Monetary policy

Many investors are positioning for the late cycle, according to guest Robert Waldner Jr., CFA , chief strategist and head of macro research at Invesco. He points to the demise of the Phillips curve; the Fed thinking in "real" terms, and a gradual increase in yields on the long end. He also discusses the appeal to global clients of taxable municipals. John Hallacy hosts.

The Federal Reserve averted a yearend liquidity crunch, but its work is not finished, analysts say.

While the impending signing of a phase one trade deal with China should help the manufacturing sector rebound, Boeing’s decision to halt manufacturing of its 737 MAX will be a short-term negative for the ISM index.

William Dudley, who used to oversee the Federal Reserve’s interaction with financial markets, said the central bank should introduce a long-discussed but never implemented tool to ensure U.S. cash markets remain calm.

The U.S. and the rest of the industrial world may have to resign themselves to an extended period of slow economic growth, subdued inflation and low interest rates. The trick will be in avoiding something even worse.

Former Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke delivered what he called “a relatively upbeat” assessment of the U.S. central bank’s ability to fight the next recession.

While members of the Federal Open Market Committee believe monetary policy is in a good place, several factors have the power to change that.

President Trump’s New Year’s Eve announcement that he will sign a phase one trade deal with China will offer some stability to those hurt most by the trade war and should allow the Federal Reserve to keep monetary policy accommodative, according to analysts.

The Federal Reserve may have succeeded in thwarting major year-end turmoil in funding markets.

The annual rotation among FOMC voters could influence monetary policy.

The economy should continue its moderate growth path, inflation may tick up, downside risks seem to have been put at bay by the Federal Reserve, and rates are likely to stay where they are, experts say.

The Federal Reserve should keep interest rates on hold next year, unless there’s a material change in the outlook for the U.S. economy, Dallas Fed President Robert Kaplan said.

Recession fears, which persisted earlier this year, have subsided and Federal Reserve Bank of Boston President Eric Rosengren does not expect a downturn unless a major shock occurs.

With markets still digesting Friday’s news, one thing is clear: the Federal Reserve will keep rates steady.

Reports of a trade deal and an election that seems to cement Brexit don’t remove the uncertainties the Federal Reserve has been worrying about.

Inflation remains tame, and although the consumer price index has ticked up, producer prices surprised to the downside Thursday.

As expected the Federal Open Market Committee left rates at a range of 1.5% to 1.75%, with no officials dissenting, and the updated forecasts call for rates to remain there through 2020.

With Federal Reserve officials offering a united front on keeping interest rates steady, attention will focus on the Summary of Economic Projections and the repo market.

As the Federal Open Market Committee convenes for its final scheduled meeting this year, one where President Trump kept upping the political pressure, the 2020 elections threaten to make the situation worse.

Paul Volcker, the former Federal Reserve chairman who broke the back of U.S. inflation in the 1980s and three decades later led President Barack Obama’s bid to rein in the investment risk-taking of commercial banks, has died.