Washington Wire

U.S. consumers’ near-term inflation expectations declined in July for a fourth month, reaching the lowest level since April 2021, according to a Federal Reserve Bank of New York survey. Median one-year-ahead inflation expectations fell to 3.5% last month from 3.8% in June, the New York Fed said Monday. Expectations for what inflation will be at the three-year…

The Federal Reserve will likely cease rate hikes next month based on slumping economic growth and hiring, a leading Midwest economist said. "Creighton University's survey results indicate that contrary to the Federal Reserve consensus, a recession in 2023 is still' on the table.' On average, 45.9% of supply managers expect a recession in the second half of 2023,"…

On August 1, the rating agency Fitch dropped the U.S. government's long-term credit rating from AAA to AA+. U.S. debt has surpassed $31 trillion and is expected to reach $52 trillion in 2033. The prediction of the Congressional Budget Office that the ratio of federal debt-to-GDP would nearly double from 98 percent in 2023 to 181 percent in 2053 is a nightmarish…

Just how good is the economics in Bidenomics? The Biden administration is in full PR mode, crisscrossing the country to promote the president's economic policies. Efficiency-minded economists emphasized the importance of expanding international trade, which brought the U.S. cheaper consumer goods.

The two new models are the NCOIL Biomarker Testing Insurance Coverage Model Act and the NCOIL Hospital Price Transparency Model Act

—The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits rose slightly last week but remained at a historically low level that points to a robust job market. Applications for jobless aid rose 6,000 to 227,000 for the week ending July 29, the Labor Department said Thursday. The Federal Reserve has implemented 11 interest rate hikes in the past 17 months in an…

“The confidence boost came as the United States and Massachusetts economies defied expectations of a recession in the face of 11 interest-rate increases by the Federal Reserve. The job market remains particularly strong, giving Americans money to spend: personal income, after taxes and adjusted for inflation, rose at a 2.5 percent rate in the second quarter,”…

It's hard to overstate how good the U.S. economic news has been lately. It was so good that it didn't just raise hopes for the future; it led to widespread rethinking of the past. Finally, an alternative price measure favored by the Federal Reserve also gave solid evidence of falling inflation, while employment costs moderated— that is, there's no hint of a wage-price…

As the European Central Bank succinctly put it on Twitter: "What really drives inflation? "As in, double-digit inflation had nothing to do with central bankers printing up $7 trillion and handing it to governments, bankers and to the rich in asset purchases. In fact, something sudden did happen: By early 2022 one of every three dollars in existence had been printed in…

The number of Americans applying for jobless benefits slid last week to its lowest level in five months, further evidence that the U.S. labor market continues to defy the Federal Reserve's attempts to cool it off. U.S. applications for unemployment benefits fell by 7,000 to 221,000 for the week ending July 22, from 228,000 the week before, the Labor Department…

The Federal Reserve opted to resume rate hikes at Wednesday's meeting by a quarter of a percentage point, as expected. Last month, the central bank took a brief hiatus from increasing the federal funds rate after 10 consecutive rate hikes beginning in March 2022. Between now and the Sept. 19-20 meeting, he said, the Fed will look closely at five upcoming reports, all…

The Federal Reserve raised interest rates as expected Wednesday, but left it wide open as to whether any more rate hikes are coming. The Fed lifted its federal funds rate target to a range of 5.25%-5.5% Wednesday, the highest level in 22 years. The Fed's goal is to push inflation down to its target of 2%.

WASHINGTON– The White House says health insurance companies are ignoring federal laws when it comes to covering mental health treatments and President Bident has new rules aimed at fixing the problem. Democratic Michigan Senator Debbie Stabenow says insurance companies need to cover mental illness like any other illness. The White House says insurance…

Jul. 20— KeyBank chairman and CEO Chris Gorman is optimistic that the Federal Reserve is settling on the right formula to tame inflation. Gorman predicts that the Federal Reserve will hike interest rates by a quarter point at next week's meeting, and then pause additional increases, to take stock of the impact. The Federal Reserve has been raising interest rates…

The latest group IRS authorities are targeting is small business owners who use a specific kind of insurance that helped thousands weather the COVID-19 pandemic: microcaptives.

The ERISA Industry Committee and coalition partners today issued a letter to the U.S. Department of Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service requesting transition relief relating to a SECURE 2.0 Act provision requiring that individuals with FICA wages of more than $145,000 in the prior year make any retirement plan catch-up contributions on an after-tax (“Roth”) basis starting after December 31, 2023.

Is the media trying to make President Joe Biden "look good" instead of reporting the news as news, along with analysis? For example, are we being misled about the condition of our economy? Does anyone not understand the following: If you are not working, you are unemployed?

President Biden is taking a victory lap, saying inflation has dropped for 12 months straight. But there's a clear enough downward trend that the Federal Reserve is already hearing calls to declare its own victory over inflation, rather than continue to raise interest rates until it achieves its stated goal of bringing the inflation rate down to 2 percent.