Economy

Consumers spent at a much faster pace than expected in September, defying expectations for a pullback amid pervasive supply chain problems, the Census Bureau reported Friday. Retail sales for the month increased 0.7%, against the Dow Jones estimate for a decline of 0.2%. Excluding auto-related sales, the number rose 0.8%, better than the 0.5% forecast.

Richmond Federal Reserve President Thomas Barkin said Friday he’s on board with reducing the amount of economic help the central bank is providing as concerns grow about inflation. With the Fed indicating that it’s likely to start pulling back on its monthly bond purchases, Barkin said that seems reasonable and he’s leaning toward beginning the

Prospective homebuyers view a kitchen while touring a house for sale in Helotes, Texas. Matthew Busch | Bloomberg | Getty Images Mortgage rates continued their trudge higher last week, leaving most homeowners with little to no incentive to refinance. Homebuyers, already battling a pricey market, lost more purchasing power due to those higher rates. The

Federal Reserve officials could begin reducing the extraordinary help they’ve been providing to the economy by as soon as mid-November, according to minutes from the central bank’s September meeting released Wednesday. The meeting summary indicated members feel the Fed has come close to reaching its economic goals and soon could begin normalizing policy by reducing

Consumer prices increased slightly more than expected in September as food and energy price increases offset declines in used cars, the Labor Department reported Wednesday. The consumer price index for all items rose 0.4% for the month, compared to the 0.3% Dow Jones estimate. On a year-over-year basis, prices increased 5.4% vs. the estimate for

Job openings declined sharply in August while hiring also fell and the level of workers quitting their jobs hit the highest level since at least late 2000, the Labor Department reported Tuesday. Employment vacancies fell to 10.44 million during the month, a drop of 659,000 from July’s upwardly revised 11.1 million, according to the department’s

The total of Americans submitting jobless claims fell sharply last week as enhanced federal unemployment benefits wound down, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Initial filings for unemployment benefits totaled a seasonally adjusted 326,000 for the week ended Oct. 2, below the 345,000 Dow Jones estimate and a drop from the previous week’s 364,000. The numbers

Lael Brainard, governor of the U.S. Federal Reserve, speaks during the National Association of Business Economics (NABE) annual meeting in Arlington, Virginia, on Monday, Sept. 27, 2021. Al Drago | Bloomberg | Getty Images Federal Reserve Governor Lael Brainard‘s increased influence ahead likely means substantial changes and challenges for the nation’s banking system. Considered a

The U.S. economy created jobs at a much slower-than-expected pace in September, a pessimistic sign about the state of the economy though the total was held back substantially by a sharp drop in government employment. Nonfarm payrolls rose by just 194,000 in the month, compared with the Dow Jones estimate of 500,000, the Labor Department

September’s wage gains provided more fuel to the argument that the current pace of inflation could run longer than many economists anticipate. Average hourly earnings rose 0.6% for the month, making the year-over-year increase 4.6%. Over the past six months, wages are running at an average 6% annual gain. Excluding a brief spike in 2020,

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Tuesday said she believes the economy would fall into a recession if Congress fails to address the borrowing limit before an unprecedented default on the U.S. debt. “I do regard Oct. 18 as a deadline. It would be catastrophic to not pay the government’s bills, for us to be in

A sharp jump in mortgage interest rates over the past few weeks is taking its toll on mortgage demand. Total application volume fell nearly 7% last week compared with the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s seasonally adjusted index.  The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($548,250

Companies shook off worries over the Covid delta variant and hired at a faster-than-expected pace in September, according to a report Wednesday from payroll processing firm ADP. Private jobs rose by 568,000 for the month, better than the Dow Jones estimate from economists of 425,000 and ahead of the downwardly revised 340,000 reading in August.

The current spate of inflation won’t last and ultimately will fall below the Federal Reserve’s target, Chicago Fed President Charles Evans said Tuesday. While inflation by some measures is running at a 30-year high, Evans told CNBC that the supply chain bottlenecks and other issues will subside and price pressures will fade. “I’m comfortable in

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen cautioned Tuesday that inflationary pressures hitting the U.S. economy could last for a while. Coming less than a week after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell called inflation “frustrating,” Yellen told CNBC that the various issues that have colluded to push up prices likely will pass though she’s not sure how long

Janet Yellen, U.S. Treasury secretary, speaks during a House Financial Services Committee hearing in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Thursday, Sept. 30, 2021. Sarah Silbiger | Bloomberg | Getty Images With a potential default looming for the U.S. in October, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Thursday she would just as soon see the power over debt

Inflation ran at a fresh 30-year high in August as supply chain disruptions and extraordinarily high demand fueled ongoing price pressures, the Commerce Department reported Friday. The core personal consumption expenditures price index, which excludes food and energy costs and is the Federal Reserve’s preferred measure of inflation, increased 0.3% for the month and was

Tourists are lined up for taking photos by the Charging Bull Statue in the financial district of New York, on August 16, 2021. Tayfun Coskun | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images Overall U.S. household wealth has never been this high, thanks largely to gains in the stock market that are a bigger share of that