Esther George

Despite signs of inflation having peaked and economic activity witnessing a slowdown, Federal Reserve officials have reportedly stated they will continue with more rate hikes, with many in favor of taking the top policy rate to 5%. "I just think we need to keep going, and we'll...

Consumer prices rose at the pace in December that economists were projecting, signaling the Federal Reserve is starting to make progress in its fight against historically high inflation. What Happened: The consumer price index rose 6.5% in December, down from 7.1% in November, according to...

Kansas City Federal Reserve President Esther George sounded pretty hawkish Thursday morning during an interview on CNBC's "Squawk Box." "We have been moving our forecasts up to higher levels ... and I think holding that until we get confidence that inflation is actually...

While global financial markets try to determine if the turmoil resulting from China’s economic weakness is enough to put a potential September Federal Reserve rate hike on hold for the time being, now is a good time to take a careful look at what 11 of the 13 Federal Reserve Bank Presidents...

In its latest interest rate statement, the Federal Reserve kept rates on hold as expected and kept its bond-buying program at $85 billion per month. The Fed made no indication of tapering at all in its statement. Modest Recovery The Fed noted that the economy expanded at a modest pace in the first...

Earnings season kicks into full swing next week with many companies expected to report. Also, some key economic data and another two speeches from Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke will be closely watched. Key Earnings In the coming weak, earnings from key banks Citigroup (NYSE: C) and Goldman Sachs (NYSE...

Stocks closed lower in the United States on Tuesday for the first time in an astounding 20 weeks. The drop in stocks broke the S&P 500's longest Tuesday winning streak since 1971 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average's and NASDAQ's longest such streaks on record. The S&P 500 closed lower by...

Futures Marginally Lower Ahead of Quiet Day U.S. equity futures traded marginally lower after Monday's gains heading into a quiet day both on the earnings and economics calendars. Should the S&P 500 post gains today, it would mark the 21st consecutive Tuesday of gains. Top News In other news...

Futures Slightly Higher On Yen Weakness U.S. equity futures rose slightly in early pre-market trade although the story was all about the yen overnight. The yen continued to weaken against the dollar overnight as the USD/JPY rose above 101 on new reports that Japanese citizens are starting to buy...

As expected, no change in the Fed's bond-buying program was made when the Fed released the press statement following the two-day meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee. The Fed will continue to buy $40 billion of mortgage backed securities and $45 billion of Treasuries every month. As was...

Next week, investors eyes will be on the economy as well as some key company earnings as markets attempt to continue to make new highs. In the past week, the S&P 500 Index breached its previous closing high of 1,565.40. Investors now look to economic indicators as to the next move for markets...

Futures Lower Following North Korean Nuclear Test U.S. equity futures declined in overnight trade as many Asian markets remained closed as North Korean tested its third atomic bomb in defiance of the U.N. South Korean authorities registered a 4.9 magnitude earthquake in its northern counterpart,...