Washington Wire

The Commerce Department will publish its monthly estimate of U.S. retail sales Tuesday as investors look for a health-check on the biggest driver of U.S. economic growth and possibly another sign that inflation pressures are building into the autumn months. Energy Department data shows the national average rose by just 0.04 cents, to $3.958 per gallon, a…

The Investing in America tour is expected to take him to Pueblo, which is in Colorado's 3rd Congressional District, to tour CS Wind, the largest wind turbine tower manufacturing plant in the world. In Pueblo, CS Wind made a $250 million investment to expand its facility, spurred by the Inflation Reduction Act. While all of Colorado's Democratic members of Congress…

On average, Social Security retirement benefits will increase by more than $50 per month starting in January.

WASHINGTON— Federal Reserve officials regarded the U.S. economy's outlook as particularly uncertain last month, according to minutes released Wednesday, and said they would "proceed carefully" in deciding whether to further raise their benchmark interest rate. Such cautious views are generally seen as evidence the Fed isn't necessarily inclined to raise…

The Federal Reserve has indicated it will keep interest rates higher for longer. Related: JPMorgan's Jamie Dimon says U.S. not prepared for worst-case scenario for interest rates. The Fed has pushed up the federal funds rate 5.25 percentage points since March 2022 to the current target range of 5.25%-5.5%.

These are the for-profit health-insurance companies, pharmacies, drug distributors and pharmacy-benefit managers, which The Economist dubs " Big Health. Big Health accounts for eight of the top 25 companies by revenue in the S&P 500 index of America's leading stocks, compared with four for Big Tech and none for Big Pharma. " The largest private health insurer,…

As California Democrats head into the 2024 election, several things seem to be going their way. Republicans in Congress, despite their current disarray, continue to ponder further limits or a ban on abortion— another Democratic motivator. But California Republicans may have at least one ace in the hole: a potentially compelling anti-tax argument.

The ongoing partisan battles in Congress over a government shutdown are making daily headlines. Over the weekend, at the eleventh hour, Congress and the White House passed a continuing resolution to postpone a government shutdown until Nov. 14. Since then, a handful of radical right Republicans in the House, led by Matt Gaetz, a Republican Congress- man from…

Private payrolls rose 89,000 last month after climbing 180,000 in August, according to figures published Wednesday by the ADP Research Institute in collaboration with Stanford Digital Economy Lab. Stock futures rose and Treasury yields sank after the report as the odds of another Federal Reserve interest-rate hike by yearend declined.

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell is trying to thread a needle— tame inflation that peaked at 9.1% in June 2022 while avoiding an economic slowdown. He’ s getting support from doves like Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee, who blocks and tackles for the Biden administration. Higher interest rates are breaking auto purchases, and restarting student…

The Federal Reserve's policy-setting meeting in late September brought the expected news on interest rates: no change for now, but a possible increase before 2024 as the Fed feels its way toward the vaunted "soft landing" that cools inflation without driving the economy into recession. But before making any further decisions on rates, the Fed should consider…

WASHINGTON— The U.S. economy grew at a 2.1% annual pace from April through June, extending its sturdy performance in the face of higher interest rates, the government said Thursday, leaving its previous estimate unchanged. The economy and job market showed surprising resilience as the Federal Reserve dramatically raised interest rates to combat inflation,…

This measure, along with others, would reduce the number of Americans collecting Social Security benefits, cut costs, and help balance the budget by freeing up "cash" in the system. The Old Age and Survivors Trust Fund, which helps fund Social Security, could run out of money in the next 10 years or so. If that happens, Social Security will be solely financed by payroll…

The Federal Reserve's rapid interest rate hikes over the last year have caused credit to become more expensive for consumers and businesses. Because of runaway spending by Congress and the White House, the federal deficit has exploded. Consequently, the Treasury borrowed $2.8 trillion and $1.4 trillion in fiscal years 2021 and 2022, respectively.

Markets are still reeling from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's comments last week when he said that the Fed is "prepared to raise rates further if appropriate, and we intend to hold policy at a restrictive level until we are confident that inflation is moving down sustainably toward our objective." JP Morgan Chase- Get Free Report CEO Jamie Dimon is…

Millions of Americans braced Monday for pay and welfare checks to stop within days as Congress careened toward a damaging government shutdown, with Republican right wingers blocking attempts to pass a budget. "Funding the government is one of the of the most basic, fundamental responsibilities of the Congress," the Democrat told reporters at the White House.

Grim forecasts from economists had predicted that as the Federal Reserve jacked up its benchmark rate ever higher, consumers and businesses would curb spending, companies would slash jobs and unemployment would spike as high as 7% or more— twice its level when the Fed began tightening credit. The Fed chair at the time, Paul Volcker, attacked inflation by…