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With higher interest rates, small businesses and lenders proceed with caution

Oct 10, 2023
Only a quarter of small businesses say they're getting the credit they need, according to the National Federation of Independent Business.
Some banks have been more cautious about lending to certain sectors of the economy that aren’t doing so well. That includes commercial real estate.
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Federal Reserve holds steady on rate hikes for now

Sep 21, 2023
Announcing its decision yesterday, the Fed also signaled it could hike rates one more time before year's end.
In his news conference on Wednesday, Fed Chair Jerome Powell acknowledged that there are economics headwinds that could make a soft landing more difficult.
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As Federal Reserve meets, economic headwinds blow

Sep 19, 2023
Consumers facing high energy prices and other burdens may cut back on spending, cooling the economy but, the Fed hopes, not sending it into recession.
The Federal Reserve hopes that things like rising energy prices will help curb consumer spending without spawning a recession.
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"Life happens." Why some home buyers and sellers forge ahead in spite of interest rates

Sep 13, 2023
People motivated to buy or sell homes in this market are often hitting significant milestones, from babies and back-to-office mandates to downsizing and retirement.
Even though interest rates are high, some home buyers have been spurred to move by big personal changes.
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Consumers expect inflation to tick down in the next 3 years

Sep 11, 2023
But they expect other key measures to be less positive. Here's what that means for the Fed.
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Businesses are telling the Federal Reserve they think wage gains are subsiding

Sep 8, 2023
That could be a sign that the Fed's interest rate hikes are working and the economy is cooling.
Though wage growth has been falling, inflation has been falling even faster.
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Fed is nearing a point when it is not a matter of raising rates, but how long to keep them high, says Chicago Fed CEO Austan Goolsbee

Sep 7, 2023
There is growing confidence that the Fed can pull off lowering inflation without a recession, said Chicago Fed CEO Austan Goolsbee.
"There's a growing confidence that we can pull off" a soft landing, says Chicago Fed chief Austan Goolsbee. "The only thing I want to caution you is that it's not a guarantee."
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U.S. dollar's strength is mostly bad news for countries and companies around the world

Sep 6, 2023
Central banks have a couple of tools they can use to push back, including interest rate hikes and selling U.S. dollars..
The U.S. dollar spent August surging against Asian currencies.
Behrouz Mehri/AFP via Getty Images

Despite rising interest rates, consumers increased their spending in July

Aug 31, 2023
But what they're spending their money on is shifting.
Despite climbing interest rates, consumers spent .9% more on goods in July than in June.
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Will we get less gloom and doom from Jay Powell at Jackson Hole?

Aug 17, 2023
In 2022, Powell warned of painful moves to get inflation under control.
At last year's 
Jackson Hole Symposium, Fed Chair Jerome Powell warned of the pain that rising interest rates will cause.
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