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Rate Cut
A majority of Federal Reserve policymakers expressed support in late October for further interest rate cuts, though not all committed to making the reduction at their next meeting in December, according to minutes released Wednesday. At the same time, many officials said it would likely be appropriate to keep rates unchanged for the rest of the year," a sign of strong divisions among policymakers about the central bank's next steps. Rate cuts by the Fed, over time, typically lower borrowing costs for mortgages, car loans, and credit cards. Fed officials are deeply split over the biggest threat to the economy: weak hiring or stubbornly-elevated inflation. If a sluggish job market is the biggest threat, then the Fed would typically cut rates more. But it combats inflation by keeping rates elevated, or even raising them. Chair Jerome Powell had telegraphed the deep divisions among the Fed's 19-member interest-rate setting committee at a news conference following the October 28-29 ...
A SBI research report has pitched for a 25 bps rate cut, saying it is the 'best possible option' for the RBI, though some other experts opined that the central bank's rate-setting panel may again opt for status quo in its bi-monthly policy to be announced on October 1. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Sanjay Malhotra-headed Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is scheduled to begin a three-day brainstorming on policy rate on Monday in the backdrop of the ongoing geopolitical tensions and the US imposing 50 per cent tariffs on Indian shipments. The decision will be announced on October 1 (Wednesday). The RBI reduced the key short-term lending rate (repo) by 100 basis points in three tranches beginning in February, amidst declining consumer price index (CPI) based inflation. However, the central bank opted for a status quo in the August bi-monthly monetary policy, taking a wait-and-watch approach to assess the impact of US tariffs and other geopolitical developments on the domestic ..
Asian shares mostly rose Tuesday as hopes grew, also on Wall Street, that US data reports set for release later in the week would lead the Federal Reserve tocut interest rates at its next meeting. Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 edged up nearly 0.3% in morning trading to 43,763.96. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 declined 0.5% to 8,806.60. South Korea's Kospi climbed 0.6% to 3,238.07. Hong Kong's Hang Seng surged 1.2% to 25,949.48, while the Shanghai Composite rose 0.1% to 3,831.45. Asian markets opened Tuesday with momentum, riding Wall Street's conviction that Fed cuts are no longer a question of if but how many. Nearly three reductions are now being priced before year-end. That expectation is washing through global markets like a spring tide, said Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management. On Wall Street, the S&P 500 added 0.2% and finished just below its record set last week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 114 points, or 0.3%, and the Nasdaq composite climbed ...