The US Federal Reserve (Fed) raised its benchmark short-term interest rate for the third time this year, which was no surprise to most market participants. Chris Molumphy, chief investment officer, Franklin Templeton Fixed Income Group, offers his take on the Fed’s “normalization” path in light of what he sees as an overall positive US economic backdrop.
The US Federal Reserve remained in tightening mode at its March monetary policy meeting, raising its benchmark interest rate for the sixth time since December 2015.
The US Federal Reserve delivered another interest-rate hike at its December monetary policy meeting, marking the fifth such move in its tightening series starting in December 2015.
The Federal Reserve’s September policy meeting played out largely as expected, as US monetary policymakers left the central bank’s benchmark short-term interest rate unchanged. The Fed did clarify when it would begin to unwind its hefty balance sheet, and updated its economic forecasts and interest-rate projections.
With markets reacting in part to geopolitical events, it’s hard not to be distracted by news headlines. To help sift through some of the noise, several of our senior investment leaders recently participated in a roundtable discussion of the events shaping the global markets today, the implications for investors and where they see potential opportunities ahead.
In terms of US monetary policy, on balance we don’t think the election itself will materially impact the path of interest rates unless the economic fundamentals materially reversed. Additionally, the passage of election uncertainty should remove another potential objection to continuing on a gradual tightening path.