Economic News

Treasurys rallied, then cooled a little into the close, after the Federal Reserve raised its target for the fed funds rate by a quarter point as widely expected and released an accompanying statement with a less hawkish tone than many expected. The 10-year note closed up 10/32 at 99 23/32. Its yield (TNX) , which moves in the opposite direction to price, fell to 5.205% from 5.247% late Wednesda ...

WASHINGTON (Dow Jones) - Unhappy with rising prices, the Federal Reserve raised interest rates Thursday by a quarter percentage point as expected. The Fed has hiked rates at 17 straight meetings since June 2004, bringing its target Fed funds rate from a four-decade low of 1% to 5.25%, the highest level since March 2001. The announcement from the Federal Open Market Committee was overhauled f ...

By Tim Ahmann WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve raised benchmark U.S. interest rates a 17th straight time on Thursday and said inflation risks remain even though slowing economic growth should help ease price pressures. As widely expected, the central bank's policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee voted unanimously to lift the benchmark federal funds rate target a quarter-percentage point to 5.25 percent, its highest level since March 2001. In a statement announcing its action,  ...

The dollar fell against the yen and traded little changed against the euro Thursday as investors squared positions ahead of the Federal Reserve's interest- rate announcement later in the session. With a quarter-point increase all but a foregone conclusion, currency investors will scrutinize the accompanying statement for clues as to what the central bank might do at its next meeting in August a ...

The dollar traded little changed against major foreign-exchange counterparts early Thursday, as traders cautiously await the Federal Reserve's interest-rate announcement later in the session. With a quarter-point hike all but a foregone conclusion, currency investors will scrutinize the accompanying statement for clues as to what the central bank might do at its next meeting in August and beyon ...

Treasurys rose Thursday, sending yields lower, as traders looked past final first-quarter gross domestic product and weekly jobless claims data to focus on today's much-anticipated Federal Reserve decision on interest rates and its accompanying statement. The 10-year note was last trading up 6/32 at 99 8/32, reversing some of Wednesday's losses. Its yield, which moves in the opposite direction  ...

WASHINGTON (Dow Jones) -- The U.S. economy grew at a revised 5.6% annual rate in the first quarter, the fastest rate in nearly three years, the Commerce Department said Thursday in its final revision to gross domestic product estimates. A month ago, the government said the economy grew at a 5.3% pace after a tepid 1.7% pace in the fourth quarter. Economists now expect growth to soften slightly  ...

HONG KONG (Dow Jones) -- Evidence is mounting that the global property cycle is turning down, as rising interest rates and heightened inflationary pressures combine to put the brakes on demand for real estate, according to a Morgan Stanley report. The shift ushers in an end to what's been a six-year rally during which the twin forces of globalization and financial innovation fed an upturn in th ...

LONDON (Reuters) - The Bank of England is in no hurry to move interest rates because a number of uncertainties cloud the economic outlook, Governor Mervyn King signalled on Thursday. In testimony to parliament's Treasury Committee, King said that the economy continued to experience steady growth and low inflation and not that much had changed since the forecasts it made at the time of the May Inf ...

By Ruth Pitchford LONDON (Reuters) - Interest rates have a significant chance of being hiked early next year, but economists are divided over how the Bank of England will weigh risks to global growth, financial markets and inflation, a Reuters poll shows. The survey of 47 economists, carried out June 27-29, shows a narrow majority think the benchmark repo rate will have risen to 4.75 percent by the end of next March, from 4.5 percent currently. "Inflation seems to be at the forefront of most  ...