Business Highlights: Fed in July saw inflation as ongoing threat, Teamsters back Amazon drivers
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Federal Reserve minutes: Too-high inflation, still a threat, could require more rate hikes
WASHINGTON (AP) — Most Federal Reserve officials last month still regarded high inflation as an ongoing threat that could require further interest rate increases, according to the minutes of their July 25-26 meeting. At the same time, the officials saw “a number of tentative signs that inflation pressures could be abating.” It was a mixed view that echoed Chair Jerome Powell’s noncommittal stance about future rate hikes at a news conference after the meeting. According to the minutes, the Fed’s policymakers also said that despite signs of progress on inflation, it remained well above their 2% target. They “would need to see more data ... to be confident that inflation pressures were abating” and on track to return to their target.
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Biden marks the 1-year anniversary of his signing of a major climate, health and tax law
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden proclaims that his administration is “turning things around” for Americans when it comes to the economy. He says his signature climate, health care and tax package is giving people “more breathing room” on prices and investing anew in clean energy jobs. The White House is ramping up efforts to illustrate the real-world impact of Biden’s economic agenda. But polls show a majority of voters consistently disapprove of Biden’s handling of the economy
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Teamsters add their heft to dozens of Amazon delivery drivers picketing around the country
NEW YORK (AP) — The Teamsters flexed their muscles during contract negotiations with UPS last month, securing pay hikes for drivers and scoring other wins. But at Amazon, the picture looks much different. Since late June, dozens of Amazon drivers and dispatchers who work for a California-based delivery firm organized by the Teamsters have been picketing company warehouses as far out as Michigan and Massachusetts. They’ve been calling on the e-commerce behemoth to come to the table and bargain over pay and working conditions. Amazon has essentially said no. The dispute signals the next battlefront in Amazon’s efforts to fend off organized labor and the Teamsters’ yearslong aim to take on one of their most formidable opponents.
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Stock market today: Wall Street falls as the bond market cranks up the pressure
NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street’s weak August worsened, and the S&P 500 closed 0.8% lower. The Dow dropped roughly 180 points Wednesday, and the Nasdaq fell 1.1%. Increased pressure came from the bond market, where yields have neared their highest levels since the Great Recession. Yields climbed more following the release of the minutes from the Federal Reserve’s latest meeting. The Fed appears unsure about its next move on interest rates. Hopes had been rising that last month’s rate hike would prove to be the Fed’s last. Tech stocks seen as the most vulnerable to higher rates were among the market’s heaviest weights.
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UK inflation falls to 17-month low of 6.8% but unlikely to derail another interest rate rise
LONDON (AP) — The rate of inflation in the U.K. fell sharply in July to a 17-month low largely on the back of lower energy prices. It’s a welcome development for hard-pressed households struggling during the cost of living crisis. The Office for National Statistics said Wednesday that the annual rate of inflation, as measured by the consumer price index, was 6.8% in July, its lowest level since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022 and sent energy prices surging. The decline from June’s 7.9% rate was in line with economists’ expectations. It’s unlikely to derail market expectations that the Bank of England will raise interest rates again next month, especially as wages are rising at a record high.
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Aldi to buy 400 Winn-Dixie, Harveys groceries in Southern US
NEW YORK (AP) — Discount grocer Aldi says it’s acquiring 400 Winn-Dixie and Harveys supermarkets in the Southern U.S. Under a proposed merger agreement, Aldi will acquire all outstanding shares of Jacksonville, Florida-based Southeastern Grocers Inc., the parent company of Winn-Dixie and Harveys. If the deal is approved by regulators, it’s expected to close in the first half of 2024. Financial terms of the deal weren’t disclosed. Both Southeastern Grocers and Aldi are private companies. Aldi is based in Germany with its U.S. headquarters in Batavia, Illinois. Aldi said it will convert some locations to its own brand and format but will operate some stores under the Winn-Dixie and Harveys brands.
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Syrian president doubles public sector wages as national currency spirals downwards
BEIRUT (AP) — Syria’s president Bashar al-Assad has doubled public sector wages and pensions as the war-torn country’s national currency spiraled further downwards, reaching a new low for the year. The value of the Syrian pound against the US dollar has declined from 7,000 pounds in January to 15,000 pounds on Wednesday. At the start of the war, in 2011, a dollar was worth 47 Syrian pounds. For over a year, Damascus has been restructuring its program of subsidies for gasoline, diesel for heating, and bread. Syria hiked fuel prices Wednesday, soon after Assad’s decree, further rolling back state subsidies. The United Nations estimates that 90% of Syrians in government-held areas live in poverty.
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Court watchdog files complaint against a judge who ordered ‘religious-liberty training’ for lawyers
A court watchdog has filed a complaint against the federal judge who ordered “religious-liberty training” for a trio of Southwest Airlines lawyers. The leader of a group called Fix the Court says that requiring training by a sectarian group — a conservative Christian law firm — is wrong and unprecedented. The complaint involves Judge Brantley Starr’s order that three Southwest lawyers attend a day of religious-liberty training for contempt of court. The judge says the lawyers failed to follow a previous order in the case of a flight attendant who says she was fired for speaking out against abortion.
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The S&P 500 fell 33.53 points, or 0.8%, to 4,404.33. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 180.65 points, or 0.5%, to 34,765.74. The Nasdaq composite lost 156.42 points, or 1.2%, to 13,474.63. The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies gave back 24.24 points, or 1.3%, to 1,871.52.