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Regulatory warsThe Supreme Court lifted the existential threat hanging over the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, rejecting a challenge to the agency’s funding. The decision could have huge consequences for a raft of conservative-led lawsuits involving administrative authority — but business groups and Republicans are vowing to fight on. A recap: Payday lenders had sued the C.F.P.B. over a rule that would limit the number of times they could withdraw money from a customer’s account for repayment. The companies and conservative groups argued that the practice wasn’t harmful, and said the way the regulator is funded — via annual allocations from the Fed’s profits rather than from Congress — was unconstitutional.

Persons: Congress — Organizations: Consumer Financial Protection, Congress

Inflation euphoria goes globalStocks in Asia and parts of Europe rose on Thursday as investors bet that new data showing inflation easing would finally persuade central bankers to lower interest rates from multidecade highs. Another test comes on Thursday when Walmart, a bellwether for U.S. consumer sentiment, reports quarterly results. The market moves follow Wednesday’s Consumer Price Index report, which came in better than expected. Inflation remains well above the Fed’s 2 percent target, but traders were encouraged by the results. The futures market now sees two Fed rate cuts this year, the first most likely coming in September.

Organizations: Walmart Locations: Asia, Europe

☆ As bad as you may think the economy is now, it’s nowhere near the 1970s
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-16 | by ( Elisabeth Buchwald | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

New York CNN —When new gross domestic product figures last month showed US economic growth slowed from recent gangbuster levels, many people diagnosed the economy as having a really ugly sickness: stagflation. So March’s ugly inflation report, which showed an unexpected jump in the pace of price increases, and the lackluster GDP report, made the diagnosis seem like a no-brainer. Even JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon said last month the US economy “looks more like the 1970s than we’ve seen before” and that stagflation is a growing risk. Economic slack, a term I unfortunately cannot take any credit for, broadly describes a situation where the economy isn’t performing as well as it could be. The most widely recognized symptom of economic slack is a rising unemployment rate.

Persons: Jamie Dimon, we’ve, Jerome Powell, ”, Powell, you’ve, it’s, Austan Goolsbee, Diane Swonk, wasn’t, stagflation, millennials Organizations: New, New York CNN, JPMorgan Chase, Fed, Chicago Fed, KPMG Locations: New York, stagflation

☆ The pandemic has changed when Americans expect to retire
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-15 | by ( Nicole Goodkind | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Most non-retired adults have some type of retirement savings, but only 36% think their savings are on track. New research from economists at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York finds that this retirement savings deficit hasn’t made a dent in when Americans plan to exit, or partially exit, the workforce. “The pandemic-induced change in retirement expectations may continue to affect the labor market in years to come,” they wrote. Yes, but: This is a survey of expectations, researchers at the New York Fed are quick to point out. Just because Americans say they plan to shift to part-time work or retire early, it doesn’t mean that they’ll be able to.

Persons: Felix Aidala, Gizem Kosar, Wilbert van der, ”, They’re, Alicia Wallace, delinquencies, Joelle, CNN’s Parija, Donna Morris, Morris, ” Morris Organizations: CNN Business, Bell, New York CNN, Census, Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Social Security, New, Survey, SCE, triannual, Social, Social Security Agency, Lawmakers, New York Fed, Federal Reserve Bank of New, “, Public Policy Research, Credit, Walmart, CNN, San Francisco Bay Area Locations: New York, United States, York, Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Bentonville , Arkansas, Walmart’s Dallas, Atlanta, Toronto, Bentonville, San Francisco Bay, Hoboken , New Jersey

☆ Live Updates: Inflation Expected to Cool Slightly
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-15 | by ( Ben Casselman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +9 min

Housing Inflation Remains Stubbornly High Economists had expected two measures of rental inflation to fade in 2023 and 2024, but that process is taking time to play out. There are two main measures of inflation in America, the Consumer Price Index and the Personal Consumption Expenditures index. Consumer Price Index Inflation Remains Hotter The Consumer Price Index is climbing faster than the Personal Consumption Expenditures index, in large part because it weights housing more heavily. With housing, Consumer Price Index inflation totaled 3.5 percent in March. But the convergence between new and existing rent inflation is taking a lot longer than expected.

