Actualités financières en direct

With the midterm elections less than a week away, the Federal Reserve held interest rates steady on Wednesday, even as the latest inflation reports show prices are rising again. The central bank voted in …

With the midterm elections less than a week away, the Federal Reserve held interest rates steady on Wednesday, even as the latest inflation reports show prices are rising again. The central bank voted in a split decision to hold its benchmark interest rate st… With the midterm elections less than a week away, the Federal Reserve held interest rates steady on Wednesday, even as the latest inflation reports show prices are rising again.The central bank voted…

The statement upgraded the economy also left the door wide open for rate hikes. 10-Year Treasury yield kneejerk jumps. By Wolf Richter for WOLF STREET. The FOMC kept its five policy rates unchanged in …

The statement upgraded the economy also left the door wide open for rate hikes. 10-Year Treasury yield kneejerk jumps. By Wolf Richter for WOLF STREET. The FOMC kept its five policy rates unchanged in the range of 3.75% to 4.0%, as widely expected. What was n… The statement upgraded the economy also left the door wide open for rate hikes. 10-Year Treasury yield kneejerk jumps.By Wolf Richter for WOLF STREET.The FOMC kept its five policy rates unchanged in …

The 30-day face-value tally compares with $3.4 billion paid for contracts, while Reuters reports renewed offshore-access scrutiny and separate US customer-protection checks. Read the full story on CryptoSlateUnderstand the crypto stories that matter and …

The 30-day face-value tally compares with $3.4 billion paid for contracts, while Reuters reports renewed offshore-access scrutiny and separate US customer-protection checks. Read the full story on CryptoSlateUnderstand the crypto stories that matter and what … Polymarket's US prediction exchange recorded about $13.7 billion in contract-face-value trading in the 30 days through Oct. 26, with sports accounting for 98.2% of that turnover, according to DeFi Ra…

The Federal Reserve has decided to sit tight, even as prices keep climbing. The central bank, as widely expected, left its benchmark rate unchanged at 3.75% to 4% on Wednesday, with traders betting the …

The Federal Reserve has decided to sit tight, even as prices keep climbing. The central bank, as widely expected, left its benchmark rate unchanged at 3.75% to 4% on Wednesday, with traders betting the pause will be followed by another hike in December. Last … The Federal Reserve has decided to sit tight, even as prices keep climbing. The central bank, as widely expected, left its benchmark rate unchanged at 3.75% to 4% on Wednesday, with traders betting t…

Middle East tensions, tighter financing and weakening AI pricing power could test Big Tech's spending spree, the rating agency says Big Tech is spending on artificial intelligence like the bill will never arrive. Fitch …

Middle East tensions, tighter financing and weakening AI pricing power could test Big Tech's spending spree, the rating agency says Big Tech is spending on artificial intelligence like the bill will never arrive. Fitch Ratings would like a word. The credit rating agency says Middle East risks and tighter financing conditions threaten the AI spending boom before 2027. The numbers behind the nerves Fitch projects that US hyperscalers, including Alphabet, Amazon, Meta and Microsoft, will lift their 2026 capital expenditure by over 75%, to approximately $700 billion. Fitch expects that spending could keep rising. The agency’s analysis suggests capex from these leading hyperscalers could exceed $1 trillion a year from 2027 to 2029. Fitch describes that figure as significantly higher than what was previously considered justifiable. IT capital investment added 1.4 percentage points to US GDP growth in the first quarter of 2026, according to the research. Corporate bond issuance rose 26% in the first half of the year. Six major issuers raised $182 billion in investment-grade bonds in 2026, with AI the largest driver. Fitch notes that corporate valuations and debt issuance are pushing toward levels that recall the dotcom bubble of the late 1990s. Pricing power is slipping Fitch’s sharper critique sits in a report released on September 15, 2026. There, the agency flagged deteriorating pricing power for frontier AI models. AI, tech, and the markets they move—in one daily briefing. Daily. Free. Join 34,000+ readers across crypto, finance, and policy. Email address Subscribe free We respect your privacy. Unsubscribe anytime. Two forces are behind it. Competition among model developers is escalating, and enterprise customers are becoming more price sensitive. The result, in Fitch’s view, is a growing disconnect. Capex budgets keep expanding while the prospects for actually monetizing that spending have softened. Fitch suggests a reassessment may be imminent within the next one to three years. Geopolitics enters the chat The earlier warning came in Fitch’s July 28, 2026, Global Risk Outlook. That report identified an AI market correction as an emerging and significant global credit risk. Fitch pointed to tensions in the Middle East, particularly between the US and Iran, as a factor that might tighten financing conditions for companies in the sector. Regional companies are already feeling the pressure. Fitch described the corporate outlook for Gulf Cooperation Council firms as “deteriorating” as of June 2026. The agency also expects heightened supply chain costs and limited access to debt financing may further challenge companies operating in the region. Where the stress shows up Fitch ran stress tests to see what happens if hyperscalers pull back. Credit metrics proved generally resilient across most sectors. Semiconductors and specific types of data-center financing stood out as high risk. Those categories scored 60 on Fitch’s scale for over-investment risk. Fitch also warned that a capex pullback could hurt counterparties across related industries.

Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh said he doesn't agree that Fed rate hikes will have no impact on artificial intelligence, given the strong demand for AI and the high returns investors expect. "I was …

Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh said he doesn't agree that Fed rate hikes will have no impact on artificial intelligence, given the strong demand for AI and the high returns investors expect. "I was skeptical of that view," Warsh said during a press conference. "Interest rates get in the cracks. Interest rates affect directly or indirectly almost everything." Pershing Square CEO Bill Ackman, in a post last month on X, expressed skepticism that higher rates would reduce demand and investment in AI. "What if higher rates don't reduce demand and investment because the demand for intelligence and energy is unaffected by higher rates because winning the race for super intelligence has a near infinite ROI and the demand for compute will remain incalculable," Ackman wrote. "What if the old models don't apply to the current paradigm?" Warsh pointed to how credit spreads for certain assets have widened since the Fed raised rates in September, and financial conditions have tightened as investors have differentiated between tech firms and other companies to invest. "With respect to the new technology and this investment surge, do interest rates matter? I believe they do," said Warsh. "And I don't believe that they're somehow divorced from the rest of the economy."

Synopsis The US Federal Reserve has decided to keep its benchmark interest rate unchanged to evaluate inflation trends. Policymakers are assessing how high inflation might affect future monetary policy amid the upcoming midterm elections. …

Synopsis The US Federal Reserve has decided to keep its benchmark interest rate unchanged to evaluate inflation trends. Policymakers are assessing how high inflation might affect future monetary policy amid the upcoming midterm elections. Rising energy prices and tariffs contribute significantly to the ongoing inflation pressures faced by the economy. Traders are closely monitoring the upcoming Personal Consumption Expenditures inflation report for indications of future rate hikes.

The Federal Reserve held interest rates steady Wednesday, even as inflation data has been worsening – but the central bank is largely expected to issue a quarter-point hike in December. It approved the hold …

