Markets This Week: The Fed Scare Still Hangs in the Air
Wall Street opens the week still digesting a tougher Fed. Here's what's coming before June is out.
Wall Street walks into the new week still nursing a Fed hangover. Kevin Warsh, in his first meeting as chair, left the door open to a rate hike later this year — and markets, which were hoping for a gentler hand, got a cold shower. It was, by some accounts, the worst “Fed day” under a new leader since 1994.
The takeaway is simple: in the projections the Fed itself published on 17 June, roughly half of policymakers now see at least one hike before the end of 2026. For investors, the old question comes back hard — can corporate profits keep holding up against higher-for-longer rates?
What to watch
The week brings earnings from heavyweights like FedEx and Micron, and near month-end come some big numbers: first-quarter GDP and May’s PCE prices, the Fed’s favourite inflation gauge.
Why it matters here
It is the same turn in tone that already had markets talking about raising rates rather than cutting them. Higher rates abroad pull the dollar around and color the mood everywhere — including the cost of money in Europe. Worth a glance now and then, even if your life doesn’t run through Wall Street.
By Beatriz Mota
Illustrative · Photo: Alex Luna / Pexels
