Economy

NEW YORK — Consumer confidence jumped to a five-month high this month as falling gas prices helped ease the pinch of stubbornly persistent inflation. According to The Conference Board, the nonpartisan, member-driven think tank, its Consumer Confidence Index® increased in... Read More

WASHINGTON — If rechargeable batteries leading the switch away from gasoline-powered vehicles are impressive, electrical industry executives told a Senate panel Thursday they haven’t seen anything yet. They say they are developing new technologies that will generate more electricity than... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — Intensifying its fight against high inflation, the Federal Reserve raised its key interest rate Wednesday by a substantial three-quarters of a point for a third straight time and signaled more large rate hikes to come — an... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — Last month, when Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell spoke at an economic conference in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, he issued a blunt warning: The Fed's drive to curb inflation by aggressively raising interest rates, he said, would "bring... Read More

WASHINGTON — Strategic investments in six key “clean” technologies could yield “massive and lasting benefit” for the U.S. economy by mid-century, a new report says. The study, commissioned by Third Way, a D.C.-based think tank, and Breakthrough Energy, and researched... Read More

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden made a last-minute addition to his public schedule on Thursday, inviting railroad and union leaders to the White House to celebrate their averting a nationwide strike that could have crippled the U.S. economy. Many of... Read More

NEW YORK (AP) — The Dow Jones Industrial Average sank more than 1,000 points Tuesday as markets shuddered following Wall Street’s realization that inflation isn’t slowing as much as hoped. The sell-off knocked the benchmark S&P 500 3.7% lower in... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — Sharply lower prices for gas and cheaper used cars slowed U.S. inflation in August for a second straight month, though many other items rose in price, indicating that inflation remains a heavy burden for American households. Consumer prices... Read More

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Friday saluted the winners of the administration's $1 billion Build Back Better Regional Challenge, a contest intended to spur regional economic development while promoting job creation and the next generation of clean energy and... Read More

NEW YORK — Consumer confidence increased in August after three consecutive monthly declines, according to The Conference Board, the business membership and research group. The organization’s latest Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index® now stands at 103.2 (1985=100), up from 95.3... Read More

JACKSON HOLE, Wyoming (AP) — Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell delivered a stark message Friday: The Fed will likely impose more large interest rate hikes in coming months and is resolutely focused on taming the highest inflation in four decades. Powell... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — Slightly fewer Americans filed for unemployment benefits last week as the labor market continues to stand out as one of the strongest segments of the U.S. economy. Applications for jobless aid for the week ending August 13... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — The pace of sales at U.S. retailers was unchanged last month as persistently high inflation and rising interest rates forced many Americans to spend more cautiously. Retail purchases were flat after having risen 0.8% in June, the... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats have pulled off a quiet first in their just-passed legislation addressing climate change and health care: the creation of a tax on stock buybacks, a cherished tool of Corporate America that had long seemed untouchable. Under the bill... Read More

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Vermont farmer Brian Kemp is used to seeing the pastures at Mountain Meadows Farm grow slower in the hot, late summer, but this year the grass is at a standstill. That's “very nerve-wracking” when you're grazing... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats pushed their flagship climate change and health care bill toward House passage Friday, placing President Joe Biden on the brink of a back-from-the-dead triumph on his leading domestic goals that could energize his party going into November’s elections. Democrats were poised... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — Prices at the wholesale level fell from June to July, the first month-to-month drop in more than two years and a sign that some of the U.S. economy's inflationary pressures cooled last month. Thursday’s report from the Labor Department... Read More

AP -- Gasoline prices dipped to just under the $4 mark for the first time in more than five months — good news for consumers who are struggling with high prices for many other essentials. AAA said the national average... Read More

Republican politicians and candidates are distorting how a major economic bill passed over the weekend by the Senate would reform the IRS and affect taxes for the middle class. The “ Inflation Reduction Act,” which awaits a House vote after passing in the Senate on... Read More

WASHINGTON — The Consumer Price Index was unchanged in July, a sign that rapidly declining gas prices are beginning to offset the pressures that led to a monthslong surge in inflation. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Democrats have agreed to eleventh-hour changes to their marquee economic legislation, they announced late Thursday, clearing the major impediment to pushing one of President Joe Biden’s paramount election-year priorities through the chamber in coming days. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema,... Read More

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden will sign the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022 into law next Tuesday in a Rose Garden ceremony, the White House has announced. Supporters of H.R. 4346 touted the legislation as a vehicle for lowering... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — Jerome Powell delivered a tough message at the start of a news conference Wednesday: Inflation is way too high, and the Federal Reserve is laser-focused on taming it with higher borrowing costs. Yet despite his resolute words, the Fed... Read More

NEW YORK (AP) — Ah, the bacon, egg and cheese. The classic bodega breakfast sandwich is a staple in many a New Yorker's diet. It's easy to make, easy to eat on the go and cheap — although not as... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is warning that Democrats’ plans to curb drug prices would insert “socialist price controls" between Americans and the treatments they need as partisan battle lines form over a shrunken economic package that President Joe... Read More

NEW YORK (AP) — Consumers picked up their spending from May to June, underscoring their resilience despite painfully higher prices at the gas pump and in grocery aisles and allaying fears that the economy might be on the verge of a recession.... Read More

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Agriculture is taking steps to reduce the economic risks associated with so-called double cropping, or raising two crops on the same land in one year.  Working with its Risk Management Agency, the USDA is... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — Surging prices for gas, food and rent catapulted U.S. inflation to a new four-decade peak in June, further pressuring households and likely sealing the case for another large interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve, with higher borrowing... Read More

NEW YORK — Though there has been some improvement in the metrics used to measure inflation, a slowing U.S. manufacturing sector among other factors suggests the risk of a looming recession continues to be strong, according to an economist with... Read More

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... Read More