Daly, Mester Say Fed Still on Track for Rate Cuts

The F𓂃ederal Reserve remains on track to cut interest rates later this year, despite growth remaining strong and prices remaining higher than original😼ly expected, officials said today.

While the Federal Reserve’s projections of three rate cuts in 2024 is “reasonable,” San Francisco Fed President Mary C. Daly also emphasized it was “not a promise.” In an interview with Amber Dixon of Nevada Week on Vegas PඣBS, Daly said the strong ISM manufacturing data released this week wasn’t enough 🍨to adjust her outlook on the economy.

Daly’s remarks come after 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体♔彩网:Institute of Supply Managemen🥀t (ISM)  data this week showed that 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:manufacturing output and prices💮 were higher than expected, sparking worries that inflation coul🧔d be coming in stronger than expected.

The report helped throw some cold water on market optimism for rate cuts. Economists and investors have projected rate cuts will come at the Federal Reserve's meeting in June. However, rate movement forecasts based on fed funds futures trading data fell yesterday in the wake of the report to a nearly 50-50 chance that rates would be cut at the Fed's meeting in June.

By Tuesday, investors recovered, pricing in a 64% chance the Fed would cut rates on June 12, still down from 70% a week ago.

In addition to the ISM data, comments from Fede🍷ral R💮eserve Gov. Christopher Waller also chilled expectations for rate cuts.

“There is a path where interest rates start to adjust this year, we’re just not there yet,” Daly said. “If we lock inflation in at this level, it’s a toxic tax on ever👍yone.”

澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:Clevel🌼and Fed President Loretta Mester told a conference of the National Association for Business Economics Tuesday she expects inflation will take longer to cool off than originally anticipated. 

She echoed other recent Federal Reserve speakers in wanting to see more positive inflation data before voting to cut interest rates, saying it’s unlikely ther🐽e would be enough data before the next rate decision on May 1.

“Some further monthly readings will give us a better sense of whether the disinflation process isꩵ stalling out or whether the start-of-the-year readings reflect a temporary detour on the downward path back to price stability,” she said.

-Terry Lane

OPEC Likely To Stand Pat in Meeting Tomorrow

Global oil prices continued surging Tuesday amid a combination of supply an𓃲d demand considerations that threaten to push Brent crude beyond $90 per barrel for the first time in six months.

On the eve of the latest meeting Wednesday of 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countrie🔜s and other countries, known as OPEC+, prices for Brent for May delivery rose as high as $89.06. The global benchmark hadn't risen that high since mid-October. Oil prices have increased 🍨about 15% so far this year.

One of those factors is the 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:OPEC+ production cuts that were enacted last year. Wednesday's meeting likely won't change th🐎ose reductions, as just last month the organization extended them ꧟to June. Some analysts say the cuts will remain in place for the remainder of the year.

OPEC produces about 40% of the world's oil and its members account for 60% of the world's petroleum market, so its production decisions have a dramatic impact on global prices.

Increasingly short oil supplies appear to have intensified that impact in recent weeks. Last month, the 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:I🃏nte♓rnational Energy Agency said global supplies could fall short of demand by 300,000 barrels per day this year.𓄧

Nevertheless, OPEC+ reportedly intends to maintain its current production cuts of 2.2 million barrels per day.

Read more ahead of the meeting here.

-Lyle Niedens

Gen Z Paying More Rent Than Millenials, But Less for Homebuying By Age 30

A s𝓡tudy shows Gen Z is already paying more to rent than earlier generations. 

Members of Generation Z, defined by this study as those born between 1994 and 2000, will spend $144,557 on rent by the time they're 30, according to a survey from RentCafe, a rental market research site. That’s almost $20,000 more than the adjusted costs for Millennials, born starting 📖in 1981, whe𓆏n they were the same age.

However, it’s not all bad for Gen Z, as the study showed they would face lower costs for home ownership, totaling $165,206, about $7,000 less than what 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:Millenials paid to own a home. Gen Z is also expected to do better on pay than their Millennial predecessors, earning ☂14% more on average by age 30. 

“The good news for Gen Z is that the gap between renting an🌟d owning is smaller than it was foꦚr Millennials while incomes are higher,” the report found. 

For affordability, the 🦄study found that California was the worst state for rental costs for either generation, led by San Jose and San Francisco, while Ann Arbor, Mich., and Bloomington, Ind. were among the cities where homeownership costs were less than renting. 

-Terry Lane

Factory Orders Up on More Durable Goods, Transportation Sales

澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:Factory orders rose 1.4% in February, bouncing back after falling nearly 4% in January, according to Census Bureau data. Economists were expecting more modest growth of 1% in the report. 

澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:Durable goods orders and transportation equipment orders rose for the first time in two months, helping push new orders for manufactured goods to $576.8 billion in February. The report showed total shipments also reversed a two-mont🐼h losing streak to deliver 1.4% growth in the quarter.

The better-than-expected factory order data comes after other indicators showed 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果𒈔体彩网:U.S. manufacturing could be on ꦅthe upswing, including an 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:Ins꧃🤪titute of Supply Management (ISM) manufacturing inde🍸x reading that showed expansion in the sector.

-Terry Lane

Job Openings Stayed Plentiful In February

The labo𓆏r market churned a little bit faster in🧜 February, as the number of job openings increased—and so did the number of people who quit their jobs or were laid off.

The number of job openings rose to 8.8 million in February from a downwardly revised 8.7 million in January, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said Tuesday, matching forecasters’ expectations. That meant for every unemployed worker, there were 1.4 job openings, the same as in January and well above the pre-pandemic level of 1.2 openings per jobless worker.

More people left their jobs, whether voluntarily or not, with the number of quits edging up to 3.5 million from 3.4 million in January, and 🐟layoffs rising to 1.7 million from 1.6 million, hitting its highest level since March 2023 although still low by historical standards. Higher quitting suggested workers got a little more bargaining power since people typically quit their jobs for better pay and working conditions aꦗt another position.

Overall, the changes were relatively modest, with little signal that the dynamic in the labor market has changed much. The job market has stayed healthy for workers despite the Federal Reserve’s anti-inflation inte𝔉rest rate hikes, which have fought inflation and weighed on the economy by pushing up borrowing costs on all kinds of loans.