Gate News bot message: According to AggrNews reporting, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has approved Nasdaq's rule changes, which aim to enable tokenized securities trading. This rule adjustment provides regulatory framework support for Nasdaq to conduct tokenized securities trading business.
Gate News Alert: On March 18, Federal Reserve Chair Powell stated on March 19 that if a successor has not been confirmed by the end of his term, he will serve as interim chair. Powell also indicated that he has no intention of leaving the committee before the Department of Justice investigation concludes, but has not yet decided whether he will remain in his position after the DOJ investigation ends.
Gate News reports that on March 18, Lindsay Rosner, head of Goldman Sachs' multi-asset fixed income investing, stated on March 19 that despite upward revisions to inflation forecasts, the U.S. Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) still maintains an accommodative bias. Goldman Sachs still believes there is room for two "normalization" rate cuts in 2026, although the specific timing remains dependent on the duration of the conflict.
Gate News Alert: On March 18, the Federal Reserve announced its interest rate decision for March 18, with the federal funds rate target range upper limit at 3.75%, consistent with market expectations and unchanged from the previous level.
Gate News reports that on March 18th, the Federal Reserve FOMC released a statement on March 19th with three changes compared to the January statement:
First, the unemployment rate wording was adjusted, changing from "the unemployment rate has shown some signs of stabilization" to "the unemployment rate has changed little in recent months";
Second, new wording related to the Middle East situation was added, noting that "the impact of Middle East developments on the U.S. economy remains uncertain";
Third, Federal Reserve Governor Waller shifted his position, having supported a 25 basis point rate cut at the previous meeting, but now supporting keeping rates unchanged.
Gate News: On March 18, the Federal Reserve FOMC will release economic projections on March 19. Regarding GDP growth, the median projections for end-2026, end-2027, and end-2028 are 2.4%, 2.3%, and 2.1% respectively, compared with previous December projections of 2.3%, 2.0%, and 1.9%. For PCE inflation (Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index), the median projections for end-2026, end-2027, and end-2028 are 2.7%, 2.2%, and 2.0% respectively, compared with previous December projections of 2.4%, 2.1%, and 2.0%.
Gate News Report: On March 18th, the Fed's dot plot released on March 19th shows disagreement among 19 officials on 2026 interest rate policy: 7 officials believe rates should remain unchanged throughout the year, 7 officials believe rates should be cut cumulatively by 25 basis points, 2 officials believe rates should be cut cumulatively by 50 basis points, 2 officials believe rates should be cut cumulatively by 75 basis points, and 1 official believes rates should be cut cumulatively by 100 basis points. Overall, the median of the dot plot indicates that cumulative rate cuts of 25 basis points are expected in 2026.
