Fed will ‘join the party,’ cut rates at some point in 2024

The Federal Reserve is trying to be too reactive to volatility in economic data, Boston Fed President Susan Collins told Yahoo Finance on Tuesday. As the Swiss National Bank initiates its second interest rate cut this year, the debate rages on over when the Fed will cut rates and when it will reach its 2% inflation target.

JPMorgan US Head of Investment Strategy Jake Manoukian sits down with Yahoo Finance’s Morning Brief in-studio to talk about Fed commentary well ahead of the central bank’s September policy meeting

“We track 37 central banks. 20 of them are already cutting rates. The Fed’s going to join the party probably at some point this year. We’re 90 days away from the September Fed meeting, traders are pricing in a 67% chance that that’s the first cut,” Manoukian tells Yahoo Finance, commenting on Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari’s latest statements on long-term forecasts: If rates don’t come in September, “we’ll, you know, kick the can to December. But it doesn’t change the global backdrop that central banks are in easing mode. And Kashkari has been on the kind of hawkish end of the spectrum.”

“Cash hasn’t hasn’t been trash. It’s obviously underperformed the S&P 500, but I think it’s felt like a safety blanket. And that safety blanket is going to get much less attractive when rate cuts start to come,” Manoukian says. “And when you add a layer of the idea that the Federal Reserve is going to be cutting rates, most likely outside of a recession, the underperformance to both stocks and bonds is pretty meaningful.”

Catch Jennifer Schonberger’s exclusive interview with Boston Fed President Susan Collins. For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Morning Brief.