Heavily redacted document also says several documents contained what appears to be Trump’s handwritten notes
Three new sealed filings have appeared online in the federal court system related to the Mar-a-Lago case, Politico reports:
Since they are not public, it’s unclear what they are, but a federal magistrate judge gave the justice department until noon eastern time today to make the redacted affidavit justifying the search public.
Continue reading...US stock markets nosedive as Jerome Powell says at top bank summit the ‘overarching focus is to bring inflation back down’
US stock markets nosedived on Friday after Federal Reserve chair, Jerome Powell, warned of “pain” ahead as the central bank struggles to bring down inflation from a 40-year high.
Powell’s highly anticipated speech was more hawkish than had been expected, with the Fed chair pledging to do all he could to end rising prices. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost just over 1,000 points, 3%, the S&P fell 3.3% and the Nasdaq dropped almost 4%.
Continue reading...Fed confirms 0.75 percentage-point increase as Americans across country hit hard by rising prices and shortages of key items
With soaring inflation and the shadow of recession hanging over the United States, the Federal Reserve announced a 0.75 percentage-point increase in interest rates on Wednesday – the largest hike since 1994.
Until this week the Fed had been expected to announce a smaller increase. At a press conference, the Fed chair, Jerome Powell, said the central bank decided that a larger hike was needed after recent economic news, including last week’s announcement that inflation had risen to a 40-year high.
Continue reading...Federal Reserve expected to increase cost of borrowing by 0.75 percentage points to curb rising inflation
The world’s financial markets are bracing themselves for the sharpest rise in US interest rates in almost 30 years, as America’s central bank takes action to halt rising inflation.
After days of frenzied investor speculation and signs of growing central bank anxiety, the Federal Reserve is expected to increase the official cost of borrowing by 0.75 percentage points for the first time since 1994.
Continue reading...Benchmark ASX200 index closes 246 points lower, after falling 360 points in the first 15 minutes of trading on Tuesday
Australian shares have joined a global retreat, ending almost 3.6% lower, as investors fear central banks will lift interest rates more aggressively, slashing economic growth and companies’ profits.
The benchmark ASX200 share index of the top 200 companies lost just over 5.2% within the first quarter an hour of trading, or more than 360 points. The losses, though, were pared by the end, with the market ending 246 points lower at 6,686. The Australian dollar also remained below 70 US cents.
Continue reading...US investors fret about possible recession as S&P 500 plummets into bear territory and global markets feel aftershocks
Fears about a possible recession have pounded stock markets around the world amid reports that US Federal Reserve could raise interest rates by as much as 0.75% this week – its biggest single hike in borrowing costs for nearly 30 years.
As Wall Street’s benchmark S&P 500 index fell almost 4% on Monday into bear territory, prompting selloffs from Sydney to Shanghai, US central bank policy makers will begin a two-day meeting on Tuesday with expectations mounting that they will lift rates by at least 0.50%.
Continue reading...Dow Jones sinks more than 1,100 points as S&P closes down 4%, its largest fall since June 2020, and Nasdaq loses 4.7%
The wild ride on the US stock markets continued on Wednesday with the Dow Jones Industrial Average sinking more than 1,100 points as investors worried about a looming recession.
All of the major US markets fell sharply, with the S&P closing down 4%, its largest fall since June 2020, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq losing 4.7%.
Continue reading...Dow falls 3.1% a day after the Fed chair announces biggest hike in two decades to combat inflation
US stock markets suffered their worst day of the year on Thursday as investors worried about the Federal Reserve’s plans to raise interest rates to tackle soaring inflation.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost over 1,000 points (3.1%). The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite fell 3.5% and 4.9% respectively. Tech stocks were particularly hard-hit, with Amazon dropping 7.6% and Tesla falling 8.3%.
Continue reading...Fed raises rates by a quarter percentage point from near zero as central bank struggles with inflation, the war in Ukraine and Covid
The Federal Reserve has raised interest rates for the first time since 2018, as the central bank struggles with soaring US inflation, the impact of the war in Ukraine and the coronavirus crisis.
The Fed raised rates by a quarter percentage point from near zero, in what is expected to be the first in a series of raises in the coming months.
Continue reading...Money would go toward humanitarian efforts for Afghan people and to US victims of terrorism, keeping it out of hands of Taliban
Joe Biden signed an executive order on Friday releasing $7bn in frozen Afghan reserves to be split between humanitarian efforts for the Afghan people and American victims of terrorism, including relatives of 9/11.
In a highly unusual move, the convoluted plan is designed to tackle a myriad of legal bottlenecks stemming from the 2001 terrorist attacks and the chaotic end of the 20-year war in Afghanistan, which ignited a humanitarian and political crisis, the New York times reports.
Continue reading...Analysis: From Pakistan to the US, Australia to Germany, the cost of living is rising to new highs and causing new hardships
After decades lurking in the shadows, inflation is back. On Amazon, you can find fridge magnets printed with words spoken 40 years ago by Ronald Reagan, before the election that swept him into the White House.
“Inflation is as violent as a mugger, as frightening as an armed robber and as deadly as a hit man.”
Continue reading...Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news
The reopening of hospitality venues, and higher demand for premium spirits, has boosted drinks maker Diageo.
