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Real-time News
August 20th - The Federal Reserve meeting minutes mentioned that regarding the outlook for monetary policy, participants reiterated that the interpretation of new data would be a key part of their policy deliberations. Many participants believed that if inflation failed to fall, policy tightening might be necessary. Some participants noted that current financial conditions might not be sufficient to push inflation back to 2%. Several participants stated that financial conditions tightened between the two meetings; this change partly reflected strong economic growth and market expectations that the Committee would soon adopt a more restrictive policy stance. A minority of participants who supported raising the target range for the federal funds rate at this meeting believed that this would help avoid having to take larger and potentially more costly tightening measures in the future.August 20th - The Federal Reserve meeting minutes made no mention of any support for interest rate cuts, indicating a significant shift in the Feds policy discussions over the past year. At the beginning of last year, the market expected the Fed to be able to lower borrowing costs this year as inflation slowed. However, price pressures have continued to accumulate, especially after the Trump administration joined Israel in its war against Iran. Nearly six months into the conflict, oil and gas shipments through the strategic Strait of Hormuz remain restricted. Recent data shows a slight cooling in inflation, while businesses unexpectedly cut jobs in July, leading the market to expect the Fed to keep policy rates unchanged at its September 15-16 meeting. This data leaves Fed officials divided on whether a rate hike is needed to further curb inflation, but at the same time, officials are more cautious about the strength of the labor market and the risks to achieving the full employment goal. Because Warsh has consistently refused to discuss the path of monetary policy during his tenure, the market lacks clear guidance from the Fed Chairman.August 20 - According to a report on the Russian news channel website on the 19th, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Novak stated that Russia has begun importing fuel and has passed necessary regulations to allow the production of some low-emission fuels.On August 20th, the minutes of a Federal Reserve meeting revealed that Fed officials have begun discussing some of the broader issues that Warsh wanted to push for, including potential reforms to the Feds operations. Participants considered the upcoming review of the Feds balance sheet management an "opportunity for comprehensive discussion." However, "many" participants at the meeting "reaffirmed that the primary means of adjusting the stance of monetary policy should be changing the target range for the federal funds rate," rather than changing the size of the Feds asset holdings. Warsh also requested "comments from the Committee" on whether the Fed should reduce the number of annual policy meetings from the current eight to six, allowing for the accumulation of two full months of data between each meeting. The minutes stated that no decision has been made on this issue, and the meeting schedule for 2026 will not change as a result.Shares of U.S. steel and aluminum companies fell, with Nucor (NUE.N) down nearly 8%, Steel Dynamics (STLD.O) down more than 8%, Century Aluminum (CENX.O) down more than 10%, and Cleveland Cleveland (CLF.N) down more than 5%.