Persons: There’s, “ It’s, ”, Mark Zandi, Biden, Zandi, grousing, “, O.E.R, We’re, would’ve, Mark Franceski, I’ve, Ernie Tedeschi, Tedeschi Organizations: New York Times, Federal Reserve, Index, Housing, Zelman, Associates, White House Council, Economic Advisers Locations: America, bam, Europe

☆ Debt — and delinquencies — are on the rise for Americans
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-14 | by ( Alicia Wallace | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

New data released Tuesday by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York showed that as household debt balances grew during the first quarter, delinquencies also marched higher. Notably, the percentage of credit card balances in serious delinquency (90 days or more late) climbed to its highest level since 2012. The transitions into delinquency — especially serious delinquency — increased across all debt types, according to the report. Overall household debt grew by 1.1% during the first quarter to $17.69 trillion, according to data that is not adjusted for inflation. Credit card balances dipped (as they typically do post-holidays) by $14 billion to $1.12 trillion.

Persons: delinquencies, Joelle, Delinquencies Organizations: CNN, Federal Reserve Bank of New, “, Public Policy Research, New York Fed, Credit Locations: Federal Reserve Bank of New York, York, New

☆ Fed’s Powell is unfazed by the latest hot inflation reading
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-14 | by ( Elisabeth Buchwald | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Tuesday’s wholesale inflation data, which jumped to its highest rate in a year, certainly wasn’t a source of comfort. “I wouldn’t call it hot, I would call it sort of mixed,” Powell said Tuesday, referring to the new wholesale inflation data. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell (center) spoke Tuesday at an event hosted by the Foreign Bankers' Association alongside European Central Bank Governing Council member Klaas Knot. Another troubling sign for US central bankers is consumers’ belief that inflation will move higher in the year ahead, according to two surveys Fed officials monitor closely. That can lead to higher prices.

Persons: Jerome Powell, Powell, Price, ” Powell, ”, Klaas, Michelle Bowman Organizations: New, New York CNN, Foreign Bankers ’ Association, European Central Bank Governing, Federal, Foreign Bankers, Association alongside European Central Bank Governing, Foreign Bankers Amsterdam, ” Locations: New York

☆ Fed Chair’s Confidence in Slowing Inflation Is ‘Not as High’ as Before
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-14 | by ( Jeanna Smialek | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Jerome H. Powell, the Federal Reserve chair, reiterated that policymakers were poised to hold interest rates steady at a high level as they waited for evidence that inflation is slowing further. Fed officials entered 2024 expecting to make interest rate cuts, having lifted borrowing costs sharply to a more than two-decade high of 5.3 percent between 2022 and the middle of last year. Speaking during a panel discussion in Amsterdam, Mr. Powell said that officials had been surprised by recent inflation readings. The Consumer Price Index inflation measure, which is set for release on Wednesday, came down rapidly in 2023 but has gotten stuck above 3 percent this year. The Fed’s preferred measure, the Personal Consumption Expenditures index, is slightly cooler, but it, too, remains well above the Fed’s 2 percent inflation goal.

Persons: Jerome H, Powell Organizations: Federal Reserve, Fed, Mr Locations: Amsterdam

☆ How the Fed’s quest for transparency made markets more volatile
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-11 | by ( Merritt Enright | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Markets typically respond to Fed comments with price swings in either direction, and recent research shows they are particularly reactive to Powell. And given the Fed's "data-dependent" approach, the baseline can change rapidly as new economic reports are released. "So now we're stuck with a system where there's only one view, there's only one outlook, it's a baseline outlook. And there's really no way to understand the Fed's thinking about where are the risks." Watch the video above to learn more about how the Fed's busy speaking schedule can create market volatility and how it balances transparency with market impact.

Persons: Jerome Powell, Powell, Andrew Levin, —, Levin, Ben Bernanke Organizations: Fed, Federal, Center for Economic Policy Research, Dartmouth College, Federal Reserve Locations: Federal, what's

☆ Why Higher Fed Rates Are Not Totally Off the Table
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-09 | by ( Jeanna Smialek | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Investors do not expect the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates again, and officials have made it clear that they see further increases as unlikely. But one important takeaway from recent Fed commentary is that unlikely and inconceivable are not the same thing. After the central bank held rates steady at 5.3 percent last week, the Fed’s chair, Jerome H. Powell, delivered a news conference where what he didn’t say mattered. Asked whether officials might raise interest rates again, he said he thought they probably would not — but he also avoided fully ruling out the possibility. And when asked, twice, whether he thought rates were high enough to bring inflation fully under control, he twice tiptoed around the question.

Persons: Jerome H, Powell, Mr, ” Organizations: Federal Reserve

☆ For US renters, the chance of owning a home is going from bad to worse
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-08 | by ( Elisabeth Buchwald | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

New York CNN —The American dream of homeownership is looking more like a nightmare. With inflation heating up again, the Federal Reserve is in no position to consider lowering interest rates at its upcoming meetings. That’s according to a New York Fed survey gauging consumers’ expectations of the housing market, released Monday. Consumers are gearing up for even bigger increases compared to the expected rise in mortgage rates over the next year, the New York Fed survey found. The issue of rent affordability is particularly pronounced in New York City, where housing costs have always been notoriously high compared to other parts of the country, absent a brief respite during the pandemic.

