Jul 24 Federal Reserve officials meet as central bank aims for ‘soft landing’ By Christopher Rugaber, Associated Press After the Fed began aggressively raising borrowing costs early last year, most economists predicted it would send the economy crashing. Yet even though the Fed is poised to raise its key rate on Wednesday for the 11th time since March… Continue reading
Jul 07 U.S. adds 209,000 jobs in June, a slowing in hiring but a sign of economy’s resilience By Christopher S. Rugaber, Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — America's employers pulled back on hiring but still delivered another month of solid gains in June, adding 209,000 jobs, a sign that the economy's resilience is confounding the Federal Reserve's drive to slow growth and inflation. The… Continue reading
Jun 30 A Federal Reserve inflation index falls to lowest level in 2 years By Christopher Rugaber, Associated Press At the same time, consumers barely increased their spending last month, boosting it just 0.1%, after a solid 0.6% gain in April. Continue reading
Jun 21 WATCH: Fed Chair Powell testifies on inflation and interest rates before House committee By Christopher Rugaber, Associated Press “Inflation pressures continue to run high, and the process of getting inflation back down to 2% has a long way to go,” Powell said on the first of two days of semi-annual testimony on Capitol Hill. Continue reading
Jun 14 WATCH: Fed Chair Powell announces interest rates will remain unchanged as inflation eases By Christopher Rugaber, Associated Press The Fed’s move to leave its benchmark rate at about 5.1 percent, its highest level in 16 years, suggests that it believes the much higher borrowing rates it’s engineered have made some progress in taming inflation. Continue reading
Jun 02 Labor market defies expectations with strong growth, adding 339,000 jobs in May By Christopher Rugaber, Associated Press The nation's employers stepped up their hiring in May, adding a robust 339,000 jobs, well above expectations and evidence of strength in an economy that the Federal Reserve is desperately trying to cool. Continue reading
May 18 As high inflation continues, split on strategy among Federal Reserve officials By Christopher Rugaber, Associated Press The stubbornness of high inflation is dividing the Federal Reserve over how to manage interest rates in the coming months, leaving the outlook for the Fed's policies cloudier than at any time since it unleashed a streak of 10 straight… Continue reading
May 05 U.S. adds over a quarter million jobs despite Fed’s rate hikes By Paul Wiseman, Associated Press America’s employers added a robust 253,000 jobs in April, evidence of a labor market that still shows surprising strength despite rising interest rates, chronically high inflation and a banking crisis that could weaken the economy. Continue reading
May 03 Fed raises interest rate again but hints it may pause due to bank turmoil By Christopher Rugaber, Associated Press The Federal Reserve reinforced its fight against high inflation Wednesday by raising its key interest rate by a quarter-point to the highest level in 16 years. Continue reading
May 03 WATCH: Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell speaks on latest interest rate hike By Christopher Rugaber, Associated Press The Fed's efforts have only partly succeeded in taming the worst inflation bout in four decades, and the surge in rates has contributed to the collapse of three large banks and turmoil in the banking industry. Continue reading