The Business Times

Rob Curran

emailbtnews@sph.com.sg
The strength of the US dollar and the weakness of the Treasury market on the day Kevin Warsh’s nomination was announced suggest that markets anticipate him to continue holding the current Fed chair's line on interest rates.
NEWS ANALYSIS

Disappointment for some, relief for others as markets ponder Warsh’s nomination as next Fed chief

In some quarters, he is seen as a ‘credible choice’, who may hold his own against President Trump’s demand for rate cuts

Fed chair Jerome Powell gestures during a press conference following a two-day meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee on interest rate policy in Washington.
NEWS ANALYSIS

Powell defends independence of Federal Reserve

It will maintain trust in central banks that monetary policy will not be abused for short-term gains that might win elections

Fed chair Jerome Powell has earned a reputation as an unlikely champion of the old order's resistance to President Donald Trump's expansion of his presidential powers.
NEWS ANALYSIS

Fed’s first meeting of 2026 likely to be dominated by threats to central bank’s independence

The benchmark rate is likely to stay put at between 3.5 and 3.75%

By most estimates, investment in AI infrastructure accounts for the vast majority of US economic growth, masking slowdowns in consumer spending and services-sector activity.
OUTLOOK 2026

The AI bubble will surely pop sometime, but it’s an irrational exercise to predict exactly when

Even US Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell has confessed that economic trends and the impact of AI are confusing him

Fed chairman Jerome Powell, who will step down in May next year after overseeing three more meetings, confirmed that the Fed was leaning towards a pause.
NEWS ANALYSIS

More dissenters could signal increased resistance to future Fed rate cuts

Investors should be positioned for the Fed to continue easing at least once more in 2026, say analysts

Traders work on the floor of the American Stock Exchange (AMEX) at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, US, on Monday, Sept. 29, 2025. Traders are awaiting key labor-market data this week that could provide clues about how fast the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates.
NEWS ANALYSIS

Fed likely to trim rates again this week, but it could be a ‘hawkish’ cut

Futures markets are pricing in a near certainty that it will cut rates by another quarter of a percentage point, bringing them down...

The “Magnificent Seven” mega-cap stocks are still trading at absurd valuations, just like the dotcom players in the late-1990s.
NEWS ANALYSIS

Amid AI frenzy, concerns mount over sustainability of equity rally as valuations continue to soar

The bulls say the AI boom is unlike the dotcom boom, in that the main players this time are extremely profitable giants...

Many Wall Street economists are raising their growth forecasts in 2026, while Fed chief Powell's impression of the US economy remains rosy.
NEWS ANALYSIS

Powell’s warning to investors and lenders: The Fed won’t spoil the markets any longer

With rates in the 3 to 4% range, monetary policy is no longer restrictive

The Fed is expected to cut interest rates this week to a range of between 3.75 per cent and 4 per cent.
NEWS ANALYSIS

As Fed prepares to cut rates this week, all eyes are on outcome of Trump-Xi meeting in Seoul

Prospect of a trade deal between Washington and Beijing has raised hopes of prices of goods coming down ahead of the holiday...

(FILES) Lisa Cook (R) takes the oath of office as she is sworn-in to become a member of the Federal Reserve Board by Federal Reserve Board Chair Jerome Powell, at the Federal Reserve Building in Washington, DC, on May 23, 2022. US Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook filed a lawsuit on August 28, 2025, to challenge Donald Trump's move to fire her -- as the president intensified pressure on the independent central bank. Cook also asked for a temporary restraining order declaring that Trump's attempt to fire her is unlawful and preventing the Fed from removing her for now. A hearing on that motion has been set for August 29. Trump had published a letter on his Truth Social platform on August 25, stating that he was removing Cook from her role and citing accusations of false statements on her mortgage agreements. (Photo by OLIVIER DOULIERY / AFP)
NEWS ANALYSIS

Fed’s independence still in jeopardy even as governor Lisa Cook stays in job for now

Analysts say that an ouster by Trump would undermine trust in an institution that lies at the heart of the trust-based financial...

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