The Latest Breaking News from Jerome Powell

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While Chairman Powell is expected to announce the Fed fund rate stays unchanged later Wednesday, other markets indicate what the rest of the world thinks of the US situation.

March Nasdaq 100 E-Mini futures (NQH26) are trending up +0.88% this morning as a sharp increase in orders at ASML provided fresh momentum to the AI trade.

Dollar drops against basket of currencies after Donald Trump brushed off concerns over slide

Investors are withdrawing from sovereign bonds and currencies in an attempt to shield their assets from geopolitical volatility.

S&P 500 surge driven by AI optimism and expectations of strong Big Tech earnings

Federal Reserve officials are expected to keep their short-term interest rate unchanged Wednesday after three cuts last year, ignoring huge pressure for lower borrowing costs from the White House in favor of waiting to see how the economy evolves

The Fed fund futures forward curve indicates at least one rooster's feathers are going to get ruffled this week.

“Underpinning this is our belief that the labor market is improving, and that unemployment will decline ahead on a trend basis,” wrote Macquarie economists.

March S&P 500 E-Mini futures (ESH26) are up +0.26%, and March Nasdaq 100 E-Mini futures (NQH26) are up +0.60% this morning, buoyed by gains in technology stocks, while investors await the start of the Federal Reserve’s two-day policy meeting, as well as a new round of U.S. economic data and…

This week's meeting will be overshadowed by the revelation that the Justice Department has opened a criminal investigation into the Fed, threatening central bank independence.