Stocks rally to cap a winning month, quarter for … NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks rallied Friday to close out a winning March and first quarter of the year, feats that looked questionable just a couple weeks ago when Wall Street was tumbling in turmoil. The S&P 500 rose 1.4% to cap a 3.5% gain for the month. It also locked in a second winning […]
Europe’s inflation eases to 6.9% as energy falls … LONDON (AP) — Inflation in the 20 countries that use the euro currency slowed to the lowest level in a year as energy prices dropped, but food costs were still on the rise, keeping pressure on the European Central Bank to hike interest rates further. Consumer prices in the eurozone jumped 6.9% in March from […]
A key inflation gauge tracked by the Fed slowed in … WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve’s favored inflation gauge slowed sharply last month, an encouraging sign in the Fed’s yearlong effort to cool price pressures through steadily higher interest rates. Friday’s report from the Commerce Department showed that consumer prices rose 0.3% from January to February, down from a 0.6% increase from December to January. […]
Biden calls to revive bank regulations that Trump … WASHINGTON (AP) — Weeks after the failure of two banks, President Joe Biden called Thursday for independent regulatory agencies to impose tighter rules on the financial system, telling them that they can act under current law without additional steps taken by Congress. The recommended changes outlined by the White House try to put a clear […]
Yellen says Trump administration ‘decimated’ financial … Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Thursday that the capacity of the U.S. government to respond to and prop up failing financial markets was “decimated” by cutbacks enacted during the Trump administration. Her remarks come in the wake of state interventions to save depositors at failed banks Signature and Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), which catered to […]
US revises down last quarter’s economic growth to … WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. economy maintained its resilience from October through December despite rising interest rates, growing at a 2.6% annual pace, the government said Thursday in a slight downgrade from its previous estimate. But consumer spending, which drives most of the economy’s growth, was revised sharply down. The government had previously estimated that […]
Asian stocks mixed after Wall St rally as bank fears … TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares were mixed Thursday following a rally on Wall Street as worries over banks following the collapses of several lenders in recent weeks eased further. Forceful actions by regulators have helped to calm markets as investors have turned their focus to how central banks might adjust their interest rate policies to […]
Progressive stars square off in California Senate … Battle lines are forming between progressives as they look to take down the more establishment-aligned Rep. Adam Schiff in California’s Democratic Senate primary. Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) was the latest high-profile progressive to weigh in on the race, endorsing Rep. Barbara Lee (D), who along with Schiff and Rep. Katie Porter (D) is seeking to […]
Debt limit barely discussed in Powell meeting with … Discussion about the debt limit was nearly absent when Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell joined the Republican Study Committee’s (RSC) weekly lunch on Capitol Hill Wednesday. Members of the largest conservative caucus in the House said as they left the lunch that Powell mostly fielded questions about inflation, interest rates and the health of banks […]
GOP lawmakers accuse Fed of being lax before bank … WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican lawmakers accused top bank regulators Wednesday of dawdling as Silicon Valley Bank hurtled toward the second-largest bank failure in U.S. history and questioned whether tougher regulations would have made a difference. Regulators closed the bank March 10, shaking the U.S. financial system and triggering fears of a broader banking crisis. But […]