NEWSLETTER
Thursday / September 29Sep 29
Friday / August 26
Waiting for Jackson Hole
Investors await US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s Jackson Hole, Wyoming, speech Friday.
Powell is expected to emphasize that the central bank will use all its power it needs in the form of interest rate hikes to snuff out inflation. Powell's speech is to give direction to every financial market in the near term ahead of the Fed’s September 20-21 policy meeting.
Fed officials on Thursday were noncommittal about the size of the interest rate increase they will approve at their September meeting.
Higher rates could lead to a rise in unemployment and are already starting to crimp household and business spending, Kansas City Federal Reserve president Esther George said on CNBC.
George said it remained "too soon to say" whether a half-point or three-quarter-point rate increase would be most appropriate at the September meeting.
Philadelphia Fed President Patrick Harker also commented on CNBC. "I'd like to see us get to, say, above 3.4% - that was the last median in the SEP (Summary of Economic Projections) - and then maybe sit for a while. I am not in the camp of taking rates up and then way down," Harkers said.
In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Atlanta Fed president Raphael Bostic said “at this point, I’d toss a coin” to decide between a half-point versus a three-quarter-point rate increase.
St. Louis Fed President James Bullard said interest rates are not yet high enough to push down on inflation and repeated his preference for "frontloading" rate hikes to lift them to 3.75%-4% by year.
Taiwan tensions flare again
A US lawmaker on the Senate Commerce and Armed Services committees arrived in Taiwan on Thursday on the third visit by a U.S. dignitary this month, defying pressure from Beijing to halt the trips.
"Taiwan is our strongest partner in the Indo-Pacific Region. Regular high-level visits to Taipei are long-standing U.S. policy. I will not be bullied by Communist China into turning my back on the island," Senator Marsha Blackburn said in a statement.
Taiwan's Foreign Ministry said Blackburn was due to meet President Tsai Ing-wen during her trip, which ends on Saturday, as well as top security official Wellington Koo and Foreign Minister Joseph Wu.
US stocks
The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped Thursday.
The Dow spiked 322 points, or 0.98%, to 33,291. The S&P500 jumped 1.41% to 4,199, and the Nasdaq Composite advanced 1.67% to 12,639.
Still, the major averages are on pace for a losing week. The Dow is down 1.23% through Thursday, the S&P 500 is 0.69% lower, and the Nasdaq Composite is down 0.52%.
Materials, communication services and information technology outperformed in the S&P 500. Consumer staples and utilities underperformed the broader market index.
California cars
California, the most populous state of the US, and the center of U.S. car culture, is banning the sale of new gasoline-powered vehicles starting in 2035.
The rule, issued by the California Air Resources Board on Thursday, will force automakers to speed up production of cleaner vehicles beginning in 2026 until sales of only zero-emission cars, pickup trucks and SUVs are allowed in the state.
The decision will have sweeping impacts beyond California and will pave the way for other states to adopt the requirement. At least 15 states, including New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania, have adopted California’s vehicle standards on previous clean-car rules.
Investors await US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s Jackson Hole, Wyoming, speech Friday.
Powell is expected to emphasize that the central bank will use all its power it needs in the form of interest rate hikes to snuff out inflation. Powell's speech is to give direction to every financial market in the near term ahead of the Fed’s September 20-21 policy meeting.
Fed officials on Thursday were noncommittal about the size of the interest rate increase they will approve at their September meeting.
Higher rates could lead to a rise in unemployment and are already starting to crimp household and business spending, Kansas City Federal Reserve president Esther George said on CNBC.
George said it remained "too soon to say" whether a half-point or three-quarter-point rate increase would be most appropriate at the September meeting.
Philadelphia Fed President Patrick Harker also commented on CNBC. "I'd like to see us get to, say, above 3.4% - that was the last median in the SEP (Summary of Economic Projections) - and then maybe sit for a while. I am not in the camp of taking rates up and then way down," Harkers said.
In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Atlanta Fed president Raphael Bostic said “at this point, I’d toss a coin” to decide between a half-point versus a three-quarter-point rate increase.
St. Louis Fed President James Bullard said interest rates are not yet high enough to push down on inflation and repeated his preference for "frontloading" rate hikes to lift them to 3.75%-4% by year.
Taiwan tensions flare again
A US lawmaker on the Senate Commerce and Armed Services committees arrived in Taiwan on Thursday on the third visit by a U.S. dignitary this month, defying pressure from Beijing to halt the trips.
"Taiwan is our strongest partner in the Indo-Pacific Region. Regular high-level visits to Taipei are long-standing U.S. policy. I will not be bullied by Communist China into turning my back on the island," Senator Marsha Blackburn said in a statement.
Taiwan's Foreign Ministry said Blackburn was due to meet President Tsai Ing-wen during her trip, which ends on Saturday, as well as top security official Wellington Koo and Foreign Minister Joseph Wu.
US stocks
The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped Thursday.
The Dow spiked 322 points, or 0.98%, to 33,291. The S&P500 jumped 1.41% to 4,199, and the Nasdaq Composite advanced 1.67% to 12,639.
Still, the major averages are on pace for a losing week. The Dow is down 1.23% through Thursday, the S&P 500 is 0.69% lower, and the Nasdaq Composite is down 0.52%.
Materials, communication services and information technology outperformed in the S&P 500. Consumer staples and utilities underperformed the broader market index.
California cars
California, the most populous state of the US, and the center of U.S. car culture, is banning the sale of new gasoline-powered vehicles starting in 2035.
The rule, issued by the California Air Resources Board on Thursday, will force automakers to speed up production of cleaner vehicles beginning in 2026 until sales of only zero-emission cars, pickup trucks and SUVs are allowed in the state.
The decision will have sweeping impacts beyond California and will pave the way for other states to adopt the requirement. At least 15 states, including New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania, have adopted California’s vehicle standards on previous clean-car rules.
