TOPIC

US Federal Reserve

US Federal Reserve
Founded in 1913, the Federal Reserve is the central banking system for the United States.
last updated:
9 September, 2024
The Hang Seng Index is displayed on November 14, 2024, when the stock exchange operated for the first time during a severe typhoon conditions. Photo: Sam Tsang
Hong Kong stock market

Series of factors will conspire to limit Hang Seng Index’s rise in 2025: UBS

The Swiss bank expects the city’s benchmark index to rise above 20,000 by year-end, implying a gain of 3.7 per cent from Wednesday’s close.

Banking & finance

Asia-Pacific loans poised for strong rebound in 2025 with M&A surge

Yuan

China’s central bank rhetoric on yuan stability takes aim at depreciation risks

5
Yuan

China’s battered offshore yuan hits 2-year low against US dollar

And China’s ‘moderately loose’ monetary policy could further widen interest-rate differentials, straining the yuan more, analyst predicts.

9
On the last trading day in 2024, the yuan touched 7.3698 per US dollar and reached its weakest level since October 2022. Photo: AP
Hong Kong property

Hong Kong’s property market to maintain momentum after deals hit 3-year high

Property transactions totalled 67,662, valued at US$68.2 billion in 2024, according to Midland data.

videocam
Cryptocurrency

Trump-fuelled bitcoin rally loses steam as year draws to a close

Scaled-back expectations for interest-rate cuts by the US Federal Reserve have cooled the speculative frenzy in the cryptocurrency market.

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Hong Kong property

Hong Kong rental yields to pick up momentum in 2025: analysts

Rental yields are expected to rise on the back of robust demand from the city’s new inhabitants and reduced borrowing costs.

4
The average rental yield in Hong Kong slid to 3.46 per cent at the end of October, partly dragged by an off-season decline in rents. Photo: Jelly Tse
Interest rates

Hong Kong lenders may cut prime rate to record low 5% in 2025

A straw poll of 10 analysts surveyed by the Post expect up to three rate cuts by the Federal Reserve and HKMA totalling as much 75 basis points.

Gold in Hong Kong

Gold could hit US$3,000 in 2025 amid continuing bull run

A recent World Gold Council survey showed 81 per cent of respondents expect central banks to bolster their gold reserves in the coming year.

videocam
United States

Macroscope | Trump vs the Fed: why 2025 could be the year things get ugly

The Fed is making it clear that Trump’s policies come at a price, one that he might be unwilling to pay if inflation rises more sharply.

videocam
Donald Trump, then US president, looks on as Jerome Powell, his nominee to lead the Federal Reserve, speaks at the White House in Washington on November 2, 2017. Photo: Reuters
Cryptocurrency

Bitcoin records first weekly decline since Donald Trump’s US election victory

The original cryptocurrency was down more than 7 per cent for the seven-day period through 9:27am on Monday in Singapore.

The US Federal Reserve’s third straight interest-rate cut dampened the speculative spirits unleashed in the cryptocurrency market by Donald Trump’s pledge of friendly regulations. Photo: EPA-EFE
Banking & finance

Opinion | In a world fraught with risk, Trump will add to the bumps

Amid increasing geopolitical uncertainty and trade tensions, investors are counting on the US central bank to keep printing money.

videocam
Hong Kong

Editorial | Hong Kong interest rates volatility price to pay as spectre of Trump tariffs looms

Uncertainty over when next US cuts will come in 2025 prompts Hong Kong Monetary Authority chief to send out warning.

Yuan

US Fed’s hawkish rate-cut forecast slams China’s yuan

China’s currency, hammered since Trump’s re-election, has depreciated further against the US dollar, despite the yuan’s share among global payments rising.

12
The Chinese yuan’s latest decline was driven by the US Fed’s fresh projection of only two quarter-point rate cuts in 2025. Photo: Reuters
Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA)

Hong Kong banks cut lending rates, but HKMA warns of volatility ahead

The latest rate cuts by lenders such as HSBC and Bank of China will lighten the monthly burden on mortgage borrowers by about HK$351 to HK$22,452.

The HKMA’s interest-rate cut has given Hong Kong business owners and mortgage holders a reprieve. Photo: Shutterstock
Interest rates

US Federal Reserve set to cut rates as Trump prepares for second term

Analysts expect a slower path of rate cuts next year as they have concerns about some of Trump’s key policy initiatives.

Banking & finance

US banks face rising distress as commercial property values slump

Smaller US banks ramp up loan modifications amid slumping commercial property values.

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Hong Kong property

Mystery buyer spends HK$150 million for 26 flats in shopping binge

All the flats were acquired in Kai Tak district in projects including Double Coast 1 and Twin Victoria, according to agents.

General view of Kai Tak. The 320-hectare development is billed as Hong Kong’s second central business district. Photo: Dickson Lee
Digital currencies

US bankers cautious about crypto amid expectations of regulatory easing

Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon said the Wall Street giant would ‘evaluate’ dealing in top cryptocurrencies like bitcoin and ether if rules change.

Hong Kong property

Hong Kong home prices: up or down? Experts weigh in with forecasts for 2025

Analysts forecast up to 5 per cent price fall or rise amid oversupply, falling interest rates and improving stock market performance.

Banking & finance

The View | Trump could upend the US economy just as China is recovering

Trump’s economic strategy could change narratives not only about US markets but Chinese ones as well.

4
Donald Trump, then Republican presidential nominee, listens as hedge fund manager Scott Bessent speaks on the economy in Asheville, North Carolina, on August 14. Bessent is Trump’s pick for Treasury secretary. Photo: AP
China economy

Macroscope | Fears of China’s ‘Japanification’ are overblown

While low yields might be a symptom of Japanification, evidence shows bond markets are on China’s side.

videocam
A woman walks past the headquarters of the People’s Bank of China in Beijing. Photo: Reuters
United States

Opinion | An America awash in global capital risks spreading financial instability

Free capital flows accelerate economic growth but can also be destabilising, spreading jitters via financial markets.

videocam
Hong Kong property

Hong Kong home prices rise for the first time since March; rents cool slightly

Secondary home prices increased 0.62 per cent in October.

4
Hong Kong housing

The View | Can Hong Kong’s property market weather the Trump shock?

Hong Kong’s real estate industry cannot seem to catch a break, though the outlook is not all doom and gloom if you know where to look.

videocam
Pedestrians pass a property agency in Ap Lei Chau on October 15. Hong Kong’s property sector is bracing for another four years of uncertainty after Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential election. Photo: Eugene Lee
US-China relations

Speculation over Trump’s US treasury pick reveals divergent views in transition

China tariffs in focus as president-elect’s high-profile advisers like Elon Musk push candidates who embody a break from ‘business as usual’.

President-elect Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with Republican members of the US House of Representatives in Washington on November 13, 2024. Photo: AP
United States

Macroscope | Trumponomics 2.0 is fraught with danger

Investors are downplaying the impact of the protectionist and populist thrust of Trump 2.0 and have not even begun to price in the risks.

videocam
China’s economic stimulus

Open Questions | Economist Huang Yiping on Trump trade war 2.0 and China’s stimulus ‘U-turn’

Huang Yiping of Peking University talks the re-election of Donald Trump and why China needs its own Marshall Plan.

videocam
25
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Help preserve 120 years of quality journalism.
SUPPORT NOW
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
loading