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Thursday, March 28, 2024

Markets tumble as US Fed signals end of pandemic-era cheap cash

FILE PHOTO: Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is seen delivering remarks on a screen as a trader works on the trading floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in Manhattan, New York City, US, Dec 15, 2021. (Reuters)

Equity markets tanked Thursday following a late sell-off on Wall Street in reaction to a surprisingly hawkish turn by US Federal Reserve boss Jerome Powell, who signalled the bank would begin lifting interest rates in March.

After one of the Fed’s most highly anticipated meetings, he said the world’s number one economy was well on the recovery path with unemployment largely under control, allowing officials to begin removing the crutches put in place at the start of the pandemic.

In a news conference, he told reporters “the committee is of a mind to raise the federal funds rate at the…

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