by Alterna Mortgage | Apr 29, 2025 | Financing, Home Buying, Inflation, Interest rates
Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell said the Trump administration’s tariff war will likely drive inflation higher and slow the US economy but dismissed the prospect of an imminent interest rate cut as those risks grow. The Fed chief described the extent of Trump’s...
by Alterna Mortgage | Apr 24, 2025 | Financing, Housing Market, Interest rates
Its dual mandate is low unemployment and inflation, two often competing goals. Raising interest rates can slow inflation but increase job losses, while cutting interest rates can increase hiring but risk faster inflation. A potential rock-hard-place moment for the Fed...
by Alterna Mortgage | Oct 14, 2024 | Financing, Home Buying, Housing Market, Interest rates, Real Estate
Do they continue to cut the rates? Do they pause? It could go either way. The Federal Reserve on Wednesday September 18th enacted its first interest rate cut since the early days of the Covid pandemic, slicing half a percentage point off benchmark rates in an effort...
by Alterna Mortgage | Oct 1, 2024 | Financing, Interest rates, Refinancing
The number of people claiming unemployment benefits in the US rose by 33,000 from the previous week to 258,000 on the period ending October 5th, significantly exceeding market expectations of 230,000. This marks a new 14- month high and highlights the ongoing trend of...
by Alterna Mortgage | Aug 6, 2024 | Financing, Home Buying, Interest rates
Some Fed officials said a half-point Fed rate cut in September would become more likely if there were signs of a further slowdown in hiring. The longer the Fed keeps borrowing costs high, the more it risks weakening the economy too much and causing a recession. Yet,...
by Alterna Mortgage | Aug 2, 2024 | Financing, Interest rates
The Federal Reserve appears to be very much on track for an interest rate cut in September after a “vast majority” of officials said such an action was likely, according to the minutes of the U.S. central bank’s July 30-31 meeting. Markets are fully...
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