{"id":60381,"date":"2022-03-16T08:56:16","date_gmt":"2022-03-16T12:56:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.t3live.com\/blog\/?p=60381"},"modified":"2022-03-16T08:56:16","modified_gmt":"2022-03-16T12:56:16","slug":"coffee-with-greta-fed-decision-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.t3live.com\/2022\/03\/16\/coffee-with-greta-fed-decision-day\/","title":{"rendered":"Coffee With Greta: Fed Decision Day"},"content":{"rendered":"

Editor's Note:<\/strong> Coffee With Greta is a FREE morning update from our newest contributor Greta Wall. Want to get it by email every day? Click here<\/span><\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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DJIA Futures:\u00a0<\/b>+340 (+1%)<\/p>\n

SPX Futures:\u00a0<\/b>+45 (+1.1%)<\/p>\n

NASDAQ Futures:\u00a0<\/b>+203 (+1.5%)<\/p>\n

Good morning friends!<\/span><\/p>\n

Futures are higher as the market gears up for today's Fed decision.<\/span><\/p>\n

Let\u2019s get right to it!<\/span><\/p>\n

Fed Decision Day<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The market is laser focused on the Fed as the Central Bank is set to announce its rate hike decision at 2:00 p.m. ET.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This will be the bank\u2019s first rate hike since 2018 after lowering rates to near zero in March 2020.<\/span><\/p>\n

CME Group\u2019s <\/span>FedWatch Tool<\/span><\/a> shows more than 98% of traders believe this will be a 0.25% rate hike.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The market is also hoping for more clarity on the bank\u2019s plans to reduce the size of its balance sheet.<\/span><\/p>\n

Chairman Jerome Powell <\/span>told<\/span><\/a> Congress in early March that process will start after rate hikes have begun.<\/span><\/p>\n

Consumer inflation pressures hit a fresh 40-year high in February as the CPI surged 7.9% year-over-year.<\/p>\n

And wholesale inflation hit a record high as the PPI skyrocketed 10% annually.<\/p>\n

Retail Sales Slow<\/strong><\/h2>\n

U.S. retail sales slowed more than expected in February as consumers were dragged down by inflation.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Census Bureau reported retail sales rose 0.3% last month to $658.1 billion.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

That was weaker than economists\u2019 expectations for 0.4%.<\/span><\/p>\n

January\u2019s retail sales were revised higher to show a gain of 4.9% vs the previous 3.8%.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Core retail sales, which exclude gas auto sales, rose 0.2% vs expectations for a 0.9% increase.<\/span><\/p>\n

Import Prices Surge<\/strong><\/h2>\n

U.S. import prices jumped 1.4% in February, continuing to fuel inflation.<\/p>\n

That was better than economists' expectations for a 1.6% increase and lower than 1.9% in January.<\/p>\n

January and February combined marked the largest increase in 11 years.<\/p>\n

Oil made up most of February's gain, rising 8.1%.<\/p>\n

Excluding fuel, import prices rose just 0.8% last month.<\/p>\n

Export prices meantime jumped 3%, the largest increase on record, and surged 16.6% year-over-year.<\/p>\n

Oil Falls Below $100<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Oil prices are rising slightly today after tumbling below $100 on Tuesday.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

West Texas Intermediate crude futures are up 0.6% to just over $97 per barrel while Brent crude futures are up 0.2% to just over $100 per barrel.<\/span><\/p>\n

The oil market has cooled amid ongoing peace talks between Ukraine and Russia.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Ukraine\u2019s President said today those talks were sounding \u201cmore realistic\u201d but more time is needed.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Russia\u2019s Foreign Minister said some deals are close.<\/span><\/p>\n

Nickel Trading Shut Down Again<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Nickel trading resumed on the London Metal Exchange today after a week-long halt.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The LME halted trading March 8 after Nickel prices more than doubled and topped $100,000 per tonne for the first time in history.<\/span><\/p>\n

Price moves today were limited to 5% above or below the last closing price before trading was suspended.<\/span><\/p>\n

But LME was forced to halt trading again after an error allowed trades to go through below the daily price limit.<\/span><\/p>\n

The exchange said it is investigating the glitch and will try to reopen the market ASAP.<\/span><\/p>\n

The trades executed below the limit will be canceled.<\/span><\/p>\n

LME also imposed 15% limits on aluminum, copper, lead, tin, and zinc.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This is the first time the exchange has ever placed limits on physical contracts.<\/span><\/p>\n

Metals trading has been volatile amid the war in Ukraine as both Russia and Ukraine are key global suppliers of several metals.<\/span><\/p>\n

Starbucks CEO Retiring<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Starbucks <\/b>(SBUX) shares are up 5.7% ahead of the open after CEO Kevin Johnson announced his retirement.<\/span><\/p>\n

In a statement, Johnson said, \u201cA year ago, I signaled to the Board that as the global pandemic neared an end, I would be considering retirement from Starbucks. I feel this is a natural bookend to my 13 years with the company.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Founder and former CEO Howard Schultz will take over as interim CEO.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Starbucks plans to find a permanent replacement by the fall.<\/span><\/p>\n

Chair of the board, Mellody Hobson said, \u201cWe have a great slate of candidates. People want this job, and we\u2019re fully confident we\u2019ll have a new leader in the fall.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Raskin Withdraws Fed Nomination<\/strong><\/h2>\n

In other Fed related news, Sarah Bloom Raskin withdrew her nomination to serve on the Federal Reserve board Tuesday.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Raskin had been nominated by President Biden to be the Central Bank\u2019s next vice chair for supervision.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But she faced an uphill battle for confirmation in the Senate over her views on climate policy.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

All 50 Senate Republicans were opposed to her confirmation.<\/span><\/p>\n

Then West Virginia Democrat Senator Joe Manchin confirmed this week he would not confirm her.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

That made it virtually impossible for her nomination to move forward in the 50-50 Senate.<\/span><\/p>\n

Homebuilder Sentiment Preview<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The National Association of Homebuilders releases its sentiment index at 10:00 a.m. ET.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The survey is expected to show confidence among builders slipped two points this month to 80.<\/span><\/p>\n

Builders have seen their business boom due to low supply of existing homes on the market.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But they\u2019ve faced severe supply chain and labor shortages as they struggle to keep up with record high demand.<\/span><\/p>\n

In Case You Missed It<\/span><\/h2>\n