Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said Tuesday that if the U.S. job market further strengthens in the coming months or inflation readings accelerate, the Fed might have to raise its benchmark interest rate higher than it now projects. Powell’s remarks followed the government’s blockbuster report last week that employers added 517,000 jobs in January, nearly
The outlook for the global economy is growing slightly brighter as China eases its zero-COVID policies and the world shows surprising resilience in the face of high inflation, elevated interest rates and Russia’s ongoing war against Ukraine. That’s the view of the International Monetary Fund, which now expects the world economy to grow 2.9% this
Asian shares were trading mixed Thursday, as investors grew cautious after Wall Street’s biggest pullback of the year. Shares dipped in Tokyo, but rose in Seoul and Sydney, where they recouped earlier losses by late morning. Hong Kong shares were slightly lower, while Shanghai shares were little changed. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 slipped 1.5% to
Rising U.S. consumer prices moderated again last month, bolstering hopes that inflation’s grip on the economy will continue to ease this year and possibly require less drastic action by the Federal Reserve to control it. Inflation declined to 6.5% in December compared with a year earlier, the government said Thursday. It was the sixth straight
Last year was nothing less than eventful in Washington. In 2022, policymakers enacted several significant policy changes in areas from green energy subsidies and prescription drug savings to new veterans benefits and funding the government for fiscal years 2022 and 2023, among other priorities. Meanwhile, inflation was at a 40-year high pace as economic growth
Wall Street capped a quiet day of trading with more losses Friday, as it closed the book on the worst year for the S&P 500 since 2008. The benchmark index finished with a loss of 19.4% for 2022, or 18.1%, including dividends. It’s just its third annual decline since the financial crisis 14 years ago