#fdic-policy

#fdic-policy

Escalating geopolitical risk continued to dominate global markets' concerns, with safe-haven demand keeping the dollar index anchored near a multi-week high.

The proposed rule establishes broad principles to guide the determination of whether state-level stablecoin regulatory regimes are 'substantially similar' to the federal framework, allowing smaller issuers to remain under state supervision.

The dominant force in play remains the Middle East conflict, which has kept oil prices elevated and inflation expectations firm. Reports that Washington is assembling a coalition to escort vessels through the Strait of Hormuz could offer some relief for the oil market and could weigh on the dollar.

September, or more likely October, is now the realistic opportunity for a rate cut, and even that is far from guaranteed. The data coming through is not consistent with easing in July. In fact, it points in the opposite direction. Inflation is not falling fast enough. The latest wholesale inflation data shows prices rising at 3.4% year-on-year, the strongest pace in a year, and core measures are still running close to 4%.

The Committee seeks to achieve maximum employment and inflation at the rate of 2 percent over the longer run. Uncertainty about the economic outlook remains elevated. The implications of developments in the Middle East for the US economy are uncertain, the central bank said in a statement announcing its policy decision and referring to its Federal Open Market Committee.

There was a time when banks and fintechs competed mostly on bells and whistles: smoother apps, faster checkout, appealing rewards. But in the world of public markets and quarterly earnings, functionality gives way to fundamentals.

On a monthly basis, the Consumer Price Index was up 0.3% after seasonal adjustment in December. Year-over-year the all-items index was up 2.7%, the same as it was in November. Shelter was the main contributor to the all-items index's monthly increase, rising 0.4% from a month prior. Other major contributors included the food index, which rose 0.7% and the energy index, which jumped 0.3%.

Scott Bessent used a Senate appearance to defend President Donald Trump's campaign to slash interest and raise tariffs. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has faced questions from the United States Senate about President Donald Trump's ongoing campaign to slash interest rates, despite concerns that such a move could turbo-charge inflation. Bessent appeared on Thursday before the Senate's Financial Stability Oversight Council. There, he received a grilling from Democrats over rising consumer prices and concerns about Trump's attempts to influence the Federal Reserve, the US central bank.

The newly-named Federal Reserve chairman faces an historic challenge that no predecessor has encountered since the years immediately following World War II. In that period, the gigantic spending required to aid our allies and secure military victory saddled the U.S. with towering debt. President Truman-fearing that huge interest costs would swamp the budget-heavily pressured the Fed to hold down rates. Today, the U.S. is wrestling with its biggest budget crisis in 70 years, and we're confronting a similar conundrum.