Back-to-school shopping season has started really early this year.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Sticky shelter prices make Fed's 2% inflation target hard to reach

Jul 11, 2024
Housing costs rose 5.2% in June from a year earlier, pulling up the consumer price index.
Housing is in a supply crunch, which is keeping costs high and inflation from dropping further. But that doesn't mean the Fed won't cut rates.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images
As Americans wait for the Fed to cut interest rates, inflation continues its downward trend.
Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

How long does it take for interest rate cuts to show up in the economy?

Jul 10, 2024
While economists agree rate cuts won’t instantly juice an economy, there’s really no consensus on just how long that lag is.
Fed Chair Jay Powell took away the proverbial punch bowl with rate hikes. Now that the economy is slowing, “he’s got his hands on the punch bowl, he’s walking around the room with it, and he’s not sure whether to put it down on the table yet,” says Ann Owen, an economist at Hamilton College.
Getty Images

Labor Department's June report showed a cooling job market

Jul 5, 2024
We know the labor market is slowing, but by how much? And what does that mean for wage growth?
Economists are awaiting the release of the June jobs report, which will provide updates on the nation's labor market. Above, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell testifies before the Senate Banking Committee.
Alex Wong/Getty Images

Breaking down Fed Chair Jay Powell's latest GDP report analysis

Jun 27, 2024
Powell is paying close attention to "final sales," a narrower measure than GDP itself that focuses on private sector demand.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell is taking aim at final sales following the latest GDP report.
Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

For public good, not for profit.

Why the last mile in the Federal Reserve's inflation fight has been uphill

It's taking a longer time for the broader economy to feel the impact of higher interest rates, in part because of debts locked in when rates were lower.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Why is the Fed still so cautious about interest rates?

Jun 13, 2024
Despite the CPI coming in unexpectedly low, the Federal Reserve needs more convincing that inflation is really getting better.
"Consumers change their buying habits, they move from steak to chicken, from the upper shelf down to the lower shelf," said Dan North with Allianz Trade about inflation.
Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images

As interest rates stay high, that "lag effect" on the economy is playing out

Jun 12, 2024
The Fed's rate hikes were meant to slow the economy and dampen inflation by raising borrowing costs. There's evidence that's happening.
The Federal Reserve kept interest rates at their current elevated levels, Chair Jerome Powell announced Wednesday.
Scott Olson/Getty Images