U.S. wholesale inflation shows first month-to-month decline in 2 years
Inflation at the wholesale level still jumped 9.8% in July compared with a year earlier, suggesting that inflation will remain at painful levels for months to come.
Economy
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U.S. inflation slows from a 40-year peak, but remains high
Wednesday’s report raised hopes that a modest slowdown in inflation might enable the Federal Reserve to raise short-term interest rates by less than had been anticipated when it meets in late September.
U.S. inflation likely to stay high even as gas prices fall
Thanks largely to falling gas prices, the government’s inflation report for July, to be released Wednesday morning, is expected to show a small slowdown from the 9.1% year-over-year figure in June, which was the highest in four decades.
U.S. employers add 528,000 jobs; unemployment falls to 3.5%
The surprisingly strong jobs numbers will undoubtedly intensify the debate over whether the U.S. is in a recession or not.
Inflation, wage data suggest U.S. prices will keep climbing
An inflation gauge closely tracked by the Fed jumped 6.8% in June from a year ago, the government said Friday, the biggest such jump in four decades. Much of the increase was driven by energy and food.
U.S. consumer spending barely rose in June as inflation picked up
Businesses have already noticed changes in consumer behavior as inflation erodes workers’ discretionary incomes.
U.S. economy shrank 0.9% last quarter, its 2nd straight drop
The decline that the Commerce Department reported Thursday in the gross domestic product—the broadest gauge of the economy—followed a 1.6% annual drop from January through March.
Fed unleashes another big rate hike in bid to curb inflation
The Fed is tightening credit even while the economy has begun to slow, thereby heightening the risk that its rate hikes will cause a recession later this year or next.
Consumer goods giant Unilever hikes prices for products but expects strong sales
Unilever, which owns 400 consumer brands ranging from Ben & Jerry’s ice cream to Dove skin care, raised prices by more than 11% between April and June as inflation surged around the world.
Consumer confidence slides for third straight month in July
The Conference Board said Tuesday that its consumer confidence index fell largely due to consumer anxiety over the current economic conditions, particularly four-decade high inflation.
Yellen downplays U.S. recession risk as economic reports loom
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen spoke just before a slew of economic reports will be released this week that will shed light on an economy currently besieged by rampant inflation and threatened by higher interest rates.
Americans filing jobless claims at highest level in 8 months
The government also reported earlier in July that U.S. employers advertised fewer jobs in May amid signs that the economy is weakening, though the overall demand for workers remained strong.
More workers picking up extra jobs to pay for gas, food
While people taking on multiple jobs is typically a sign of a healthy job market where workers have more job opportunities available, it is also a sign of increasing financial strain on Americans’ pocketbooks.
U.S. retail sales top forecast, keeping big Fed rate hike in focus
Nine of the 13 retail categories showed increases last month, according to the report, including furniture stores, e-commerce and sporting-goods stores.
Deal-making down as inflation, rate hikes spur caution
Companies hit the brakes on deal-making during the first half of 2022 as concerns over pervasive inflation, interest rate hikes and the threat of a recession loomed over Wall Street.
Wholesale inflation in June surged 11.3% from a year ago
Last month’s jump in wholesale inflation was led by energy prices, which soared 54% from a year earlier.
Analysis: Recession risks rise as Fed faces daunting task
The latest inflation reading was supposed to offer hope that the U.S. economy had weathered the worst of the storm. But there was nothing reassuring in Wednesday’s report.
U.S. inflation reached 40-year high of 9.1% in June
Rising costs have seeped into nearly every corner of the economy, with grocery prices jumping 12.2% compared with a year ago. Rents have risen 5.8% and new car prices have increased 11.4%.
There’s no U.S. recession until an obscure panel of ‘eggheads’ says it is so
While many countries define an economic downturn as two consecutive quarters of negative growth for gross domestic product, the U.S. defers this assessment to elite academics at the National Bureau of Economic Research.
Economists expect fresh U.S. inflation peak, keeping Fed on aggressive rate path
The consumer price index probably increased 8.8% in June from a year earlier, marking the largest jump since 1981, according to the median forecast in a Bloomberg survey.