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New York Post
a day ago
- Business
- New York Post
Fed divided over whether to slash interest rates in July
Federal Reserve officials are signaling a widening divide over when to begin cutting interest rates, with Governor Christopher Waller pushing for a reduction as soon as next month — while Richmond Fed President Thomas Barkin is warning that tariff-driven inflation risks still loom large. 'I think we're in the position that we could do this as early as July,' Waller told CNBC's 'Squawk Box' on Friday. 'That would be my view, whether the committee would go along with it or not.' Waller argued that inflation has cooled enough to justify easing monetary policy and downplayed concerns over Trump-era tariffs. 'It should be a one-off level effect and not cause persistent inflation,' he said. 4 Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller signaled Friday that the central bank could begin easing interest rates as early as next month. REUTERS 4 Richmond Fed President Thomas Barkin is warning that tariff-driven inflation risks still loom large. REUTERS Barkin took a more cautious tone, telling Reuters: 'I don't think the data gives us any rush to cut…I am very conscious that we've not been at our inflation target for four years.' He pointed to ongoing uncertainty over trade policy, telling Reuters: 'There will be some inflationary impact. It's hard to know how much.' A Federal Reserve governor is a nationally appointed official who always votes on monetary policy. The president of a regional Fed bank, such as Richmond, votes on a rotating basis and focuses on regional conditions. Barkin noted the labor market remains solid and consumer spending is steady. 'Nothing is burning on either side such that it suggests there's a rush to act,' he said. His comments came just after the Fed released its latest Monetary Policy Report to Congress, which acknowledged that inflation is 'somewhat elevated' and trade policy impacts are 'highly uncertain.' Consumer spending, Barkin said, is 'holding up fine. It's not frothy. It's not weak.' Employers, he added, are still in a 'low-hiring-low-firing' posture. The central bank held its key rate steady this week. Projections showed a near-even split: 10 officials see two or three cuts in 2025; nine see one or none. 'There are two perfectly reasonable views that are articulated there,' according to the Richmond fed boss. Waller urged a cautious start. 'You'd want to start slow and bring them down, just to make sure that there's no big surprises. But start the process. That's the key thing,' he told CNBC. Markets showed mixed signals Friday. As of 1:01 PM EDT, the Dow Jones rose 118.13 points (0.28%) to 42,289.79. The S&P 500 edged down 0.67 points to 5,980.20, and the Nasdaq slipped 54.82 points (0.28%) to 19,491.45. 4 Fed Chair Jerome Powell said this week that the central bank would keep interest rates steady. Getty Images 4 President Trump has been agitating for the Fed to lower interest rates for months. AP Trump has called for steep rate cuts to ease pressure on the $36 trillion national debt, recently labeling Fed Chair Jerome Powell 'stupid' and a 'numbskull.' Still, Powell and others have maintained a cautious stance, emphasizing a wait-and-see approach. 'We've been on pause for six months, thinking that there was going to be a big tariff shock to inflation. We haven't seen it,' Waller said. The next Fed meeting comes just ahead of a July 9 trade deadline that could bring another round of tariffs. 'I'd say the overwhelming reaction we're still getting is wait and see,' Barkin said. 'Wait and see is not put your foot on the brakes. It's just not put your foot on the gas.'
