Morning Reads
- Trump Has Hinted at a Xi Visit. China Is Still Wondering What He Wants.
- Threatening Canada Is More Putin Than Reagan
- Bank of Japan Leaves Rates Steady as U.S. Uncertainty Heightens
- Turkish Markets Nosedive After Erdogan’s Main Rival Detained
- Indonesia’s Central Bank Stands Pat as Expected Amid Volatility
- Eurozone Inflation Cooler Than Thought, Underscoring Sluggish Economy
- E.U. Hatches a Plan to Lure Investors Back to Europe
- Irish Economic Outlook Hit by Tariff Uncertainty, Central Bank Says
- Close to 5,000 ESG Funds in Europe Now Hold Oil, Gas and Coal
- Farmers Have Fair Trade Complaints, but Tariffs Are a Bigger Worry
- The 1960s ‘Chicken Tax’ Shows the Lasting Impact of Tariffs
- As Debt Ceiling Looms, the Fed Considers Tweaking Its Portfolio Runoff
- Does the Fed Share the Stock Market’s Worry About the Economy?
- What to Watch at the Federal Reserve’s March Meeting
- DOGE Just Might Usher In New Era of Big Government
- ‘Will I Lose My Job?’ Federal Workers Flock to Reddit for Answers.
- How TD Became America’s Most Convenient Bank for Money Launderers
- Cathie Wood Sells Meta Shares for First Time in Nearly a Year
- Samsung Vows to Reclaim Ground in AI Memory Market With Rollout
- Tencent’s Revenue Growth Accelerates on Robust Gaming Business
- Advanced Instruments to Buy Nova Biomedical From Founding Shareholders in $2.2 Billion Deal
- Ben & Jerry’s Says CEO Fired by Unilever on Political Stance
- Mom, the Brands Are Fighting Again
- At Forever 21, the Adrenaline Rush Was the Point
- Nike Returns to Sports While Investors Impatiently Await Reset
- In Japan, Shohei Ohtani Is a National Hero and Marketer’s Dream
- San Francisco Giants Sell Stake to Private Equity
- Hollywood Filmmaker Charged With $11 Million Conspiracy to Defraud Netflix
Todays Watch List
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Prepper
If the Fed Chair is not in a rush to tinker with monetary policy, you probably shouldn't be in a rush to tinker with your portfolio. There has been a lot of panic in recent weeks due to the market correction on Wall Street, but it's important to stay rooted to what the numbers say for themselves as opposed to the latest fearful or worrisome projections. There's no better way to see that than what Powell said the day before the current Fed blackout period, with the message likely to be reiterated this afternoon as the central bank captain takes the stage at 2:30 PM ET.
Quote: "Despite elevated levels of uncertainty, the U.S. economy continues to be in a good place. The labor market is solid, and inflation has moved closer to our 2% longer-run goal," Powell told the U.S. Monetary Policy Forum on Mar. 7. "Sentiment readings have not been a good predictor of consumption growth in recent years. We continue to carefully monitor a variety of indicators of household and business spending."
"Looking ahead, the new Administration is in the process of implementing significant policy changes in four distinct areas: trade, immigration, fiscal policy, and regulation. It is the net effect of these policy changes that will matter for the economy and for the path of monetary policy. While there have been recent developments in some of these areas, especially trade policy, uncertainty around the changes and their likely effects remains high. As we parse the incoming information, we are focused on separating the signal from the noise as the outlook evolves. We do not need to be in a hurry, and are well-positioned to wait for greater clarity."
Thought bubble: Despite some turbulent stock trading, all of the indicators that the Federal Reserve is watching appear to be holding up just fine. The unemployment rate remains low, wages are growing faster than inflation, the jobs-to-workers gap has narrowed, and the quits rate has moved below pre-pandemic levels. At the end of the day, those are the factors that will determine the trajectory of monetary policy, as well as the central bank's updated dot plot and economic projections.
What else is happening...
General Motors (GM) deepens partnership with Nvidia (NVDA).
Tesla (TSLA) removed from the 2025 Vancouver Auto Show.
Starliner astronauts splash down, ending nine-month space saga.
SA Asks: How will the $32B Wiz deal impact Google (GOOGL)?
Trump dismisses two Democratic commissioners at the FTC.
Trade war: Italy's Meloni warns EU against retaliatory tariffs.
Nasdaq plans regional HQ in Dallas amid financial shift to Texas.
Activist Starboard preparing for proxy fight at Autodesk (ADSK).
Turkish stock market plunges, lira falls as Erdogan rival arrested.
What the White House, Kremlin said about the Trump-Putin call.
Today's Markets
In Asia, Japan -0.3%. Hong Kong +0.1%. China -0.1%. India +0.2%.
In Europe, at midday, London -0.1%. Paris +0.4%. Frankfurt -0.4%.
Futures at 6:30, Dow +0.1%. S&P +0.3%. Nasdaq +0.3%. Crude -0.3% to $66.53. Gold +0.1% to $3,043.10. Bitcoin +1% to $83,674.
Ten-year Treasury Yield unchanged at 4.29%.
Today's Economic Calendar
07:00 AM MBA Mortgage Applications
10:00 AM Atlanta Fed's Business Inflation Expectations
10:30 AM EIA Petroleum Inventories
02:00 PM FOMC Announcement
02:30 PM Fed Chair Press Conference
04:00 PM Treasury International Capital