Tag: Interest Rates

Investors Pour Money Into Wall St. as Stocks Set New Highs

It looks like there is little that can trouble investors at the moment. The S&P 500 is on course for its best week of the year so far, up more than 2 percent. That added to gains that have lifted the benchmark index more than 10 percent this year, setting a series of record highs. […]

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In the Markets, a Tug of War Between Big Tech and the Fed

It isn’t much of a stretch to claim that the fate of the U.S. economy and stock market this year — and, maybe, even the November elections — will be determined by the forces arrayed at two consequential meetings held 3,000 miles apart. One was a sales conference on artificial intelligence that filled a San […]

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What Comes Next for the Housing Market?

Federal Reserve officials are planning to cut interest rates this year, real estate agents are likely to slash their commissions after a major settlement and President Biden has begun to look for ways his administration can alleviate high housing costs. A lot of change is happening in the housing market, in short. While sales have […]

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What the Fed’s Rate Moves Could Mean for Loans, Mortgages and Savings

The Federal Reserve is expected to keep its key interest rate steady on Wednesday, but American households will be listening for clues about whether rate cuts are on the horizon, which could have meaningful implications for their monthly budgets and influence big purchase decisions. The central bank has raised its benchmark rate to a range […]

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Fed Meets Amid Worries That Inflation Progress Might Stall

Slowing America’s rapid inflation has been an unexpectedly painless process so far. High interest rates are making it expensive to take out a mortgage or borrow to start a business, but they have not slammed the brakes on economic growth or drastically pushed up unemployment. Still, price increases have been hovering around 3.2 percent for […]

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Email ‘Mistake’ on Inflation Data Prompts Questions on What Is Shared

One afternoon in late February, an employee at the Bureau of Labor Statistics sent an email about an obscure detail in the way the government calculates inflation — and set off an unlikely firestorm. Economists on Wall Street had spent two weeks puzzling over an unexpected jump in housing costs in the Consumer Price Index. […]

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Japan Raises Interest Rates for First Time in 17 Years

Japan’s central bank raised interest rates for the first time since 2007 on Tuesday, pushing them above zero to close a chapter in its aggressive effort to stimulate an economy that has long struggled to grow. In 2016, the Bank of Japan took the unorthodox step of bringing borrowing costs below zero, a bid to […]

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Closing Costs for Buying a Home Have Risen Along With Rates

A pricey housing market and higher interest rates have made it harder to afford a house, but related expenses known as closing costs also add to the home-buying challenge. Typical loan closing costs when completing a home purchase — for items like loan origination fees, discount points, appraisal and credit report fees, and lender title […]

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Inflation Ticked Up Last Month, Backing the Fed’s Caution on Rate Cuts

Inflation sped up slightly in February on an overall basis and a closely watched measure of underlying price increases was firmer than economists had expected. The fresh data underscores that fully returning inflation to a normal pace is likely to be a bumpy process — and backs up the Federal Reserve’s decision to proceed carefully […]

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Debate Over Bank Industry Rules One Year After SVB Collapse

A year ago, the government and America’s largest banks joined forces in a rare moment of comity. They were forced into action after Silicon Valley Bank collapsed on March 10, 2023, quickly followed by two other lenders, First Republic and Signature Bank. Faced with the threat of a billowing crisis that could threaten the banking […]

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Car Deals Are Easier to Find but Lenders Are Tightening Their Terms

New cars are more available this spring, and manufacturers have even begun offering deals to entice buyers. But at the same time, lenders have been tightening the terms of car loans as they deal with a rising number of delinquencies. That has made it harder for some people to get affordable loans. Access to auto […]

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Fed Chair Powell Still Expects to Cut Rates This Year, but Not Yet

Jerome H. Powell, the chair of the Federal Reserve, said on Wednesday that he thinks the central bank will begin to lower borrowing costs in 2024 but that policymakers still needed to gain “greater confidence” that inflation was conquered before making a move. “We believe that our policy rate is likely at its peak for […]

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Brighter Economic Mood Isn’t Translating Into Support for Biden

Eight months before the election, Americans feel slightly better about the state of the economy as inflation recedes and the labor market remains stable, but President Biden doesn’t appear to be benefiting. Among registered voters nationwide, 26 percent believe the economy is good or excellent, according to polling in late February by The New York […]

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Looking for a Lower Credit Card Interest Rate? Good Luck.

Credit card debt is rising, and shopping for a card with a lower interest rate can help you save money. But the challenge is finding one. Smaller banks and credit unions typically charge significantly lower interest rates on credit cards than the largest banks do — even among customers with top-notch credit, the Consumer Financial […]

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A Mortgage After 65: A ‘No Brainer’ or a Big Risk?

