Fed likely to hike interest rates again, then signal a pause

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2 years ago

May 3, 2023

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close video What to expect from the Federal Reserve’s rate hike decision Wednesday

Financial expert Elizabeth Evans gives an economic outlook and discusses futures market pricing before the Federal Reserve’s expected rate hike Wednesday on ‘Making Money with Charles Payne.’

The Federal Reserve is on track to raise interest rates for the 10th straight time Wednesday, but the end may finally be in sight for the fastest tightening campaign since the 1980s.

The U.S. central bank is widely expected to lift the federal funds rate by a quarter-percentage point at the conclusion of its two-day meeting then hint at a long-awaited pause in rate hikes.

The move would set the federal funds rate between 5% to 5.25%, further restricting economic activity as the borrowing costs for homes, cars and other items march higher. It would mark the highest rate since 2007.

FUND MANAGERS WORRY SYSTEMIC CREDIT CRUNCH COULD CRASH US MARKETS

Policymakers projected a peak rate of 5.1% during their March meeting.

But Wall Street is even more focused on Chairman Jerome Powell's press conference at 2:30 p.m. ET for additional clues about what comes next in the Fed's inflation fight. Powell may signal that rate hikes could soon stop, but many economists anticipate he will try to a strike a more ambiguous tone that neither rules out nor sets up another increase down the road.

"While the committee and Powell in his post statement press conference will eschew any idea that a pause is a foregone conclusion, the language put forward in both the statement and the presser will likely set the stage for a one-month period where the hawks and doves will duke it out over the June policy decision," said Joe Brusuelas, RSM chief economist. "We believe that a rate hike at the June meeting remains a distinct possibility."

JAMIE DIMON WARNS BANKING CRISIS HAS RAISED ODDS OF RECESSION

Jerome Powell, chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve, speaks during a news conference following a Federal Open Market Committee meeting in Washington, D.C., March 22, 2023. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)

The meeting comes in the shadow of continued volatility within the financial sector, after the third implosion of a U.S. bank on Monday. First Republic, a San Francisco-based bank that catered to the wealthy, was seized by federal regulators and sold to JPMorgan Chase Monday.

Despite concerns that the banking turmoil could severely tighten credit for U.S. households and small businesses, the Fed is expected to forge ahead with its inflation fight Wednesday.

During a credit crunch, banks significantly raise their lending standards, making it difficult to get a loan. Borrowers may have to agree to more stringent terms like high interest rates as banks try to reduce the financial risk on their end. Fewer loans, in turn, lead to less big-ticket spending by consumers and businesses.

Pedestrians near the U.S. Treasury building in Washington, D.C., Dec. 30, 2022. (Ting Shen/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)

While that could help the Fed in its fight to tamp down stubbornly high inflation, it also raises the risk of a recession this year.

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"The major question for the Fed isn’t whether it should pause its tightening cycle but whether it will," said Gregory Daco, EY chief economist. "And legacy may be the defining factor. Fed Chair Powell and most policymakers do not want their legacy to be a failure to bring inflation down to the 2% target."

Inflation showed welcome signs of cooling in March, according to Labor Department data released last month. But core prices pointed to strong underlying price pressures that are still bubbling beneath the surface. The consumer price index remains about three times higher than the pre-pandemic average, underscoring the persistent financial burden high prices have placed on millions of U.S. households.

Sports

NASCAR seeks new mediator in antitrust lawsuit

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2 hours ago

October 7, 2025

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NASCAR seeks new mediator in antitrust lawsuit

Associated Press

Oct 7, 2025, 10:13 AM ET

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — NASCAR has asked a federal court for a judicial settlement conference so that an independent judge can mediate the antitrust suit filed by Michael Jordan-owned 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports.

The two teams pushed back in their own late Monday night filing that it wants to continue working with mediator Jeffrey Mishkin, the former executive vice president and chief legal officer of the NBA who has been negotiating between the two sides this year.

“Mr. Mishkin has invested a great deal of time learning this case and meeting with the parties,” 23XI and Front Row said in the filing. “Plaintiffs have thus requested that NASCAR continue to engage with them via Mr. Mishkin or to make a settlement offer directly to Plaintiffs’ counsel, but NASCAR has not responded to those requests and instead filed this motion.

“It seems NASCAR is not happy with the diagnosis and wants to seek a second opinion.”

The teams argued Mishkin “has significant expertise in complex, sports-related antitrust disputes and has served as an arbitrator or mediator for the international Court of Arbitration for Sport, the America’s Cup, FIFA, and the NFL, among others.”

The teams also argue that “starting over” with a new mediator is “less likely, not more likely, to lead to resolution.”

The dueling motions come as NASCAR seeks a summary judgement to dismiss the case before the scheduled Dec. 1 start of trial. A hearing on that motion is scheduled for Oct. 21.

At issue is the protection of the charter system that is at the heart of NASCAR’s business model and the focal point of the court fight. The charter system is NASCAR’s version of a franchise model. A charter guarantees owners spots in the field, a base amount of revenue each year, and according to NASCAR, has created more than $1.5 billion in equity value for its teams since 2016.

A year ago, 13 of the 15 teams re-signed when they believed two-plus years of negotiations would not lead to a better deal. 23XI, co-owned by Jordan and three-time Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin, and Front Row Motorsports, owned by entrepreneur Bob Jenkins, went to court instead.

