Inflation

Canadian banks fell more than 20% from their record high set in early February as recession fears send investors fleeing.

The Federal Reserve has started a hiking cycle that's expected to continue with half-point increases in June and July, Marvin Loh, senior macro strategist at State Street Global Markets, will assess the June Federal Open Market Committee meeting and tell what he expects the panel to do in the future.

If the inflation figures begin to move lower, then there is a reasonable chance of working through this cycle of rising rates without experiencing a recession.

The Federal Reserve is about to start shrinking its $8.9 trillion balance sheet, deploying a second tool along side higher interest rates to curb inflation, though officials don’t know just how effective it will be.

The Federal Open Market Committee started its hiking cycle in March and everyone expects another increase when it meets May 3-4. Speculation is the FOMC will lift rates a half-point at that meeting. Steve Skancke, chief economic adviser at Keel Point and former White House and Treasury Department staff member, will discuss the FOMC decision and the panel’s next steps in fighting inflation.

Edward Al-Hussainy, senior interest rate and currency analyst at Columbia Threadneedle, will discuss the economy, inflation and the Federal Reserve.

Even though industry economists and Federal Reserve officials expect the recent price surge to wane, some big-bank executives are expressing concern about the risk of an inflationary spiral hindering the recovery from the pandemic recession.

The pace of the U.S. recovery picked up somewhat in the past two months, sparking price pressures as businesses contended with worker scarcity and rising costs, the Federal Reserve said.

Small-bank executives are more optimistic about future loan demand than at any point since 2017, but they have mixed feelings about how to fund upgrades to the nation's roads, bridges and other infrastructure — if at all — according to a new survey by IntraFi Network.

The markets and the Fed are not on the same page about the future of inflation. Luke Tilley Senior Vice President and Chief Economist at Wilmington Trust will discuss the economy and inflation.