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Consumer spending in January rose a scant 0.2% as Americans cut back after the holidays. And spending fell for the first time in a year if adjusted for inflation, the government said Thursday. Economists polled had forecast a 0.3% increase in spending. At the same time, though, incomes rose 0.4% and after-tax incomes posted the
READ MOREThe housing recovery appears to be making a U-turn as mortgage rates rise amid a critically low supply of homes for sale. Pending home sales, which measure signed contracts, not closings, fell 4.7 percent in January compared to December, according to the National Association of Realtors. The weakness was nationwide, and December’s reading was also
READ MOREAfter rising sharply for weeks, mortgage interest rates steadied last week, and homebuyers responded, the Mortgage Bankers Association says. Total mortgage application volume increased 2.7 percent, seasonally adjusted, from the previous week. The increase was driven by homebuyers, who have been sidelined significantly this year by a record low number of listings and by weakening
READ MOREThe pace of growth in the U.S. economy was trimmed to 2.5% from 2.6% in the fourth quarter, largely because of a slower buildup in inventories of unsold goods. The revised reading on GDP matched the forecast of economists surveyed. Every other key figure in the latest upate to gross domestic product was virtually unchanged.
READ MOREPotentially more worrisome, a key measure of business investment fell for a second straight month, the first time that’s happened since early 2016. Economists surveyed had forecast a 1.7% decline in orders for durable goods. Stripping out planes and cars, orders fell a much smaller 0.3%. Transportation often exaggerate the ups and downs in durable-goods
READ MOREIn his first appearance on Capitol Hill in his new role, Powell told House lawmakers that the Fed “will continue to strike a balance between avoiding an overheated economy” and reaching 2% inflation, the target the Fed considers healthy. In prepared remarks, he did not suggest any plans to speed up the Fed’s planned interest
READ MOREFederal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell downplayed concerns over recent market volatility, and said the central bank remains on course for more interest rate hikes. Powell emphasized that the job market remains robust, consumer spending is solid and wage growth is accelerating. The Fed has been aiming to boost inflation to 2 percent, but the recent
READ MORESt. Louis Fed President James Bullard said Monday he does not think the so-called neutral U.S. interest rate is likely to rise much over the next two years. “The natural, safe real rate of interest, and hence the appropriate policy rate, is relatively low and unlikely to change very much over the forecast horizon,” Bullard
READ MOREConstruction on new homes in the U.S., known as housing starts, jumped almost 10% in January to an annual rate of 1.33 million. That’s the second highest level since the Great Recession and it easily exceeded the 1.24 million forecast of economists. Permits to build new homes also hit a 10 1/2-year high, rising 7.4%
READ MOREThe import price index leaped 1% in January to add to a picture of rising inflation in the United States. Although the increase was driven by oil, prices rose for a variety of goods such as German cars, French cheese and Italian wine. Excluding fuel, import prices rose a sharp 0.4%, the government said. That’s
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