A dovish shift Stocks are on a three-day winning streak as investors cheer cooling trade-war tensions. Another boost has come from the Fed and from Google, whose shares are up nearly 5 percent in premarket trading on decent first-quarter results. But while Washington and Beijing seem to be easing off …
David Espejo | Moment | Getty Images Weary consumers, already grappling with high prices, now face an added potential risk: stagflation. Stagflation — an economic term used to describe a combination of rising inflation, slower economic growth and high unemployment — may be on the horizon, according to economists. “The …
Inflation cooled unexpectedly sharply in March, a welcome development given the uncertainties surrounding President Trump’s global tariffs, which are widely expected to stoke price pressures while also denting growth. The Consumer Price Index climbed 2.4 percent last month from a year earlier, a far slower pace than February’s 2.8 percent …
President Trump’s global trade war has significantly raised the bar for the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates, as tariffs risk worsening an already knotty inflation problem while also damaging growth. Jerome H. Powell, the Fed chair, drove home that message in a hotly anticipated speech at the end of …
For three years, the U.S. economy has been buffeted by rapid inflation, high interest rates and political instability at home and abroad. Yet it has proved surprisingly resilient, supported by the sturdy pillars of robust consumer spending, a rising stock market, and healthy balance sheets for households and businesses alike. …
Chris Bergen, who runs a commercial greenhouse business in northern Minnesota, finds himself “walking a tightrope” roughly two months into President Trump’s second term. Acute uncertainty about how the administration’s trade and immigration policies will unfold and affect the economy has made him much more cautious about any expansion plans. …
“Transitory” is back Jay Powell wants businesses and investors to know: The Fed chair shares their concerns about President Trump’s tariff skirmishes as the economic outlook dims. But there is a silver lining, he said Wednesday at a news conference. Tariff-driven inflation is likely to be “transitory” and just for …
The Federal Reserve is expected to keep its key rate steady on Wednesday, after a series of cuts that lowered rates by a full percentage point last year. That means consumers looking to borrow are likely to have to wait a bit longer for better deals on many loans, but …
House prices are stubbornly high, and mortgage rates remain substantially above their prepandemic level. Now, with the spring home buying season looming, shoppers have a new worry: A major federal consumer watchdog has been hobbled. Without the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the agency responsible for overseeing most aspects of the …
The Federal Reserve’s independence from the White House has long been enshrined in the law. But an executive order that President Trump signed this week seeking to extend his administration’s reach over independent agencies is prompting concerns about how much further he will go to challenge that separation. Mr. Trump’s …