Mortgage rates are continuing to sink lower. According to Freddie Mac, the national average 30-year rate is now 6.50%, down six basis points in one week. The 15-year fixed mortgage rate is down nine basis points to 5.60%. Both are new lows for 2025. With rates on a downward trend, the share of mortgage applications…
By Francesco Canepa and Balazs Koranyi FRANKFURT (Reuters) -The European Central Bank should keep interest rates steady as the euro zone economy is holding its own in the face of U.S. tariffs and inflation may still come in higher than expected, ECB policymaker Isabel Schnabel told Reuters. The central bank for the 20 countries that…
US stocks can rise another 20% by the end of 2026, driven by the excitement around artificial intelligence, according to strategists at Evercore ISI. The S&P 500 is forecast to reach 7,750 points by the end of next year, with “a technological revolution lifting stocks, multiples and society to new heights,” Evercore ISI chief equity…
By Andrea Shalal WASHINGTON (Reuters) -A Republican U.S. senator on the finance committee on Sunday stressed the importance of an independent Federal Reserve, diverging from Vice President JD Vance’s statement that the president and elected officials should have a say in monetary policy. U.S. Senator James Lankford, a Republican from Oklahoma, told NBC’s “Meet the…
The next few weeks will give Wall Street a clear reading on whether this latest stock market rally will continue — or if it’s doomed to get derailed. Jobs reports, a key inflation reading and the Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision all hit over the next 14 trading sessions, setting the tone for investors as…
Liquidity conditions in Hong Kong resumed tightening this week with a key money-market rate climbing above a level that some analysts say may stifle a nascent economic recovery. The benchmark one-month Hong Kong Interbank Offered Rate — or Hibor — jumped above the closely watched threshold of 3% Wednesday, reaching the highest since May. If…
U.S. President Donald Trump gestures during a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., August 26, 2025. Jonathan Ernst | Reuters President Donald Trump said Tuesday he will soon have a “majority” of his own nominees on the Federal Reserve board of governors who will back his desire to slash interest rates….
President Donald Trump’s attempt to fire Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook has triggered a legal showdown over the central bank’s independence. But on Wall Street, at least some investors aren’t worried about institutional norms; instead, they’re excited about the prospect of cheaper money over time. “This is very positive,” Jay Hatfield, CEO of Infrastructure Capital…
Editor’s note: On August 25th Donald Trump said that he had sacked Lisa Cook from the Federal Reserve’s board, alleging “deceitful and possibly criminal conduct in a financial matter”. Ms Cook said that the president had no authority to fire her and that she would not resign. A specialist trader works on the floor at…
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell is seen walking in Grand Teton National Park near Jackson Hole, Wyoming, on August 22, 2025. Natalie Behring | Getty Images News | Getty Images Since inflation in America peaked at 9.1% in June 2022, the U.S. Federal Reserve has made controlling price increases — by keeping interest rates high…