Persons: That’s, Kenny Lee, Aditya Bhave, Neel Kashkari, Bhave, ” Bhave, “, Perdue “, ”, Read, TikTok, Joe Biden, Brian Fung, Bytedance Organizations: CNN Business, Bell, New York CNN, Federal, New, Fed, Zillow, Bank of America, CNN, Minneapolis, Bloomberg, United States Department of Labor, Seaboard Triumph Foods, Perdue, Labor Department, Seaboard, Labor, Packers Sanitation Services, Appeals, District of Columbia Circuit Locations: New York, New York City, Fayette, DOL, Sioux City , Iowa, Accomac , Virginia, China

☆ The alleged architect of a multibillion-dollar fraud that shook Wall Street heads to trial
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-07 | by ( Allison Morrow | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

New York CNN —In the spring of 2021, you might have heard about a small investment firm with an odd name, Archegos, that imploded practically overnight and left big Wall Street banks sweating over billions of dollars in losses. Put simply, prosecutors say Hwang had used financial instruments called “total return swaps” to gain exposure to the stocks without actually owning them. Over the course of a year, prosecutors say, Hwang grew his $1.5 billion portfolio into a $35 billion portfolio. Why the case mattersWhite-collar crime on Wall Street may seem like a distant problem for most Americans, and that may be true. And sometimes, as in the financial crisis of 2008, it was a bit of Wall Street tinkering in derivatives contracts that blew up in banks’ faces and collapsed the housing market.

Persons: CNN Business ’, Bill Hwang, Hwang, Matt Egan, Banks, Archegos, ” Hwang, Hwang didn’t, ”, isn’t, Dennis Kelleher Organizations: CNN Business, New York CNN, Archegos, Management, Viacom, Discovery, Warner Bros, CNN, Term Capital Management, Credit Suisse, Employees, Bloomberg, Tiger Asia Management Locations: New York, Korean, York City, ’

☆ Three things investors probably don’t know, but should
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-06 | by ( Nicole Goodkind | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

Arone spoke with Before the Bell to outline three things about markets right now “that investors should know, but probably don’t.”1. You write that investors might be surprised to hear that small- and mid-cap stocks have outperformed large-cap stocks over the past five months. Why do you think that’s surprising, and what does it say about markets? Most investors think that the S&P 500 has been outperforming everything else, largely dragged up by the performance of the Magnificent 7 (Amazon, Tesla, Alphabet, Meta, Apple, Microsoft and Nvidia). The big beneficiaries of that, I think, would be a surprise for most investors — those mid-cap stocks and small-cap stocks.

Persons: ”, Michael Arone, Arone, That’s, that’s, Jerome Powell, I’m, Warren Buffett, Berkshire Hathaway, Charlie Munger, Buffett, Greg Abel, Ajit Jain, Munger’s, Read, Parija Kavilanz Organizations: New, New York CNN, Wall, Federal Reserve, Bell, Apple, Microsoft, Nvidia, Treasury, Fed, Berkshire Hathaway, Oracle, Ikea Locations: New York, Berkshire, Woodstock, Nebraska, Omaha

☆ The Perils of the Fed’s Vast Bond Holdings
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-03 | by ( Jeff Sommer | More About Jeff Sommer | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

But even after two years of quantitative tightening, the amount of bonds and securities that the Fed still retains is stupendous. Quantitative tightening is a perilous operation. Earlier attempts — notably, in 2019 — disrupted financial markets. The slow pace of quantitative tightening is partly responsible for the Fed’s inability to contribute to the national budget. That’s because the Fed has also raised interest rates, which move in the opposite direction of bond prices.

Persons: — Organizations: Fed, Treasury, Silicon Valley Bank Locations: United States

☆ Americans were paid an additional $235 billion in interest in 2023, thanks to the Fed
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-01 | by ( Jeanne Sahadi | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

High-yield savings accountsThe average interest rate on regular bank savings accounts is roughly 0.5% but can run as low as 0.01% at the biggest banks. By contrast, the average on high-yield savings accounts is well over 4%, according to DepositAccounts.com. If you leave it parked in a regular savings account at 0.5%, you’ll get $50 in interest for a year. As with any savings account, banks can lower the rate they offer — also known as the APY — at any time. Money market accounts and money market fundsAlthough money market deposit accounts and money market mutual funds are both generating yields competitive with the best high-yield savings accounts, there are important differences.

