Economy

Customers pushing shopping carts shop at a supermarket on April 12, 2022 in San Mateo County, California. Liu Guanguan | China News Service | Getty Images Consumers continued to spend in March even as inflation rose to its highest level since late 1981, according to government data released Thursday. Retail sales climbed 0.5% from the

A contractor uses a hammer while working on townhouse under construction at the PulteGroup Metro housing development in Milpitas, California. David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images Sharply rising mortgage rates are taking their toll on the nation’s homebuilders, as already pricey new construction becomes even less affordable.  Builder confidence in the market for

Prices that consumers pay on everyday items surged in March to their highest levels since the early days of the Reagan administration, according to Labor Department data released Tuesday. The consumer price index, which measures a wide-ranging basket of goods and services, jumped 8.5% from a year ago on an unadjusted basis, above even the

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,

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,

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

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

U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell addresses an online only news conference in a frame grab from U.S. Federal Reserve video broadcast from the Federal Reserve building in Washington, U.S., January 26, 2022. U.S. Federal Reserve | via Reuters Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell on Monday vowed tough action on inflation, which he said jeopardizes

Forecasters have raised their outlooks for a recession and boosted their inflation projection as the Federal Reserve faces the quandary of fast-rising prices and greater uncertainty from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, according to the latest CNBC Fed Survey. The probability of a recession in the U.S. was raised to 33% in the next 12 months,

A trader on the NYSE, March 11, 2022. Source: NYSE Investors may take the Federal Reserve’s first post-pandemic interest rate hike in stride, while uncertainty over the Ukraine crisis continues to hang over markets. The Fed has clearly broadcast that it intends to raise its target fed funds rate by a quarter percentage point from

A worker drills plywood on a single family home under construction in Lehi, Utah, on Friday, Jan. 7, 2022. George Frey | Bloomberg | Getty Images The economy was likely to have added jobs at a healthy pace in February and wages gains were strong. The February employment report, released at 8:30 a.m. Friday, is

Job growth accelerated in February, posting its biggest monthly gain since July as the employment picture got closer to its pre-pandemic self. Nonfarm payrolls for the month grew by 678,000 and the unemployment rate was 3.8%, the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday. That compared to estimates of 440,000 for payrolls and 3.9%

Weekly jobless claims came in slightly less than expected last week and economic growth to end 2021 was slightly better than originally reported, according to government data released Thursday. Initial filings for unemployment insurance totaled 232,000 for the week ended Feb. 19, the Labor Department said. That was a touch below the 235,000 Dow Jones

A key inflation measure showed that prices rose at their fastest level in nearly 39 years, but it didn’t deter consumers from spending aggressively, the Commerce Department reported Friday. The core personal consumption expenditures price index, the Federal Reserve’s primary inflation gauge, rose 5.2% from a year ago, slightly more than the 5.1% Dow Jones

A view of the Marriner S. Eccles Federal Reserve building on January 26, 2022 in Washington, DC. Anna Moneymaker | Getty Images Federal Reserve officials won’t be able to trade a slew of assets including stocks and bonds — as well as cryptocurrencies — under new rules that became formal Friday. Following up on regulations

In this article BAC Bank Of America CEO Brian Moynihan is interviewed by Jack Otter during “Barron’s Roundtable” at Fox Business Network Studios on January 09, 2020 in New York City. John Lamparski | Getty Images U.S. consumers are spending more money while also growing savings in a positive sign for the economy, according to

San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank President Mary Daly poses at the bank’s headquarters in San Francisco, California, July 16, 2019. Ann Saphir | Reuters The Federal Reserve should be measured in its path to raise interest rates, San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly said on Sunday. “It is obvious that we need to pull some