Market Bizzz

Minutes from the Federal Reserve’s policy meeting last month showed that officials agreed they needed to raise interest rates to a more restrictive level – and then maintain them there for some time – to meet their goal of lowering “broad-based and unacceptably high” inflation, even as the minutes contained a hint of a downshift in the pace of future monetary tightening.

Fed policymakers agreed they needed to move to a more restrictive policy stance, and then maintain that for some time, in order to meet the U.S. central bank’s goal of lowering inflation, a readout of last month’s two-day meeting showed on Wednesday.

The International Monetary Fund cut its 2023 global growth forecast from 2.9% to 2.7%, warning that pressures from inflation, war-driven energy and food crises, and higher interest rates may tip the world into recession and financial market instability.

While gold is considered as a hedge against inflation and economic uncertainties, rising interest rates reduce the appeal of the asset, which pays no interest. The International Monetary Fund warned on Tuesday that colliding pressures from inflation, war-driven energy and food crises and sharply higher interest rates were pushing the world to the brink of recession.

HSBC has received Sebi’s nod to acquire L&T Investment Managers. HSBC had announced the acquisition of L&T Finance Holdings’ MF business for $425 million in December. The schemes operated by L&T MF will be transferred to HSBC MF and merged or consolidated with identified schemes in line with regulatory guidelines

The U.S central bank is clear on the need for restrictive monetary policy to lower inflation, Fed Vice Chair Lael Brainard said on Monday, but the path and pace of rate increases will remain “data-dependent” as the central bank monitors the economy and the evolution of domestic and global risks.

Thousands of cases caused by the highly transmissible Omicron sub-variants BF.7 have been reported in Inner Mongolia since the start of October, turning the region into the country’s latest COVID epicentre.

The risk-sensitive Australian dollar made a 2-1/2 year low of $0.6275 on Monday and hovered at $0.6296 early on Tuesday. Analysts at the National Australia Bank said the Aussie was the market’s “whipping boy” in a sell off and that further lows were possible in the near term as sentiment is fragile.