Persons: —, It’s, ”, Greg McBride, you’ll, McBride, “, ” McBride, Ben Bakkum, Collin Martin, Martin Organizations: New, New York CNN, Federal Reserve, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, FDIC, National Credit Union Share Insurance, Securities Investor Protection Corporation, Treasury, Fed, Schwab Center, Financial Research Locations: New York, Schwab.com, United States

☆ The Fed Tries to Steer Clear of Politics, But Election Year Is Making It Tough
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-01 | by ( Jeanna Smialek | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Federal Reserve officials are fiercely protective of their separation from politics, but the presidential election is putting the institution on a crash course with partisan wrangling. Fed officials set policy independently of the White House, meaning that while presidents can push for lower interest rates, they cannot force central bankers to cut borrowing costs. Incumbent politicians generally want low interest rates, which help to stoke economic growth by making borrowing cheap. But the Fed uses higher interest rates to keep inflation slow and steady — and if politicians forced to keep rates low and goose the economy all the time, it could allow those price increases to rocket out of control. Pressuring officials for lower rates was unlikely to help, administrations reasoned, and could actually backfire by prodding policymakers to keep rates higher for longer to prove that they were independent from the White House.

Organizations: Federal, White

☆ Federal Reserve interest rate verdict: Central bankers meet to decide on next move
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-01 | by ( Bryan Mena | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Washington CNN —The Federal Reserve is expected to announce Wednesday that it is keeping interest rates at a quarter-century high for the sixth-straight meeting. Other Fed officials have already introduced the possibility of a rate hike, in addition to the chance of no rate cuts this year. Williams later said that another rate hike is possible if economic data warrants it. That combination eerily resembled stagflation, which triggered a broad stocks selloff on Wall Street Thursday. The threshold for a rate hike is ‘extremely high’Another interest rate hike is back in the conversation, but at the moment, it’s still not likely the Fed will do that.

Persons: Jerome Powell, ” Powell, Powell, John Williams, Williams, Neel Kashkari, Austan Goolsbee, “, can’t, it’s, Goldman Sachs, Wall, ” Oren Klachkin Organizations: Washington CNN, Federal, Index, New York Fed, Bloomberg, Minneapolis, Chicago Fed, Commerce Department, JPMorgan, Bank of America, Nationwide, CNN Locations: New, Chicago, Wells Fargo

☆ What to Watch as the Fed Makes Its Interest Rate Decision
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-01 | by ( Jeanna Smialek | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

On the one hand, officials could stick with their recent script: Their next policy move is likely to be an interest rate reduction, but incoming inflation and growth data will determine how soon reductions can begin and how extensive they will be. Policymakers believe that they need to use interest rates to tap the brakes on demand and bring inflation fully under control. The Fed will release its policy decision in a statement at 2 p.m. Eastern. But investors are likely to focus most intently on a news conference scheduled for 2:30 p.m. with Jerome H. Powell, the Fed chair. Central bankers will not release quarterly economic projections at this gathering — the next set is scheduled for release after the Fed’s June 11-12 meeting.

Persons: Jerome H, Powell Organizations: Federal

☆ Fed Holds Rates Steady, Noting Lack of Progress on Inflation
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-01 | by ( Jeanna Smialek | More About Jeanna Smialek | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Federal Reserve officials left interest rates unchanged and signaled that they are wary about how stubborn inflation is proving, paving the way for a longer period of high interest rates. The Fed held borrowing costs steady at 5.33 percent on Wednesday, leaving them at a more than two-decade high where they have been set since July. Central bankers reiterated that they need “greater confidence” that inflation is coming down before reducing rates. “Readings on inflation have come in above expectations,” Jerome H. Powell, the Fed chair, said at a news conference following the release of the central bank’s rate decision. After months of rapid cooling, inflation has proved surprisingly sticky in early 2024.

Persons: ” Jerome H, Powell Organizations: Federal Reserve, Fed

☆ What the Fed’s Moves Mean for Mortgages, Credit Cards and More
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-01 | by ( Tara Siegel Bernard | More About Tara Siegel Bernard | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

American households who have been hoping interest rates would soon decline may have to wait a bit longer. The Federal Reserve is expected to keep its benchmark interest rate unchanged on Wednesday. But yet another report of persistent inflation may ultimately cause the policy-making body to keep rates elevated for longer than it had previously expected. For people with money stashed away in higher-yielding savings accounts, a continuation of elevated rates translates into more interest earnings. But for people saddled with high cost credit card debt, or aspiring homeowners who have been sidelined by higher interest rates, a lower-rate environment can’t come soon enough.