Business Recorder
28-05-2025
- Business
- Business Recorder
Minutes of Fed's May meeting likely to show officials grappling with uncertainty
The U.S. Federal Reserve at its May 6-7 meeting undercut expectations that it would change its policy interest rate anytime soon, and minutes from that session released on Wednesday may show just how firmly policymakers are holding onto their current wait-and-see approach. The minutes will be released at 2 p.m. EDT (1800 GMT) and in key ways have been superseded by developments since then. The meeting took place when concern over the economic fallout from changes in global trade and tariff policy was intense, stoked by President Donald Trump's announcement in early April of massive new import taxes. A week later the most aggressive of the new tariffs had either been lowered or postponed in announcements by Trump that reduced pressures that had been driving bond yields sharply higher, buoyed a sinking stock market, and led analysts who regarded a U.S. recession as a near certainty in a high-tariff world to upgrade their growth forecasts. Still, the minutes are likely to show policymakers wrestling as much with uncertainty as with the negative outlook from early May, and the erratic nature of administration policymaking - Trump from this past Friday to Sunday announced then postponed steep new taxes on European imports - hasn't changed. Fed's Williams says monetary policy is in good place right now 'I've been describing this as driving through fog,' Richmond Fed President Tom Barkin said Tuesday on Bloomberg Television. 'It's just very hard.' Barkin said that data for the year so far shows the economy on the same path as it has been, with reasonably low unemployment and inflation easing to the Fed's 2% target. But there are competing narratives, he and other policymakers say, that see a new jump in inflation in coming months as tariffs take hold, or rising joblessness as widespread uncertainty and rising costs fuel a slowdown, or even a toxic combination of both. Until it is clear which way the economy pivots under the influence of shifting global trade rules, the Fed has little reason to alter the 4.25% to 4.50% policy interest rate it has maintained since December. 'Published data shows an economy very much on the same trajectory that we've been on for the last year or two. Low unemployment, inflation settling toward target,' Barkin said. 'I could describe how some of these forces, like tariffs, might be inflationary. I can describe how other forces, like lower gas prices, might be disinflationary,' he said. 'Less government spending might be less employment…People who haven't hired for 18 months, if spending continues, might need to start hiring. So I'm waiting to see what happens.' Fed staff have been trying to estimate the likely impact of different tariff rules in a series of studies that may get mention in the minutes if they were presented to policymakers as part of the discussion around the economic outlook. But even those reports are contingent on the assumptions made about final tariff levels, something likely to remain unknown at least until July when a 90-day reprieve on the stiffest import taxes expires. Market optimism about the final outcome of the trade debate has been based on an expectation that negotiated deals with lower levies will by then have been approved. Even then it may take months more for the Fed to know how the economy is responding. Investors now anticipate the Fed holding the policy rate steady at the June and July meetings, but cutting a quarter point in September and again in December. 'Until we know more about how this is going to settle out and what the economic implications are for employment and for inflation, I couldn't confidently say that I know what the appropriate path will be,' Powell said at a May 7 press conference at the end of the Fed's meeting.
Reuters
28-05-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Minutes of Fed's May meeting likely to show officials grappling with uncertainty
WASHINGTON, May 28 (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Reserve at its May 6-7 meeting undercut expectations that it would change its policy interest rate anytime soon, and minutes from that session released on Wednesday may show just how firmly policymakers are holding onto their current wait-and-see approach. The minutes will be released at 2 p.m. EDT (1800 GMT) and in key ways have been superseded by developments since then. The meeting took place when concern over the economic fallout from changes in global trade and tariff policy was intense, stoked by President Donald Trump's announcement in early April of massive new import taxes. A week later the most aggressive of the new tariffs had either been lowered or postponed in announcements by Trump that reduced pressures that had been driving bond yields sharply higher, buoyed a sinking stock market, and led analysts who regarded a U.S. recession as a near certainty in a high-tariff world to upgrade their growth forecasts. Still, the minutes are likely to show policymakers wrestling as much with uncertainty as with the negative outlook from early May, and the erratic nature of administration policymaking - Trump from this past Friday to Sunday announced then postponed steep new taxes on European imports - hasn't changed. "I've been describing this as driving through fog," Richmond Fed President Tom Barkin said Tuesday on Bloomberg Television. "It's just very hard." Barkin said that data for the year so far shows the economy on the same path as it has been, with reasonably low unemployment and inflation easing to the Fed's 2% target. But there are competing narratives, he and other policymakers say, that see a new jump in inflation in coming months as tariffs take hold, or rising joblessness as widespread uncertainty and rising costs fuel a slowdown, or even a toxic combination of both. Until it is clear which way the economy pivots under the influence of shifting global trade rules, the Fed has little reason to alter the 4.25% to 4.50% policy interest rate it has maintained since December. "Published data shows an economy very much on the same trajectory that we've been on for the last year or two. Low unemployment, inflation settling toward target," Barkin said. "I could describe how some of these forces, like tariffs, might be inflationary. I can describe how other forces, like lower gas prices, might be disinflationary," he said. "Less government spending might be less who haven't hired for 18 months, if spending continues, might need to start hiring. So I'm waiting to see what happens." Fed staff have been trying to estimate the likely impact of different tariff rules in a series of studies that may get mention in the minutes if they were presented to policymakers as part of the discussion around the economic outlook. But even those reports are contingent on the assumptions made about final tariff levels, something likely to remain unknown at least until July when a 90-day reprieve on the stiffest import taxes expires. Market optimism about the final outcome of the trade debate has been based on an expectation that negotiated deals with lower levies will by then have been approved. Even then it may take months more for the Fed to know how the economy is responding. Investors now anticipate the Fed holding the policy rate steady at the June and July meetings, but cutting a quarter point in September and again in December. "Until we know more about how this is going to settle out and what the economic implications are for employment and for inflation, I couldn't confidently say that I know what the appropriate path will be," Powell said at a May 7 press conference at the end of the Fed's meeting.