Conventional wisdom dictates that retiring with debt — especially a debt as large and significant as a mortgage — is financially dicey at best and potentially ruinous at worst. That’s not how Brian Lindmeier sees it. “It just doesn’t make any sense at all to pay off the house,” he said. Mr. Lindmeier, 80, a […]

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U.K. Economy Shrank as 2023 Ended, Tipping Into Recession

The News Britain’s economy sunk into a recession at the end of last year, capping off a year of economic strain in which interest rates were pushed to their highest level in a decade and a half to stamp out high inflation. Gross domestic product contracted 0.3 percent in October to December from the previous […]

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Japan’s Economy Slips Into Recession and to No. 4 in Global Ranking

The Japanese economy contracted at the end of last year, defying expectations for modest growth and pushing the country into a recession. Japan’s unexpectedly weak economy in the fourth quarter was the result of a slowdown in spending by businesses and consumers who are grappling with inflation at four-decade highs, a weak yen and climbing […]

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Three Lessons From a Surprisingly Resilient Job Market

The pandemic created an economic crisis unlike any recession on record. So perhaps it shouldn’t be surprising that the aftermath, too, has played out in a way that almost no economists expected. When unemployment soared in the first weeks of the pandemic, many feared a repeat of the long, slow rebound from the Great Recession: […]

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Stocks Sink as Stubborn Inflation Resets Fed Rate Forecasts

Stock markets tumbled on Tuesday as investors slashed their bets on the Federal Reserve taking the brakes off the economy in the coming months, after hotter-than-expected inflation data led traders to expect interest rates will remain higher for longer. The benchmark S&P 500 stock index fell over 1 percent in early trading. The index has […]

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‘Zombie Offices’ Spell Trouble for Some Banks

Graceful art-deco buildings towering above Chicago’s key business district report occupancy rates as low as 17 percent. A set of gleaming office towers in Denver that were full of tenants and worth $176 million in 2013 now sit largely empty and were last appraised at just $82 million, according to data provided by Trepp, a […]

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Fed Chair Powell Says Officials Need More ‘Good’ Data Before Cutting Rates

Jerome H. Powell, the chair of the Federal Reserve, made clear during a “60 Minutes” interview aired on Sunday night that the central bank is moving toward cutting interest rates as inflation recedes, but that policymakers need to see continued progress toward cooler price increases to make the first move. Mr. Powell was interviewed on […]

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Job Market Starts 2024 With a Bang

The United States produced an unexpectedly sizable batch of jobs last month, a boon for American workers that shows the labor market retains remarkable strength after three years of expansion. Employers added 353,000 jobs in January on a seasonally adjusted basis, the Labor Department reported on Friday, and the unemployment rate remained at 3.7 percent. […]

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Blockbuster Jobs Report Backs Up Fed’s Patience as It Waits to Cut Rates

Federal Reserve officials left interest rates unchanged this week and signaled that their next move is likely to be a cut — but they also suggested that they are in no hurry to make that change. Friday’s jobs data is likely to reinforce their cautious stance. Employers hired much more rapidly than expected in January, […]

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Economists Expected a Hiring Slowdown. So Much for That.

Job gains remain rapid, unemployment is near a historic low and wage gains are robust nearly two years into the Federal Reserve’s campaign to cool the economy with higher interest rates — an outcome that has surprised policymakers and economic forecasters alike. At this time last year, Fed officials were predicting that unemployment would have […]

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Blockbuster Jobs Report Bolsters Fed’s Patience as It Waits to Cut Rates

Federal Reserve officials left interest rates unchanged this week and signaled that their next move is likely to be a cut — but they also signaled that they are in no hurry to make that change. Friday’s jobs data is likely to support their cautious stance. Employers hired much more rapidly than expected in January, […]

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Our Economy Isn’t ‘Goldilocks.’ It’s Better.

“Let’s be honest, this is a good economy.” So declared Jerome Powell, the chair of the Federal Reserve, in his news conference on Wednesday after the Fed’s latest policy meeting. He’s right, even if the public isn’t fully convinced (although the gap between economic perceptions and reality seems to be narrowing). In fact, Powell is […]

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The Markets Want Rate Cuts but The Fed Is Taking Its Time

U.S. economic reports have been sparkling. The economy appears to be booming, the labor market looks strong and inflation seems to be on the decline. Yet this seemingly propitious combination has locked the Federal Reserve into inaction. At its policymaking meeting this week, the Fed decided to do precisely nothing. It held the main policy […]

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The Federal Reserve Meets Wednesday. Here’s What to Watch.

Federal Reserve officials will conclude their two-day meeting on Wednesday, and they are widely expected to keep interest rates steady at a two-decade high when they release their policy decision at 2 p.m. But investors are likely to closely watch the meeting — particularly Chair Jerome H. Powell’s 2:30 p.m. news conference — for hints […]

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Global Economy Is Heading Toward ‘Soft Landing,’ I.M.F. Says

The global economy has been battered by a pandemic, record levels of inflation, protracted wars and skyrocketing interest rates over the past four years, raising fears of a painful worldwide downturn. But fresh forecasts published on Tuesday suggest that the world has managed to defy the odds, averting the threat of a so-called hard landing. […]

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Eurozone Economy Flatlines, Raising Concerns About Falling Behind

The eurozone economy stagnated late last year as a lingering energy crisis sparked a loss of competitiveness in some European industries, and consumers reined in spending to grapple with high living costs, Europe’s statistics agency reported Tuesday. But economists believe the worst may be over, as the European Central Bank continues its campaign to wring […]

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Why Cut Rates in an Economy This Strong? A Big Question Confronts the Fed.

The Federal Reserve is widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged at the conclusion of its meeting on Wednesday, but investors will be watching closely for any hint at when and how much it might lower those rates this year. The expected rate cuts raise a big question: Why would central bankers lower borrowing costs […]

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