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Despite the gloom about grocery costs, food price increases have generally been cooling for months. A central issue has plagued the Biden administration for most of its term: the steep rise in grocery prices. Despite the gloom about grocery costs, food price increases have generally been cooling for months. Image Several economists said they expected to see grocery inflation remain around current rates in the coming months. Grocery inflation remains a major political issueHigh food costs continue to pose a political challenge for the Biden administration.

Persons: Biden, Donald J, Trump, ”, David Ortega, Ortega, “ We’re, Mr, Jessica Attie, Omair Sharif, Sharif, Kamala Harris, Christopher B, Barrett, Jerlyn, “, Heisz Organizations: Bloomberg, Federal Reserve, Investors, Republican, White, Workers, Michigan State University, The New York Times, Agriculture Department, KPMG, Democratic, PepsiCo, Cornell University Locations: Ukraine, Platteville, Wis

Wall Street is on edge heading into the July consumer price report after sharp stock swings this month reignited fears over the fate of the economy. Economists are predicting that inflation remained broadly unchanged in July — a reading that should allow the Federal Reserve to start easing the brakes on the economy next month by cutting interest rates. But a sharper-than-expected slowdown in the Consumer Price Index could intensify worries that the economy is moving quickly toward a more pronounced downturn, while a surprise acceleration is likely to rein in rate cut expectations that investors are already counting on to support the market. That leaves investors in search of an inflation “sweet spot,” Chris Larkin, head of trading and investing at E-Trade, said in a statement: “cool enough that no one will be second-guessing the likelihood of a September rate cut, but warm enough to push aside the recession concerns that have rattled the markets recently.”

Persons: ” Chris Larkin, ” Organizations: Federal Reserve

Signs of a slowing U.S. economy sowed panic among investors on Monday, with a sell-off in markets that began last week turning into a global rout. The moves were a sharp reversal in major stock markets, which for much of the past year have risen to new heights, propelled by optimism about cooling inflation, solid labor markets and the promise of artificial intelligence technology. South Korea’s benchmark Kospi index fell more than 10 percent at one point. Japanese stocks have been on a tear for more than a year, fueled by a weak Japanese yen. Adding to the pressure, foreign investors have started selling off positions in Japanese stocks over the last few weeks.

Persons: ”, Andrew Brenner, Goldman Sachs, Goldman, Jordi Basco Carrera, ’, Basco Carrera, Jitters, Jesper Koll, Koll, John Liu, Melissa Eddy Organizations: Federal, Nasdaq, National Alliance Securities, Equity, Technology, Samsung Electronics, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Nvidia, Intel, Allianz, Monex, Bank of Japan, Tokyo Stock Exchange Locations: Asia, Europe, Americas, Japan, U.S, Taiwan, Singapore, Australia, Hong Kong, China, Stocks, India, Netherlands, Switzerland, New York, Munich, “, New, Seoul, Berlin

☆ Why Global Investors Are Watching What Japan Does Next
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-29 | by ( Joe Rennison | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Japan’s central bankers meet this week, and what they decide has the potential to move markets around the world. While policymakers in the United States and elsewhere either are preparing to cut interest rates or have already done so, the Bank of Japan is only just beginning to raise them. “Japan is in a different world,” said Kei Okamura, a portfolio manager based in Japan at the investment firm Neuberger Berman. The Bank of Japan cut interest rates below zero in 2016 and kept them there until March, when it announced the first rate increase in 17 years, as the economy showed signs of recovery from anemic growth and low inflation. Economists believe the central bank might raise rates again at its upcoming meeting, which concludes on Wednesday.

Persons: ”, Kei Okamura, Neuberger Berman Organizations: Bank of Japan, The Bank of Japan Locations: Japan, United States

☆ Tech Stocks Are Out. Small Stocks Are In. Can That Last?
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-25 | by ( Joe Rennison | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

For the first half of this year, technology stocks — especially those linked to the expected boom in artificial intelligence — propelled major indexes around the world higher. The tech sector has risen faster than any other sector and twice as quickly as all of them this year, except for communications companies, which include the likes of Amazon. Just a handful of stocks accounted for nearly two-thirds of the gains in the S&P 500 this year. Shares of businesses that could benefit from this growth — smaller companies, banks and real estate businesses — have all rallied in the past two weeks, while Big Tech has stumbled. It might not be a smooth transition — as trading on Wednesday, when stocks had their worst day since late 2022, showed.

