Good news for homebuyers! Mortgage rates have dropped for the ninth consecutive week, providing a glimmer of hope in a housing market that has been tough on wallets since the 1980s. After dipping below 7% for the first time since August in early December, rates continued their downward slide. The average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage now […]
Read MoreDonald Trump’s first term as president was a seismic shift in U.S. trade policy. He launched a tariff war with China, pulled out of major trade agreements, and earned the nickname “Tariff Man.” Now, if he wins re-election, expect the ground to tremble again. Trump’s campaign documents and interviews hint at a second term filled […]
Read MoreSwitzerland, known for its delicious cheese and pricey price tags, is making a bold move against its notorious high cost of living by ditching most industrial tariffs starting in January. This means 95% of imports (up from 81%) will cruise into the country duty-free, potentially translating to cheaper cars, appliances, and clothes. But wait, there’s […]
Read MoreThe U.S. economy is expected to slow in 2024, with real GDP growth projected to fall to 1.3% from 2.6% in 2023. Private forecasters also expect inflation to continue to decline, falling to 2.4% in 2024. Key factors contributing to the slowdown in 2024 include: Slower growth of real private consumption expenditures (PCE): PCE is […]
Read MoreChina’s consumer prices remain stagnant and factory-gate prices continue to decline, indicating persistent deflationary pressures in the world’s second-largest economy. The consumer price index (CPI) remained unchanged in September from a year earlier, falling short of the expected 0.2% gain. Core inflation, excluding food and fuel prices, held steady at 0.8%. The producer price […]
Read MoreRecent Inflation Developments The Federal Reserve’s Strategy to Tame Inflation The Federal Reserve is making progress in its efforts to tame inflation. Headline inflation has slowed from its peak of 8.9% in June 2022 to 3.3% in July 2023. This deceleration has been driven by lower food and energy prices. Core inflation, which excludes […]
Read MoreThe January inflation rate was slightly higher than expected, with the government reporting a 0.5% increase compared to economists’ expectation of a 0.4% increase. In the past year, inflation has risen by 6.4%, which is 0.2% higher than expected. The core rate, which excludes food and energy prices, rose by 0.4% in January, which […]
Read MoreThe drop in the cost of shipping containers will help reduce price pressures, Jonathan Ostry, a professor at Georgetown University and the former acting director of the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) Asia and Pacific department wrote in a post on the IMF’s website. In a previous IMF study by Ostry and four colleagues examining the […]
Read MoreConsumer prices that took off last year are starting to flatten out as a wave of rising supply-chain costs starts to retreat. The WSJ’s Sarah Nassauer, Suzanne Kapner and Nick Timiraos report the trends on store shelves may be another sign that inflation is starting to turn a corner. Many companies raised their prices […]
Read MoreThe global rise in consumer prices could be peaking, Kristalina Georgieva, managing director at the International Monetary Fund said. She warned that inflationary pressures could prove more persistent than in the past given heightened geopolitical tensions and a fragmentation in global manufacturing supply chains. “We actually think inflation is going to be harder to […]
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