Financial related news.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Reserve officials regarded the nation’s economy's outlook as particularly uncertain last month, according to minutes released Oct. 11, and said they would "proceed carefully" in deciding whether to further raise their benchmark interest rate. Such cautious views are generally seen by analysts as evidence that the Fed isn't necessarily inclined to [...]
NEW YORK — For the first time in a year, the big companies in the S&P 500 may see their profits grow again. The latest earnings reporting season is getting underway, and the broad expectation is for companies in the S&P 500 to say their earnings per share slipped 0.3 percent during the summer from [...]
WASHINGTON (AP) — Two Federal Reserve officials earlier this week suggested that the central bank may leave interest rates unchanged at its next meeting in three weeks because a surge in long-term interest rates has made borrowing more expensive and could help cool inflation without further action by the Fed. Since late July, the yield, [...]
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden last week outlined a new round of federal student loan forgiveness to address the "unsustainable debt" that borrowers accumulate to complete their college education. The announcement comes as borrowers brace for payments to restart after a three-year pause that began during the COVID-19 pandemic and Biden tries to fulfill his [...]
NEW YORK — Treasury yields surged in September and sapped the energy from a strong stock market as investors came to terms with the likelihood that interest rates will remain high well into 2024. The yield on the 10-year Treasury, which influences rates for mortgages and other loans, jumped past 4.50 percent in September and [...]
YORK, Pa. (AP) — Federal Reserve officials typically gather many of their insights and observations about the economy from some of the top Ph.D. economists in Washington. On a visit earlier this week to York, Pa., Chair Jerome Powell got an earful from a group with a decidedly different perspective: small-business people who are grappling [...]
WASHINGTON — An inflation gauge closely tracked by the Federal Reserve accelerated in August, boosted mainly by higher gas prices. Yet measures of underlying inflation slowed in the latest sign that overall price pressures are still moderating. The report from the Commerce Department showed that prices rose 0.4 percent from July to August, up from [...]
NEW YORK (AP) — A growing number of Americans are finding it difficult to afford insurance on their homes, a problem only expected to worsen because insurers and lawmakers have underestimated the impact of climate change, a new report says. A report from First Street Foundation released earlier this week says states such as California, [...]
NEW YORK — Oil prices are creeping higher and raising concerns about the impact on inflation's cooling trajectory, consumers' wallets and the Federal Reserve's interest rate policy. U.S. crude oil prices started rising in early summer after slipping or holding relatively steady for most of the year. West Texas Intermediate crude, the U.S. measure, is [...]
WASHINGTON (AP) — A spike in gas prices pushed up inflation in August, yet most other costs rose at a more modest pace, evidence that price increases overall are still cooling. In a set of conflicting data released earlier this week, the Labor Department said the consumer price index rose 3.7 percent in August from [...]