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The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits remained elevated last week, a possible sign that the Federal Reserve's interest rate hikes over the past year may taking hold in what's proved to be a resilient job market. U.S. applications for jobless claims were 262,000 for the week ending June 10, the Labor Department reported Thursday, more than…

The Federal Reserve is taking a break from a rapid stretch of rate hikes as it approaches a critical crossroads in its battle with inflation. The Fed's rate-setting committee announced Wednesday it would keep its baseline interest rate range unchanged for the first time since January 2022. "We've moved much closer to our destination," Federal Reserve Chairman…

Facing a stronger-than-expected economy and sticky inflation in core prices, the Federal Reserve signaled Wednesday it's going to hike interest rates two more times before the year is through despite taking a break in June. The June pause marks the first interval in one of the fastest quantitative tightening cycles in the history of the U.S. central bank,…

When Alexander Hamilton, as the first Treasury secretary, starting in 1789, began issuing debt to borrow on the good name of the new government of the United States until now, there has never been a default on its loans. Instead, yesterday afternoon, X-date minus 2, President Biden signed into a law a compromise agreed to with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy to…

House lawmakers, troubled by an onslaught of Biden administration regulations that are crushing businesses and angering consumers, will vote on legislation that would give Congress the final say over major rules issued by the executive branch. The planned vote in the Republican-led House follows an aggressive regulatory push by the Biden administration…

Republicans and Democrats agreed before beginning their negotiations not to touch so-called mandatory spending— Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. Although the government was not authorized by law to keep borrowing, and Treasury was taking“ extraordinary measures” to prevent default, Washington kept on racking up more debt. The national debt had…

The Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis shared the results of its recent Q1 2023 Agricultural Economic Conditions Survey. The Fed surveys agricultural bankers throughout the district to get a picture of what's really going on in the Ninth District and found some uncertainty as they look into the future. The Fed does a survey once a quarter because…

HUTCHINSON, Kan.— Employers added 339,000 jobs in May, according to the monthly employment report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics released on Friday. Creighton University economist Ernie Goss notes that the labor market remains tight. The Federal Reserve meets in less than two weeks to decide whether to raise interest rates again or to pause.

Tim Kaine of Virginia, who wants to amend the bill by stripping out approval of the Mountain Valley Pipeline, said they were surprised the project was included. Overall, the bill stops short of the expansive permitting overhaul many lawmakers have sought this Congress. It also drew opposition from some Republicans, including Reps.

Vacancies at U.S. employers unexpectedly surged in April to the highest in three months, giving the Federal Reserve more reason to consider hiking interest rates again soon. The number of available positions increased to 10.1 million from an upwardly revised 9.75 million in March, the Labor Department’ s Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, or JOLTS, showed…

Philip Jefferson, Federal Reserve governor and vice chair nominee, said on Wednesday the central bank could stop hiking interest rates at a future meeting, but that it does not close the door on future increases. Jefferson said the Federal Reserve could keep the current benchmark overnight interest rate unchanged at a future meeting, but did not rule out future…

WASHINGTON— House Republicans pushed debt ceiling talks to the brink on Thursday, displaying risky political bravado in preparing to leave town for the holiday weekend just days before the U.S. could face an unprecedented default. In remarks at the White House, Biden said, "It's about competing versions of America. The White House said discussions with the…

PHILADELPHIA— From his office overlooking the Schuylkill River, Paul Melchiorre is puzzling over which new billion-dollar tech giants could rise from this economic slowdown. A onetime SAP manager, who made the bulk of his fortune building software developers iPipeline and Anaplan, Melchiorre has spread his earnings among a string of tech funds, including…

The U.S. running short of both time and money to pay its bills. At some point in the next several weeks, the U.S. is likely to run out of money to pay its bills, risking the prospect of a devastating default. Did runaway spending by President Biden and Congressional Democrats leave the U.S. on the brink of default?

The title of Adam Serwer's book comes to mind: "The Cruelty Is the Point." WASHINGTON- The moment negotiations over the debt ceiling with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy started, it was obvious President Biden would have to give in to Republican demands for some spending cuts. House Republicans decided to hold the economy hostage to slash assistance for low-income…

All the new funding that congressional Democrats and President Joe Biden showered on the IRS has the tax agency thinking big. The Wall Street Journal reported this week that IRS officials hope to get into the tax preparation business, in direct competition with TurboTax and firms such as H&R Block. It's also worth noting that the IRS has a dismal record of…