Economy

Fed vs. inflation
Fed keeps interest rates unchanged – as expected

The Federal Reserve is waiting as expected and leaving interest rates unchanged in the range of 4.25-4.50 percent.

CNBC notes a change in rhetoric in the Fed's press release.

"Although changes in net exports continue to affect the figures, recent indicators suggest that economic growth slowed in the first half of the year," it says.

At the June meeting, the central bank wrote that the economy "continued to expand at a good pace."

At the same time, a more cautious view of uncertainty is now being expressed. Where it previously stated that it "reduced but remained," it now only states that uncertainty "remains elevated."
 

Economist on the economy: “Too early to say hello”
By Sebastian Orre, Omni Economy
Published July 30, 19:03

Increasing sales volumes from retail are a sign that we may be heading into a brighter economic cycle. This is what SEB’s chief economist Jens Magnusson tells EFN.

– But it is still too early to say hello.

In order to be able to say with certainty that the slowdown in the economy will subside, Magnusson wants to see higher consumer confidence. We can still expect another interest rate cut from the Riksbank this year, according to him.

Truck sales plummeted in Europe in the first half of the year

Registrations of heavy trucks fell by 14.5 percent during the first half of the year. This is evident from data from the industry organization Acea, reports Direkt.

Europe is Volvo's largest market and Acea's figures paint a similar picture to the truck giant's interim year, where sales fell by 11 percent during the first six months of the year.

In the report, which came out earlier in July, CEO Martin Lundstedt described the situation in Europe as having stabilized with good order intake.

Tariff crisis  Summit in Stockholm
Economist: Sweden will be hit hard if the tariff break breaks

There are several signs that the US and China made great progress in the tariff negotiations in Stockholm this week. This is what SEB's senior economist Robert Bergqvist tells TT.

He would be "extremely surprised" if US President Donald Trump does not agree to extend the tariff break. According to Bergqvist, it would be devastating:

- It affects the economy globally. And Sweden, which is export-dependent, will be hit hard. A decline would also cause the stock market to fall, which we saw this spring that Trump is not completely tone-deaf to.