policy deliberations, is kicking into top gear. Can it take its next step toward monetary policy normalization in the current...

A joint meeting between the Federal Open Market Committee and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System was held last month in Washington. Related Link: Yellen Pledges To Scrutinize Big Banks Following Wells Fargo's Scandal Here are the top six headlines from the Fed's September 20...

According to the Wall Street Journal, Federal Reserve Chairwomen Janet Yellen said that the central bank will scrutinize all big banks following the Wells Fargo & Co (NYSE: WFC) scandal in which millions of phony bank accounts were created for clients without their knowledge or desire. Speaking...

Will the Federal Reserve implement a rate hike in its September meeting? Some investors are thinking that an uncertain domestic and global economic and political environment puts the question of a rate hike off the table. However, recent comments from the Fed's William (Bill) Dudley indicate that a...

At 2 p.m. ET, the Federal Reserve is set to release its decision following this month’s meeting, but the market doesn’t seem to be expecting much. “In another era, there would be massive pressure on the FOMC to raise rates but no-one expects anything from today’s meeting,...

“We expect the FOMC will acknowledge increased uncertainty around the outlook and ambiguously point to an expectation that the Committee will maintain an appropriate level of policy accommodation,” stated Morgan Stanley analyst Ellen Zentner ahead of the July Federal Reserve meeting....

After opening at its lowest level since August just a week ago, the VIX has now spiked to its highest point since February. There are a number of potentially market-moving events in the news this week. Here’s a look at what is driving market fear. Brexit Vote More than anything else,...

For many, everything coming from the Federal Reserve is confusing. The rhetoric itself, "Fedspeak," can be overwhelming, and media outlets' reports on the happenings are often fueled by speculation. As explained by the Wall Street Journal, despite the oft-convoluted language, the Fed statements...

Emerging markets sovereign debt and the corresponding exchange-traded funds are viewed as vulnerable to hawkish changes in U.S. interest rates. With the Federal Reserve perhaps nearing a rate hike sometime over the next two months, some market observers are betting this time will be different for...

With the Utilities SPDR (ETF) (NYSE: XLU), the largest utilities exchange traded fund, up nearly 15 percent year-to-date, finding utilities bears is not the easiest of endeavors. That scenario could start to change as the Federal Reserve nears its first interest rate increase of 2016, perhaps...

Spoiler alert: This is article is not about the Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE: XLF) or a comparable financial services exchange traded fund. Nor is it about the SPDR KBW Regional Banking (ETF) (NYSE: KRE), at least not directly. As was noted in this space Thursday, since the publication...

In the week since the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting minutes revealed the Federal Reserve could raise interest rates for the first time this year in June, financial services stocks and exchange-traded funds are reacting as expected. For example, the Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund (...

The SPDR Gold Trust (ETF) (NYSE: GLD), the world's largest exchange-traded fund backed by physical holdings of gold, is up 15.3 percent this year. GLD is also one of this year's top ETFs in terms of new assets added. How's Gold Doing? However, some of the air has come out of the gold trade...

The most recent FOMC minutes painted an unexpectedly hawkish picture, implying that the next Fed rate hike could come as soon as June. Following the release, Richmond Fed Chair Jeffrey Lacker told Bloomberg that he sees a strong case for a June hike and plans on pushing for a total of four hikes by...