Stock indexes fell on Wednesday and the U.S dollar surged to a nearly two-year peak, after the Federal Reserve released minutes from its last meeting that reinforced views the central bank may tighten aggressively to curb inflation.
According to minutes of the March 15-16 policy meeting, Fed officials “generally agreed” to cut up to $95 billion a month from the central bank’s asset holdings as another tool in the fight against surging inflation, even as the war in Ukraine tempered the first U.S. interest rate increase.
In March, the Fed raised rates for the first time since 2018 and pivoted away from an easy monetary policy during the coronavirus pandemic. The FOMC is expected to approve the balance-sheet reduction at its next gathering May 3-4.
The United States imposed more sanctions on Russia on Wednesday, as Russian forces bombarded cities in Ukraine. But the Ruble fights back, thanks to the elevated price of oil driving bigger receipts for Russia. So how effective will sanctions be?
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