Federal Reservations

Wall Street takes a wait-and-see attitude as the Federal Reserve prepares to conclude its two-day policy meeting.

Originally from MarketWatch

Economic growth slowed in much of the United States in June and early July, the Federal Reserve said in a report on Wednesday that cast doubt on a pickup in activity in the second half of the year.

Originally from All News, Video and Posts related to TOPIC: Federal Reserve

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stocks edged up after a lower start on Wednesday, a day after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said the economy did not grow as much as had been hoped this year. Erasing its drop, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 3.94 points to 12,074.75. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was neutral at 1,285.04. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 6.3 points at 2,695.26.

Originally from MarketWatch

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stocks started solidly lower Tuesday after a report showing weaker-than-forecast new home construction, and a lowered outlook from Hewlett-Packard . The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 73 points, or 0.6%, to 12,477.91. The S&P 500 lost 5.11, or 0.4%, to 1,324.5. The Nasdaq Composite fell 13 points, or 0.5%, to 2,769. H-P shares fell 6%, the worst on the S&P 500. Housing starts dropped 10.6% in April, the Commerce Department reported. Shortly before the opening bell, the Federal Reserve said U.S. industrial production was flat in April, also weaker than expected.

Originally from MarketWatch

LONDON (MarketWatch) -- European shares opened higher on Thursday following a rally in U.S. equities after the Federal Reserve vowed to continue to stimulate economic growth with low interest rates. The Stoxx Europe 600 opened up 0.4% at 283.3, supported by the mining and insurance sectors. Among the main regional indexes, France's CAC 40 gained 0.7% to 4,093.74, Germany's DAX 30 added 0.6% to 7,450.40 and the U.K. FTSE 100 opened up 0.3% at 6,086.29. Among the top movers were Deutsche Bank AG , up 3.4% on the back of strong quarterly results. German business software company SAP sagged 4.8% after a badly received trading update.

Originally from MarketWatch

PRAGUE (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Reserve's $600 billion asset purchase program could be trimmed by some $100 billion given the recovery in the U.S. economy, St. Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard said on Tuesday.

Originally from Reuters: Business News

The Fed's move marks a dramatic shift in the US central bank's communication strategy and highlights its need to better explain monetary policy

Originally from FT.com - US and Canada, Economy & Fed

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stocks on Wednesday retreated a bit from a striking run that has the averages up more than 5% this year, with Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's testimony coming up. "The market has lacked a domestic catalyst to trigger selling. That makes it difficult to call this 'climbing a wall of worry.' If nothing else, the market has climbed a wall of optimism," said Marc Pado, U.S. market strategist at Cantor Fitzgerald. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 3.18 points to 12,229.97. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was off 2.51 points at 1,322.06. The Nasdaq Composite Index slid 3.39 points to 2,793.66.

Originally from MarketWatch

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Treasury prices rose on Wednesday, pushing yields down for the first morning in eight, before the government auctions 10-year notes. The to-be-issued notes are trading at the highest level since last April, which analysts hope will garner more demand from bidders. Bond traders will also listen to Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, testifying before Congress, for any comments on his economic outlook or plans for the central bank's quantitative easing program. As part of that program, the Fed will be buying 2015 to 2016 debt during the session. Yields on the current 10-year notes , which move inversely to prices, fell 4 basis points to 3.71%.

Originally from MarketWatch

The Fed will begin a tightening of monetary policy after its quantitative easing program ends in June, with a gradual increasing of interest rates by the end of 2011 and into the following year, according to Deutsche Bank’s Joe VaVorgna.

Originally from All News, Video and Posts related to TOPIC: Federal Reserve