The fed funds futures market is pricing in negative U.S. interest rates next year, a scenario the Federal Reserve has said it wants to avoid as many doubt that it would be an effective tool to stimulate growth. Setting interest rates below zero would punish banks for leaving excess cash with the central bank. The U.S. central bank slashed the federal funds rate to near zero in March and has launched numerous programs aimed at boosting liquidity and stabilizing financial markets as the U.S. economy reeled from the coronavirus pandemic....
(Bloomberg) -- U.S. ranchers are looking forward to the results of an investigation into market manipulation as low livestock prices threaten their survival, an industry leader said.Farmers “are becoming unhinged” as livestock gluts -- exacerbated by a wave of slaughterhouse disruptions -- are coinciding with record-high wholesale beef prices, American Farm Bureau President Zippy Duvall said Friday.He spoke at a round-table that included Iowa Senators Joni Ernst and Chuck Grassley, Vice President Mike Pence and senior meatpacker executives. While the senators echoed calls to close the cattle-beef pricing gap, Pence congratulated meatpackers including Tyson Foods Inc. and Smithfield Foods Inc. for their “miraculous effort” in maintaining supplies during the pandemic.The U.S. Justice Department is investigating meatpacking companies for possible antitrust violations, according to a person familiar with the matter, as the industry comes under scrutiny over the plant shutdowns that have disrupted supply. Packer margins have surged in the last month...
