WASHINGTON (AP) — With prices across the economy — from food, gas and rent to cars, airfares and hotel rooms — soaring at their fastest pace in decades, you might think Americans would tap the brakes on spending.
NEW YORK (AP) — The bear came close to Wall Street but then backed off.
The stock market’s slump this year briefly pulled the S&P 500 into what's known as a bear market Friday, before a late rally put the index in the green.
MILAN (AP) — Edoardo Ronzoni inspects a construction site near Milan that he shut down in March as costs for materials skyrocketed. He can’t complete a half-built roundabout at an intersection known for fender-benders because asphalt, cast-iron pipes and concrete are too expensive — prices exacerbated by Russia's war in Ukraine.
BEIJING (AP) — Asian stock markets rose Friday after Wall Street fell closer to bear territory, China cut a key interest rate and Japanese inflation edged higher.
Market benchmarks in Shanghai, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Sydney advanced.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A closely divided House approved legislation Thursday to crack down on alleged price gouging by oil companies and other energy producers as prices at the pump continue to soar.
A bill backed by House Democrats would give President Joe Biden authority to declare an energy emergency that would make it unlawful to increase gasoline and home energy fuel prices in an “excessive” or exploitative manner.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden's pick to be the Federal Reserve's top banking regulator pledged Thursday to help reduce high inflation and provide “clear rules” to govern financial innovation.
Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes slowed for the third consecutive month in April as mortgage rates surged, driving up borrowing costs for would-be buyers as home prices soared to new highs.
Existing home sales fell 2.4% last month from March to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.61 million, the National Association of Realtors said Thursday.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Average long-term U.S. mortgage rates retreated modestly this week, but interest on the key 30-year loan remains at decade-high levels.
Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac reported Thursday that the 30-year rate slipped to 5.25% from 5.3% last week.
TOKYO (AP) — Shares dropped sharply in Asia on Thursday after a broad retreat on Wall Street triggered by dismal results from major retailer Target that renewed worries over the impact of high inflation.
NEW YORK (AP) — The pandemic vastly changed the way Americans spend money and now as they return to pre-pandemic behavior, they’re tripping up retailers again.
That dynamic has only been intensified in recent months as inflation jumps sharply, and the latest financial report from Target underscores the challenges.
WASHINGTON (AP) — As President Joe Biden embarks for Asia on Thursday, he's facing a new risk at home for the economy and his Democratic Party: a global slowdown caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the pandemic shutting down Chinese cities and factories.
BONN, Germany (AP) — Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned Wednesday that Russia's February invasion of Ukraine has produced a sharp increase in food and energy prices that is contributing to a slowdown in growth and creating greater risk of global stagflation.
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The United Nations on Wednesday significantly lowered its forecast for global economic growth this year from 4% to 3.1%, saying the war in Ukraine has triggered increasing global food and commodity prices and exacerbated inflationary pressures, upending the fragile recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
LONDON (AP) — Britain’s inflation rate rose to the highest level in 40 years last month as Russia's war in Ukraine fueled further increases in food and fuel prices.
While Europeans bask in the warmth of spring, governments are in a race against winter.
Europe is trying to cut use of Russian natural gas because of the war in Ukraine, but still find enough fuel to keep the lights on and homes warm before it gets cold again.
TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s economy shrank at a worse than expected annual rate of 1% in the first quarter, as rising prices and COVID-19 restrictions sapped spending and investment, according to data released Wednesday.
BEIJING (AP) — Asian stock markets were mixed Wednesday after Wall Street rose and the Federal Reserve's chairman said it will raise interest rates further if needed to cool inflation.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Chair Jerome Powell on Tuesday underscored the Federal Reserve's determination to keep raising interest rates until there is clear evidence inflation is steadily falling — a high-stakes effort that carries the risk of causing an eventual recession.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. retail sales rose 0.9% in April, a solid increase that underscores Americans' ability to keep ramping up spending even as inflation persists at nearly a 40-year high.
The increase was driven by greater sales of cars, electronics, and at restaurants, the Commerce Department said Tuesday.
Shares advanced in Asia on Tuesday after another wobbly day on Wall Street extended a losing streak for markets.
