The Federal Reserve is poised to set out a path to rapidly withdraw support from the economy at its meeting on Wednesday — and while it hopes it can contain inflation without causing a recession, that is far from guaranteed. Whether the central bank can gently land the economy is likely to serve as a […]
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But in April, Fed officials began to shift their view, expressed in speeches and other public comments, on how quickly interest rates will have to rise to get inflation under control, and Wall Street’s economic projections shifted too. In the futures market, where traders bet on how high interest rates could go, the predominant view […]
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In the face of a pandemic that appears to be receding and the highest levels of inflation in four decades, Amazon on Thursday posted its slowest quarterly growth in years and its first quarterly loss since 2015. The company reported $116.4 billion in revenue in the first three months of the year, up 7 percent […]
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The U.S. economy contracted in the first three months of the year, as supply constraints at home, demand shortfalls abroad and rapid inflation worldwide weighed on an otherwise resilient recovery. Gross domestic product, adjusted for inflation, fell 0.4 percent in the first quarter, the Commerce Department said Thursday. It was the first decline since the […]
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The United States could soon be living with daylight saving time year-round if the Senate has its way. Are there drawbacks to that plan? Yes, sleep experts say. But there are drawbacks to the alternatives, too. Here’s a breakdown of the options and what they could do to upend your daily life: What if we […]
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The pandemic, and now the war in Ukraine, have altered how America’s economy functions. While economists have spent months waiting for conditions to return to normal, they are beginning to wonder what “normal” will mean. Some of the changes are noticeable in everyday life: Work from home is more popular, burrito bowls and road trips […]
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The Federal Reserve lifted its key interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point on Wednesday as policymakers took their first decisive step toward trying to tame rapid inflation by cooling the economy. The Fed had kept rates near zero since March 2020, and the decision marked its first increase since 2018. Policymakers also […]
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Retail sales rose 0.3 percent in February from the prior month, the Commerce Department reported on Wednesday, a slowdown in the pace of spending that suggested inflation was taking its toll on American consumers. The slower pace of growth in February — January’s retail sales had increased 4.9 percent, revised data showed — follows other indications […]
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Prices for groceries, couches and rent are all climbing rapidly, and Federal Reserve officials have been warily eyeing that trend. On Wednesday, they are expected to take their biggest step yet toward counteracting it. Central bank officials — who have been signaling for months that they are preparing to pull back economic support — are […]
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They poured the liquid out — blueberry-flavored, orange-flavored and the original, face-puckering unflavored version — tweeting #DumpRussianVodka and, at gay bars across the country, made do with Absolut and soda instead. This was 2013, after Vladimir V. Putin imposed harsh new measures aimed at L.G.B.T.Q. Russians. And now, as Russia’s aggression in Ukraine takes a […]
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TOKYO — Japan’s economy bounced back into growth in 2021, expanding for the first time in three years as easing concerns about the coronavirus prompted a surge in consumer spending in the year’s fourth quarter. The result is a rare economic bright spot for Japan, which had been struggling with slow growth even before the […]
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When I was flying to Kyiv from Odesa last month, I arrived at the airport to find a policewoman blocking an entrance to the terminal. A considerable crowd was gathered across the road. Apparently someone had called in a bomb threat. Shocked at first, I looked around to see how the other passengers were reacting. […]
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But as Mr. McMillan of Silicon Valley Bank points out, millennials have less disposable income than their parents and more economic fears. They are often burdened by student debt, have fewer middle-class job opportunities and cannot assume they will ever be able to afford real estate. That’s a primary reason that millennials have gravitated to […]
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By the numbers, 2021 was a boom year for the U.S. economy. Back in 2020 many forecasters expected a sluggish recovery, with unemployment staying high for years. Instead, unemployment has already come down almost to prepandemic levels, and a record percentage of Americans say that this is a good time to find a quality job. […]
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At the bottom of the slope where snowboarders will compete in the 2022 Beijing Olympics, an electronic sign cycles through ads for companies like Samsung and Audi. Coca-Cola’s cans are adorned with Olympic rings. Procter & Gamble has opened a beauty salon in the Olympic Village. Visa is the event’s official credit card. President Biden […]
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Covid-related absences are creating headaches for businesses that were struggling to hire workers even before Omicron. Restaurants and retail stores have cut back hours. Broadway shows called off performances. Airlines canceled thousands of flights over the holidays because so many crew members called in sick; on one day last month, nearly a third of United […]
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Covid-related absences are creating headaches for businesses that were struggling to hire workers even before Omicron. Restaurants and retail stores have cut back hours. Broadway shows called off performances. Airlines canceled thousands of flights over the holidays because so many crew members called in sick; on one day last month, nearly a third of United […]
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The price increases bedeviling consumers, businesses and policymakers worldwide have prompted a heated debate in Washington about how much of today’s rapid inflation is a result of policy choices in the United States and how much stems from global factors tied to the pandemic, like snarled supply chains. At a moment when stubbornly rapid price […]
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President Biden ended his first year in office on a low note, with polls showing public disapproval of his handling of, well, just about everything. We are, of course, hearing endless commentary about his political missteps, along with some acknowledgment that public expectations were too high given the razor-thin Democratic majority in Congress. One thing […]
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