Wall St ends sharply down, posts biggest weekly drop of 2023
Dow’s worst weekly performance in 5 monthsPCE data comes in strong, showing resilient consumerFor the week, all down: Dow 2.99%, S&P 2.66%, Nasdaq 3.33%Indexes down: Dow 1.02%, S&P 1.05%, Nasdaq 1.69%Feb 24 (Reuters) – Wall Street’s main indexes posted their biggest weekly drop of 2023 after sharp losses on Friday, as investors braced for the […]
‘Stubborn’ food inflation leaves U.S. shoppers with slim appetite for other goods
Food retailers benefit from rocketing pricesChoosy shoppers seek discounts on clothing, housewaresHome improvement sales head downFeb 23 (Reuters) – As American shoppers stomach soaring food prices, they are cutting back on purchases of other goods, such as toys, clothing and housewares, in a challenging trend for retailers.Commentary this week from executives at Walmart (WMT.N) and […]
Analysis: Fed’s quandary: Can the economy keep motoring and inflation fall?
WASHINGTON, Feb 21 (Reuters) – A year into the U.S. Federal Reserve’s most aggressive monetary crackdown since the 1980s the strength of the U.S. economy has befuddled policymakers now faced with an unexpected dilemma: Are things too good?There’s little sign the U.S. job market, currently sporting a more-than-half-century low 3.4% unemployment rate, is weakening. Consumers […]
Japan’s factory activity shrinks at fastest pace in 2-1/2 years
TOKYO, Feb 21 (Reuters) – Japan’s manufacturing activity contracted at the fastest pace in 30 months in February, a business survey showed on Tuesday, in a worrying sign for the world’s third-largest economy, which is facing weakening demand and struggling to tame cost pressures.The au Jibun Bank flash Japan manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) fell […]
Analysis: Looming U.S. default risk prompts investors to cut some debt exposure
NEW YORK, Feb 21 (Reuters) – Bond investors are starting to trim holdings of U.S. debt to brace for a possible government default that they see as highly unlikely but potentially seismic for financial markets around the world.The U.S. Treasury hit its $31.4 trillion borrowing limit last month. Unless congress raises or suspends that cap, […]
Argentine savers ‘drown’ under spiraling prices as inflation hits 99%
BUENOS AIRES, Feb 14 (Reuters) – Argentina’s inflation rate has hit just shy of 100%, the government said on Tuesday, with savers feeling more pain from some of the world’s fastest rising prices and workers’ budgets straining as costs outstrip salaries.The South American country, which has battled spiraling prices for years, saw monthly inflation speed […]
At least two more Fed rate hikes and no cut this year, say economists: Reuters poll
BENGALURU, Feb 14 (Reuters) – The U.S. Federal Reserve will raise interest rates at least twice more in coming months, with the risk they go higher still, according to a majority of economists in a Reuters poll who see no cut by year-end.This brings the majority of private-sector forecasters in line with the central bank’s […]
Japan’s weak Q4 GDP rebound poses challenge for BOJ’s exit path
Japan Q4 GDP expands annualised 0.6% vs f’cast +2.0%Drop in capex, inventory behind weaker-than-expected reboundData underscore view Japan making delayed recovery from pandemicOutlook on growth, wages key to how soon BOJ exits easy policyTOKYO, Feb 14 (Reuters) – Japan’s economy averted recession but rebounded much less than expected in the fourth quarter as business investment […]
U.S. posts $39 billion January deficit after pension fund bailout
WASHINGTON, Feb 10 (Reuters) – The U.S. government posted a $39 billion budget deficit for January after a $119 billion monthly surplus a year earlier, as revenues dipped and one-time costs, including the bailout of a union pension fund, pushed outlays sharply higher, the Treasury Department said on Friday.The report, which comes as Treasury employs […]
Debt talks can include everything but cuts to Social Security and Medicare, Republicans say
WASHINGTON, Feb 12 (Reuters) – Republicans say they would not cut Social Security and Medicare programs but “everything else is on the table” in talks over raising U.S. government borrowing limits, House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer said on Sunday.”We need to shore those programs up. They’re running out of money. But at the end […]