Last year’s spike in inflation, to the highest level in four decades, was painful enough for American households.
The Federal Reserve left its benchmark interest rate unchanged for the second time in its past three meetings, a sign that it’s moderating its fight against inflation as price pressures have eased.
Since Federal Reserve officials last met in July, the economy has moved in the direction they hoped to see: Inflation continues to ease, if more slowly than most Americans would like, while growth remains solid and the job market cools.
U.S. wholesale prices increases accelerated in August, a sign that inflation remains stubbornly persistent despite a series of sharp interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell swore in three members of the central bank’s governing board Wednesday, including Philip Jefferson as vice chair and Adriana Kugler to fill a vacant seat as the central bank’s first Latina governor.
Inflation jumped last month largely because of a spike in gas prices, while other costs rose more slowly, suggesting price pressures are easing at a gradual pace.
Immigrant farm workers would receive new protections under a Biden administration proposal to be announced Tuesday.
The Federal Reserve has reached a delicate stage in its fight against inflation. Its policymakers have raised their key interest rate to its highest level in 22 years.
An inflation gauge closely tracked by the Federal Reserve remained low last month, adding to signs of cooling price increases and raising the likelihood that the Fed will leave interest rates unchanged when it next meets in late September.
Businesses posted far fewer open jobs in July and the number of Americans quitting their jobs fell sharply for the second straight month, clear signs that the labor market is cooling in a way that could reduce inflation.
Rising trade barriers. Aging populations. A transition from carbon-spewing fossil fuels to renewable energy.
Interest rates in the European Union will need to stay high “as long as necessary” to slow still-high inflation, Christine Lagarde, president of the European Central Bank, said Friday.
The continued strength of the U.S. economy could require further interest rate increases, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said in a closely watched speech that also highlighted the uncertain nature of the economic outlook.
Business these days in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, is still good — just not as robust as it was after the U.S. economy roared out of the pandemic recession.
As Powell and other central bankers return to Jackson Hole this week, the economy’s resilience has thrust a new set of questions at the Fed: Is its key rate high enough to slow growth and cool inflation?
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.
US inflation has steadily cooled. Getting it down to the Fed’s target rate will be the toughest mile
Over the past year, inflation in the United States has tumbled from 9% all the way to 3%, softening most of the price pressures that have gripped the nation for more than two years.
Late Tuesday, Fitch Ratings became the second of the three major credit-rating firms to remove its coveted triple-A assessment of the United States government’s credit worthiness.
Jeffrey Schmid, a former banking executive, has been appointed the next president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, beginning Aug. 21.
Fitch Ratings has downgraded the United States government’s credit rating, citing rising debt at the federal, state, and local levels and a “steady deterioration in standards of governance” over the past two decades.
U.S. employers posted fewer jobs in June, a sign that the red-hot demand for workers that has been a key feature of the post-pandemic economy is cooling a bit.
Signs that inflation pressures in the United States are steadily easing emerged Friday in reports that consumer prices rose in June at their slowest pace in more than two years and that wage growth cooled last quarter.
The Federal Reserve raised its key interest rate for the 11th time in 17 months as part of its ongoing drive to curb inflation.
When Chair Jerome Powell and other Federal Reserve officials gather this week for their latest decision on interest rates, they will do so on the cusp of achieving an elusive “soft landing” — the feat of curbing inflation without causing a deep recession.
Anonymous comments with racist, sexist and abusive messages that were posted for years on an an obscure, anonymous jobs-related website for economists originated from numerous leading U.S. universities, according to research released Thursday.
Squeezed by painfully high prices for two years, America’s households have gained some much-needed relief with inflation reaching its lowest point since early 2021 — 3% in June compared with a year earlier — thanks in part to easing prices for gasoline, airline fares, used cars and groceries.
Another month, another solid gain for America’s job market. The pace of hiring by businesses and government agencies in June — 209,000 added jobs — was the smallest monthly gain in 2 1/2 years.
Some Federal Reserve officials pushed to raise the Fed’s key interest rate by one-quarter of a percentage point at their meeting last month to intensify their fight against high inflation, though the central bank ultimately decided to forgo a rate hike.
An inflation index that is closely monitored by the Federal Reserve tumbled last month to its lowest level since April 2021, pulled down by lower gas prices and slower-rising food costs.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell says the central bank may have to tighten its oversight of the American financial system after the failure of three large U.S. banks this spring.