For the record, the Dow index is up significantly for the year at the end of October, it is said.
(According to my records, it is down 10% from the end of last year.)
Since October is often a bad month for the stock market, this is good news.
The Dobbs index, OTOH, is down 20% over the 12 months, but was up almost 3% since last month, has only been up at month-end one other month this year, in August (about 6%), and down every other month.
Fed chair Jerome Powell cautions that “there’s some ground to cover” before officials can consider pausing their efforts to bring down inflation.
The Federal Reserve fired the latest supersize salvo in its fight against inflation, boosting the central bank’s benchmark lending rate to the highest level in nearly 15 years and hinting that the end of its campaign may be approaching.
Wrapping up a two-day meeting in Washington, D.C., Fed officials voted to hike the federal funds rate by three-quarters of a percentage point to a range of 3.75 to 4 percent. The rate was pinned at near-zero as recently as March.
It was the fourth consecutive three-quarter-point increase by the Fed, which until this year hadn’t resorted to such a large move since 1994, and is intended to further push up the cost of a broad range of borrowing, including credit cards, mortgages, and business loans. Officials had widely signaled the move.
In a statement released after the meeting, the Fed repeated language used previously that “ongoing increases” will likely be needed to bring rates to a level that returns inflation to its 2 percent target.
But it added a new sentence that some quickly read as suggesting that additional rate hikes might be smaller: “In determining the pace of future increases in the target range, the committee will take into account the cumulative tightening of monetary policy, the lags with which monetary policy affects economic activity and inflation, and economic and financial developments.” …
The Federal Reserve raised rates by three-quarters of a point, continuing its campaign against inflation. Fed Chair Jerome Powell signaled a rationale for slowing the increases, but markets recoiled when he said it was “very premature” to consider a pause.
The Federal Reserve raised interest rates by three-quarters of a point in their sixth increase this year. Jerome H. Powell, the Fed chair, said “at some point” it would be appropriate to slow the pace of increases. …
Jerome H. Powell, the Federal Reserve chair, said the central bank “still has a ways to go” before it will be done raising interest rates, and that rates may go higher than previously anticipated.
Stocks seesawed on Wednesday, but eventually ended the day lower, after Jerome H. Powell, the Federal Reserve chair, dashed investors’ hopes that an end to the central bank’s rate increases may soon be over.
The S&P 500 slumped to a loss of 2.5 percent for the day, after fluctuating between gains and losses as Mr. Powell spoke during an afternoon news conference about the Fed’s latest decision.
Stocks had started the day lower as investors braced for the Fed to raise interest rates a further 0.75 percentage points. The central bank followed through on that expectation, but attention quickly shifted to what the Fed was thinking about interest rate increases to come.
The Fed’s initial statement, released alongside its rate decision, appeared to point to a more cautious approach, accounting for the large rate increases that have already happened and noting that it may still take time for the economic effect of those rate increases to be felt. …
Democrats have seized on Republican proposals to limit retirement benefits to galvanize voters ahead of the midterm elections.
Congressional Republicans, eyeing a midterm election victory that could hand them control of the House and the Senate, have embraced plans to reduce federal spending on Social Security and Medicare, including cutting benefits for some retirees and raising the retirement age for both safety net programs.
Prominent Republicans are billing the moves as necessary to rein in government spending, which grew under both Republican and Democratic presidents in recent decades and then spiked as the Trump and Biden administrations unleashed trillions of dollars in economic relief during the pandemic.
The Republican leaders who would decide what legislation the House and the Senate would consider if their party won control of Congress have not said specifically what, if anything, they would do to the programs.
Yet several influential Republicans have signaled a new willingness to push for Medicare and Social Security spending cuts as part of future budget negotiations with President Biden. Their ideas include raising the age for collecting Social Security benefits to 70 from 67 and requiring many older Americans to pay higher premiums for their health coverage. The ideas are being floated as a way to narrow government spending on programs that are set to consume a growing share of the federal budget in the decades ahead. …
For the record, the Dow index is up significantly for the year at the end of October, it is said.
(According to my records, it is down 10% from the end of last year.)
Since October is often a bad month for the stock market, this is good news.
The Dobbs index, OTOH, is down 20% over the 12 months, but was up almost 3% since last month, has only been up at month-end one other month this year, in August (about 6%), and down every other month.
Buying opportunities abound!
Federal Reserve lifts rates again, hints future increases may be smaller
Boston Globe – Nov 2
Fed chair Jerome Powell cautions that “there’s some ground to cover” before officials can consider pausing their efforts to bring down inflation.
Fed Makes Another Big Rate Increase, Keeps Options Open for Next Moves
NY Times – Nov 2
The Federal Reserve raised rates by three-quarters of a point, continuing its campaign against inflation. Fed Chair Jerome Powell signaled a rationale for slowing the increases, but markets recoiled when he said it was “very premature” to consider a pause.
The Federal Reserve raised interest rates by three-quarters of a point in their sixth increase this year. Jerome H. Powell, the Fed chair, said “at some point” it would be appropriate to slow the pace of increases. …
Stocks Slide as Fed Leaves Investors Unsure About Path Ahead
NY Times – Nov 2
Jerome H. Powell, the Federal Reserve chair, said the central bank “still has a ways to go” before it will be done raising interest rates, and that rates may go higher than previously anticipated.
Republicans, Eyeing Majority, Float Changes to Social Security and Medicare
NY Times – Nov 2
Democrats have seized on Republican proposals to limit retirement benefits to galvanize voters ahead of the midterm elections.