Diageo, whose brands include Johnnie Walker whisky, Smirnoff vodka, Tanqueray gin and Baileys Irish Cream, grew its sales by 15.8% in the second half of 2021.
The positive price/mix benefit was primarily driven by mix, reflecting the strong growth of premium plus brands, particularly in scotch, tequila and Chinese white spirits, as well as the continued recovery of the on-trade channel in Europe and North America and the partial recovery of Travel Retail.
There was also a price benefit, primarily from price increases in Latin America and Caribbean, Africa and North America.
“Diageo has produced a great set of results with a strong increase in sales, margin, and profits over the past six months.
The continuing shift by consumers to spirits consumption has benefited the company, as this is a sector of the drinks market that it dominates.
Continue reading...Rolling live coverage of business, economics and financial markets as investors anticipate new approach to inflation
Something to sink your teeth into before lunch: more discounts on dining out.
Related: Eat out to help out scheme to be extended by some restaurants
Mark Haefele, chief investment officer, UBS Global Wealth Management, said:
While we expect the Fed to shy away from more radical easing measures, such as explicit controls on government bond yields, we believe Powell will likely outline other dovish measures. These could include a move toward average inflation targeting, giving the central bank more leeway to allow inflation to overshoot the 2% target while keeping rates pegged close to zero.
Maybe the age of the independent, activist central bank head is also coming to an end. Fiscal policy is more powerful and monetary policy needs to work in harmony with it. Monetary policy is being asked to do things (like tackle economic inequality) that it really isn’t suited to. But, here we are, waiting for Jay Powell to turn up at Grafton’s Saloon. He’s already done everything he can, he’s almost out of bullets and he may even have already won the fight, but we have placed our faith in him and desperately want fresh encouragement.
Continue reading...In the short term, probably not, but with China weaponising the yuan stern challenges lie ahead
The recent sharp depreciation of the US dollar has led to concerns that it may lose its role as the main global reserve currency. After all, in addition to the Federal Reserve’s aggressive monetary easing – which threatens to debase the world’s key fiat currency even further – gold prices and inflation expectations have also been rising.
But, to paraphrase Mark Twain, reports of the dollar’s early demise are greatly exaggerated. The greenback’s recent weakness is driven by shorter-term cyclical factors. In the long run, the situation is more complicated: the dollar has both strengths and weaknesses that may or may not undermine its global position over time.
Continue reading...Too much is being read into the greenback’s recent weakening against the euro
The dollar is in freefall! The global greenback is doomed! screamed recent headlines. Actually, such sensational headlines are “too sensational”, to echo that noted authority on currencies, Miss Prism, in Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest.
The dollar’s fall in July to a two-year low against the euro was the immediate impetus for these stories. In fact, the dollar’s recent slide is one in a series of readily explicable fluctuations. When the Covid-19 pandemic went global in March, the dollar strengthened on the back of safe-haven flows into US Treasuries, as it does at the start of every crisis. By May, the Federal Reserve, acting as global lender of last resort, had accommodated this mad scramble for dollars by pouring buckets of liquidity into financial markets and the greenback gave back its early gains.
Continue reading...More evidence of how the coronavirus pandemic is widening income inequality has emerged after the Federal Reserve announced 40% of households earning less than $40,000 included someone who has lost a job since February.
Related: Coronavirus US live: gap grows between White House and experts over safety of reopening
Continue reading...Sharp losses recorded after US interest rate cut, as Bank of England hints at further support to combat turmoil
The FTSE 100 fell below 5,000 points on Monday and trading on Wall Street was suspended for the third time in a week as markets were gripped by mounting concerns over the threat of a global recession, despite a coordinated effort by central banks to protect growth and jobs.
In an escalation of the worst turmoil since the 2008 financial crisis, stock markets suffered further sharp losses on Monday despite dramatic action taken by the US central bank late on Sunday in an attempt to limit the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
Continue reading...Pledges of help from EU, China and Germany plus declaration of US emergency produce mild rally after torrid week
The world’s most powerful central bank, the US Federal Reserve, is preparing a fresh attempt to shore up investor confidence despite a late rally on Wall Street on Friday that ended a torrid week for stock markets on a more positive note.
Fresh pledges of help from China, Germany and the European commission combined with Donald Trump’s declaration of a national emergency over coronavirus to reassure investors after an ordeal for equities on both sides of the Atlantic that echoed the depths of the banking crisis.
Continue reading...US stock markets have been on an unprecedented streak since 2009, a bull market of gains
Wall Street’s record-breaking 11-year “bull market” came to an end on Wednesday as fears about the spreading Covid-19 pandemic hit stock markets again.
US stock markets have been on an unprecedented streak since 2009, a bull market of gains. On Wednesday investors sold off shares across all sectors after the World Health Organization declared the outbreak a pandemic for the first time and criticized “alarming levels of inaction” by governments in corralling the virus.
Continue reading...Past crashes spawned new thinking and reform but nothing has changed since 2008 banking meltdown, says former Bank of England boss
The world is sleepwalking towards a fresh economic and financial crisis that will have devastating consequences for the democratic market system, according to the former Bank of England governor Mervyn King.
Lord King, who was in charge at Threadneedle Street during the near-death of the global banking system and deep economic slump a decade ago, said the resistance to new thinking meant a repeat of the chaos of the 2008-09 period was looming.
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