Monetary Policy Stance - The Federal Reserve decided to leave interest rates unchanged, maintaining the range of 425% to 450% [1] - Two governors dissented, favoring a 025% rate cut [1] - It marks the first time since 1993 that two governors have dissented [2] - Nine votes supported keeping rates on hold [2] Economic Assessment - Export fluctuations continue to impact the data [3] - Growth moderated in the first half of the year [3] - Uncertainty about the economic outlook remains elevated [3][4] - The Fed removed "diminished" from the statement, indicating continued high uncertainty [4] - Inflation remains somewhat elevated [4] - Unemployment is low, and the labor market is solid [4] Forward Guidance - The committee has attended to the risks on both sides of the mandate [5] - The statement does not hint at an imminent rate cut in September [5]

Economic Outlook - Singapore's financial sector is projected to experience slower growth in the coming years [1] - Trade and geopolitical tensions are creating uncertainty for Singapore's economic outlook [1] Industry Impact - The trade-dependent nature of Singapore makes it vulnerable to global economic headwinds [1]

Economic Outlook - The economic outlook has brightened a bit, but it's not as rosy as the market looks [1] - Most forecasts still see tariff effects weakening growth and driving inflation higher [2] - The average of 15 forecasts on the street in the CNBC rapid update up almost a percentage point for the second quarter to 25% from 16% in April [2] - The overall year outlook is 13% [3] Inflation and Fed Policy - Average core PCE inflation also came down for the second quarter with what looks to be an expectation of a delayed tariff impact, but it's forecast to shoot up in the third and fourth quarters back towards 3% before settling down next year [4] - Inflation remains a percentage point above and it fuels this debate about whether the Fed should cut now or hold till those numbers start to come down [5] - The Fed's dilemma is weaker growth, but inflation remains relatively high [10] - If the Fed can feel confident that inflation will come down, they could maybe cut a little bit in the back half of this year [11] Tariff Impact - There have been markdowns in the earnings outlook for tariff affected companies [9] - The idea being when you put up GDP numbers that are weaker towards 1%, the theory is that something's got to give in terms of tariffs [8] - It looks like the tariff impact will be a little less, and if we get out of this with a couple quarters of weaker growth, that would be getting off cheap [9]