Market Risk

Inflation continued to rise in May, bolstering the case for the Federal Reserve to keep its policy rate unchanged at next week's Federal Open Market Committee meeting. But the range of future monetary policy outcomes is wide, with all eyes on how newly installed Fed Chair Kevin Warsh navigates his new role.

The burgeoning predictions market is gaining users and volume rapidly and is being largely embraced by the Trump administration. But banks are torn between the promise of new revenue streams and the iffy legal foundations of the new market.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics Friday reported that the economy added 172,000 jobs in May and revised March and April's employment upward, making the Federal Reserve less likely to cut interest rates to support the labor market in the near term.

Mortgage industry participants say Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte's new role as acting director of national intelligence could imperil progress on a potential initial public offering of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent downplayed senators' concerns about higher costs for Americans, noting average yearly inflation is lower than during the pandemic, while also confirming acting Attorney General Todd Blanche's Tuesday claim that the administration will not move forward with a $1.8 billion "anti-weaponization fund."

A retrospective paper on the former Federal Reserve chair's tenure offers takeaways that speak directly to his successor's policy agenda.

Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis President Neel Kashkari said in a speech Tuesday morning that he doubts the usefulness of stablecoin technology in payments and its ability to expand the reach of the U.S. dollar, a perspective that contrasts with many crypto boosters in the Trump administration.