Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange during morning trading on May 17, 2023 in New York City. Michael M. Santiago | Getty ImagesA U.S. recession may prevent a steep market downturn in the second half of 2023, according to Michael Yoshikami, founder and CEO of Destination Wealth Management.U.S. consumer price inflation eased to 4.9% year-on-year in April, its lowest annual pace since April 2021. Markets took the new data from the Labor Department earlier this month as a sign that the Federal Reserve’s efforts to curb inflation are finally bearing fruit.The headline consumer price index has cooled significantly since its peak above 9% in June 2022, but remains well above the Fed’s 2% target. Core CPI, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, rose by 5.5% annually in April, amid a resilient economy and persistently tight labor market.The Fed has consistently reiterated its commitment to fight inflation, but minutes from the last Federal Open Market Committee meeting showed officials were divided over where to go on interest rates. They eventually opted for another 25 basis point increase at the time, taking the target Fed funds rate to between 5% and 5.25%.Chairman Jerome Powell hinted that a pause in the hiking cycle is likely at the FOMC’s June meeting, but some members still see the need for additional rises, while others anticipate a slowdown in growth will remove the need for further tightening. The central bank has lifted rates 10 times for a total of 5 percentage points since March 2022. Despite t …
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[mwai_chat context=”Let’s have a discussion about this article:nnTraders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange during morning trading on May 17, 2023 in New York City. Michael M. Santiago | Getty ImagesA U.S. recession may prevent a steep market downturn in the second half of 2023, according to Michael Yoshikami, founder and CEO of Destination Wealth Management.U.S. consumer price inflation eased to 4.9% year-on-year in April, its lowest annual pace since April 2021. Markets took the new data from the Labor Department earlier this month as a sign that the Federal Reserve’s efforts to curb inflation are finally bearing fruit.The headline consumer price index has cooled significantly since its peak above 9% in June 2022, but remains well above the Fed’s 2% target. Core CPI, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, rose by 5.5% annually in April, amid a resilient economy and persistently tight labor market.The Fed has consistently reiterated its commitment to fight inflation, but minutes from the last Federal Open Market Committee meeting showed officials were divided over where to go on interest rates. They eventually opted for another 25 basis point increase at the time, taking the target Fed funds rate to between 5% and 5.25%.Chairman Jerome Powell hinted that a pause in the hiking cycle is likely at the FOMC’s June meeting, but some members still see the need for additional rises, while others anticipate a slowdown in growth will remove the need for further tightening. The central bank has lifted rates 10 times for a total of 5 percentage points since March 2022. Despite t …nnDiscussion:nn” ai_name=”RocketNews AI: ” start_sentence=”Can I tell you more about this article?” text_input_placeholder=”Type ‘Yes'”]