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Minutes of Fed's May meeting likely to show officials grappling with uncertainty
By Howard Schneider WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Federal Reserve at its May 6-7 meeting undercut expectations that it would change its policy interest rate anytime soon, and minutes from that session released on Wednesday may show just how firmly policymakers are holding onto their current wait-and-see approach. The minutes will be released at 2 p.m. EDT (1800 GMT) and in key ways have been superseded by developments since then. The meeting took place when concern over the economic fallout from changes in global trade and tariff policy was intense, stoked by President Donald Trump's announcement in early April of massive new import taxes. A week later the most aggressive of the new tariffs had either been lowered or postponed in announcements by Trump that reduced pressures that had been driving bond yields sharply higher, buoyed a sinking stock market, and led analysts who regarded a U.S. recession as a near certainty in a high-tariff world to upgrade their growth forecasts. Still, the minutes are likely to show policymakers wrestling as much with uncertainty as with the negative outlook from early May, and the erratic nature of administration policymaking - Trump from this past Friday to Sunday announced then postponed steep new taxes on European imports - hasn't changed. "I've been describing this as driving through fog," Richmond Fed President Tom Barkin said Tuesday on Bloomberg Television. "It's just very hard." Barkin said that data for the year so far shows the economy on the same path as it has been, with reasonably low unemployment and inflation easing to the Fed's 2% target. But there are competing narratives, he and other policymakers say, that see a new jump in inflation in coming months as tariffs take hold, or rising joblessness as widespread uncertainty and rising costs fuel a slowdown, or even a toxic combination of both. Until it is clear which way the economy pivots under the influence of shifting global trade rules, the Fed has little reason to alter the 4.25% to 4.50% policy interest rate it has maintained since December. "Published data shows an economy very much on the same trajectory that we've been on for the last year or two. Low unemployment, inflation settling toward target," Barkin said. "I could describe how some of these forces, like tariffs, might be inflationary. I can describe how other forces, like lower gas prices, might be disinflationary," he said. "Less government spending might be less who haven't hired for 18 months, if spending continues, might need to start hiring. So I'm waiting to see what happens." Fed staff have been trying to estimate the likely impact of different tariff rules in a series of studies that may get mention in the minutes if they were presented to policymakers as part of the discussion around the economic outlook. But even those reports are contingent on the assumptions made about final tariff levels, something likely to remain unknown at least until July when a 90-day reprieve on the stiffest import taxes expires. Market optimism about the final outcome of the trade debate has been based on an expectation that negotiated deals with lower levies will by then have been approved. Even then it may take months more for the Fed to know how the economy is responding. Investors now anticipate the Fed holding the policy rate steady at the June and July meetings, but cutting a quarter point in September and again in December. "Until we know more about how this is going to settle out and what the economic implications are for employment and for inflation, I couldn't confidently say that I know what the appropriate path will be," Powell said at a May 7 press conference at the end of the Fed's meeting. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Express Tribune
26-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Express Tribune
Google's Veo 3 turns viral distracted boyfriend meme into hilarious AI-powered video
Google has recently launched Veo 3, its latest AI-powered video generator that allows users to create videos from text prompts, complete with audio. This advanced tool, which integrates dialogue, sound effects, and even lip-syncing, has been making waves among AI enthusiasts. Available to U.S. subscribers of Google's $249.99 Ultra subscription plan, as well as through Google's Vertex AI platform, Veo 3 has sparked a flurry of creative videos, including unique takes on internet memes. Good lord, Veo-3. I keep alternating between being stunned and laughing my ass off. — Theoretically Media (@TheoMediaAI) May 21, 2025 Scary — Barkin • ברקין • Баркин • 巴尔金 (@B2RKN) May 26, 2025 One of the most notable and trending recent uses of Veo 3 has been the transformation of the internet's beloved 'Distracted Boyfriend' meme into a full-fledged video. A user leveraged the AI's video generation capabilities to animate the iconic meme and bring it to life. Someone used Google's Veo 3 AI to bring this meme to life — Dexerto (@Dexerto) May 26, 2025 It features a man checking out another woman while his girlfriend gives him a disapproving look. This new video rendition adds movement, dialogue, and sound effects, bringing the meme to life in an unexpected and entertaining way. -X. The "Distracted Boyfriend" meme, which originated in a stock photo taken by Spanish photographer Antonio Guillem, became a global sensation after it was shared widely in 2017. With labels placed on each character to create various humorous scenarios, the meme became versatile and applicable to any 'either-or' situation making it one of the most viral memes in internet history.
