No Powell Put. Yet.

TLDR & TLDL: The US Federal Reserve has just hiked its key official interest rate for the first time since December 2018 and surprised investors with a more-hawkish-than expected outlook for six more rate hikes this year.

Now we’ll see whether the global economy can ‘handle the truth’ of smaller and smaller stimulus from the world’s largest central bank. Not everyone is sticking to the ‘no more bailouts’ idea though. Last night China promised big new stimulus to rescue its stock market and the world’s largest oil traders called on central banks to flood the markets with fresh cash to prevent ‘Lehman Brothers moment’ in the global financial system. Twas ever thus. Paid subscribers can see more from me on this below the paywall fold and in the podcast above.

Upbeat comments from Fed Chair Jerome Powell in a news conference immediate after the Fed announcement of rate hikes saw stocks rebound. Despite the hikes, some still struggle to believe the Fed will hold its nerve and the bailouts will stop. Photo: Getty Images