Economy

Federal Reserve officials discussed how they want to reduce their trillions in bond holdings at their March meeting, with a consensus amount around $95 billion, minutes released Wednesday showed. Officials “generally agreed” that a limit of $60 billion in Treasurys and $35 billion in mortgage-backed securities would be allowed to roll off, phased in over

The labor market tightened further last week, with initial jobless claims falling to their lowest level in more than 53 years, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Initial filings for unemployment dropped to 166,000, well below the Dow Jones estimate of 200,000 and 5,000 under the previous week’s total, which was revised sharply lower. The department

James Bullard Olivia Michael | CNBC The Federal Reserve needs to raise interest rates substantially to control inflation but may not be as “behind the curve” as it appears, St. Louis Fed President James Bullard said Thursday. One of the Federal Open Market Committee’s most “hawkish” members in favor of tighter policy, Bullard said a

A customer shops at at a grocery store on February 10, 2022 in Miami, Florida. The Labor Department announced that consumer prices jumped 7.5% last month compared with 12 months earlier, the steepest year-over-year increase since February 1982. Joe Raedle | Getty Images The view that higher interest rates help stamp out inflation is essentially

Miami, Florida, Brickell City Centre shopping mall with Apple Store, Chanel and escalators. Jeff Greenberg | Universal Images Group | Getty Images With as much as 60% of U.S. consumers living paycheck to paycheck, it’s not a surprise to see that the spending cutbacks have started. Even with a strong job market and wage gains,

Edwin Lopez sorts the money in the cash register at Frankie’s Pizza on January 12, 2022 in Miami, Florida. Joe Raedle | Getty Images As inflation continues to weigh on American households, people are plotting what they’ll cut from their budgets in the coming months to keep spending in check. More than 50% of adults

Robyn Beck | Afp | Getty Images Surging inflation has Americans reconsidering how they spend their money. The Consumer Price Index, which measures a wide-ranging basket of goods and services, jumped 7.9% in February from 12 months prior. Prices are going up on everything from the food you put on the table to the gas

Lael Brainard, Federal Reserve governor and President Bidens nominee to be the new vice-chair of the Federal Reserve, speaks during her nomination hearing with the Senate Banking Committee on Capitol Hill January 13, 2022 in Washington, DC. Drew Angerer | Getty Images Federal Reserve Governor Lael Brainard, who normally favors loose policy and low rates,

Rate hikes, soaring energy prices and geopolitical risks have combined to stoke fears of a possible recession. Credit Suisse however, thinks that is an unlikely scenario. Michael Nagle | Bloomberg | Getty Images After two years of the coronavirus pandemic, a recession and a rapid recovery, Americans are worried that the economy may swiftly decline

Mortgage rates took another jump higher last week, taking their toll on current borrowers who might have wanted to refinance. Demand from homebuyers, however, appears to be hanging in for now. Total mortgage application volume decreased 6.8% last week compared with the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s seasonally adjusted index. This, as

In this article JPM Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase speaks to the Economic Club of New York in New York, January 16, 2019. Carlo Allegri | Reuters Jamie Dimon, CEO and chairman of the biggest U.S. bank by assets, pointed to a potentially unprecedented combination of risks facing the country in his annual shareholder

Companies added jobs at a solid pace in March, indicating that hiring is strong despite signs of a tightening labor market, payroll processing firm ADP reported Wednesday. Private payrolls expanded by 455,000 for the month, the firm said, about in line with the Dow Jones estimate of 450,000 though it was the lowest since August

The Federal Reserve’s favorite inflation measure showed intensifying price pressures in February, rising to its highest annual level since 1983, the Commerce Department reported Thursday. Excluding food and energy prices, the personal consumption expenditures price index increased 5.4% from the same period in 2021, the biggest jump going back to April 1983. Including gas and

Amid soaring inflation and worries about a looming recession, the U.S. economy added slightly fewer jobs than expected in March as the labor market grew increasingly tighter. Nonfarm payrolls expanded by 431,000 for the month, while the unemployment rate was 3.6%, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had been

A home with a sign indicating that it is under contract to be sold is seen in a neighborhood of downtown Washington. Jim Bourg | Reuters In a grim sign for the housing market’s busiest season, pending home sales, which measure signed contracts on existing homes, fell 4.1% in February compared with January, according to the

The rate for the most common kind of mortgage just surged again. The average rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage shot significantly higher Friday, rising 24 basis points to 4.95%, according to Mortgage News Daily. It is now 164 basis points higher than it was one year ago. “That’s the second time this week, and

Just 60 years ago, the U.S. and the Soviet Union were at the height of a Cold War that nearly resulted in nuclear warfare. Today, experts say, the U.S. and its old foe, now Russia, are headed into another one. But it won’t be the same. “I think the second Cold War has already started,”

Prospective home buyers arrive with a realtor to a house for sale in Dunlap, Illinois. Daniel Acker | Bloomberg | Getty Images A sharp increase in mortgage interest rates is taking its toll on loan demand, especially refinances. Total mortgage application volume fell 8.1% last week compared with the previous week, according to the Mortgage