Nominations Now Open For The 2024 NMMA Hall Of Fame Award

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FEATURED INDUSTRY NEWS Nominations Now Open For The 2024 NMMA Hall Of Fame Award Nominations are now being accepted for the 2024 NMMA Hall of Fame Award through June 27. NMMA’s most prestigious recognition, the annual Hall of Fame Award, honors industry icons — visionaries whose outstanding contributions have and continue to advance, guide and transform the industry. Read More LEADING ECONOMIC AND POLICY NEWS Federal Reserve Holds Rates Steady As Powell Acknowledges Inflation Is Not Slowing As Rapidly As Hoped Bloomberg reports the Federal Reserve has “signaled fresh concerns about inflation while indicating it was likely to keep borrowing costs elevated for longer rather than raising them again.” Fed officials “unanimously decided Wednesday to leave the target range for the benchmark federal funds rate at 5.25% to 5.5% – where it’s been since July – following a slew of data that pointed to lingering price pressures in the US economy,” and “also reaffirmed the need for more evidence that price gains are cooling before cutting interest rates from a two-decade high.” CNBC reports, “With its decision to hold the line on rates, the committee in its post-meeting statement noted a ‘lack of further progress’ in getting inflation back down to its 2% target. ‘The Committee does not expect it will be appropriate to reduce the target range until it has gained greater confidence that inflation is moving sustainably toward 2 percent,’ the statement said, reiterating language it had used after the January and March meetings.”         CNBC reports that during a news conference Wednesday afternoon, Fed Chair Jerome Powell “expanded on the idea that prices are still rising too quickly. ‘Inflation is still too high,’ he said.” Powell added, “Further progress in bringing it down is not assured and the path forward is uncertain.” Reuters reports the Fed bankers “still believe the current policy rate is putting enough pressure on economic activity to bring inflation under control, Powell said, and they would be content to wait as long as needed for that to become apparent – even if inflation is simply ‘moving sideways’ in the meantime.”         The AP says Powell “did strike a note of optimism about inflation. Despite the recent setbacks, he said, ‘My expectation is that over the course of this year, we will see inflation move back down.’” According to the AP, “Wall Street traders initially cheered the prospect that the Fed will cut rates at some point this year as well as Powell’s comment that the Fed isn’t considering reverting to rate increases to attack inflation. ‘I think it’s unlikely that the next policy rate move will be a hike,’ he said.” However, stocks subsequently “erased their gains and finished the day essentially unchanged from where they were before Powell’s news conference.” The New York Times says Powell “avoided commenting on whether three rate cuts are still possible this year,” which “was the Fed’s forecast as of March.”         In an editorial, the Wall Street Journal says the Fed’s “dovish bet on prices will be welcome in the White House and Treasury.” President Biden “needs lower rates for consumer confidence, and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen needs them to finance the massive federal debt. Let’s hope the Fed’s inflation confidence isn’t as transitory as it was in 2021.”         Treasury Secretary Makes Case For The Fed’s Continued “Independence And Transparency” Bloomberg reports Treasury Secretary Yellen has “warned that threats to America’s democratic institutions would undermine economic growth and financial stability in the US and around the world. In excerpts of a speech Yellen is scheduled to deliver Friday,” Yellen “specifically defended the ‘independence and transparency’ of the Federal Reserve as being crucial to the economic health of the US.” Politico says some of former President Donald Trump’s “allies” have “float[ed] plans to chip away at the central bank’s independence if he returns to the White House.” Midwestern Senators Call On Biden To Maintain Trump-Era China Tariffs Politico reports Democratic Sens. Tammy Baldwin (WI), Bob Casey (PA), John Fetterman (PA), Debbie Stabenow (MI), and Gary Peters (MI), along with Senate Majority Leader Schumer, sent a letter to President Biden on Wednesday “urging the Biden administration to raise tariffs on China.” The lawmakers warned that “any cuts to Trump-era duties could hurt U.S. workers – and, implicitly, give the former president an electoral attack line on Democrats,” and they “added they want to ensure Biden does not give any ground to the Chinese government.” The Senators “insisted on Wednesday that their move was motivated by their concern for manufacturing workers,” yet “the pressure from senators highlights the increasing focus on trade issues in the 2024 race.” Stocks Spike And Then Retreat In Wake Of Powell’s Inflation Warnings CNBC reports that the Dow Jones Industrial Average “closed higher on Wednesday after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell largely ruled out that the central bank’s next move could be a hike, easing investor worries that it was losing control of sticky inflation.” But the S&P 500 “finished lower...with losses from chipmakers dragging down the S&P 500. The Dow added 87.37 points, or 0.23%, to close at 37,903.29. The S&P 500 lost 0.34% to close at 5,018.39, while the Nasdaq Composite slid 0.33% to settle at 15,605.48.” CNBC points out that “it was a volatile day for the major averages, with the 30-stock Dow rallying more than 530 points at its session high, spurred by Powell’s comments. At one point, the S&P 500 was up 1.2%, while the Nasdaq climbed more than 1.7%.” Previous Top Stories  • Discover Boating And Progressive Insurance® Debut New Episode In Safe Boating Video Series  • Federal Reserve Expected To Hold Rates Steady At This Week’s Meeting

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