Persons: It’s Organizations: Federal Reserve, Big Tech, Nvidia, Microsoft

Investors are poised for a report on Friday to show a slowdown in the pace of hiring in June, building on weak services and manufacturing data, and to firm up their expectations of interest rate cuts starting as soon as September. Signs of lower rates in the near future, which would make it cheaper for consumers and companies to borrow, have typically been accompanied by market rallies. The S&P 500 has repeatedly set fresh records and is up more than 16 percent this year. Economists are forecasting that the June jobs report will show a healthy labor market, albeit with fewer jobs added and an easing in wage growth. Earlier this week, widely watched surveys of manufacturing and services activity both came in lower than forecast.

Persons: Russell

☆ Apartments Could Be the Next Real Estate Business to Struggle
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-04 | by ( Joe Rennison | Julie Creswell | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Rents have soared in recent years because of housing shortages across much of the country and a bout of severe inflation. But a growing number of rental properties, especially in the South and the Southwest, are in financial distress. In many parts of the country, rents are starting to fall. Interest rates, ratcheted higher by the Federal Reserve to combat inflation, have made mortgages much more expensive for building owners. These problems haven’t yet turned into a crisis, because most owners of apartment buildings, known in the real estate industry as multifamily properties, haven’t fallen behind on loan payments.

Persons: haven’t Organizations: Federal Reserve Locations: Houston, Tampa, Fla

☆ Wall Street Seems Calm. A Closer Look Shows Something Else.
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-28 | by ( Joe Rennison | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

In the stock market, all is not quite as it seems. A slowdown in inflation has boosted investor confidence in the economy this year and, combined with an intense fervor for artificial intelligence, provided the backdrop to a rally that has beaten all expectations. The S&P 500 has climbed 15 percent in the first half of 2024.

On Today’s Episode:Netanyahu Criticizes the U.S. For Holding Up Some Weapons Deliveries, by The New York TimesU.S. Pier for Gaza Aid Is Failing, and Could Be Dismantled Early, by Helene Cooper and Eric SchmittNvidia Becomes Most Valuable Public Company, Topping Microsoft, by Tripp Mickle and Joe RennisonCalifornia Joins Growing National Effort to Ban Smartphone Use in Schools, by Shawn Hubler

Persons: Netanyahu, Helene Cooper, Eric Schmitt Nvidia, Topping, Tripp Mickle, Joe Rennison, Shawn Hubler Organizations: The New York Times U.S, Public Company, Topping Microsoft Locations: Pier, Gaza, Joe Rennison California

Move over, Microsoft and Apple. On Tuesday, Nvidia leapfrogged two of tech’s most storied names to become the world’s most valuable public company, according to data from S&P Global. Just two years ago, the company’s market valuation was over $400 million. Now, in the span of a year, it has gone from $1 trillion to more than $3 trillion. Microsoft and Apple both fell, ending the day trailing the Silicon Valley chip maker.

Persons: Jensen Huang Organizations: Microsoft, Apple, Nvidia, P

☆ Office Building Losses Start to Pile Up, and More Pain Is Expected
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-06 | by ( Joe Rennison | Julie Creswell | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Four years on, hybrid work has become common, and the strain on property owners is intensifying. While the number of office buildings reaching critical stages of distress remains small, the figure has increased sharply this year. And investors, lawyers and bankers expect the pain to grow in the coming months because demand for office space remains weak and interest rates and other costs are higher than they have been in many years. The problems could be especially severe for older buildings with lots of vacant space and big loan repayments coming up. Empty and nearly empty office buildings also hurt restaurants and other businesses that served the companies and workers who occupied those spaces.

