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☆ US retail sales fell in October for the first time in seven months
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-15 | by ( Bryan Mena | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Washington, DC CNN —Americans cut their retail spending in October for the first time since March, with interest rates at a 22-year high. Retail sales, which are adjusted for seasonality but not inflation, fell 0.1% in October from the prior month, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday. October’s decline in retail spending is potentially an early sign of a slowing economy as US consumers get squeezed by higher borrowing costs and they continue to rack up credit card debt. Car sales fell 1.1% in October from September, while furniture sales declined 2% during the same period. Wednesday’s retail sales report bodes well for the Fed, since it shows spending isn’t reaccelerating or remaining stubbornly strong.

Persons: Jerome Powell, ”, Kathy Bostjancic, Austan Goolsbee, market’s, ” Goolsbee Organizations: DC CNN, Commerce Department, Federal, Nationwide, Reserve, of Labor Statistics, Chicago Fed, Detroit Economic Locations: Washington

☆ Fed Chair Powell calls inflation 'too high' and warns that 'we are prepared to raise rates further'
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-25 | by ( Jeff Cox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

watch nowFederal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Friday called for more vigilance in the fight against inflation, warning that additional interest rate increases could be yet to come. Regardless, Powell indicated it's too soon to declare victory, even with data this summer running largely in the Fed's favor. A need to 'proceed carefully'Powell's remarks follow a series of 11 interest rate hikes that have pushed the Fed's key interest rate to a target range of 5.25%-5.5%, the highest level in more than 22 years. He noted progress on all three, but said nonhousing is the most difficult to gauge as it is the least sensitive to interest rate adjustments. Inflation measured over the past three and six months has declined, however, which is encouraging," Powell said.

Persons: Jerome Powell, Powell, Jackson, it's, Ryan Detrick, Jack McIntyre, nonhousing Organizations: Kansas City, Fed, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Dow Jones, Carson Group, Federal, Market, Brandywine, Commerce Department, Labor Locations: Jackson Hole , Wyoming, policymaking

☆ New York Fed model finds inflation pressures more persistent than thought
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Michael S. Derby | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The new findings out Thursday from the New York Fed add a fresh complication to the monetary policy outlook and could help reinforce the view that aggressive Fed rate hikes have yet to make the needed dent in price pressures. The pickup in inflation in the model has been driven by core goods and core services stripped of housing components. Reuters GraphicsThe New York Fed research shows it's even more problematic than previously estimated. The New York Fed released its report after Powell on Wednesday completed two days of testimony before Congress. In his appearance, Powell acknowledged that inflation pressures had been proving more persistent than he expected in an economy whose overall performance was also stronger than policy makers had thought.

Several indicators suggest that housing services inflation is likely to come down in the coming months. There is more uncertainty surrounding inflation in core services excluding housing," Jefferson said in remarks to a Harvard University economics class. The Fed uses the PCE index to sets its inflation target. "I'm under no illusion that it's going to be easy to get the inflation rate back down to 2%," Jefferson said. Jefferson did not detail his views on the Fed's upcoming policy decision, or how much higher he thinks the target federal funds rate might have to move beyond the 4.5% to 4.75% range set at the Fed's last meeting.

☆ Fed Governor Lael Brainard sees high rates ahead even with progress on inflation
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Jeff Cox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Federal Reserve Governor Lael Brainard said Thursday that interest rates need to remain high, even though there are signs inflation is starting to ease. Brainard pointed to a number of areas where she sees inflation starting to come down. Housing costs remain high, but Brainard and other Fed officials expect those to ease later in the year as apartment leases catch up with declines in commercial real estate. Instead, traders see the rate topping out about a quarter percentage point below that, and the Fed starting to reduce rates later this year. "Inflation is high, and it will take time and resolve to get it back down to 2%.

☆ Worker demands for more money on the job hit a record level, a New York Fed survey finds
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( Eric Rosenbaum | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

The level surpassed the $73,283 record reached earlier this year in March, which it had more recently dipped below. The continued strength in the labor market will will put pressure on companies to keep using price as a lever to make back some of the margin lost to labor costs. This approach to offering more pay doesn't tie them into salary increases which can't be easily reversed, and also does not factor into the wage inflation trend for long. But for now Powell is stuck with a labor market that isn't relenting to Fed policy as quickly as hoped. "We do see a very, very strong labor market, one where we haven't seen much softening, where job growth is very high, where wages are very high.

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