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☆ Slowing growth plus stubborn inflation add up to a headache for Fed officials
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-25 | by ( Jeff Cox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

The slowing growth and stubborn inflation picture emerging in the U.S. economy may not be quite a nightmare scenario for the Federal Reserve, but it at least could make for some restless sleep. Markets had been looking for the string of good readings dating back to mid-2022 to continue, with economists estimating real GDP growth of 2.4% and inflation readings around 3%. What it got was essentially what some on Wall Street called the worst of both worlds, with weakening growth and stubborn price pressures. The Fed will get a more granular look at PCE data on Friday when the Commerce Department releases the monthly figures for March. "We still think Fed cuts are coming this summer, before inflation has sustainably slowed."

Persons: Matthew Ryan, —, Ryan, Steven Blitz, Veronica Clark Organizations: Federal Reserve, Commerce, Treasury, Commerce Department, TS Lombard, Citigroup, Citi Locations: U.S

☆ Stubborn inflation means the Fed will be cutting rates less than the market thought
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-13 | by ( Jeff Cox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

If nothing else, the January inflation report released Tuesday finally appears to have convinced markets that Federal Reserve officials weren't kidding around when they said they will take a deliberate approach to cutting interest rates this year. Following the consumer price index report showing the year-over-year reading well ahead of the Fed's desired inflation goal, markets recalibrated their monetary policy expectations. The Fed "faces a challenging task in balancing economic growth and employment while trying to control inflation," he added. Indeed, the narrative of the Fed being able to start cutting early, and moving rapidly through the year, was all but dead Tuesday. The January CPI report is a "setback for the Fed and makes a May rate cut unlikely.

Persons: Ditto, —, it's, Sung Won Sohn, Dow, Jerome Powell, Jason Pride, there's, Powell, Matthew Ryan, Krishna Guha, Guha Organizations: Federal Reserve, CME, Labor, CPI, Loyola Marymount University, SS Economics, Dow Jones, US2Y, CBS, Bank of America, Citigroup, Fed, Evercore ISI

European markets closed lower Thursday after U.S. inflation came in above expectations. After a choppy session, the regional Stoxx 600 index finished 0.77% lower, with all sectors in the red. December's U.S. inflation report showed an increase in consumer prices of 0.3% on the month and 3.4% year-on-year. "While the critical core inflation measure, which strips out volatile items such as food and energy, continues to ease from its highs, the downward trend in this measure also appears to have stalled. U.S. stocks also turned lower on Thursday morning as Wall Street digested the inflation data and the start of the fourth-quarter earnings season.

Persons: Spencer, Dow Jones, Matthew Ryan Organizations: Bank, Marks, Tesco, Investors, Federal Reserve, Nikkei Locations: U.S, Asia

☆ U.S. GDP grew at a 4.9% annual pace in the third quarter, better than expected
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-26 | by ( Jeff Cox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had been looking for a 4.7% acceleration in GDP, which also is adjusted for inflation. The sharp increase came due to contributions from consumer spending, increased inventories, exports, residential investment and government spending. Consumer spending, as measured by personal consumption expenditures, increased 4% for the quarter after rising just 0.8% in Q2, and was responsible for 2.7 percentage points of the total GDP increase. The GDP increase marked the biggest gain since the fourth quarter of 2021. At a time when many economists had thought the U.S. would be in the midst of at least a shallow recession, growth has kept pace due to consumer spending that has exceeded all expectations.

Persons: Dow Jones, Gross, Michael Arone, Jeffrey Roach, Arone, Price, Matthew Ryan Organizations: Gross, Commerce Department, Treasury, SPDR, State Street Global Advisors, Federal Reserve, Group, LPL, Labor Department, Federal, Hamas, CNBC Locations: U.S, Israel, Ukraine

[1/2] Signage is seen outside the European Central Bank (ECB) building, in Frankfurt, Germany, July 21, 2022. After being wrong-footed by sudden price rises, the ECB has been raising rates at an unprecedented pace. Inflation has soared since economies reopened after the COVID-19 pandemic, driven by supply bottlenecks and then surging energy costs following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. "We judge that interest rates will still have to rise significantly and at a steady pace," Lagarde told a news conference following its rate announcement. Money markets immediately moved to price in a peak deposit rate of just over 3% by July, compared to 2.75% before the meeting.