The Federal Reserve held interest rates steady Wednesday, even as inflation data has been worsening – but the central bank is largely expected to issue a quarter-point hike in December. It approved the hold in a 10-2 vote, with Fed Governors Lisa Cook and Beth Hammack dissenting in favor of raising interest rates by a quarter point, instead. At a Wednesday afternoon press conference, Fed Chair Kevin Warsh declined to share any forward guidance. But investors took a tweak in the Fed’s press release as a sign that officials are trying to prepare traders for a hike at their next meeting in December, after the Fed issued one in September. 3 Fed Chair Kevin Warsh on Wednesday held interest rates steady. AFP via Getty Images “The accumulation of more information will help the Committee determine the policy stance appropriate to ensure a timely return of inflation to the Committee’s 2 percent goal,” the committee wrote. In his most drastic change at the central bank yet, Warsh announced that he will be reducing the number of policy votes the Fed holds each year. Central bankers will still meet eight times a year, but starting in 2027, one of those meetings will not include a vote on interest rates. In 2028, two of those meetings will forgo a vote on rates. Warsh has argued that fewer votes give policymakers more time to gather data between meetings. Critics have argued that would also makes the Fed slower to react to changes in the economy. The central bank is able to call emergency votes, though these are rare. Though Warsh remained tight-lipped throughout the press conference, traders priced in 85% odds of a quarter-point hike at the December meeting, according to CME FedWatch. “Although the Fed held off on raising rates today, as we expected, they left plenty of clues that they were planning to raise rates in December,” Chris Zaccarelli, chief investment officer for Northlight Asset Management, said in a Wednesday note. “As always, a lot can change in the data between now and then, but if it weren’t so close to the midterm elections, they probably would have raised rates today, and now it’s unlikely that anything will stop them from raising rates at the next meeting.” 3 Americans have grown frustrated with rising gasoline prices amid the Iran war. Mengshin Lin for CA Post After raising rates last month for the first time since 2023, investors and economists were largely expecting the Fed to hold off this month over fears of appearing politicized less than a week away from the midterms. “Politics played no role in the decision,” Warsh said Wednesday. “I didn’t hear an utterance about politics. I didn’t hear a reference to politics, elections, what’s happening in the next week or so.” He was also asked whether anyone at the Fed will be involved in a White House hearing next week on Cook. Trump announced the hearing after the Supreme Court blocked him from firing her over allegations of mortgage fraud. Cook has repeatedly denied wrongdoing. “Not to my knowledge,” Warsh replied. The central bank chairman was repeatedly asked about concerns that the AI boom is driving inflation, as the rapid build-out of data centers has caused chip shortages and sent costs soaring. 3 Investors are expecting the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates in December. REUTERS Warsh acknowledged that AI is playing a role in the economy’s strength, but said it’s not the only factor. He also argued that the economy is not necessarily hot to the point that it’s fueling inflation. “Is the economy running too hot? Is the economy too strong? That isn’t the judgment of most of my colleagues,” he said. Affordability has emerged as a defining issue of the midterms, with Democrats pulling ahead in some early polls as Americans grow frustrated with high gas and grocery prices amid the Iran war. Since the Fed’s last meeting, economic data has only shown more cause for concern. The Consumer Price Index rose 3.7% over the past 12 months through September, while the Producer Price Index jumped a whopping 6.3% over the same period – a sign that costs could continue to climb through the holiday season. Meanwhile, the Iran war has cost the US military at least $47.1 billion as of mid-October, according to a new estimate from US Central Command reported by several news outlets. As of Wednesday afternoon, Trump had yet to react to the interest rate vote. The president has repeatedly argued that the Fed should lower interest rates and previously bashed Warsh’s predecessor, Jerome Powell, for not lowering rates fast enough. Economists have noted that higher interest rates often raise borrowing costs on mortgages, auto loans and credit cards.

The Federal Reserve opted to leave its benchmark interest rate unchanged — but investors widely expect the central bank to raise rates at its next meeting in December to combat stubborn inflation. (Image credit: …

The Federal Reserve opted to leave its benchmark interest rate unchanged — but investors widely expect the central bank to raise rates at its next meeting in December to combat stubborn inflation. (Image credit: Andrew Harnik) The Federal Reserve opted to leave its benchmark interest rate unchanged but investors widely expect the central bank to raise rates at its next meeting in December to combat stubborn inflation. (Ima…

The Federal Reserve held interest rates steady on Wednesday after hiking to clamp down on inflation. The central bank left the federal funds rate at a target range of 3.75% to 4%, keeping it …

The Federal Reserve held interest rates steady on Wednesday after hiking to clamp down on inflation. The central bank left the federal funds rate at a target range of 3.75% to 4%, keeping it unchanged after raising rates last month for the first time in three… The Federal Reserve held interest rates steady on Wednesday after hiking to clamp down on inflation.The central bank left the federal funds rate at a target range of 3.75% to 4%, keeping it unchanged…