Tag: US

Holiday shopping turned out even better than expected in December as shoppers picked up the pace to close out a strong 2023, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday.

The International Monetary Fund estimates that the U.S. economy has already seen about 75% of the transmission from monetary policy, the organization’s Deputy Managing Director Gita Gopinath said at the World Economic Forum on Tuesday.

Wholesale inflation as measured by the Producer Price Index rose 1% annually in December, up slightly from November’s 0.9% reading, according to data released Friday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Initial jobless claims inched down by 1,000 to 202,000 in the week ended Jan. 6 , the Labor Department said Thursday.

Consumer prices rose faster in December despite falling gasoline prices, showing that the Federal Reserve’s fight to tamp down inflation still has a way to go and potentially spoiling investors’ hopes for rate cuts.

The U.S. added 216,000 jobs in December, a strong showing that surpassed many forecasts and underscored that the labor market remains resilient.

Hiring in the private sector rose at a faster than expected pace in December, closing out a strong 2023 for the resilient U.S. jobs market, ADP reported Thursday.

The U.S. military carried out retaliatory strikes against three installations in Iraq allegedly linked to Kataib Hezbollah on Monday.

The United States has finalized contracts to purchase three million barrels of oil to help replenish the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) after the largest sale in history last year, the U.S. Department of Energy said on Tuesday.

U.S. retailers saw sales during the holiday season rise 3.1%, excluding autos, over the same period a year ago, according to the latest Mastercard SpendingPulse report.

A gauge the Federal Reserve uses for inflation rose slightly in November and edged closer to the central bank’s goal.

The U.S. economy expanded at a revised 4.9% annual pace in the third quarter, a surprising burst of growth that appears to have tapered off at year end.

The number of Americans who applied for unemployment benefits last week inched up to 205,000, indicating layoffs remain very low during the holiday season and jobs aren’t especially hard to find.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen underscored her priorities aimed at stabilizing frigid ties between the United States and China late Thursday.

Consumers showed unexpected strength in November, giving a solid start to the holiday season as inflation showed signs of continued easing.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said she expects to make around a dozen semiconductor chips funding awards within the next year, including multi-billion dollar announcements that could drastically reshape U.S. chip production.

Prices across a broad range of goods and services edged higher in November as energy prices declined, providing hope that inflation could be on a lower trajectory.

Job creation showed little signs of a let-up in November, as payrolls grew even faster than expected and the unemployment rate fell despite signs of a weakening economy.

CHICAGO, Dec 7 (Reuters) – U.S. farmers are likely to plant more soybeans in 2024 as rising demand for soy-based biofuels should boost profits, and many plan to cut back on corn acreage with futures prices for that grain hovering around three-year lows.

The Federal Reserve’s preferred measure of inflation fell again in October, the latest sign that price increases continue to wane and that the central bank is likely to start cutting interest rates in the first half of next year.