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US Federal Reserve

US Federal Reserve
Founded in 1913, the Federal Reserve is the central banking system for the United States.
US Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell during a recent press conference at the Federal Reserve in Washington. Photo: EPA-EFE
Hong Kong economy

Editorial | Uncertainty from the US will have impact on local interest rates

Three key economic factors highlighted by US Fed chairman Jay Powell should have borrowers carefully assessing the interest rate risk.

Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA)

Hong Kong banks keep their prime rates steady after HKMA, Fed hold fire

Donald Trump

Wall Street slides, S&P 500 in correction as Trump trade war escalates

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Hong Kong property

Hong Kong rents hit 5½-year high as demand surges post-holiday season

Centa-City Rental Index, compiled by Centaline Property, rose 0.46 per cent month on month in February.

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Pak Tin Estate in Beacon Hill, Kowloon. Rents in Hong Kong rose to a five-and-a-half-year high in February. Photo: Eugene Lee
US-China relations

Opinion | Trump a bigger threat to US dollar than China, ex-senior economics officials say

White House brings ‘budgetary chaos with extraordinary speed’, potentially triggering a fiscal crisis and run on US Treasuries market.

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Donald Trump

Trump declines to rule out a 2025 US recession

Trump’s tariff threats against China, Canada and Mexico have left US financial markets in turmoil and consumers unsure of future.

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Hong Kong property

Hong Kong homebuyers deliver brisk weekend sales

Strong results for Sun Hung Kai Properties and Henderson Land show improving sentiment after a stamp-duty cut, agents say.

An artist’s impressiong of Eight Southpark, developed by Henderson Land. Photo: Handout
Donald Trump

Macroscope | What could force Trump to back down? Markets, if they wake up

Higher inflation, a sharp slowdown or both point to a much bleaker outlook for the US than markets anticipated when Trump won the election.

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Hong Kong property

Hong Kong’s February property sales fall to 5-month low amid caution

Property agencies say potential buyers and investors are cautious due to ongoing US-China tensions.

United States

Opinion | In ‘fixing’ a trumped-up crisis, Trump may end up creating one

Trump’s inflationary policies risk sending both the stock market and dollar crashing, creating the very crisis he falsely claims to be confronting.

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A trader works with an assembly of US President Donald Trump paraphernalia seen in the foreground on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on February 28. Photo: EPA-EFE
Donald Trump

US consumer confidence sees biggest drop in years amid Trump anxiety

Inflation and the effect of tariffs and a cooling labour market are among the concerns weighing on households and companies.

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Inflation expectations over the coming year increased to the highest since May 2023, reflecting the recent jump in the cost of eggs as well as anticipated higher prices from Trump’s planned tariffs. Photo: AFP
Banking & finance

HSBC to raise US$1.5 billion in perpetual convertible bonds

The bonds will be issued on Thursday and carry an interest rate of 6.95 per cent a year.

Banking & finance

Hong Kong SMEs want funding support amid mounting costs, survey finds

More than half of the businesses surveyed by DBS hope the financial secretary will reveal some support for them in his budget address.

Banking & finance

Macroscope | Why Asian central banks are starting to decouple from the Fed

Eager to boost domestic demand and more able to preserve financial stability, the region’s policymakers are embracing greater monetary independence.

A teller counts Indonesian rupiah bank notes in Jakarta, Indonesia, in October 2022. Photo: Reuters
China technology

Opinion | How DeepSeek’s disruption could finally burst the US stock bubble

US stocks bounced back on DeepSeek doubts. But it’s the real deal and it threatens assumptions of US AI dominance that underpin the market.

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TV news at the Nasdaq headquarters in Times Square highlights the extent of the market drop on January 27 in New York, US. Photo: AFP
Hong Kong economy

The View | Why Hong Kong’s property blues don’t add up to a crisis yet

While financial distress is apparent, the risks must be put into context. The city’s woes are more externally driven than home-grown.

Donald Trump

Trump blames Biden for surprise rise in US inflation

The US president, who campaigned on lowering costs, now faces the prospect of price increases continuing to accelerate on his watch.

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Asia housing and property

The View | Why policy intervention in Hong Kong property can only go so far

Hong Kong’s property market is vulnerable to concerns about a hawkish Fed and mainland China’s recovery. Not so for Singapore’s domestically oriented market.

Property agents and potential buyers visit the sales office for a new residential development in Hong Kong’s Tuen Mun district, on February 1. Photo: Elson Li
Banking & finance

Dollar strength more worrying to Asian stocks than China tariffs: Hang Seng Bank

Prospects for Asian equities remain positive due to China’s stimulus measures and strong Asean trade links, Hang Seng Bank official says.

Hong Kong property

Slow start for Hong Kong’s first property launch in Year of the Snake

Only 27 of the 133 units on offer at The Reserve at Gold Coast Bay in Tuen Mun were sold as of 8pm.

US-China relations

US charges former Fed official with spying for China

John Harold Rogers allegedly sought to leak trade secrets while being paid US$450,000 pretending to teach at a Chinese university.

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The US Federal Reserve building is seen in Washington on January 26. Photo: Reuters
Interest rates

Hong Kong holds fire on monetary policy, keeping base rate at 4.75%

HSBC and other major banks will only announce their interest-rate decisions on Monday, the first working day of the Lunar New Year.

A shop on sale at Airside in Kai Tak on January 3, 2025. Photo: Edmond So
US-China relations

Nvidia shares jump after sell-off sparked by DeepSeek surprise

Some analysts cite company’s possible role in DeepSeek’s success and call share price drop ‘overdone’.

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United States

Scott Bessent wins Senate confirmation as US Treasury Secretary

Bessent’s first challenge will be managing federal cash flows after government hit statutory debt limit on Trump’s second day in office.

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Banking & finance

Hong Kong’s economy to benefit from capital flow, rate cut: ANZ

City’s economy is likely to grow between 2.5 and 3 per cent, ANZ chief economist Raymond Yeung says.

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Raymond Yeung, chief economist for Greater China at ANZ Banking Group, says Hong Kong will see more tailwinds than headwinds in the Year of the Snake. Photo: Enoch Yiu
Hong Kong property

Mortgage registrations hit record low as rate hikes spook market: Centaline

Owners registered 47,917 mortgages on various properties in 2024, the least since Centaline Property began tracking the data in 2000.

Residential advertisements outside a real estate agency in Jordan, Hong Kong, Photo: Jelly Tse
Banking & finance

Hong Kong’s banks gird for lean times as 9-month profit growth slows

Net interest margin narrowed to 1.5 per cent in the first nine months last year from 1.67 per cent in 2023, according to HKMA data.

United States

Macroscope | Why bond markets refuse to hop aboard the Trump train

A sharp sell-off in bond markets despite the Fed’s easing cycle shows investors are worried about the uncertainty around Trump’s second term.

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