US Allies Believe It Will Take Six Months to Reach an Iran Peace Deal

The Case Against Federal Reserve Independence Authored by Alexander William Salter via AmericanMind.org, It’s illegal in theory and ineffective in practice. The independence of the Federal Reserve System has become a major source of public controversy. As political leaders signal dissatisfaction with monetary policy, officials and commentators rush to defend the central bank’s insulation from democratic pressure. We are told, as if it were self-evident, that central bank independence is a pillar of sound economic governance. But this confidence is misplaced. The economic case for central bank independence is far weaker than its defenders suggest. And the constitutional case is weaker still. Start...

US Futures, Global Stocks And Bonds Soar On Ceasefire Relief, Oil Plummets US futures, global stocks and bonds are sharply higher while oil prices plunge the most in years as a wave of optimism swept through global markets after the US and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire in exchange for Tehran reopening the Strait of Hormuz: JPMorgan's Market Intel desk, which moves from Neutral to Tactically Bullish this morning, says to look for a re-risking in the very near-term albeit it with higher energy prices. As of 8:00am ET, S&P futures...

Record Share Of Home Sellers Cut Listing Prices In February: Report A record share of home sellers cut their listing prices in February as competition for homebuyers necessitated steep price reductions, an April 9 report by real estate platform Redfin said. About 34.2 percent of sellers reduced their listing prices in February, up from 31.5 percent in the same month a year earlier, according to Redfin’s analysis of MLS data. That was the highest February share since the firm began tracking MLS records in 2012. The sellers who cut their listing prices reduced...