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The latest news and analysis about the health of the US economy.
The latest batch of homebuilding data offered a dose of optimism, even as the larger issue of housing shortages hangs over the US economy.
Several Federal Reserve officials anticipate further interest rate cuts if inflation were to drop, while others see holding rates for "some time," according to minutes of the central bank's January policy meeting released Wednesday.
The Trump administration is disputing a new paper from the New York Federal Reserve that asserts US consumers and businesses are bearing the bulk of the higher costs from tariffs imposed last year.
Federal Reserve governor Michael Barr said Tuesday that the boom in artificial intelligence "is unlikely to be a reason for lowering policy rates," disputing the idea of AI as a productivity accelerator that puts the Fed on a rate-cutting path.
Beef costs have risen faster than most other items in the consumer price index, with the broad beef and veal category up 15% over the past year as of January. Uncooked ground beef reached a fresh record after soaring by the most since June 2020 in government data released Friday. The gains are a standout from the rest of the consumer grocery basket where things have broadly improved.
Chicago Fed president Austan Goolsbee said after January's inflation data that further progress is needed before the Fed cuts rates again.
Inflation cooled more than expected in January, according to consumer data released Friday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
A stronger-than-expected jobs report for the month of January is likely to cement that the Federal Reserve holds interest rates steady for a while.
A much-anticipated labor market update isn't due out until Wednesday morning, but the White House is already working to downplay expectations.
The economy added 130,000 jobs in January — far more than economists had anticipated — while the unemployment rate remained flat at 4.3%, Labor Department data released Wednesday showed.
