Tag: FED

Fed to keep up stimulus

Posted on by The INO.com Team

The Federal Reserve said Wednesday that the U.S. economy "paused" in recent months because of temporary factors and reaffirmed its commitment to try to stimulate growth by keeping borrowing cheap for the foreseeable future.

The Fed took no new action at its two-day policy meeting. But it stood behind aggressive steps it launched in December to try to reduce unemployment, in a statement released after the meeting.

Last month the Fed said it would keep its key short-term interest rate at a record low at least until unemployment falls below 6.5 percent. The rate is currently 7.8 percent.

And it said it would keep buying $85 billion a month in Treasurys and mortgage bonds to try to keep borrowing costs low and encourage spending. Continue reading "Fed to keep up stimulus" →

Fed likely to send wait-and-see signal at meeting

Posted on by The INO.com Team

Six weeks ago, the Federal Reserve unveiled its latest plan to invigorate the U.S. economy. This week, the Fed will likely send a simple message:

Give that plan time to work.

No major announcements are expected when the Fed's latest two-day policy meeting ends Wednesday. Instead, officials will likely affirm their plan to buy mortgage bonds as long as necessary to make home buying more affordable, keep short-term interest rates at record lows through mid-2015 and take other stimulative steps if hiring doesn't pick up.

Those policies are intended to support an economy that's shown flashes of strength but isn't growing fast enough to create many jobs or to increase Americans' income. The economy grew at a meager 1.3 percent annual rate in the April-June quarter. Continue reading "Fed likely to send wait-and-see signal at meeting" →

Apple's iPhone, Germany, the Fed: Why It's All Irrelevant to the Market's Trend

Posted on by The INO.com Team

A lot of people know that R.N. Elliott discovered the Wave Principle.

Yet few are aware that Elliott made another observation during his years of studying the stock market.

As the Wave Principle forecasts the different phases or segments of a cycle, the experienced student will find that current news or happenings, or even decrees or acts of government, seem to have but little effect, if any, upon the course of the cycle. It is true that sometimes unexpected news or sudden events, particularly those of a highly emotional nature, may extend or curtail the length of travel between corrections, but the number of waves or underlying rhythmic regularity of the market remains constant [emphasis added].

R.N. Elliott, R.N. Elliott's Masterworks, pp. 158-159

What a stunning insight: Even major news does not alter the market's main wave pattern! This seems to defy logic because most people believe that news and events are the very things that drive the stock market. Continue reading "Apple's iPhone, Germany, the Fed: Why It's All Irrelevant to the Market's Trend" →

Fed moves seem less like a sure thing

Posted on by The INO.com Team

Imminent action, it seems, wasn't so imminent after all.

The stock market recovered most of its Wednesday afternoon decline after the Federal Reserve hinted that it was close to taking more action to try to prop up the economy. But Thursday morning, those gains had all disappeared, after one top Fed official cautioned that more moves from the Fed were hardly a sure thing. Continue reading "Fed moves seem less like a sure thing" →

Fed says US economy has slowed, takes no new steps

Posted on by The INO.com Team

(AP:WASHINGTON) The Federal Reserve said Wednesday that the economy is losing strength and repeated a pledge to take further steps if the job market doesn't show sustained improvement.

The Fed took no new action after its two-day policy meeting. But it acknowledged that economic activity had slowed over the first half of the year, unemployment remains elevated and consumer spending has weakened. Continue reading "Fed says US economy has slowed, takes no new steps" →