2024-10-18

Retail sales rose 0.4% in September, better than expected; jobless claims dip

Consumer spending held up in September, underscoring a resilient economy that is now getting a boost from the Federal Reserve, the Commerce Department reported Thursday. Retail sales increased a seasonally adjusted 0.4% on the month, up from the unrevised 0.1% gain in August and better than the 0.3% Dow Jones forecast, according to the advance report. Excluding autos, sales…

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2024-09-30

Prices rise 2.2%, less than expected

Inflation moved closer to the Federal Reserve’s target in August, easing the way for future interest rate cuts, the Commerce Department reported Friday. The personal consumption expenditures price index, a gauge the Fed focuses on to measure the cost of goods and services in the U.S. economy, rose 0.1% for the month, putting the 12-month inflation rate at 2.2%,…

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2024-09-18

Fed to cut rates by a quarter point with a soft landing expected, according to CNBC Fed Survey

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell. Andrew Harnik | Getty Images With considerable uncertainty about what the Federal Reserve will do at its meeting this week, respondents to the CNBC Fed Survey are forecasting a more gradual approach to rate cuts than is currently priced into markets. The survey shows 84% of the 27 respondents, including economists, fund managers and…

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2024-08-09

Weekly jobless claims fall to 233,000, less than expected, in a positive sign for labor market

Initial claims for unemployment insurance totaled less than expected last week, countering other signs that the labor market is weakening. First-time filings for jobless benefits came to a seasonally adjusted 233,000 for the week, a decline of 17,000 from the previous week’s upwardly revised level and lower than the Dow Jones estimate for 240,000, the Labor Department said Thursday….

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2024-08-04

Job growth totals 114,000 in July, much less than expected, as unemployment rate rises to 4.3%

Job growth in the U.S. slowed much more than expected during July and the unemployment rate ticked higher, fueling fears of a broader economic slowdown, the Labor Department reported Friday. Nonfarm payrolls grew by just 114,000 for the month, down from the downwardly revised 179,000 in June and below the Dow Jones estimate for 185,000. The unemployment rate edged…

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