Economy

A worker walks on the roof of a new home under construction in Carlsbad, California. Mike Blake | Reuters Higher mortgage rates do not appear to be dampening demand for home purchases but are crimping refinance volume. Mortgage applications to purchase a home rose 3% last week from the previous week, according to the Mortgage

The Federal Reserve has taken another step forward in efforts to ensure that the financial system is protected against climate risks. As the central bank turns its attention increasingly toward the matter, the Fed has created a Financial Stability Climate Committee and a Supervision Climate Committee. The panels will focus on “the potential for complex

Single-family homes are seen in this aerial photograph taken over a Lennar Corp. development in San Diego, California. Bing Guan | Bloomberg | Getty Images Closed sales of existing homes in February dropped a larger-than-expected 6.6% compared with January, according to the National Association of Realtors. That put them at a seasonally adjusted, annualized rate

Pedestrians walk outside the New York Stock Exchange in the U.S. Daniel Acker | Bloomberg | Getty Images The U.S. economy is recovering from the Covid-19 recession, but some economic “scarring” may take a long time to heal, said Richmond Federal Reserve Bank President Thomas Barkin. Economic scarring refers to damage left behind by crises

Gas prices are displayed at a Speedway gas station on March 03, 2021 in Martinez, California. Justin Sullivan | Getty Images One of the main reasons Federal Reserve officials don’t fear inflation these days is the belief that they have tools to deploy should it become a problem. Those tools, however, come with a cost,

The Federal Reserve on Friday declined to extend a pandemic-era rule that relaxed the amount of capital banks had to maintain against Treasurys and other holdings, in a move that could upset Wall Street and the bond market. In a brief announcement, the Fed said it would allow a change to the supplementary leverage ratio

The Federal Reserve building is pictured in Washington on Monday, March 8, 2021. Caroline Brehman | CQ-Roll Call, Inc. | Getty Images The Federal Reserve on Wednesday dialed up its economic growth expectations but signaled that there are no expected interest rate hikes for the next two years. The so-called dot plot projections budged little

First-time claims for jobless benefits showed an unexpected jump higher to 770,000 as the labor market tries to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic that sent more than 22 million Americans to the unemployment line a year ago, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had been looking for a total of 700,000

The Federal Reserve on Wednesday sharply ramped up its expectations for economic growth but indicated that there are no interest rate hikes likely through 2023 despite an improving outlook and a turn this year to higher inflation. As widely expected, the policymaking Federal Open Market Committee also voted to keep short-term borrowing rates steady near

A house’s real estate for sale sign shows the home as being “Under Contract” in Washington, DC, November 19, 2020. Saul Loeb | AFP | Getty Images Higher mortgage rates are cutting into demand for refinances, as fewer and fewer borrowers can now get worthwhile savings. Applications to refinance a home loan fell 4% for

A contractor works on a house under construction at the Norton Commons subdivision in Louisville, Kentucky, U.S., on Monday, March 8, 2021. Luke Sharrett | Bloomberg | Getty Images A monthly index measuring homebuilder confidence in the single-family housing market fell, as builders face rising interest rates and rising costs for materials, especially lumber. The

Just over a year since Covid-19 turned the world upside down, investors are starting to get over it. For the first time since the pandemic hit, respondents to the Bank of America Fund Manager Survey said the market faces bigger worries. Inflation now has become the biggest “tail risk,” or outlier event, that could cause

U.S. President Joe Biden attends an event where he announced administration plans to double its order of the single-shot Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine, procuring an additional 100 million doses, in the South Court Auditorium at the White House in Washington, March 10, 2021. Tom Brenner | Reuters The change in emphasis for fiscal stimulus

A house’s real estate for sale sign is seen in front of a home in Arlington, Virginia, November 19, 2020. Saul Loeb | AFP | Getty Images The recent sharp rise in interest rates is now taking a toll on mortgage refinance demand, as the number of borrowers who could benefit shrinks. Applications to refinance

Weekly jobless claims rose less than expected last week, but remained above pre-pandemic levels, as the U.S. economy tried to shake off impacts from Covid-19 and employers waited to see if President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion stimulus would become law. The Labor Department on Thursday reported that first-time filings for unemployment insurance in the week

Workers transport the second shipment of the Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 coronavirus vaccine upon its arrival at the O R Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg on February 27, 2021. Kim Ludbrook | AFP | Getty Images Unemployment could fall this year to close to where it was prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, according to a

Investors may want to hold on even tighter. Moody’s Analytics Mark Zandi believes Wall Street is significantly underestimating the seriousness of an inflation comeback, and he warns it will affect every corner of the market — from big tech to cyclical trades. “Inflationary pressures will develop very quickly,” the firm’s chief economist told CNBC’s “Trading

A worker wearing a protective mask boxes a pizza inside a Costco store in San Francisco, California, on Wednesday, March 3, 2021. David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images Hiring likely improved in February as more of the economy reopened, but winter weather could have hampered some activity. Economists expect to see 210,000 payrolls