Fed Chair Jerome Powell says inflation has been higher than thought and expects rates to hold steady
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell reiterated Tuesday that inflation is falling more slowly than expected and will keep the central bank on hold for an extended period. Speaking to the annual general meeting of the Foreign Bankers’ Association in Amsterdam, the central bank leader noted that the rapid disinflation that happened in 2023 has slowed considerably this year and caused ...
Price growth in many key consumer categories has slowed considerably or ceased altogether — but that has done little to dent consumer worries as the costs of housing and other services have continued to climb. Among the broadest categories tracked by the consumer price index, or CPI, two of the ones most acutely felt by consumers — food and energy ...
At least 99 locations of Red Lobster are being auctioned off amid questions about the stalwart seafood chain’s long-term future. In a post Monday on LinkedIn, Neal Sherman, founder and CEO of TAGeX Brands, a liquidation firm, announced he was leading the closure of more than 50 Red Lobster locations, with the restaurants’ equipment to be auctioned off. A web ...
The interest rate on many new federal student loans is set to rise to its highest level in more than a decade next year as lenders throughout the economy seek higher returns for borrowing money. On Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Education said in a notice on its website that the rate for undergrads would rise to 6.53% from 5.5%. ...
Target will limit which stores sell LGBTQ-themed products following last year’s firestorm over its decision to sell products designed for transgender people. The retailer said Thursday that it would be selling its Pride merchandise in a select number of its nearly 2,000 stores and on its website this year, citing “historical sales performance.” It added that in addition to selling ...
Fewer homeowners have been taking on remodeling projects, reports show. But don’t mistake it for a slow market. The Leading Indicator of Remodeling Activity, an outlook measuring home improvement and repair spending on owner-occupied homes, peaked at 17.3% in the third quarter of 2022. The LIRA has been declining since, and slid 1.2% in the first quarter of 2024 compared to the ...
U.S. safety regulators have opened a probe into Amazon-owned robotaxi venture Zoox after two of its autonomous SUVs braked suddenly and were rear-ended by motorcyclists. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Monday it initiated an investigation after two Toyota Highlanders equipped with Zoox’s automated self-driving braked unexpectedly. In both cases, motorcyclists collided into the Zoox vehicles, which led to minor ...
Workers at a Mercedes-Benz plant in Alabama began voting Monday on whether to join the United Auto Workers union, a significant test of whether the labor group can maintain momentum in the historically anti-union American South. A union victory at the plant, weeks after a resounding win at a Volkswagen factory in Tennessee, would be a watershed moment for the UAW as ...
Workers at Apple’s store in Towson, Maryland, have voted in favor of authorizing a strike, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (AIM) said in a statement late on Saturday. The date for work stoppage has yet to be decided, according to the union, which represents Apple’s retail store workers in Maryland. ‘The issues at the forefront of this ...
Social Security Administration to expand access to certain benefits through several upcoming changes
The Social Security Administration is set to implement new rules to make it easier for beneficiaries to access certain benefits and increase the payments some may receive. The new changes affect Supplemental Security Income, or SSI, which provides more than 7 million Americans with monthly benefit checks. Those benefits are for seniors ages 65 and up, or adults and children who are disabled ...