Consumer Behavior
How This Economic Moment Rewrites the Rules
Indeed, the Federal Reserve is trying to cut it off. Jerome H. Powell, the Fed chair, has described the labor market, with twice as many open jobs as unemployed workers, as “unsustainably hot,” and is trying to cool it through aggressive interest rate increases. He and his colleagues have argued repeatedly that a more normal […]
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As Inventory Piles Up, Liquidation Warehouses Are Busy
PITTSTON, Pa. — Once upon a time, when parents were scrambling to occupy their children during pandemic lockdowns, bicycles were hard to find. But today, in a giant warehouse in northeastern Pennsylvania, there are shiny new Huffys and Schwinns available at big discounts. The same goes for patio furniture, garden hoses and portable pizza ovens. […]
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U.S. Economy Shows Another Decline, Fanning Recession Fears
A key measure of economic output fell for the second straight quarter, raising fears that the United States could be entering a recession — or perhaps that one had already begun. Gross domestic product, adjusted for inflation, fell 0.2 percent in the second quarter, the Commerce Department said Thursday. That drop followed a decline of […]
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How Will Interest Rate Increases Impact Inflation?
The Federal Reserve announced its fourth interest rate increase of 2022 on Wednesday as it races to tamp down rapid inflation. The moves have a lot of people wondering why rate increases — which raise the cost of borrowing money — are America’s main tool for cooling down prices. Senator Elizabeth Warren, the Massachusetts Democrat, […]
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Fed Prepares Another Rate Increase as Wall Street Wonders What’s Next
Federal Reserve officials are set to make a second abnormally large interest rate increase this week as they race to cool down an overheating economy. The question for many economists and investors is just how far the central bank will go in its quest to tame inflation. Central banks around the world have spent recent […]
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Voters See a Bad Economy, Even if They’re Doing OK
The fastest inflation in four decades has Americans feeling dour about the economy, even as their own finances have, so far, held up relatively well. Just 10 percent of registered voters say the U.S. economy is “good” or “excellent,” according to a New York Times/Siena College poll — a remarkable degree of pessimism at a […]
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Gas Prices, a Big Inflation Factor, Are Coming Down Sharply
HOUSTON — Gasoline prices, on an upward tear for months, have reversed course in recent weeks, giving consumers a welcome break. Gasoline was a major reason that U.S. consumer prices were 9.1 percent higher in June than a year earlier, the biggest annual increase in four decades. But now gas prices have declined 28 days […]
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Fed Moves Toward Another Big Rate Increase as Inflation Lingers
WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve, determined to choke off rapid inflation before it becomes a permanent feature of the American economy, is steering toward another three-quarter-point interest rate increase later this month even as the economy shows early signs of slowing and recession fears mount. Economic data suggest that the United States could be headed […]
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Income and Spending Rose Less Than Prices in May
Americans’ income and spending failed to keep pace with rising prices in May, the latest sign that the fastest inflation in a generation is chipping away at the bedrock of the economic recovery. Consumer spending, adjusted for inflation, fell for the first time this year, declining 0.4 percent from April, the Commerce Department said Thursday. […]
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