FOMC

The last week of July marks a lighter calendar while August redemptions are huge compared to the expected supply. Investors need to get in line and likely accept lower yields and continued historically low ratios.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell enjoys broad support for his renomination among top White House advisers, though the decision is expected later this year.

Increasing attention to whether inflation is a problem for the U.S. economy and financial markets isn’t resolved easily by looking at the most recent economic and financial market data.

Ed Moya, senior market analyst for the Americas at OANDA, talks with Bond Buyer Managing Editor Gary Siegel about the upcoming FOMC meeting, inflation, the possibility of tapering and the future make-up of the Fed in a wide-ranging discussion on the economy and monetary policy. (31 minutes)

Some Democrats are weighing the possible reappointment of Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, the Financial Times reports, citing California Democratic Congressman Brad Sherman.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the question of whether to nominate Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell for a second term is a conversation for her and President Joe Biden.

U.S. Treasuries have been volatile the past five sessions, with municipals largely ignoring the ride. Participants mostly have accepted current rates and ratios as large amounts of cash slosh around a market with strong technicals.

Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard said the central bank has met its goal of achieving “substantial further progress” on both inflation and employment, urging policy makers to move forward in reducing stimulus.

Municipals outperformed U.S. Treasuries for a third sessions moving the 10-year municipal to UST ratio below 60%.

The high level of incarceration in the U.S., especially among Americans of color and indigenous people, constrains the labor market and the economy’s ability to reach its full potential, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Raphael Bostic said.

Senate Banking Committee Chair Sherrod Brown said he expects Federal Reserve Vice Chair Randal Quarles’s oversight of the central bank’s financial supervision to end with the conclusion of his term in October.

As the White House weighs the potential renomination of Jerome Powell as chair of the Federal Reserve, officials are discussing the use of openings on the board to reshape the central bank.

More of the same from the FOMC did little to move UST or munis. ICI reported the 17th consecutive week of inflows at $1.98 billion. July is looking good for municipal issuers.

President Joe Biden would be well advised to offer Jerome Powell a second term as chair of the Federal Reserve to preserve policy stability as the U.S. economy recovers from the pandemic, said former Fed Vice Chair Alan Blinder.

The Federal Reserve’s tapering of its asset purchases, which he hopes will start “soon,” will run smoother this time around because investors already know that a move is being discussed, said Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas President Robert Kaplan.

Federal Reserve Gov. Christopher Waller said the better-than-expected performance of the U.S. economy warrants scaling back asset purchases sooner than expected and he favors starting with mortgage-backed securities.

The Federal Reserve might consider an interest-rate hike from near zero as soon as late 2022 as the labor market reaches full employment and inflation is at the central bank’s goal, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston President Eric Rosengren said.

The U.S. economy will likely meet the Federal Reserve’s threshold for tapering its asset purchases sooner than people think, said Dallas Fed President Robert Kaplan, who has penciled in an interest-rate increase next year.

Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Raphael Bostic said the central bank could decide to slow its asset purchases in the next few months and he favored lifting interest rates in 2022 in response to a faster-than expected recovery from COVID-19 pandemic.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the price increases seen in the economy recently are bigger than expected but reiterated that they will likely wane.