March 17, 2014, 12:41 p.m. EDT
By Greg Robb, MarketWatch
...With the Fed (click here) and the markets basically on the same page on the economy,
the current near-zero interest-rate policy, and the rate of reduction in
bond purchases, the central bank has an opportunity to revamp its
forward guidance tool, now the chief policy instrument.
“They’ve got a little room to unanchor these things,” said Lewis Alexander, chief economist at Nomura Holdings Inc. in New York.
So-called forward guidance attempts to drive down long-term rates by promising to keep short-term rates low for a long time.
The Fed has reworded its pledge throughout the financial crisis.
Alexander said the early forms of forward guidance were simpler as the
Fed was simply saying that it was a long way from raising rates.
The Fed’s current pledge is to hold rates steady until “well past” the point when the unemployment rate falls below 6.5%.
But the unemployment rate has steadily dropped over the past year, before ticking up slightly to 6.7% in February...
But, the Fed is not the only focus of the markets today. There is still concern over the growing tensions with the Ukraine. Russia and China are still considered emerging markets. The instability in the region causes concern about investments.
The concerns are not unfounded. The strides most of the First World believed was being made in these nations appears more of a mirage than real. Political instability prevents a robust investment. These countries are still transitioning into reliable sources of investment. Typical of emerging markets natural resources are still the focus of Russian investments.
The USA also has a policy to push back against violence in nations, too. It is focused on natural resources used to support conflicts. "Conflict Resources" The entire circumstances surrounding the Crimean invasion raises all kinds of red flags for investment.
(Reuters) - Stock markets slipped on Wednesday, (click here) while major bond and currency markets held steady ahead of a U.S. Federal Reserve policy decision later in the day and as military tensions between Ukraine and Russia ratcheted up.
British financial markets largely followed that pattern although sterling recovered some recent losses before a raft of potentially market-moving news including the government's annual budget, Bank of England minutes and unemployment data.
Europe's major stock markets were down as much as a third of one percent in early trading, following Asian shares lower after the the MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS lost 0.2 percent.
Underlying worries over China's financial and property sectors bubbled to the surface, pushing Chinese stocks lower .SSEC and the yuan to its weakest level in a year through 6.20 per dollar....
The concerns are not unfounded. The strides most of the First World believed was being made in these nations appears more of a mirage than real. Political instability prevents a robust investment. These countries are still transitioning into reliable sources of investment. Typical of emerging markets natural resources are still the focus of Russian investments.
The USA also has a policy to push back against violence in nations, too. It is focused on natural resources used to support conflicts. "Conflict Resources" The entire circumstances surrounding the Crimean invasion raises all kinds of red flags for investment.
LONDON
Credit: Reuters/Toru Hanai(Reuters) - Stock markets slipped on Wednesday, (click here) while major bond and currency markets held steady ahead of a U.S. Federal Reserve policy decision later in the day and as military tensions between Ukraine and Russia ratcheted up.
British financial markets largely followed that pattern although sterling recovered some recent losses before a raft of potentially market-moving news including the government's annual budget, Bank of England minutes and unemployment data.
Europe's major stock markets were down as much as a third of one percent in early trading, following Asian shares lower after the the MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS lost 0.2 percent.
Underlying worries over China's financial and property sectors bubbled to the surface, pushing Chinese stocks lower .SSEC and the yuan to its weakest level in a year through 6.20 per dollar....
