Economy

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said Wednesday that the economy needs to improve more before the central bank will change its ultra-easy monetary policy. In remarks prepared for the House Financial Services Committee, the central bank chief noted improvements but said the labor market in particular is still well below where it was before the

Inflation continued its rapid surge in June, rising at its fastest pace in nearly 13 years amid an ongoing burst in used vehicle costs and increases in both food and energy, the Labor Department reported Tuesday. The consumer price index increased 5.4% from a year ago, the largest jump since August 2008, just before the

A used car dealership is seen in Annapolis, Maryland on May 27, 2021, as many car dealerships across the country are running low on new vehicles as a computer chip shortage has caused production at many vehicle manufactures to nearly stop. Jim Watson | AFP | Getty Images Consumer prices just posted their largest one-month

Customers shop for produce at a supermarket on June 10, 2021 in Chicago, Illinois. Scott Olson | Getty Images Despite the Federal Reserve’s assurance that current inflation pressures won’t last, consumers see things differently, according to a survey Monday from the central bank’s New York district. The June Survey of Consumer Expectations showed that median

U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks highlighting the benefits of Bipartisan Infrastructure Framework, at La Crosse Municipal Transit Utility, in La Crosse, Wisconsin, U.S., June 29, 2021. Kevin Lamarque | Reuters Halfway through 2021, and about six months into the Biden administration, the U.S. economy has by many metrics made a full recovery from the

Initial filings for unemployment insurance fell sharply last week, indicating continued improvement in the U.S. jobs market, the Labor Department reported Thursday. First-time jobless claims totaled 364,000 for the week ended June 26, compared with the 390,000 Dow Jones estimate. That marked a new pandemic-era low and a decline of 51,000 from the previous week.

The federal government will be swimming in $3 trillion of red ink by the end of fiscal 2021, according to a Congressional Budget Office estimate released Thursday that swelled 33% from the last forecast. As a result of multiple stimulus measures aimed at combating the pandemic’s economic impact, Congress will run a budgetary shortfall this

Workers prepare the ground for construction at the Duette solar site which is being developed on previously agricultural land in Bowling Green, Florida, March 24, 2021. Dane Rhys | Reuters June jobs growth is expected to outpace May and more Americans rejoined the workforce, even as companies continued to struggle to find employees to hire.

Job growth leaped higher in June as businesses looked to keep up with a rapidly recovering U.S. economy, the Labor Department reported Friday. Nonfarm payrolls increased 850,000 for the month, compared to the Dow Jones estimate of 706,000 and better than the upwardly revised 583,000 in May. The unemployment rate, however, rose to 5.9% against

US President Joe Biden speaks on the June jobs report in the South Court Auditorium of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, next to the White House, in Washington, DC on July 2, 2021. Mandel Ngan | AFP | Getty Images WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden responded to the June jobs numbers on Friday, saying the

A for sale sign is seen near a house for sale in South Pasadena, California. Frederic J. Brown | AFP | Getty Images The epic housing shortage that began before the pandemic and then was exacerbated by it may finally be starting to ease up. More supply is suddenly coming on the market, which will

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen speaks during a news conference, after attending the G7 finance ministers meeting, at Winfield House in London, Britain June 5, 2021. Justin Tallis | Reuters WASHINGTON – Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen announced Thursday that a group of 130 nations has agreed to a global minimum tax on corporations. If widely

A “For Sale” sign is seen in front of a home in Miami, Florida. Joe Raedle | Getty Images Record high home price appreciation is sidelining ever more buyers and finally taking the bang out of the pandemic-induced housing boom. Weekly mortgage demand is falling along with it, down 6.9% for the week according to

U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks highlighting the benefits of Bipartisan Infrastructure Framework, at La Crosse Municipal Transit Utility, in La Crosse, Wisconsin, U.S., June 29, 2021. Kevin Lemarque | Reuters A bipartisan infrastructure deal reached by President Joe Biden and a group of senators would not only add to economic growth, but also lower

Federal Reserve officials are underestimating inflation and risking that the U.S. could fall into another recession, Mohamed El-Erian, chief economic advisor at Allianz, told CNBC on Monday. Central bank leaders insist that the recent round of price pressures will subside once short-term supply chain bottlenecks clear and the 2020 economic shutdown period is no longer

A home for sale on Wednesday, June 9, 2021 in Susanville, CA. Gary Coronado | Los Angeles Times | Getty Images Home prices in April saw an annual gain of 14.6% in April, up from a 13.3% increase in March, according to the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller National Home Price Index. Among larger cities covered by

Customers shop for produce at a supermarket on June 10, 2021 in Chicago, Illinois. Scott Olson | Getty Images Under normal circumstances, the recent spate of high inflation numbers would be cause for high alarm. But in the present Covid-era context, they were confirmation in some quarters that the inflation picture is doing little more

Kristen Deptula, center, with her husband and two children, says that paying a $15 per hour wage has helped them grow their Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, business. When Kristen Deptula and her husband bought the Canalside Inn in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, in October 2019, they had no idea the coming summer season at the shore town