Fed raises rates at March meeting - Federal Reserve raises US interest rates for the first time this year
"Fed raises rates at March meeting - Federal Reserve raises US interest rates for the first time this year"
in the news Fed raises rates at March meeting - Federal Reserve raises US interest rates for the first time this year? What this all about..... See below. ------------------------------ Sentiment Trader sees For the second time in three months, the Federal Reserve increased its benchmark interest rate a quarter point amid rising confidence that the economy is poised for more robust growth. The move, widely anticipated by financial markets, takes the overnight funds rate to a target range of 0.75 percent to 1 percent and sets the Fed on a likely path of regular hikes ahead. Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari was the sole "no" vote. Despite a well-telegraphed move, news of the rate hike pushed government bond yields lower while major averages in the stock market moved higher. "The market was bracing for a much more hawkish tone from the Fed. The early reaction looks to be one of relief, that the market's worst fears were averted," said Michael Arone, chief investment strategist at State Street Global Advisors. Some market participants had feared that the statement and accompanying economic projections Wednesday would point to a more hawkish Fed, with a faster pace of rate hikes ahead. However, the closely watched "dot plot" that shows each member's expectations for where rates will be in coming years changed little from the last meeting.
With a higher rate already baked into the market, investors were looking for clues about just how aggressive the central bank will be down the road. The market currently expects the Fed to hike two more times this year, which was in line with the bank's projections from December 2016.
"They met expectations perfectly," said J.J. Kinahan, chief market strategist at TD Ameritrade. "They stayed to the script that Wall Street wanted to hear." The Fed on Wednesday indicated that it still expects three moves. In its statement, the central bank noted that business investment has "firmed somewhat," a slight upgrade from the characterization of "soft" after the Jan. 31-Feb. 1 meeting. The market expects the next hike to come in June and another in December. Those probabilities increased a bit following Wednesday's decision. More broadly, though, officials left expectations for economic growth little changed. The forecast for GDP gains in 2017 remains 2.1 percent, while 2018 was pushed up one-tenth to 2.1 percent. Longer-run growth estimates remained at 1.8 percent. Inflation expectations remained in check as well, as the Federal Open Market Committee — the central bank's policy-setting group — sees a slight uptick in 2017 from 1.8 percent to 1.9 percent but the longer-run tending toward 2 percent. "It is important for the public to understand that we're getting closer to reaching our objectives," Fed Chair Janet Yellen said during a post-meeting news conference. During her session with reporters, Yellen walked a balance between bracing the market for additional hikes but stressing that the Fed remains data-dependent and not interested in aggressive tightening. "It was pretty balanced. There was something in this press conference for everyone," said Scott Clemons, chief investment strategist at Brown Brothers Harriman. "Hawks will welcome the acknowledgement ... that waiting too long to scale back the accommodation would require the Fed to raise rates more rapidly than it wanted to. At the same time, I think doves were welcoming that the fed funds rate doesn't have to rise too much to get to a neutral policy stance." The statement also reaffirmed the previous meeting's language stating that risks to the FOMC forecasts are "roughly balanced." The FOMC took the target rate to near-zero during the financial crisis and left it there until beginning a path toward a more normalized level in December 2015. This week's hike comes amid hopes that more aggressive fiscal policy under President Donald Trump will allow the Fed to cede its economic stimulus role to Congress and the White House. While hard economic data have been mixed, sentiment surveys are running high that the economy is poised to grow more than the lackluster post-crisis level. Businesses, consumers and professional investors all have indicated they believe better times are ahead. According to reports released just before the Fed decision, home builder confidence is at a 10-year high, and manufacturing in New York is surging due to a multi-year high in orders and a decade-high in unfilled orders. However, the confidence has been slow to transfer to actual growth. The Atlanta Fed on Wednesday cut its view for first-quarter GDP to a 0.9 gain – coincidentally, the same level of fourth-quarter growth when the FOMC approved the December 2015 rate hike. Yellen said Wednesday that GDP is a "noisy" indicator from quarter to quarter and believes the economy over the long run is running at about a 2 percent pace.