☆ Tumblr Shoots for a Comeback With Users and Advertisers
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Katie Deighton | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +7 min

Wireless company Verizon Communications Inc., which bought Yahoo in 2017, saw Tumblr users nosedive when it banned adult content, including nudity, in 2018. Tumblr users in the past month have depicted anthropomorphized versions of the Tumblr and Twitter logos, for example, having a quasiromantic relationship. And in April, it introduced Tumblr Blaze, which offers users, including brand accounts, wider exposure for their posts. Advertisers that create custom campaigns using the parlance popular among Tumblr users to appeal to particular communities usually see the best engagement, according to Tumblr’s chief marketing officer, Matthew Ryan. Some of the most active advertisers on Tumblr are movie and television studios that create Tumblr campaigns for die-hard fans of genres or series, Mr. Ryan said.

They have made me feel excluded,” Cavallo told CNN’s Chief International Anchor Christiane Amanpour on Tuesday. Jonathan DiMaggio/Getty ImagesThe Adelaide United midfielder and former Australian youth international made headlines last year when he came out as gay. Cavallo was speaking to Amanpour ahead of Australia’s 4-1 Group D defeat by France in their opening World Cup game. Earlier this year, Cavallo spoke of his hopes of playing for Australia at the World Cup, but he didn’t make the Socceroos’ final squad for Qatar 2022. However, the 23-year-old said that he had expected the Australian captain to wear the “OneLove” armband in solidarity with the LGBTQ community despite the risk of sanctions for any player who wore the armband.

☆ Dollar gains with Treasury yields, sterling tumbles on hot inflation
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-19 | by ( Karen Brettell | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

British Pound Sterling and U.S. Dollar notes are seen in this June 22, 2017 illustration photo. Benchmark 10-year Treasury yields resumed their march higher as investors maintained expectations that the Federal Reserve will continue to aggressively raise rates to bring down soaring inflation, boosting demand for the U.S. currency. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterThe U.S. central bank is expected to lift rates by another 75 basis points when it meets on November 1-2, with an additional 50 basis points or 75 basis points increase also likely in December. Japanese Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki said on Wednesday that he was checking currency rates "meticulously" and with more frequency, local media reported. The BOJ remains an outlier among a global wave of central banks tightening monetary policy to combat soaring inflation, as it focuses on underpinning a fragile economy.

British Pound Sterling and U.S. Dollar notes are seen in this June 22, 2017 illustration photo. The U.S. dollar held at a 32-year peak against the yen and rose from a two-week trough against a basket of major peers, underpinned by expectations of aggressive U.S. Federal Reserve interest rate hikes. “Sterling edged lower against its peers after yet another upside surprise in the latest UK inflation data... “Following the budget fiasco, there is also a great deal of uncertainty as to the pace of upcoming Bank of England interest rate hikes," he added. read moreElsewhere, the dollar pushed as high as 149.48 yen for the first time since August 1990 in early London trading.

☆ Britain pursues 'trickle-down economics' despite scorn from Biden. And the stakes are sky-high
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-23 | by ( Karen Gilchrist | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

British Prime Minister Liz Truss and U.S. President Joe Biden formally met for the first time at the United Nations General Assembly in New York City, following clashes in economic policy between the two leaders. Biden, in a tweet Tuesday, said he was "sick and tired of trickle-down economics," adding "it has never worked." Liz Truss U.K. prime ministerCritics, including Britain's opposition Labour party, have argued that such measures disproportionately benefit the wealthy. Questions have also been raised over how the policies will be funded, with tax cuts expected to lead to higher borrowing. Truss has argued that resultant growth will bring in more revenue which will cover those borrowing costs.

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