Good morning, you're listening to Markets Desk.
New York Fed President John Williams signaled Tuesday that the central bank's policy stance is where it needs to be, telling markets that inflation has peaked and rates are, in his words, well positioned. Williams laid out five reasons he believes the latest price surge has run its course, a message the bond market will take as confirmation that the hiking cycle is effectively done.
That inflation narrative got some backup from the wholesale side, where the Producer Price Index posted its first monthly decline in nearly ten months, driven largely by falling gasoline prices. The catch is that renewed tensions between the United States and Iran introduce real uncertainty about whether that energy-driven relief holds, leaving traders cautious about reading too much into a single print.
Shifting to earnings, Bank of America's second quarter results are drawing attention for what the CFO is calling AI-enabled productivity gains. The bank posted double-digit profit growth, a fifty-nine percent efficiency ratio, and roughly seventeen percent return on tangible common equity. CFO Alastair Borthwick is framing those numbers as early, hard evidence that large-scale artificial intelligence investment is beginning to show up in actual operating results.
That's the tape. Markets Desk, signing off the floor.