For months, the other 13 teams have privately complained that the lawsuit is creating uncertainty over the future of NASCAR. Mishkin has made no progress toward a settlement and NASCAR now wants a federal judge other than U.S. District Judge Kenneth Bell, who is presiding over the case, to hear both sides and advise on a resolution.

Most of the top teams in NASCAR last week submitted declarations calling for a settlement and protection of the charter system, which NASCAR noted in its Monday night filing to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina.

“The parties’ readiness to resolve this matter, along with the interests of others in the sport and the Court to see this case resolved, suggest a judicial settlement conference would be a meaningful way to facilitate a settlement,” NASCAR wrote.

Both sides have shown a willingness to talk, but no progress has been made.

Through a judicial settlement conference, NASCAR hopes to bring in a judge who can help direct the talks and offer insight into how a jury might interpret the complex NASCAR antitrust case.

The court must approve NASCAR’s request.

All sides have said they are open to settlement, including Jordan, who also added after an August hearing he was willing to take it to trial if necessary.

“I look forward to going down with the fire. If I have to fight this to the end, for the betterment of the sport, I will,” he said outside federal court. “We’ve always been open to a settlement. Always have been. We’ve never taken that off the table.”

Technology

Inside Rivian’s design factory and the story behind those distinct headlights

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2 hours ago

October 7, 2025

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Inside Rivian's design factory and the story behind those distinct headlights

Rivian made a name for itself when it unveiled one of the first electric pickup trucks, the R1T, in 2018. It followed that up with an SUV built off the same platform, the R1S, and has since built a passionate fan base around a brand that celebrates adventure and the outdoors.

Now it’s preparing for its next chapter with the R2, a smaller spin on the R1S SUV, and the R3, a rally-inspired hatchback.

“A lot of people were surprised on R3” Rivian Chief Design Officer Jeff Hammoud told CNBC. “It’s not something that I think a lot of people would have guessed that Rivian would have done … and that was the key thing we were trying to show, we’re not pigeonholed to one form factor.”

The new vehicles, which were unveiled in March of last year, are part of Rivian’s strategy to reach a broader market for its electric vehicles, which currently start upwards of $70,000.

The R2, which the company says will start around $45,000, is expected to go into production by the end of this year at the company’s Normal, Illinois, manufacturing facility.

“While R1 was designed through addition, we had to look at R2 through subtraction,” Hammoud said. “What are the things we can remove or take away, but still keep the ethos of the product and the brand?”

The R2 and R3 are coming on the heels of a tough time for the automaker.

Weak demand, higher costs and the U.S. cancelling the EV credit could spell trouble for Rivian. But that hasn’t stopped the company from breaking ground on a new $5 billion factory in Georgia, where the next generation vehicles will be built.

“We’re first launching R2 at our facility in Illinois, but this is really the site where we’ll scale global production. We’re building this into a 400,000 unit plant,” Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe told CNBC’s Phil LeBeau at the plant’s construction site in September.

CNBC got rare access inside Rivian’s design lab in Irvine, California, to see how the company shapes its distinctive vehicles. We see how the EV maker approaches design for its adventure-driven EV lineup, which includes the backstory on how it conceived its iconic headlights, a choice that provoked mixed reactions when first unveiled.

“They were controversial,” recalls John Voelcker, contributing editor at Car and Driver. “It took a while for people to get over it. I think it was smart in that it’s harder to make your truck distinctive. So a front end that immediately is like no one else is probably a good thing.”

Watch the video to learn about Rivian’s approach to design and its plans to expand its brand of adventure-themed EVs.

UK

Woman filmed cutting commemorative yellow ribbons for Israeli hostages

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2 hours ago

October 7, 2025

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Woman filmed cutting commemorative yellow ribbons for Israeli hostages

A woman has been filmed cutting yellow ribbons tied to a gate in London, put up in commemoration of Israeli hostages.

When confronted by two bystanders near the gate in Muswell Hill, north London, the woman said: “I’m not committing a crime.

“If I am, then call the police and you let them know that you have an issue with this.”

In the video, a man branded the woman “a disgusting little human being,” to which she replied: “I think condoning genocide is disgusting.”

The bystander asked her: “So we’re condoning genocide?”

The woman then appeared to point at the ribbons and said: “That’s what this is.”

October 7 anniversary latest: Families demand answers

The yellow ribbon has been used as a symbol of the plight of those taken captive since the 1979 US-Iranian hostage crisis, and has become synonymous with the hostages held in Gaza since 7 October 2023.

The ribbons are used as part of the ‘Bring Them Home’ campaign, which was introduced to raise awareness of the hostages’ plight and help amplify calls for the unconditional release of those still held by Hamas.

The Metropolitan Police told Sky News: “Officers have stepped up reassurance patrols in the Muswell Hill area, following reports that yellow ribbons were removed from fence poles.”

A spokesperson said the force was made aware of a video circulating online which “appears to show a woman removing the ribbons in Muswell Hill” at 4.25pm on Monday.

“Officers attended the location and are reviewing the footage to determine whether any offences, including hate crime or criminal damage, have been committed. Enquiries remain ongoing,” the spokesperson added.

Officers are asking anyone with information to contact the force.

The incident happened just a day before the second anniversary of the October 7 attack, when Hamas killed 1,200 people and took 251 back to Gaza as hostages.

Israel says 48 hostages remain in Gaza, 20 of whom are believed to be alive.

Gaza’s health ministry says Israel’s offensive has killed more than 67,000 people in the region since 7 October 2023. It does not differentiate between civilians and combatants in its figures, but says more than half of those killed are women and children.