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Market Briefing: Markets Go Quiet Ahead of Fed Decision

Good morning and happy Federal Reserve day to all who celebrate. With asset prices resembling Schrödinger’s cat – simultaneously poised for a rally or a crash – bond yields are steady and exchange rates are tightly rangebound ahead of this afternoon’s highly-anticipated announcement. The central bank is widely expected to raise rates by another three-quarters of a percentage point, while signalling a coming deceleration in tightening. The big question for markets is how Jerome Powell will manage the accompanying communications conundrum, somehow telling investors to expect a slower pace of rate hikes without triggering a drastic loosening in financial conditions....

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Market Briefing: Depressed Earnings Weigh on Global Market Sentiment, Boosting Dollar

US equity futures are falling and the dollar is climbing after weak earnings releases from the likes of Amazon and Apple provided more evidence of a slowdown in the world’s largest economy. The ten-year Treasury yield is flirting with the 4-percent threshold once again, commodities are weaker, and oil price gains are stalling out. Canada’s dollar is struggling to push through the 1.35 mark. The euro is trading back below parity against the dollar after the European Central Bank delivered a widely-expected 75 basis point hike but removed statement language that had previously suggested rates would ratchet higher at the...

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Market Briefing: Dollar Falls on Broad-Based Currency Market Reversal

The dollar is selling off and most major currency pairs are experiencing sharp trend reversals as investors bet on a less aggressive rate posture from the Federal Reserve. In a week defined by evidence of a slowing economy – consumer confidence, home prices, and manufacturing gauges all came in below expectations – many are reappraising Friday’s “stepping down” comments from the San Francisco Fed’s Mary Daly, and traders are now positioning for a slightly more cautious message from central bankers at next week’s meeting. We’re not confident such a dramatic shift in tone is coming before year end, but stretched...

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Market Briefing: Dollar Trades Sideways on Market Cross-Currents

The dollar is turning in a mixed performance this morning as Treasury yields slip and major currency pairs move in diametrically opposed directions. Ten-year yields are holding around 4.17 percent and the trade-weighted greenback is back to levels that prevailed at the beginning of the month, with the big European units inching upward even as Asia falls. The pound continues to ascend, building on gains achieved over the weekend when Boris Johnson pulled out of the race to succeed Liz Truss as British prime minister. With Rishi Sunak now at the helm, markets expect some semblance of fiscal orthodoxy to...

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Market Briefing: US Yields Keep Climbing, Tightening Vise on Markets

As hopes for a policy “pivot” fade, US Treasury yields are continuing their inexorable ascent this morning. Equity markets look set to extend yesterday’s losses, commodities are coming under renewed pressure, and currency traders are buying the dollar once again. Terminal rate expectations are still rising. In a speech yesterday, the Philadelphia Fed’s Patrick Harker said “Given our frankly disappointing lack of progress on curtailing inflation, I expect we will be well above 4 percent by the end of the year,” and warned tightening would likely continue into 2023, saying “Sometime next year, we are going to stop hiking rates”....

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