Locations: New York, San Francisco

☆ New Stock Exchange in Texas Takes Aim at N.Y.S.E. and Nasdaq
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-05 | by ( Joe Rennison | More About Joe Rennison | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A start-up stock exchange headquartered in Dallas and backed by the financial powerhouses BlackRock and Citadel Securities is set to challenge the dominance of the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq in the listing and trading of companies and funds. The Texas Stock Exchange, or TXSE, has raised roughly $120 million from more than two dozen investors, including BlackRock and Citadel Securities as well as some unnamed business leaders, according to a statement on Wednesday. The exchange has yet to register with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which will be its primary regulator, but intends to do so later this year. It cannot begin operating without the S.E.C.’s approval. The announcement of the exchange was first reported by The Wall Street Journal.

Persons: ’ Organizations: BlackRock, Citadel Securities, New York Stock Exchange, Nasdaq, Texas Stock Exchange, Securities and Exchange Commission, Wall Street Locations: Dallas, BlackRock

☆ The Stock Market Is Back in Rally Mode
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-15 | by ( Joe Rennison | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Wall Street is back in rally mode, with investors seizing on the latest sign that interest rates could begin to come down this year. The S&P 500 rose 0.8 percent on Wednesday morning, adding to three straight weeks of gains and pushing it above its previous record, set on March 28. It marks a sharp shift from the sour mood that helped pull the index more than 5 percent lower at the beginning of April, as investors got used to the idea that high interest rates might stick around for longer, weighing on the economy and the markets. Fresh inflation data on Wednesday morning provided the catalyst for the index to cross through its previous record. The S&P 500 is up more than 6 percent since its most recent low in April.

Just as Wall Street appeared to come to terms with the idea of high interest rates sticking around for longer, a cooler-than-expected jobs report on Friday brought the idea of rate cuts back into the conversation. The Labor Department reported that job and wage growth in April came in lower than economists had expected, a shift after months of piping-hot labor market reports. The findings rekindled hopes that the Federal Reserve — which has been looking for signs that interest rates are slowing the economy — may yet cut rates before the end of the year. “This is the jobs report the Fed would have scripted,” said Seema Shah, chief global strategist at Principal Asset Management. The S&P 500 rose 1.3 percent on Friday, its best day in more than two months.

Persons: ”, Seema Shah, Russell Organizations: Labor Department, Federal, Asset Management

☆ A Strong U.S. Dollar Weighs on the World
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-29 | by ( Joe Rennison | Karl Russell | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Every major currency in the world has fallen against the U.S. dollar this year, an unusually broad shift with the potential for serious consequences across the global economy. Two-thirds of the roughly 150 currencies tracked by Bloomberg have weakened against the dollar, whose recent strength stems from a shift in expectations about when and by how much the Federal Reserve may cut its benchmark interest rate, which sits around a 20-year high. High Fed rates, a response to stubborn inflation, mean that American assets offer better returns than much of the world, and investors need dollars to buy them. In recent months, money has flowed into the United States with a force that’s being felt by policymakers, politicians and people from Brussels to Beijing, Toronto to Tokyo. The dollar index, a common way to gauge the general strength of the U.S. currency against a basket of its major trading partners, is hovering at levels last seen in the early 2000s (when U.S. interest rates were also similarly high).

Organizations: U.S, Bloomberg, Federal Locations: United States, Brussels, Beijing, Toronto, Tokyo

☆ Trump Is Owed an Extra $1 Billion Stake in Truth Social
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-23 | by ( Jason Karaian | Joe Rennison | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Former President Donald J. Trump’s already sizable stake in his social media company is set to jump by more than $1 billion, as he’s rewarded with additional shares in the parent of Truth Social — the result of its stock price staying high in recent weeks. Mr. Trump is already the largest shareholder of Trump Media & Technology Group with 79 million shares, a stake currently worth nearly $3 billion. He’s now due 36 million more shares under what is known as an “earnout,” additional stock that would push the value of his stake to over $4 billion. Trump Media merged with a public shell company last month and made its debut on the Nasdaq on March 26. The new shares would raise Mr. Trump’s stake to about 65 percent of the company.

