By Rich Miller, Catarina Saraiva, and Steve Matthews Three top Federal Reserve officials hammered home the message Thursday that the US central bank is still on track to cut interest rates this year — just not anytime soon. Fed Vice Chair Philip Jefferson and Governor Lisa Cook said they’re optimistic inflation is still cooling despite a blip in January, but made clear they want more evidence it’s […]
By Lucia Maffei Needham-based Tripadvisor Inc. is ready to evaluate takeover proposals. The travel metasearch firm (Nasdaq: TRIP) said Monday that independent directors of its board have formed a special committee “to evaluate any proposals that may be brought forward for a potential transaction, and any alternatives thereto, with regard to Tripadvisor.” TripAdvisor”s shares jumped 14% […]
By David J. Lynch As the Rockettes high-kicked their way to a record box office for the annual “Christmas Spectacular” at New York’s Radio City Music Hall, they were doing more than just entertaining. They were also showing the limits of the Federal Reserve’s power over the economy. If the Fed’s interest rate increases had worked after the […]
By Jeanna Smialek Federal Reserve officials held interest rates at their highest level in more than two decades at their first meeting of 2024 and hinted that their next move will be to lower borrowing costs — even as policymakers made clear they are not yet ready to make that cut. Jerome H. Powell, the […]
By Nick Timiraos Federal Reserve officials start the year with a problem they would ordinarily love to have: Inflation has fallen much faster than expected. It does, nonetheless, pose a conundrum. The reason: If inflation has sustainably returned to the Fed’s 2% target, then real rates—nominal rates adjusted for inflation—have risen and might be restricting economic activity too […]
By Carol Ryan Property investors sat on the sidelines last year waiting for enticing opportunities. But the 2009-style discounts they were hoping for haven’t materialized—at least not for the kinds of buildings they want to own. Just $374 billion of real estate sold in the U.S. last year, according to MSCI data released Wednesday, a 51% fall compared […]
By Gabriel T. Rubin The recession never showed up in 2023. Consumers made sure of it. The U.S. economy grew 3.1% over the past year, the Commerce Department said Thursday. A resilient labor market supported strong consumer spending and brushed aside a feared downturn. A year ago economists saw a recession as very likely and projected anemic 0.2% growth for the year. […]
By Richard Berger There are early signs of recovery within the life sciences environment following a recent investment slowdown as venture capital is re-emerging, tenants are coming off the sidelines and average deal sizes are hitting all-time highs, according to a recent report from Cushman & Wakefield. Its research manager, Sandy Romero, said venture capital […]
By HOLLY DUTTON Six years ago, Opportunity Zones officially became a reality. The program was part of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, signed into law by former President Donald Trump in late December 2017. It was hailed as a success—a rare moment of bipartisanship that saw representatives on both sides of the […]
By Rachel Siegel and Jeff Stein After two years of relentless pressureover everything from sky-high inflation to a looming recession, the head of the Federal Reserve was asked this month what he does for fun. “For me, a big, big party — and I mean, this is really as fun as it gets — is a really […]
