The more measured approach to rate increases the Fed is now taking reflects an awareness among the officials that the risks to the economy of raising rates too high is growing. read more >
Wholesale prices are still rising more slowly than consumer costs, a sign that inflation may continue to cool as the weaker wholesale price gains translate into smaller price increases for the consumer. read more >
Despite the seemingly divergent figures, the decline in the core measure points to inflation coming under control. read more >
Last month's job growth marked an increase from July's revised gain of 157,000 but still pointed to a moderating pace of hiring compared with the sizzling gains of last year and earlier this year. read more >
It raises the likelihood that the Fed will leave interest rates unchanged when it next meets in late September. read more >
The government had previously estimated that the economy expanded at a 2.4% annual rate last quarter. read more >
The number of job vacancies dropped to 8.8 million last month, the Labor Department said Tuesday, the fewest since March 2021. read more >
Much of the world's population is aging, and older people are less likely to keep working. Those trends could act as supply shocks, similar to the shortages of goods and labor that accelerated inflation during the rebound from the pandemic recession. read more >
Powell noted that the economy has been growing faster than expected and that consumers have kept spending briskly — trends that could keep inflation pressures high. read more >
Supply chains have normalized for some retailers, reducing pricing pressures. Hotel occupancy rates have come off the boil of the pandemic years; room rates have eased in response. read more >
Sales in the sector jumped 11.8% in July and 9.5% in June from a year ago, according to the Commerce Department. read more >
The retailer's low-price model continues to attract budget conscious consumers in a tough economic environment. read more >
While price increases have cooled over the past year — the inflation rate has dropped from 9% to 3.2% — most economists say little to none of the drop came from the law. read more >
At the meeting, the Fed decided to raise its benchmark rate for the 11th time in 17 months in its ongoing drive to curb inflation. But in a statement after the meeting, it provided little guidance about when — or whether — it might raise rates again. read more >
Driving last quarter's growth was a burst of business investment, which surged at a 5.7% annual pace, the fastest rate since late 2021. read more >
Another hike is widely expected despite a run of encouraging news that has sent stock prices steadily higher, boosted consumer confidence and brightened hopes that the Fed can pull off a difficult "soft landing," in which inflation would continue to slow toward the Fed's 2% target without sending the economy tumbling into a recession. read more >
IMF economist Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas gave his assessment as the organization projected that global economic growth will slow to an estimated 3% in 2023 and 2024, down from 3.5% in 2022. read more >
The Conference Board, a business research group, said its consumer confidence index rose to 117 in July from a revised 110.1 in June. The gauge beat the 110.5 that economists had expected and was the highest since July 2021. read more >
Even though the Fed is poised to raise its key rate on Wednesday for the 11th time since March 2022, to its highest point in 22 years, no one is panicking. read more >
While the headline number of 0.2% was a bit weaker than expected, economists on Tuesday were focused on the number that excludes volatile autos, gas, building materials and food services, which rose a solid 0.6% in June. read more >
