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The Fed's meeting will be followed with expected rate increases by the European Central Bank on Thursday and the Bank of England next week. But the U.S. central bank is furthest along in the process, and may signal that this week's rate increase is the last, at least for now. Inflation has been edging down, gradually, with the main price index the Fed watches still more than double the central bank's 2% target. The anticipated quarter-percentage-point increase on Wednesday will put the target federal funds rate at roughly the same spot, between 5% and 5.25%. With this rate increase, Fed officials will hit a level that will be about 1 percentage point above the rate they consider to have a neutral impact on economic activity.

☆ China Celebrates Economic Recovery, Pledges More Help on Jobs
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Jason Douglas | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

China’s Politburo says it aims to strengthen the country’s lead in electric vehicles with brands such as Leapmotor, whose cars are assembled at a factory in Jinhua, China. Photo: CHINA DAILY/via REUTERSSINGAPORE—The top policy-making body of China’s Communist Party pledged to nurture the country’s economic recovery after better-than-expected growth in the first quarter of the year, signaling optimism over the outlook for the economy while acknowledging problems such as local-government debt and youth joblessness. The world’s second-largest economy is expected to expand at a healthy clip this year after Beijing ditched its strict approach to controlling Covid-19 late last year. The upbeat projections offer support to a global economy beset by slowing growth in the U.S. and Europe as rising interest rates, stubborn inflation and the specter of financial-sector instability bear down on consumer and business spending.

☆ Morning Bid: Global pulse picks up, rates creep higher again
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

A look at the day ahead in U.S. and global markets from Mike DolanWith investors largely assuming recession ahead, an accelerating global economic pulse challenges the narrative and is seeing interest rates tick back higher again as the March banking wobble subsides. With March starts and permits numbers out later, there was also signs of a troughing in the U.S. housing market. Confidence among U.S. single-family homebuilders improved for a fourth straight month in April as a dearth of previously owned homes and falling mortgage rates boosted demand. Wall St futures were higher again on Tuesday, with European bourses and most Asia indices advancing too. With euro zone and UK rate expectations pushing higher too, the dollar slipped back again against the euro and sterling .

Her comments were echoed by others who feel the narrative shared by three top central banks of relatively cost-free disinflation rests on shaky ground. Among the Fed, ECB and BoE, only the British central bank projects a recession will be needed to slow inflation - only a mild one at that. U.S. central bank officials have split the difference, projecting a modest one-percentage-point rise in the unemployment rate this year from its near-historic low of 3.5%, and slow, but continued, economic growth. Martins Kazaks, Latvia's central bank chief, said the risk of a recession was still "non-trivial," with a host of factors still putting pressure on prices. For the Fed, different policymakers offer different ideas about the forces that will lower inflation as high interest rates slowly cool demand.

☆ I was jealous of people who were laid off from Big Tech and posting about it since I got laid off from a startup and felt invisible. Then I realized shame drove my resentment.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Hanna Matyiku-Nuñez | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Hanna Matyiku-Nuñez was laid off from her job as a marketing manager at a small tech firm in 2021. She developed resentment toward her tech colleagues who got laid off from bigger companies. I was laid off from my marketing position at a small startup most people had never heard of. In my mind, this meant the enviable perks of working for a tech giant continued even after a layoff. I now realize the shame of being laid off kept me from being open, and later drove me to layoff resentment.

[1/2] A "now hiring" sign is displayed outside Taylor Party and Equipment Rentals in Somerville, Massachusetts, U.S., September 1, 2022. Economists polled by Reuters expect a gain of 239,000 jobs in March, with hourly wages rising at a 4.3% annual rate and the unemployment rate remaining at 3.6%, a level seen less than 20% of the time since World War Two. Unemployment is still at a very low level," Boston Fed President Susan Collins said in an interview with Reuters last week. How "slack" in the labor market links to lower inflation may depend on where job growth slows, and over what timeline. "The services sector, in particular, has contributed substantially to recent inflation, reflecting ongoing imbalances in labor markets where supply remains impaired and demand remains robust," they wrote.

☆ Using joblessness to fight inflation looks 'cruel and unusual,' says National Urban League's Marc Morial
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-07 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailUsing joblessness to fight inflation looks 'cruel and unusual,' says National Urban League's Marc MorialMarc Morial, president and CEO of the National Urban League, joins CNBC's "Squawk Box" to discuss Friday's jobs report.

April 7 (Reuters) - The Black unemployment rate hit a record low in March, a milestone for a U.S. labor market that most policymakers and economists expect to begin cooling in the face of higher interest rates, jeopardizing those historic gains. The 0.7 percentage point decline in the African American unemployment rate was the largest since November 2021 and was led by Black women, for whom joblessness dropped to a record low 4.2%. The rate for Black men ticked up to 5.2% from February's record-low-matching 5.1%. Net flows into the labor market and the labor force participation rate are both improving, developments that research shows come along late in the employment cycle. In every U.S. recession since the 1970s the Black unemployment rate has risen by at least 2 percentage points more than for whites, and often by far more than that.

