Economy

The Fed left rates unchanged in its last meeting before the 2020 presidential election in November. It also indicated rates were unlikely to rise until at least 2023. Three experts weigh in on what the Fed decision means. David Kelly, chief global strategist at JPMorgan Asset Management, said this is unprecedented stimulus.  “I don’t think

The Federal Reserve kept its pledge to keep interest rates anchored near zero and promised to keep rates there until inflation rises consistently. As the central bank concluded its two-day policy meeting Wednesday, it said short-term rates would remain targeted at 0%-0.25%. Officials also changed their economic forecasts to reflect a smaller decline in GDP

James Bullard Olivia Michael | CNBC St. Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard offered an optimistic look on the U.S. economy, with “off the charts” growth that will help lift inflation. Bullard also said he sees the unemployment rate falling to 6.5% by the end of the year, an estimate well below the median projection

A Kelly Center for Hunger Relief volunteer sorts through food for distribution as residents in vehicles wait in line at a church in El Paso, Texas, on July 17. Joel Angel Juarez/Bloomberg via Getty Images Are you in the top 1%, 5% or 10% of the U.S. income and wealth scale? If you are, congratulations

Bobcat fire approaches Sierra Madre and Arcadia communities in California, U.S., September 13, 2020 in this picture obtained from social media. Photo taken September 13, 2020. John Mirabella | Reuters Despite official resistance to the idea in the Trump administration, the wildfires raging across California, Oregon and Washington — swallowing millions of acres and leaving

First-time claims for unemployment insurance beat Wall Street estimates last week as the U.S. economy enters a critical new stage. Filings totaled 860,000 for the week ended Sept. 12, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had expected 875,000, against the previous week’s upwardly revised 893,000. The number represents a modest downshift

Jerome Powell, chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve, speaks during a news conference following a Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting in Washington, Jan. 29, 2020. Andrew Harrer | Bloomberg | Getty Images The Fed does not expect to see inflation pick up for years, and it is willing to keep rates at zero even

U.S. consumer spending appeared to slow in August as extended unemployment benefits were cut for millions of Americans, offering more evidence that the economic recovery from the Covid-19 recession was faltering. Core retail sales, which correspond most closely with the consumer spending component of gross domestic product, fell 0.1% last month after a downwardly revised

Federal Reserve Board Chairman Jerome Powell speaks during a press conference following the January 28-29 Federal Open Market Committee meeting, in Washington, DC on January 29, 2020. Mandel Ngan | AFP | Getty Images While committed to keeping interest rates low for the next several years, the Federal Reserve still has plenty of work to

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome H. Powell during a speech on March 3, 2020 in Washington, DC. Mark Makela/Getty Images In the first CNBC Fed Survey since the Federal Reserve announced its new, more dovish monetary policy strategy, respondents now forecast no rate hikes from the central bank until 2023. The results are a potential first

Weekly jobless claims were worse than expected last week amid a plodding climb for the U.S. labor market from the damage inflicted by the coronavirus pandemic. The Labor Department on Thursday reported 884,000 first-time filings for unemployment insurance, compared with 850,000 expected by economists surveyed by Dow Jones. The total was unchanged from the previous

A person wears a protective face mask while carrying grocery bags outside Trader Joe’s on August 11, 2020 in New York City. Noam Galai | Getty Images Goldman Sachs economists said they see third quarter GDP growth tracking at 35%, driven in large part by the surprising strength of consumer spending. Goldman said its tracking

Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said his biggest economic concerns in the U.S. are inflation and the budget deficit. “My overall view is that the inflation outlook is unfortunately negative and that’s essentially the result of entitlements crowding out private investment and productivity growth,” Greenspan said in an interview Thursday on CNBC’s “Squawk on

Joel Porro and Lizz Hernandez wear gloves and protective masks as they put bags in the trunk of their car after shopping at Walmart Supercenter as the coronavirus pandemic continues, March 5, 2020 in Miami. David Santiago | Miami Herald | Tribune News Service via Getty Images U.S. consumer prices increased solidly in August, but

A worker assembles footballs at the Wilson Sporting Goods facility in Ada, Ohio, on Thursday, Sept. 3, 2020. Maddie McGarvey | Bloomberg | Getty Images U.S. producer prices rose a bit more than expected in August as the cost of services increased solidly, while underlying producer inflation continued to firm. The producer price index for

People wait in their cars as they line up to collect unemployment forms in Hialeah, Florida. CHANDAN KHANNA/AFP via Getty Images The official unemployment rate fell to 8.4% in August as businesses continued emerging from broad shutdowns imposed early in the coronavirus pandemic, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday. That’s the lowest rate since

Job openings rose 10% in July to a pandemic high even though the rate of hiring saw a sharp slump, according to a Labor Department report Wednesday. The total for available positions hit 6.6 million for the month, above the 6 million expected from economists surveyed by FactSet. The estimate effectively would have been no

People walk by a store going out of business along 125th street in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City, August 7, 2020. Shannon Stapleton | Reuters The story for much of the past generation has been a familiar one for the U.S. economy, where the benefits of expansion flow mostly to the top and