Tag: USA

The core personal consumption expenditures price index was expected to increase 0.1% in May and 2.6% from a year ago, according to the Dow Jones consensus.

The U.S. economy’s performance in the first three months of the year didn’t look much better the third time around: The government’s latest estimate of first-quarter annual growth was lifted slightly to a lackluster 1.4%.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told Yahoo Finance that she does “not see the basis” for a US recession, and that she expects the Federal Reserve will hit its 2% inflation target next year — a faster pace than projected by central bank policymakers.

A slightly higher-than-expected number of Americans filed for unemployment last week, according to the latest initial jobless claims data. But it was fewer overall than the surge seen in the previous week.

The Philadelphia Fed said Thursday its gauge of regional business activity inched down to 1.3 in June from 4.5 in the prior month. Any reading above zero indicates deteriorating conditions.

Construction of new homes fell 5.5% in May, the lowest level in four years, as builders pulled back on new projects.

The New York Fed’s Empire State business conditions index, a gauge of manufacturing activity in the state, rose 9.6 points in June but remained in contractionary territory at a negative 6 reading, the regional Fed bank said Monday.

U.S. homebuilder confidence rose in March to the highest level since July due to easing mortgage rates and an improved pricing environment amid a continued existing home inventory shortage, the National Association of Home Builders said on Monday.

Moody’s Investors Service on Friday lowered its ratings outlook on the United States’ government to negative from stable, pointing to rising risks to the nation’s fiscal strength.