NEW YORK (AP) — Best Buy, the nation's largest consumer electronics chain, cut its annual sales and profit forecast Wednesday, citing surging inflation that has dampened consumer spending on gadgets.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Conflicting signs about the health of the U.S. economy have thrust the Federal Reserve into a difficult spot.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Christopher Waller, a member of the Federal Reserve's Board of Governors, said Thursday that he would be open to supporting a huge 1 percentage point increase in the Fed's key short-term interest rate later this month if upcoming economic data points to robust consumer spending.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A measure of inflation that is closely tracked by the Federal Reserve jumped 6.3% in May from a year earlier, unchanged from its level in April.
Thursday's report from the Commerce Department provided the latest evidence that painfully high inflation is pressuring American households and inflicting particular harm on low-income families and people of color.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. economy shrank at a 1.6% annual pace in the first three months of the year, the government reported Wednesday in a slight downgrade from its previous estimate for January-March quarter.
BEIJING (AP) — China’s factory output rebounded in May, adding to a recovery from the latest COVID-induced economic slump after controls that shut down Shanghai and other industrial centers eased.
Industrial production rose 0.7% over a year earlier, recovering from April’s 2.9% contraction, government data showed.
An inflation gauge closely tracked by the Federal Reserve rose 6.3% in April from a year earlier, the first slowdown since November 2020 and a sign that high prices may finally be moderating, at least for now.
NEW YORK (AP) — The fastest inflation in 40 years squeezed retailers during the first quarter, alarming investors worried about the broader economy's outlook.
Earnings reports from Walmart, Target and Amazon this month showed higher costs are hurting retailers' operations.
WASHINGTON (AP) — An inflation gauge closely tracked by the Federal Reserve surged 6.6% in March compared with a year ago, the highest 12-month jump in four decades and further evidence that spiking prices are pressuring household budgets and the health of the economy.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. economy shrank in the first three months of the year, and faces threats from high inflation and rising interest rates, yet economists foresee a return to growth for the rest of 2022 based on the strength of the job market and consumer spending.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. economy ended 2021 by expanding at a healthy 6.9% annual pace from October through December, the government reported Wednesday, a slight downgrade from its previous estimates.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Propelled by surging costs for gas, food and housing, consumer inflation jumped 7.9% over the past year, the sharpest spike since 1982 and likely only a harbinger of even higher prices to come.
BEIJING (AP) — China's ruling Communist Party is temporarily turning away from its longer-term ambitions to focus on pulling the economy out of a slump as the country heads into the annual meeting of its ceremonial legislature.
WASHINGTON (AP) — An inflation gauge that is closely monitored by the Federal Reserve jumped 6.1% in January compared with a year ago, the latest evidence that Americans are enduring sharp price increases that will likely worsen after Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
NEW YORK (AP) — As CEO of Bank of America since 2010, Brian Moynihan has been largely credited with rebuilding the bank after the Great Recession and financial crisis.
Moynihan points to the continued strength of consumer spending despite four-decade-high inflation and worries about the economy and the pandemic.
TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s economy grew at an annual pace of 5.4% in October-December, boosted by improved consumer spending and exports, the government said Tuesday.
On a quarterly basis, Japan’s real gross domestic product, or GDP, which measures the value of a nation’s products and services, grew 1.3% in the last three months of the year, according to Cabinet Office data.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A measure of prices that is closely tracked by the Federal Reserve rose 5.8% last year, the sharpest increase since 1982, as brisk consumer spending collided with snarled supply chains to raise the costs of food, furniture, appliances and other goods.
Retail sales took an unexpected dip in December in what could be a signal that persistently rising inflation is prompting a pullback in consumer spending.
Consumers paid more for everything from groceries to cars in 2021 as companies passed along the costs of pricier raw materials and supply chain delays.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. consumer prices rose 5.7% over the past year, the fastest pace in 39 years, as a surge in inflation confronts Americans with the holiday shopping season under way.
The November increase, reported Thursday by the Commerce Department, followed a 5.1% rise for the 12 months ending in October, continuing a string of annual price gains that have run well above the 2% inflation target set by the Federal Reserve.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. economy grew at a 2.3% rate in the third quarter, slightly better than previously thought, the Commerce Department said Wednesday. But prospects for a solid rebound going forward are being clouded by the rapid spread of the latest variant of the coronavirus.
TOKYO (AP) — Japan's economy contracted at a 3.6% annual rate in July-September as a wave of coronivirus infections crimped travel and other activities, the government said Wednesday.
The estimate for the last quarter, downgraded from an earlier report of a 3.0% contraction, reflected weakness in consumer spending and trade, the government said.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans are doing the main thing that drives the U.S. economy — spending — but accelerating inflation is casting a pall.
A raft of economic data issued Wednesday showed the economy on solid footing, with Americans’ incomes rising and jobless claims falling to a level not seen since the Beatles were still together.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. economy slowed to a modest annual rate of 2.1% in the July-September quarter according to the government’s second read of the data, slightly better than its first estimate.
Wall Street closed out a week of choppy trading with stocks mostly lower Friday, though gains for several tech companies pushed the Nasdaq composite to another record high and its first close over 16,000 points.
WASHINGTON (AP) — American consumers slowed their spending to a gain of just 0.6% in September, a cautionary sign for an economy that remains in the grip of a pandemic and a prolonged bout of high inflation.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Hampered by rising COVID-19 cases and persistent supply shortages, the U.S. economy slowed sharply to a 2% annual growth rate in the July-September period, the weakest quarterly expansion since the recovery from the pandemic recession began last year.
SILVER SPRING, Md. (AP) — U.S. consumer confidence rose in October after three straight declines as the public's anxiety about the delta variant of the coronavirus appear to have abated.
The Conference Board reported Tuesday that its consumer confidence index rose to a reading of 113.8 in October, up from 109.8 in September.
NEW YORK (AP) — Americans continued to spend at a solid clip in September even while facing sticker shock in grocery aisles, car lots and restaurants as snarled global supply chains slow the flow of goods.
Shares were mixed in Asia on Wednesday after an up-and-down day on Wall Street ended with most benchmarks lower as traders waited for updates on inflation and corporate earnings.
Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index fell 0.3% to 28,158.28 and the S&P/ASX 200 edged 0.1% lower to 7,276.80.
BEIJING (AP) — The Beizhong International Travel Agency in the eastern city of Tianjin has had only one customer since coronavirus outbreaks that began in July prompted Chinese leaders to renew city lockdowns and travel controls.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Growth in U.S. consumer spending slowed in July to a modest increase of 0.3% as infections from the delta variant spread, while inflation over the past 12 months hit its fastest pace in three decades.
BEIJING (AP) — China’s imports and exports rose by double digits in July but growth slowed as global efforts to control the coronavirus’ more contagious delta variant weighed on business and consumer spending.
WASHINGTON (AP) — American consumers increased their spending by 1% in June — a dose of energy for an economy that is quickly rebounding from the pandemic recession but is facing new risks led by the delta variant of the coronavirus.
TAIPEI, China (AP) — Taiwan's economic growth slowed to 7.5% over a year earlier in the latest quarter as anti-coronavirus controls depressed consumer spending and manufacturing.
Growth in the three months ending in June decelerated from the previous quarter's 8.9%, government data showed Friday.