Reuters
Powell signals no retreat, no surrender
One of the overarching market themes this year – aside from the hype around artificial intelligence – has been investors avidly building up bets on the Federal Reserve finally announcing an end to its cycle of rate hikes, only to have that optimism dashed. There’s no doubt that the U.S. central bank is nearing the end of its mission to wrestle down inflation. Headline inflation in July rose 3.2% on an annual basis – a far cry from last June’s 9.1% – and nearing the Fed’s 2% target.