Federal Reserve keeps its target interest rate steady and lifts its forecast for US inflation and lowers growth estimate for 2025. Most Fed officials continue to expect that the central bank will lower interest rates this year, despite higher inflation expectations. In a press conference yesterday, Fed Chairman Powell said: “Inflation has started to move up now, we think, partly in response to tariffs, and there may be a delay in further progress in the course of this year.”

Outstanding government and corporate bonds globally exceeded $100 trillion last year, the OECD reports. “This combination of higher costs and higher debt risks restricting capacity for future borrowing at a time when investment needs are greater than ever,” the OECD said in its annual debt report.

Business inflation expectations rose for a third straight month in March, according to the Atlanta Fed’s survey of firms. Companies’ year-ahead inflation expectations increased by 0.2 percentage points to 2.5%, on average, the highest since November 2023.

The European Commission announced antitrust charges on Apple and Google for unfair practices as President Trump considers imposing tariffs on the currency bloc. The news follows the Trump administration’s warning to the EU against excessive regulation of American technology giants.

Signs of recovery are emerging for the US office market. The value of office-building sales last year increased nearly 21% from 2023, according to MSCI Real Assets. Leasing activity is also gaining momentum, based on data published by CBRE.

US stocks are trading at a 5% discount to fair value, according to Morningstar’s analysis: “As of March 14, the Morningstar US Market Index was trading at a 5% discount to Morningstar’s assessment of its fair value, with a price/fair value ratio of 0.95. At the beginning of 2025, the market traded at a 3% premium. Stocks are down 4.5% since then.”