Fed's Beige Book and the lingering rate discussion

Another Beige Book out this week, and the tone, while not outright hawkish, certainly didn't lean dovish enough for what some segments of the market seem to be pricing in for cuts later this year. Labor markets remain tight in several districts, and while pricing pressures are moderating, they're not exactly falling off a cliff. This persistent stickiness in inflation, even if at a slower pace of increase, combined with a still-resilient consumer (albeit with some signs of strain for lower-income households), just makes the 2-cut narrative for 2024 look increasingly tenuous.

I'm keeping an eye on how this feeds into currency pairs, particularly $ZARUSD. Any further hawkish lean from the Fed, or even just a less dovish one than expected, could put more pressure on EM currencies. On the equities side, I'm watching companies like $FI that rely on steady consumer spending and relatively stable economic conditions. A higher-for-longer rate environment eventually impacts everything downstream.