19 Dec 2024

This year’s Santa rally came with a Fed clause. Markets are recovering, but remain in turmoil after officials at the world’s most powerful central bank turned far more hawkish on the year ahead than almost anyone had expected even as they lowered benchmark interest rates for a third consecutive time. The dollar is trading near a post-2022 peak, ten-year Treasury yields are holding at seven month highs above 4.5 percent, most major equity indices are down more than 3 percent, and the VIX volatility index—Wall Street’s “fear gauge”—is up dramatically after hitting its loftiest levels since the August 7 volatility...