Persons: Donald J, Trump’s, Trump, He’s Organizations: Republican, Trump Media & Technology Group, Trump Media, Nasdaq

☆ ‘It’s Clearly Bleak’: Stocks Set for Longest Losing Streak in Months
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-19 | by ( Joe Rennison | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Stocks are on course for their longest losing streak in many months, as geopolitical turmoil rattles Wall Street and investors slash their bets on the Federal Reserve cutting interest rates any time soon. The S&P 500, one of the most widely followed stock indexes in the world, recorded a fifth consecutive decline on Thursday. Premarket trading on Friday was flat; a sixth straight day of losses would be the worst run since October 2022. The slide has dragged the S&P 500 down by more than 2 percent for the week, setting it up for a fourth straight weekly decline. By that measure, it would be the longest weekly losing streak for the index since September, when concerns over rising government debt and a potential government shutdown compounded worries about the effects of high interest rates.

Organizations: Federal Reserve

☆ Trump Media Stock Plunges, Extending Recent Losses
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-15 | by ( Matthew Goldstein | Joe Rennison | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Shares of former President Donald J. Trump’s social media company plunged on Monday after the company filed to register the potential sale of tens of millions of additional shares. Trump Media & Technology’s stock fell 18 percent, erasing hundreds of millions of dollars from the company’s market value — and putting a dent in Mr. Trump’s majority stake, worth more than $3 billion. Since a surge in its first days of trading as Trump Media, which lifted the value of the company to about $8 billion at one point last month, the company’s shares have dropped by more than 50 percent. Trump Media was expected to register the potential sale of new shares after the completion of its merger last month with Digital World Acquisition Corp., a cash-rich shell company known as a SPAC. When a SPAC goes public, it issues warrants to investors that can later be converted into shares.

Persons: Donald J Organizations: Trump Media, Companies, Truth

☆ Stocks Suffer Sharpest Weekly Decline of 2024
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-12 | by ( Joe Rennison | More About Joe Rennison | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Stocks slumped to a second consecutive weekly loss on Friday, as intensifying tension in the Middle East prompted caution among investors, adding to concerns about lingering inflation that had set off a retreat earlier in the week. The S&P 500 fell 1.5 percent on Friday in its worst day of trading since January, and ended the week with a drop of 1.6 percent, its worst weekly decline of the year. Other major indexes, including the Nasdaq Composite and Russell 2000, also fell on Friday. The Vix Volatility Index, a measure of investor expectations for market swings over the next 30 days — known across trading floors as Wall Street’s “fear gauge” — was elevated. The drop this week began after an inflation report on Wednesday showed unexpectedly stubborn increases in consumer prices, throwing into doubt the likelihood that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates in the near future as the central bank seeks to keep the brakes on the economy and further slow the pace of rising prices.

Persons: Stocks Organizations: Nasdaq, Russell, Federal Reserve

☆ Wall Street Shudders on Signs of Unexpectedly Strong Inflation
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-10 | by ( Joe Rennison | More About Joe Rennison | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Signs of stubborn inflation rattled Wall Street on Wednesday, with stock prices sliding and government bond yields, which underpin interest rates throughout the economy, jolting higher. Other major indexes, including the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite and the Russell 2000 index of smaller companies, also fell. The moves followed a consumer inflation report that came in hotter than expected, with prices rising 3.5 percent in March from a year earlier, marking another month of stubbornly high inflation. That made it harder for investors to dismiss earlier signs that the progress in cooling inflation was patchy. “The stalled disinflationary narrative can no longer be called a blip,” said Seema Shah, chief global strategist at Principal Asset Management.