Hong Kong advanced nearly 2.5% and other regional benchmarks were moderately higher.
NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street closed out another volatile week of trading with a broad rally Friday, though it wasn't nearly enough to keep the market from its sixth straight weekly drop, the longest such streak since 2011.
NEW YORK (AP) — It’s been a wild week in crypto, even by crypto standards.
Bitcoin tumbled, stablecoins were anything but stable and one of the crypto industry's highest-profile companies lost a third of its market value.
MEXICO CITY (AP) — No item is more essential to Mexican dinner tables than the corn tortilla. But the burst of inflation that is engulfing Latin America and the rest of the world means that people like Alicia García, a cleaner at a restaurant in Mexico City, have had to cut back.
MADRID (AP) — Spain and Portugal on Friday signed off on a temporary cap on natural gas prices, in a coordinated move described by Portugal’s environment minister as an “unprecedented” bid to temper soaring energy prices and inflation.
Asian shares bounced back Friday from losses earlier in the week, shrugging off data showing U.S. wholesale prices soared 11% in April from a year earlier.
The regional rally followed a mixed and muted close on Wall Street.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California's minimum wage will jump to $15.50 per hour next year, Gov. Gavin Newsom's administration announced Thursday, an increase triggered by soaring inflation that will benefit about 3 million workers.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate on Thursday confirmed Jerome Powell for a second four-year term as Federal Reserve chair, giving bipartisan backing to Powell's high-stakes efforts to curb the highest inflation in four decades.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration is canceling three oil and gas lease sales scheduled in the Gulf of Mexico and off the coast of Alaska, removing millions of acres from possible drilling as U.S.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, fresh off winning Senate confirmation for a second term earlier in the day, acknowledged for the first time Thursday that high inflation and economic weakness overseas could thwart his efforts to avoid causing a recession.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran abruptly raised prices as much as 300% for a variety of staples such as cooking oil, chicken, eggs and milk on Thursday. Scores of alarmed Iranians waited in long lines to snatch up bundles of food and emptied supermarket shelves across the country in the hours before the price hike took effect.
WASHINGTON (AP) —
Average long-term U.S. mortgage rates edged up again this week, with interest on the key 30-year loan at its highest level since 2009.
Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac reported Thursday that the 30-year rate ticked up to 5.3% from 5.27% last week.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. producer prices soared 11% in April from a year earlier, a hefty gain that indicates high inflation will remain a burden for consumers and businesses in the months ahead.
The Labor Department said Thursday that its producer price index — which measures inflation before it reaches consumers — climbed 0.5% in April from March.
Shares fell in Asia on Thursday after the release of worse inflation data than expected sparked heavy selling of technology stocks on Wall Street.
Hong Kong’s benchmark dipped 1.5% in early trading following the arrests of several prominent democracy advocates, including a retired Roman Catholic cardinal.
Kendall Nunamaker and her family of five in Kennewick, Washington, faced impossible math this month: How to pay for gas, groceries and the mortgage with inflation driving up prices?
WASHINGTON (AP) — Inflation eased slightly in April after months of relentless increases but remained near a four-decade high, making it hard for millions of American households to keep up with surging prices.
The shutdown of a gas pipeline in eastern Ukraine has sent a fresh wave of energy jitters through Europe.
Shares were mixed in Asia on Wednesday with Chinese benchmarks pressing higher after a rally in technology companies helped reverse most of an early slide on Wall Street.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 1.1% to 19,853.66 and the Shanghai Composite index climbed 1.4% to 3,079.40.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Tuesday warned voters unhappy with soaring inflation and his stalled domestic agenda against turning power over to “ultra-MAGA” Republicans in the midterm elections as he increasingly tries to cast former President Donald Trump and his adherents as a political foil.
NEW YORK (AP) — Just as Americans gear up for summer road trips, the price of oil remains stubbornly high, pushing prices at the gas pump to painful heights.
Drivers were paying $4.37 for a gallon of regular Tuesday, on average, according to AAA.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Democrats in many parts of the country are facing a potentially grim political year, but in California no one is talking about the liberal stronghold changing direction.
California's largely irrelevant Republican Party could field only little-known candidates for governor and U.S.