Powell said the Federal Open Market Committee is weighing interest rates on a meeting-by-meeting basis, with no long-term consensus. US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the 19 members of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) remain divided on additional interest rate cuts in 2025. At Wednesday’s press conference after the Fed’s 25-basis-point rate cut, Powell said the central bank is trying to balance its dual mandate of maximum employment and price stability in an unusual environment where the labor market is weakening even as inflation remains elevated. Powell said: Powell said that the “median” FOMC projection from the Federal Reserve’s Summary of Economic Projections (SEP), the Fed’s quarterly outlook for the US economy that informs interest rate decisions, projected interest rates at 3.6% at the end of 2025, 3.4% by the end of 2026, and 3.1% at the end of 2027. Read more
CME will list options on Solana and XRP futures for the first time, extending regulated crypto derivatives beyond Bitcoin and Ether amid growing US market demand. The Chicago Mercantile Exchange Group (CME), the world’s largest derivatives exchange, will expand its crypto offerings by introducing options on Solana and XRP futures starting Oct. 13. The move builds on record trading activity in Solana (SOL) and XRP (XRP) futures contracts since their launches earlier this year, according to the exchange. It also marks the first time CME has extended its options offering beyond Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH). Futures are contracts to buy or sell an asset at a set price on a future date, while options give traders the right, but not the obligation, to buy or sell those futures at predetermined prices. Read more