Tag: USA

Prices increased as expected in August while the annual inflation rate declined to its lowest level since February 2021, according to a Labor Department report Wednesday that sets the stage for an expected quarter percentage point rate cut from the Federal Reserve in a week.

The U.S. economy created slightly fewer jobs than expected in August, reflecting a slowing labor market while also clearing the way for the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates later this month.

Private sector payrolls grew at the weakest pace in more than three-and-a-half years in August, providing yet another sign of a deteriorating labor market, according to ADP.

Inflation edged higher in July, according to a measure favored by the Federal Reserve as the central bank prepares to enact its first interest rate reduction in more than four years.

The US Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) announced on Thursday that it revised the annualized real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth for the second quarter to 3% from 2.8% in the initial estimate. Markets were expecting the BEA to confirm the GDP growth at 2.8%.

Goldman Sachs has cut its probability forecast for a U.S. recession to 20% shortly after raising it, as fresh labor market data sparked a reassessment of market views on the economy.

The consumer price index was expected to show a 0.2% increase in July and a 3% gain over the past year, according to Dow Jones consensus estimates.

U.S. stock futures tumbled Monday as part of a global market sell-off centered around U.S. recession fears. Japan’s Nikkei 225 plunged 12% in its worst day since the 1987 Black Monday crash for Wall Street.

Economic activity in the U.S. was considerably stronger than expected during the second quarter, according to an initial estimate Thursday from the Commerce Department.

Joe Biden’s decision to pull out of the 2024 presidential election gives investors who piled into assets like Bitcoin and energy stocks last week a reason to feel skittish.

U.S. consumer prices unexpectedly fell and the annual increase was the smallest in a year, reinforcing views that the disinflation trend was back on track and drawing the Federal Reserve another step closer to cutting interest rates.

Initial claims for unemployment benefits came in higher than Wall Street expected, another sign of a cooling labor market ahead of the release of employment data for June on Friday.

U.S. businesses add a modest 150,000 new jobs in June, paycheck company ADP said, to mark the smallest increase in five months, possibly another sign the labor market is cooling.

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.