Dressed up as Jerome Powell… because interest rates are terrifying. To be the Fed chair all you need are hiking clothes: America’s central bank is expected to raise rates by a “jumbo” 75 basis points on Wednesday — the fourth straight bump of that size. Soaring borrowing costs are spooking investors and raising recession red flags. Last week mortgage rates topped 7% for the first time in 20 years. But economists polled by Reuters said the Fed shouldn’t pause its hiking crusade till inflation drops to around half of its current level (a hot 8.2%).
Winter’s coming… While consumers are still feeling #PumpAnxiety, oil giants are still pumping record profits. Last week Exxon, Chevron, and Total demolished earnings with record results (Exxon took home a $20B profit). Analysts expect Marathon Petroleum and ConocoPhillips to deliver strong results when they report this week. Global oil and gas supplies are still tight from pandemic-era output cuts and the war in Ukraine. Now President Biden is urging Big Oil to boost production (and cut buybacks) ahead of winter.