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in the news Engineering a Financial Bloodbath? What this all about..... See below. ------------------------------ Sentiment Trader starting to get a bit worried, because in all our experience of writing, trading and blogging, we have not seen a huge rally like this. 3 It could ultimately be setting up for devastation, and they could be Engineering a Financial Bloodbath...... The more we look at this situation, the more we think its starting to stink like the 2007 lead up to the 2008 crash. Time will tell. This is quite interesting. This is the nasdaq bottom finder chart. As you can see its starting to get overbought. We are not saying that the market cannot keep going up, but you can see that we are not only getting overbought, but we are at ultimate extremes. Save this chart in your watchlists......
in the news 10 Golden Rules of Investing? What this all about..... See below. ------------------------------
10 Golden Rules of Investing As a trader you it might take you years to become a master, but to be a good trader fast you must know and experience some of the most secret rules in the game. These are only shared by the top traders in the world, and they would rather have you kept away from them. But today only we will share some of them so you can save them, study them and use them to become a master trader much faster. Rule 1: Bulls, Bears Make Money, Pigs Get Slaughtered You must know that as a trader you must not become greed. Profit is profit. Investors and traders need to know when to buy and sell and make money from the stock market. Failure to do this, could result in a massive losses or consistent mistakes which would be catastrophic to your account. Rule 2: It Is Good To Pay Taxes Never be afraid from paying your taxes and start fearing the loss. You need to take care of business, each month, and as you become more successful and bring in more profits what is your next set of plans. Rule 3: Don't Buy All At Once Legendary investors such as Warren Buffet said that "Do not put all eggs in one basket". This is probably some of the smartest advice we have ever seen. Rule 4: Buy Broken Stocks, Never buy Broken Companies When you are trading, realise you are never ever going to get a refund, or hand-me-backs, so be sure to make your own research count and buy undervalued stocks, not the broken companies. Rule 5: Ensure you Diversify Your Portfolio & Manage Risk Of all the our golden rules this is the most important. When you are investing for the long haul, and want to become successful. You are going to have to assess your trading account, and diversification of your stock portfolio so that you can control the risk and manage your profits each month. Rule 6: Be sure to do Your Stock Homework Make sure, that Before you purchase any stock, be sure that you already have done your due diligence, and researched that particular stock. Investors who are just jumping into stocks blindfolded are begging to lose money left, and right. This is called, crybaby investing. Which means, they invest today, without any research today, and cry tomorrow, when they witness huge losses. You have no one to blame but yourself. Spend a few hours investing a company, or ask your stock broker to do it for you. It can pay you more than dividends if you do this. People that put $100 on Bitcoin a few years ago, have been made into millionaires. Rule 7: Never panic! Be sure to control your emotion when your are trading. Never panic, or get emotional. Those sorts of traders always end up on the scrap heap. So be sure to meditate each day, make informed decisions and not only will you have sound mind, but you will enjoy your trading much more. Rule 8: Blue-Chip Companies are great. Stick with the leaders. Warren buffett once said, “smart investors always go with the leaders and not the laggards” All this means, is that you should, Buy the giant companies because it gives you a peace of mind when you do investing. Buying penny stocks or new stocks on the market, thinking you will become a millionaire in a week, is very bad thinking. Larger companies are less prone to drops, crashes, and everything in between. Sometimes small companies will be halted for months or years before you can get access to you money again. Rule 9: Defend some of your Stocks. When you are trading a stock, pick your best and favorite stock and focus on that stock. Once you become familiar with how a stock trades in the morning or afternoon, or a certain time of the month, this is like having an ATM Machine in your pocket. Some of the smartest traders in the world will use this strategy and know it works. It’s a great way to bring in guaranteed income 24 hours a day. Rule 10: Never Trade for the sake of making a Trade. The last rule is simple. Never make a trade just because you have no positions on the market. That could be dangerous and put your account at risk. Some of the smartest investors say that sometimes you have to sit on your hands, and wait for that perfect opportunity. This is so true. It might sound silly, but sometimes the best trade you make is sitting on the sidelines not investing. You will always see that sad, and upset trader who feels they have to be in the market every day. That is the sad reality and the mentality of traders who always lose. To be a good trader you have to learn patience and self-control.
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