Michael Gapen

Bank of America U.S. economist Michael Gapen maintains his forecast that the Federal Reserve will make its first rate cut in December, diverging from the wide majority of analysts and investors who are heavily betting on a September move. During an event call on Wednesday organized by the...

One of the most hawkish investment firms on Wall Street might soon revise its estimates and anticipate an earlier rate cut from the Federal Reserve if June’s new inflation figures confirm another unmistakable signal of a return towards the 2% target. Despite recent benign inflation reports,...

Bank of America’s latest economic outlook for the U.S. paints a complex picture of steady but gradually fading economic growth, persistent inflation and a delayed start to the Federal Reserve’s rate cuts. The bank’s economist, Michael Gapen, emphasizes a “higher-for-longer...

Are more people looking for a job or is the U.S. labor market continuing to show continued tightness? Investors eagerly awaiting an update on the U.S. labor market will get more insight on Friday when the Bureau of Labor Statistics releases the employment situation report for May. Recent labor...

Bank of America U.S. economist Michael Gapen recently provided insights into the expected performance of the U.S. employment sector for April, forecasting nonfarm payrolls will see an increase of 250,000, marking a slight deceleration from the 276,000 average gain over the previous three months....

Recent inflation surprises have left the Federal Reserve without sufficient confidence to consider interest rate reductions, prompting a scenario of higher-for-longer interest rates. That’s the insight coming from Bank of America’s U.S. economist Michael Gapen ahead of this week’s...

Bank Of America Corp (NYSE:BAC) has retracted its earlier forecast of an impending recession, citing a robust job market and vigorous consumer spending as the primary reasons. The bank’s CEO Brian Moynihan confirmed this in an interview with Bloomberg on Thursday. Moynihan expressed optimism...

Two major investment banks on Wall Street stated that they anticipate the Federal Reserve will resume hiking interest rates as soon as July, departing from initial market reactions to the Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s press conference. Following the Fed’s decision to pause at its June...

The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) is widely expected to issue at least one more 0.25% interest rate hike at the conclusion of its meeting on Wednesday. The rate hike itself will likely not move financial markets much, but the language the FOMC uses in its policy statement could be a major...

In February, the U.S. Federal Reserve raised its target Fed funds rate by 0.25% to a new target range of between 4.5% and 4.75% as it attempts to get inflation under control. Expectations for the Fed's March meeting decision have swung wildly in the past week amid concerns the failures of U.S....

The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE: SPY) traded lower by 1.4% on Friday as the market headed for its second straight weekly decline. Unfortunately, Bank of America analyst Michael Hartnett said Friday that the latest commentary and economic projections from the Federal Reserve suggested a soft...

The U.S. Federal Reserve recently raised its target Fed funds rate by 0.75% for the fourth time in five months as it attempts to get inflation under control. Investors wondering if the Fed will pull the trigger on a fifth 0.75% hike at its next meeting in December got some key inflation data on...

Another hot consumer price index (CPI) reading for September means the Federal Reserve will continue to aggressively tighten monetary policy for the time being. Following the latest inflation data, Bank of America economist Michael Gapen said the chances of at least two more 0.75% Fed interest rate...

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) was up 8.3% in August and remains at multi-decade highs despite the best efforts of the Federal Reserve to get inflation under control. On Friday, Bank of America economist Michael Gapen raised his near-term outlook for CPI inflation and said it may take a little bit...

The U.S. Federal Reserve raised its target Fed funds rate by 0.75% in June, its first interest rate hike of that size since 1994. With this month's Federal Open Market Committee meeting just around the corner, investors are still debating whether the Fed will opt for another 0.75% rate hike or...