ECONOMY NEWS OF THE WEEK

Inflation gauge shows easing

WASHINGTON — An inflation measure closely tracked by the Federal Reserve remained low last month, extending a trend of cooling price increases that clears the way for the Fed to start cutting its key interest rate next month for the first time in 4 1/2 years. Prices rose 0.2% from June to July, up a tick from the previous month's 0.1% increase.Compared with a year earlier, inflation was unchanged at 2.5%.

In other government reports

• The U.S. economy grew last quarter at a 3% annual pace, fueled by strong consumer spending and business investment. The Commerce Department had previously estimated that the nation's gross domestic product expanded at a 2.8% rate from April through June. The second-quarter growth marked an acceleration from a 1.4% growth rate in the first three months of 2024.

• Consumer spending, which accounts for about 70% of U.S. economic activity, rose at a 2.9% annual rate last quarter, up from 2.3% in the government's initial estimate.

• The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits fell slightly last week. Jobless claims ticked down by 2,000 to 231,000 for the week of Aug. 24, the Labor Department reported Thursday. That's just below the 232,000 new filings analysts were expecting.

Consumer confidence rises in August

American consumers felt more confident in August as their outlook for the future improved. The Conference Board, a business research group, said Tuesday that its consumer confidence index rose to 103.3 in August from 101.9 in July. The index measures both Americans' assessment of current economic conditions and their outlook for the next six months. The measure of Americans' short-term expectations for income, business and the job market rose to 82.5 from 81.1 in July. Consumers' view of current conditions rose to 134.4 in August from 133.1 last month. Consumer spending accounts for nearly 70% of U.S. economic activity and is closely watched by economists.

Justice Department suit aims at rent hikes

WASHINGTON — The Justice Department has filed an antitrust lawsuit against real estate software company RealPage, accusing it of an illegal scheme that allows landlords to coordinate to hike rental prices. The lawsuit accuses the company of violating antitrust laws through its algorithm that landlords use to get recommended rental prices for apartments.

Latinas contribute $1.3 trillion to economy

Latinas contributed $1.3 trillion to the U.S. gross domestic product in 2021, up from $661 billion in 2010 and at a growth rate nearly triple that of non-Latinos during the same time period, according to a new report funded by Bank of America and conducted by professors at California Lutheran University and UCLA. The report was compiled using publicly available economic and demographic data from U.S. agencies and shows "that Latinas are drivers of economic vitality in the United States, giving life to the U.S. economy," says one of the study's authors.

Best Buy sees sales drop

Best Buy, the nation's largest consumer electronics chain, reported another quarterly drop in sales. But the company's results announced Thursday beat Wall Street estimates. Best Buy reported earnings of $291 million for the three-month period that ended Aug. 3. That compares with $274 million in the year-go period. Sales slipped 3% to $9.29 billion.

Nvidia reports profit rise

Nvidia may have exceeded Wall Street estimates as its profit jumped — buffeted by the chipmaking dominance that has cemented Nvidia's place as the poster child of the artificial intelligence boom — but investors seemed less than impressed. The company reported a net income of to $16.6 billion. Adjusted for one-time items, net income was $16.95 billion. Revenue rose to $30 billion, up 122% from a year ago and 15% from the previous quarter.

World economy

• Inflation is down in Europe. August's figure is 2.2%, down from 2.6% in July. The pace of consumer price in-creases in the 20 countries that use the euro is now close to the 2% goal set by the European Central Bank, the monetary authority for the eurozone.

China has accused Canada of protectionism after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government imposed a 100% tariff on imports of Chinese-made electric vehicles. The move matched U.S. duties on Chinese-made EVs. The Chinese Commerce Ministry said in a statement Tuesday that the tariffs would disrupt the stability of global industrial and supply chainsas well as impact China-Canada economic and trade ties and damage the interests of enterprises in both countries. Canada will also impose a 25% tariff on Chinese steel and aluminum and is mulling duties on Chinese batteries, battery parts, semiconductors, critical minerals, metals and solar panels.