☆ Kenya police, crowds clash in third wave of price rise protests
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Ayenat Mersie | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Thousands joined marches called by opposition leader Raila Odinga against high living costs and alleged fraud in last year's vote. The government has said the vote was fair, defended its economic record and called for the protests to stop. "We are telling our elder Raila Odinga, the only way to get into government is through the ballot." Odinga's spokesperson Dennis Onyango accused Malala of "ethnic profiling", saying he had assumed the attackers were Odinga supporters because they were from his ethnic group. Odinga, who has run for president five times, challenged Ruto's victory in August's election, but the Supreme Court upheld the result unanimously.

☆ How borrowers can keep their student loan payments on hold once bills resume
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( Annie Nova | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

watch nowThe Education Department in November said student bills would resume 60 days after the litigation over its student loan forgiveness plan resolves. If you're unemployed when student loan payments resume, you can request an unemployment deferment with your servicer. The maximum time you can use an unemployment or hardship deferment is usually three years per type. Forbearances also keep bills on holdStudent loan borrowers who don't qualify for a deferment may request a forbearance. Kantrowitz provided an example: A $30,000 student loan with a 5% interest rate would increase by $1,500 a year under a forbearance.

☆ What happens during a ‘credit crunch’ — and how you can prepare for one
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( Greg Iacurci | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

But what is a credit crunch and how might you prepare? Loans would be tougher to getDuring a credit crunch, banks significantly tighten their lending standards. Banks may prioritize a healthier balance sheetA credit crunch seems likely given banking woes that have unfurled over the past two weeks. A severe credit crunch isn't a foregone conclusion, though. How to prepare for a credit crunchThere are some steps consumers can take now to prepare for a possible credit crunch.

☆ Mortgage rates plunge in wake of bank failures
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Anna Bahney | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Washington, DC CNN —Mortgage rates dropped this week in the wake of several bank failures, reversing course after rising half a percentage point over the past month. The average mortgage rate is based on mortgage applications that Freddie Mac receives from thousands of lenders across the country. The events of the past week, ranging from strong economic indicators to unforeseen events in banking, sent mortgage rates down. When Treasury yields go up, so do mortgage rates; when they go down, mortgage rates tend to follow. “This year, both prices and mortgage rates are higher than a year ago, resulting in a 50% increase in housing costs for the typical US home.

While the Fed settled for a quarter-percentage-point rise, it also said "ongoing increases" would push the policy rate as high as needed. Recent data also showed inflation continuing to slow, though by less than expected. Today's 4.5%-4.75% policy rate is its highest since the eve of the housing crisis in 2007. "I don't see that indicating to me that we're slowing the economy," Fed Governor Michelle Bowman said of recent data, including strong retail sales and job growth. Richmond Fed's Barkin, by contrast, said he took little "signal" from recent data, anticipating inflation would continue falling.

2 role vacant just as the central bank approaches a decision about when to stop raising interest rates. Brainard's arguments may not have been relevant to the decisions the Fed faces in the next few weeks. Heidi Shierholz, president of the labor-affiliated Economic Policy Institute, said it was "unbelievably important" that Biden find someone to fill Brainard's role. Administration officials gave no immediate sense of how soon Biden may name a new Fed vice chair, though outside analysts and commentators were already putting names in circulation from what's considered a deep bench of economists affiliated with Biden's Democratic party. The vice chair plays a particularly important role, typically reserved for somebody with a PhD in economics who can speak with technical authority about Fed policy and decisions.

☆ What laid-off workers need to know when applying for unemployment benefits
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( Annie Nova | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

People may be surprised to learn, for example, that in some cases they can qualify for unemployment benefits even if they quit, Evermore said. To receive and keep receiving unemployment benefits, you have to be able to work and actively be seeking new employment, Evermore said. Are unemployment benefits taxable? In the third quarter of 2022, the average weekly unemployment benefit was around $385. Workers are typically eligible for unemployment benefits for a certain amount of weeks per benefit year.

☆ Children accused of witchcraft find solace in east Congo shelter
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Crispin Kyala | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Crispin KyalangalilwaBUKAVU, Democratic Republic of Congo, Feb 8 (Reuters) - After Ornella lost several family members within three years, relatives and neighbours in her east Congo village of Kabare began suspecting the 14-year-old girl of witchcraft. Hundreds of thousands of children across the continent are accused of witchcraft each year, according to a 2022 report by the African Child Policy Forum, an independent research group. "Here are at Eka Bana ... they show me that every child has rights," she told Reuters. Children who end up in Eka Bana are usually first taken in by the police, who either find them on the street or receive them from family members. Eka Bana Director Natalia Isella said it was often Evangelical pastors who convinced followers that a "witch" in the family was causing their problems.

