by Sara Manning-Bracho | Feb 28, 2025 | Market Insights, Sara
One of the questions for the Webinar is: “FED Funds rates are down 100 bps; however, MUNI paper is up ~100 bps since that move – why?” This is a difficult question, as there is no single answer. One would think that with the Fed Funds rates down, borrowing...
by Sara Manning-Bracho | Feb 13, 2025 | Market Insights, Sara
CPI is the hot topic on 2/12. The danger is that an elevated inflation reading and the news headlines it produces will add to inflation expectations. As we have mentioned in the past two weeks, inflation has already been ticking up amid all the discussions of tariffs....
by Sara Manning-Bracho | Feb 6, 2025 | Market Insights, Sara
We saw that Jobless claims picked up today and are still near pre-COVID levels. Applications for US unemployment benefits increased by 11K to 219K, which was reported today, 2/6/2025. Continuing claims rose to 1.89MM in the week ended 1/25/25, and the average of new...
by Sara Manning-Bracho | Dec 19, 2024 | Market Insights, Sara
The Federal Reserve, in a move that was largely anticipated, lowered interest rates by a quarter point today, bringing the target Fed Funds rate range to 4.25%-4.5%. Chairman Powell’s comments underscored the Federal Reserve’s dual mandate of managing...
by Sara Manning-Bracho | Dec 12, 2024 | Market Insights, Sara
U.S. wholesale prices remained inflated in November, signaling a stall in the fight against inflation. Despite this, the majority of economists anticipate a 0.25% interest rate cut by the Fed next week. While acknowledging the persistent inflation, the market is...
by Sara Manning-Bracho | Dec 5, 2024 | Market Insights, Sara
The number of new applications for unemployment benefits increased moderately last week as the labor market seems to be cooling a little. According to the Labor Department, the number of claims filed rose by 9000. These claims are still consistent with a growth...
