Articles written by Christopher Rugaber
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Fed's Powell: Elevated inflation will likely delay rate cuts this year
WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell cautioned Tuesday that persistently elevated inflation will likely delay any Fed interest rate cuts until later this year, opening the door to a period of higher-for-longer rates. "Recent data h...
When will Fed cut rates? As US economy flexes its muscles, maybe later or not at all
WASHINGTON (AP) — Ever since the Federal Reserve signaled last fall that it was likely done raising interest rates, Wall Street traders, economists, car buyers, would-be homeowners — pretty much everyone — began obsessing over a single quest...
Federal Reserve still foresees 3 interest rate cuts this year despite bump in inflation
WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Reserve officials signaled Wednesday that they still expect to cut their key interest rate three times in 2024, fueling a rally on Wall Street, despite signs that inflation remained elevated at the start of the year. For n...
Mnuchin's interest in TikTok and distressed NY bank echoes his pre-Trump investment playbook
NEW YORK (AP) — It seems like a bizarre mishmash: A former Trump cabinet official is saying he wants to buy TikTok just days after leading a group that pumped $1 billion into a beaten-down bank. But it all actually fits in with the complicated c...
US inflation up again in February in latest sign that price pressures remain elevated
WASHINGTON (AP) — Consumer prices in the United States picked up last month, a sign that inflation remains a persistent challenge for the Federal Reserve and for President Joe Biden's re-election campaign, both of which are counting on a steady e...
Fed's Powell: Rate cuts likely this year, but more evidence is needed that inflation is tamed
WASHINGTON (AP) — Chair Jerome Powell reinforced his belief Wednesday that the Federal Reserve will cut its key interest rate this year but said it first wants to see more evidence that inflation is falling sustainably back to the Fed's 2% target. P...
US inflation slows but remains elevated in sign that price pressures are easing only gradually
WASHINGTON (AP) — Consumer inflation in the United States cooled last month yet remained elevated in the latest sign that the pandemic-fueled price surge is only gradually and fitfully coming under control. Tuesday's report from the Labor D...
Powell: Federal Reserve is on track to cut rates, though not likely for months
WASHINGTON (AP) — Interest rate cuts are coming. Just not yet. The Federal Reserve delivered that message Wednesday, first in a policy statement and then in a news conference at which Chair Jerome Powell reinforced it. The Fed did signal that it's n...
Inflation has slowed. Now the Federal Reserve faces expectations for rate cuts
WASHINGTON (AP) — Chair Jerome Powell will enter this week's Federal Reserve meeting in a much more desirable position than he likely ever expected: Inflation is getting close to the Fed's target rate, the economy is still growing at a healthy p...
Federal Reserve on cusp of what some thought impossible: Defeating inflation without steep recession
WASHINGTON (AP) — It was the most painful inflation Americans had experienced since 1981, when "The Dukes of Hazzard" and "The Jeffersons" were topping the TV charts. Yet the Federal Reserve now seems on the verge of defeating it — and without the su...
Solid US hiring lowers unemployment rate in latest sign of a still-sturdy job market
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. employers added a healthy 199,000 jobs last month and the unemployment rate fell, fresh signs that the economy could achieve an elusive "soft landing," in which inflation would return to the Federal Reserve's 2% target w...
Why Americans feel gloomy about the economy despite falling inflation and low unemployment
WASHINGTON (AP) — Inflation has reached its lowest point in 2 1/2 years. The unemployment rate has stayed below 4% for the longest stretch since the 1960s. And the U.S. economy has repeatedly defied predictions of a coming recession. Yet according t...
Why the US job market has defied rising interest rates and expectations of high unemployment
WASHINGTON (AP) — Last year's spike in inflation, to the highest level in four decades, was painful enough for American households. Yet the cure — much higher interest rates, to cool spending and hiring — was expected to bring even more pain. Grim...
Sharply higher gas prices pushed up inflation in August, yet underlying price measures cooled
WASHINGTON (AP) — A spike in gas prices pushed up inflation in August, yet most other costs rose at a more modest pace, evidence that price increases overall are still cooling. In a set of conflicting data released Wednesday, the Labor Department s...
Farm laborers to receive greater protections under Biden administration proposal
WASHINGTON (AP) — Immigrant farm workers would receive a raft of new protections under a Biden administration proposal to be announced Tuesday, which would boost safety requirements on farms and raise transparency around how such workers are b...
Fed Chair Powell could signal the likelihood of high rates for longer in closely watched speech
JACKSON HOLE, Wyoming (AP) — When Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell delivers a high-profile speech Friday in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, many analysts think he could make one thing clear: That the Fed plans to keep its benchmark interest rate at a p...
US inflation has steadily cooled. Getting it down to the Fed's target rate will be the toughest mile
WASHINGTON (AP) — Over the past year, inflation in the United States has tumbled from 9% all the way to 3%, softening most of the price pressures that have gripped the nation for more than two years. Now comes the hard part. Squeezing out the last b...
The US government's debt has been downgraded. Here's what to know
WASHINGTON (AP) — Late Tuesday, Fitch Ratings became the second of the three major credit-rating firms to remove its coveted triple-A assessment of the United States government's credit worthiness, a move that spurred debate in Washington about s...
Federal Reserve raises rates for 11th time to fight inflation but gives no clear sign of next move
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve raised its key interest rate Wednesday for the 11th time in 17 months as part of its ongoing drive to curb inflation. But it provided little guidance about when — or whether — it might hike rates again. Wednesday...
Americans likely saw little relief from inflation in April
WASHINGTON (AP) — After steadily declining for nearly a year, consumer price data to be released Wednesday will likely show that U.S. inflation remained stubbornly high in April, a sign that it might be entering a newer, stickier phase. Consumer p...
Government races to reassure US that banking system is safe
NEW YORK (AP) — Depositors withdrew savings and investors broadly sold off bank shares Monday as the federal government raced to reassure Americans that the banking system was secure after two bank failures fed fears that more financial i...
US adds a robust 311,000 jobs despite Fed's rate hikes
WASHINGTON (AP) — America's employers added a substantial 311,000 jobs in February, fewer than January's huge gain but enough to keep pressure on the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates aggressively to fight inflation. The unemployment rate rose...
US inflation slows to 6.4%, but price pressures re-emerge
WASHINGTON (AP) — The pace of consumer price increases eased again in January compared with a year earlier, the latest sign that the high inflation that has gripped Americans for nearly two years is slowly easing. At the same time, Tuesday's c...
Fed's Powell: Strong hiring could force further rate hikes
WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said Tuesday that if the U.S. job market further strengthens in the coming months or inflation readings accelerate, the Fed might have to raise its benchmark interest rate higher than it now p...
An unexpected job surge confounds the Fed's economic models
WASHINGTON (AP) — Does the Federal Reserve have it wrong? For months, the Fed has been warily watching the U.S. economy's robust job gains out of concern that employers, desperate to hire, would keep boosting pay and, in turn, keep inflation high. B...