Persons: they’ve Organizations: Federal

☆ The spring homebuying season isn’t what it used to be, thanks to the Fed
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-30 | by ( Elisabeth Buchwald | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

All that has caused the spring homebuying season to take a timeout — and could spell trouble for the remainder of the year. Since 1999, more than a third of home sales for the entire year occur between March and June on average, according to Freddie Mac data. Given the Fed is in no rush to cut interest rates, Khater expects mortgage rates to remain elevated for longer. Taken together, all these factors will likely put upward pressure on home prices, Khater and his team said in the report. “Our outlook does depend on mortgage rates, which are creating their own seasonality,” she added.

Persons: That’s, ” Zillow, Nicole Bachaud, “ Buyers, Bachaud, Sam Khater, Freddie Mac, Khater, ” Organizations: New, New York CNN, Federal Reserve, CNN, “, Fed Locations: New York, Texas, Florida

☆ What is divestment? And does it work?
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-28 | by ( Nicole Goodkind | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

From Princeton University in New Jersey to the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, the same chant can be heard: “Disclose! The specifics of student protesters’ divestment demands vary in scope from school to school. Other students, like those at Cornell University and Yale, are asking their schools to stop investing in weapons manufacturers. Other common threads include demanding universities disclose their investments, sever academic ties with Israeli universities and support a ceasefire in Gaza. Proponents for divestment counter that its value lies in raising awareness and stigmatizing partnerships with targeted regimes or industries.

Persons: “, ” Israel, Witold Henisz, Henisz, ”, Nicholas Dirks, ” Dirks, Dirks, “ They’ll, Anna Cooban, Michelle Bowman, Eli Lilly, Estee Lauder, Jerome Powell Organizations: New, New York CNN, Palestinian, Princeton University, University of Southern, Columbia University Apartheid, Columbia, Cornell University and Yale, Research, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, CNN, University of California, Columbia’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Federal Reserve, European Central Bank, Dallas Fed, Samsung, AMD, Starbucks, Benz Group, Volkswagen, PayPal, adidas, Diamondback Energy, Restaurant Brands, Pinterest, Caesars Entertainment, PMI, Conference Board, Mastercard, Qualcomm, Pfizer, Marriott, eBay, US Commerce Department, Apple, Novo Nordisk, Shell, ConocoPhillips, Cigna, Universal Music Group, Hershey, US Labor Department Locations: New York, New Jersey, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, Columbia, Palestine, Israel, Gaza, South Africa, Berkeley, United States, Europe, DoorDash

☆ Stagflation fears just hit Wall Street. Now for the next crucial report on prices
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-26 | by ( Krystal Hur | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

New York CNN —The Federal Reserve’s favorite inflation reading is due Friday morning. Investors are nervously awaiting the report after first-quarter US GDP came in softer than expected Thursday. Stocks tumbled as the slowdown in GDP, coupled with stubbornly high inflation data, stoked fears of stagflation. Wall Street earlier this year expected that the central bank would ease rates as many as six times in 2024, beginning in March. Yellen said the weaker reading was not “concerning,” mentioning that measures of underlying growth were strong in Thursday’s report.

Persons: Stocks, ”, Ayako Yoshioka, Janet Yellen, Alessandra Galloni, Alicia Wallace, ” Yellen, “, we’ve, Yellen, Read, Freddie Mac, Bryan Mena, Lawrence Yun Organizations: CNN Business, Bell, New York CNN, Gross, Commerce Department, Atlanta, Fed, Thursday’s, Group, Traders, Bank of America, Reuters, National Association of Realtors Locations: New York, Yellen

☆ Bets on Rate Cuts This Year Are Fading Away
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-26 | by ( Jeanna Smialek | More About Jeanna Smialek | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

At the start of 2024, investors expected the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates substantially this year as inflation cooled. Investors and economists are questioning when and how much Fed policymakers will manage to cut rates — and some are increasingly dubious that Fed officials will manage to lower them at all this year. Inflation’s stickiness has prompted Fed officials to signal that it may take longer to reduce interest rates than they had previously expected. Policymakers raised interest rates to 5.33 percent between March 2022 and last summer, and have held them there since. Investors who came into the year expecting a first rate cut by March have pushed back those expectations to September or later.

Persons: Inflation’s stickiness Organizations: Federal Reserve, Investors

☆ The Fed’s preferred inflation gauge just moved in the wrong direction
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-26 | by ( Alicia Wallace | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: 1 min

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