Persons: Russell, ”, Seema Shah Organizations: Nasdaq, Asset Management

☆ Price of Gold, Seen as Hedge Against Inflation, Soars to New Heights
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-10 | by ( Joe Rennison | More About Joe Rennison | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Gold, typically seen as a haven in periods of economic turmoil, especially as a hedge against inflation, has risen sharply in price over the past month, even as the outlook for the economy has improved and inflation, although still elevated, is well below recent highs. The precious metal has set a series of record highs as it surged roughly $300, to $2,350 per troy ounce, since the start of March. The move has been attributed, at least in part, to a burst of gold buying from central banks around the world, including China. But investors said that central bank purchases did not fully explain such a sudden price increase. “It’s perplexing to anybody in the gold market,” said Chris Mancini, a gold portfolio manager at Gabelli Funds.

Persons: ”, Chris Mancini Organizations: Gabelli Funds Locations: China

☆ Traders Are Betting Millions That Trump Media Will Tumble
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-03 | by ( Joe Rennison | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Before former President Donald J. Trump’s social media company made its stock market debut, many investors were lining up to bet on its collapse. After the company’s share price plunged following an initial surge, the appetite to bet against the stock has grown even more ravenous. Trump Media is the most “shorted” special purpose acquisition vehicle in the country, according to the financial data company S3 Partners. Short-sellers bet that the price of a stock will fall. The demand to short Trump Media, the parent company of the social media platform Truth Social, is so great that stock lenders can charge enormous fees, making it hard for short-sellers to turn a profit unless the shares fall significantly.

Persons: Donald J Organizations: Trump Media & Technology Group, Trump Media, Partners

☆ Trump Media Shares Slump as Early Fervor Fades
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-01 | by ( Joe Rennison | Matthew Goldstein | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Shares of former President Donald J. Trump’s social media company slumped more than 20 percent on Monday, as the fervor around the company’s debut on public markets last week appeared to subside. The sell-off cut the market value of Trump Media & Technology Group, which trades under the ticker “DJT,” by some $2 billion, to about $6.5 billion. The value of Mr. Trump’s majority stake in the company fell to about $3.7 billion, from over $6 billion at its peak last week. Still, shares of Trump Media were higher than they were immediately before the firm merged with a public shell company on Tuesday and began trading on the Nasdaq. Strong support for the merged company after it began trading pushed its market value as high as $10 billion at one point last week.

Persons: Donald J Organizations: Trump Media & Technology Group, Trump Media, Nasdaq

☆ Stock Market Surges to Start the Year: 22 Record Highs in 3 Months
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-29 | by ( Joe Rennison | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

It’s been a blistering start to the year for the stock market. The S&P 500, one of the most widely watched stock indexes in the world, has risen more than 10 percent over the first three months of 2024, buoyed by 22 record highs. Roughly 40 percent of the stocks in the index are trading above where they were 12 months ago. And even when the index has lost ground, it hasn’t been by much, with only three days so far in 2024 in which the S&P 500 has fallen more than 1 percent by the close. Investors in March poured roughly $50 billion into funds that buy stocks in the United States, according to data from EPFR Global.

Persons: It’s Organizations: Investors, EPFR, Reserve Locations: United States

☆ Trump’s Media Company Gets Lofty Valuation on First Trading Day
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-26 | by ( Matthew Goldstein | Joe Rennison | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

There’s a new high-flying stock on Wall Street that some investors are eagerly piling into. His social media company, Trump Media & Technology Group, began trading on the Nasdaq on Tuesday, under the ticker DJT, and immediately surged in value, gaining 40 percent in early trading. Trump Media — the parent of Truth Social, the online platform that is Mr. Trump’s main megaphone for reaching supporters and going after critics — closed its merger with a cash-rich public shell company on Monday. The shell company’s stock had jumped higher ahead of the deal, in a frenzied trade that has fueled the company since it proposed the merger with Mr. Trump’s firm in 2021. Trump Media has an estimated market value well over $6 billion, more than established corporations like Alaska Airlines, Western Union and American Eagle Outfitters.

Persons: Donald J, Trump, —, Trump’s Organizations: Trump Media & Technology Group, Nasdaq, Trump Media, Truth, Mr, Alaska Airlines, Western Union, American Eagle Outfitters

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