The Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation measure—the personal consumption expenditure (PCE) price index—edged up in October as services continued to fuel price pressures. According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), annual PCE price index inflation rose to 2.3 percent last month from 2.1 percent in September. The index jumped by 0.2 percent monthly and aligned […]
Businesses large and small are preparing to make their final decisions as they position themselves for President-elect Donald Trump’s proposed tariff plans. Trump and his transition team have not made official trade policy announcements. For now, companies have what the Republican president-elect outlined on the 2024 campaign trail: a 10-20 percent across-the-board tariff on all […]
President-elect Donald Trump confirmed on Nov. 22 his plans to nominate Wall Street billionaire financier Scott Bessent as Treasury secretary. Bessent, 62, the founder of Key Square Group and Trump’s 2024 economic adviser, will serve in one of the most influential economic positions in the White House. By overseeing the Treasury Department, Bessent, if confirmed […]
President-elect Donald Trump has nominated Scott Bessent to lead the U.S. Department of the Treasury, ending days of speculation after other names emerged as competitors to the reported favorite. “Scott is widely respected as one of the world’s foremost international investors and geopolitical and economic strategists. Scott’s story is that of the American Dream,” Trump […]
President-elect Donald Trump on Nov. 19 nominated billionaire Howard Lutnick as the commerce secretary in his incoming administration. Trump said in a statement that Lutnick would “lead our Tariff and Trade agenda, with additional direct responsibility for the Office of the United States Trade Representative.” Lutnick, 63, is the co-chair of the Trump-Vance transition team. […]
The producer price index (PPI)—a gauge of prices paid by businesses for goods and services at the wholesale level in the United States—rose to a three-month high in October, revealing persistent price pressures in pockets of the U.S. economy. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the PPI increased to 2.4 percent year over […]
The U.S. annual inflation rate rose for the first time since March, suggesting that the final mile toward achieving the Federal Reserve’s 2 percent target might be bumpy. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the annual inflation rate increased to 2.6 percent in October, up from 2.4 percent in September. Heading into the […]
WASHINGTON—Investor Scott Bessent is a top contender for President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for treasury secretary, according to two sources familiar with the matter. Bessent, 62, is a seasoned hedge fund investor and the founder of global macro investment company Key Square Group. He earned his billion-dollar fortune when he betted against the Japanese yen alongside […]
“We will frack, frack, frack, and drill, baby, drill,” former President Donald Trump said in an Oct. 18 speech at a Detroit event. Now that Trump has secured a second presidential term, market watchers are examining his potential effect on the energy sector, from crude oil and natural gas to solar and wind. Since declaring […]
Steve Madden, a $3 billion shoe company, plans to reduce imports from China by as much as 45 percent over the next year ahead of President-elect Donald Trump’s pledge to impose sweeping tariffs. CEO Edward Rosenfeld confirmed to shareholders and analysts during a Nov. 7 earnings call that the shoe brand is “planning for a […]
The Federal Reserve followed through on a quarter-point interest rate cut on Nov. 7 as officials continue to loosen the central bank’s tight monetary policy. Following its half-point rate cut at the September Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) policy meeting, the Fed trimmed the benchmark federal funds rate by a quarter point, bringing it to […]
The personal consumption expenditure (PCE) price index—the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge—continued to slow in September as the central bank inched closer to reaching its 2 percent inflation target. The annual PCE inflation rate eased to 2.1 percent last month, down from 2.3 percent in August, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis. This was the […]
In the final comprehensive snapshot of the national labor market heading into next week’s presidential election, the economy added a much smaller-than-expected number of jobs in October. Last month, there were just 12,000 new jobs, below the consensus estimate of 113,000. This represented the smallest monthly employment gain since December 2020. According to the Bureau […]
The U.S. economy expanded at a slower-than-expected pace in the third quarter, as growth was primarily fueled by increases in consumer and federal government spending. According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), the real GDP growth rate was 2.8 percent from July to September, down from 3 percent in the previous quarter. Economists maintained […]
President Joe Biden visited the Port of Baltimore on Oct. 29, seven months after the devastating collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge that killed six construction workers and halted commerce. “The Port of Baltimore is back open for business,” Biden said. “As I promised last spring, we won’t stop until the new bridge is […]
In his Oct. 25 appearance on “The Joe Rogan Experience” podcast, former President Donald Trump floated the idea of eliminating the income tax and substituting it with sweeping tariffs. Host Joe Rogan asked if the Republican presidential candidate had made the suggestion, as earlier reports had indicated. “Yeah, sure. But why not?” Trump replied. “We […]
Boeing factory workers have rejected the company’s recent contract proposal and will continue the strike that has lasted six weeks, devastating the aerospace manufacturing giant. Sixty-four percent of frontline International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) members voted against accepting Boeing’s latest contract offer. “After 10 years of sacrifices, we still have ground to […]
Inflation came in slightly higher than economists’ expectations as food and shelter costs rose in September. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the annual inflation rate slowed to 2.4 percent last month, down from 2.5 percent in August. This was above the market estimate of 2.3 percent. The consumer price index (CPI) jumped at […]
New research by a pair of prominent economists suggests that the U.S. economy has been in a recession for the last two years after inflation adjustments are taken into account. According to Bureau of Labor Statistics data, cumulative inflation since 2019 has totaled nearly 25 percent. But inflation figures have been understated by nearly half, […]
Public policies proposed by Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump would add trillions of dollars to the national debt, according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB). The budget watchdog analyzed the fiscal impacts behind the presidential candidates’ proposals, relying on a blend of campaign and candidate statements, previous budget […]