The stronger-than-expected hiring pushed the unemployment rate to 3.4%, the lowest since the spring of 1969. “It will give the Fed absolutely no reassurance that labor market imbalances – which have been adding to wage pressures - are easing," said Brian Coulton, chief economist at Fitch Ratings. "It will reinforce the message that the Fed still has quite a lot of work to do to tame core inflation." U.S. Labor Secretary Martin Walsh said he thought Friday's report showed signs of an economy and labor market steadily returning to normal. Powell pointed out that the years just before the COVID-19 health crisis included simultaneously low unemployment, low inflation, and sustainably modest wage growth, proof that a best-case set of conditions was achievable.

☆ Nobel laureate Ebadi says Iran's 'revolutionary process' is irreversible
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( Parisa Hafezi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/3] Iranian Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Shirin Ebadi answers a question during an interview at the Thomson Reuters office in London, Britain February 2, 2023. REUTERS/Suzanne PlunkettDUBAI, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Iranian Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi said the death in custody of a young Iranian Kurdish woman last year has sparked an irreversible "revolutionary process" that would eventually lead to the collapse of the Islamic Republic. Iran's clerical rulers have faced widespread unrest since Mahsa Amini died in the custody of the morality police on Sept. 16 after she was arrested for wearing "inappropriate attire". As they have done in the past in the face of protests in the past four decades, Iran's hardline rulers have cracked down hard. Like many critics of Iran's clerical rulers, Ebadi believes the current wave of protests has been the boldest challenge to the establishment's legitimacy yet.

☆ Iran, Russia link banking systems amid Western sanction
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

DUBAI, Jan 30 (Reuters) - Iran and Russia have connected their interbank communication and transfer systems to help boost trade and financial transactions, a senior Iranian official said on Monday, as both Tehran and Moscow are chafing under Western sanctions. Similar limitations have been slapped on some Russian banks since Moscow's invasion of Ukraine last year. "Iranian banks no longer need to use SWIFT ... with Russian banks, which can be for the opening of Letters of Credit and transfers or warranties," Deputy Governor of Iran's Central Bank, Mohsen Karimi, told the semi-official Fars news agency. Iran's Central Bank chief Mohammad Farzin welcomed the move. "The financial channel between Iran and the world is being repaired," he tweeted.

☆ As layoffs pick up, here's what workers need to know about filing for unemployment benefits
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( Annie Nova | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Do I qualify for unemployment benefits? Generally, to be eligible for unemployment benefits you have to have been laid off through no fault of your own, Evermore said. Are unemployment benefits taxable? In the third quarter of 2022, the average weekly unemployment benefit was around $385. Will that impact my unemployment benefits?

☆ Get ready for a gig-worker boom that could make it harder for contractors to earn a living
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-22 | by ( Jacob Zinkula | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Current gig workers could end up worse off because of the added competition. Many US gig workers are already struggling to earn a steady income. He says it's been very difficult for him to get ahead financially since he began gig work in 2019. If more competition does come, gig workers will have to decide whether the income justifies the hours they're putting in. Some full-time gig workers, who research has found account for roughly 3% of US adults and between 30 and 60% of overall gig workers, are making over six figures.

☆ Google parent Alphabet is cutting 12,000 jobs
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Clare Duffy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

New York CNN —Google parent Alphabet is eliminating about 12,000 jobs, or 6% of its workforce, the company said Friday, in the latest cuts to shake the technology sector. “Over the past two years we’ve seen periods of dramatic growth,” Pichai said in the email. Google’s job cuts are just the latest in a bruising wave of tech layoffs, as inflation weighs on consumer spending and rising interest rates squeeze funding. “While layoffs from high-profile firms make the headlines, plenty of firms are desperate for more workers, especially tech workers. “The labor market is still so tight that many tech workers, and workers with other skills, are snapped up well before they need to collect an unemployment check.

☆ Analysis: Iran executions quash protests, push dissent underground
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( Parisa Hafezi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

They argue the resort to deadly state violence is merely pushing dissent underground, while deepening anger felt by ordinary Iranians about the clerical establishment that has ruled them for four decades. Executive Director at the Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, Hadi Ghaemi said the establishment's main focus was to intimidate the population into submission by any means. People are either in prison or they have gone underground because they are determined to find a way to keep fighting," he said. Defying public fury and international criticism, Iran has handed down dozens of death sentences to intimidate Iranians enraged by the death of Iranian-Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini, 22. Ghaemi said the main officials pushing for the executions today were deeply involved in the 1980s killings of prisoners.

☆ 12 million people got a refund from the IRS for a tax break on 2020 unemployment benefits
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( Greg Iacurci | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

The IRS has issued tax refunds to 12 million people eligible for a tax break on unemployment benefits received in 2020, when the pandemic caused joblessness on a scale unseen since the Great Depression. However, President Joe Biden signed the law in March 2021, after many households had already filed their tax returns. The average tax refund associated with those corrections was $1,232. More from Personal Finance:Trump's tax returns show no Social Security benefit incomeWhy your investment ego may be costly2022 was the worst-ever year for U.S. bondsIn total, the agency corrected 14 million tax returns, the agency said. The IRS mailed letters informing these taxpayers of the corrections and advised keeping them with their tax records.

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