By Sam Goldfarb, Peter Santilli and Anthony DeBarros The Wall Street Journal’s latest quarterly survey of business and academic economists shows forecasters remain firmly optimistic about the economic outlook, despite some hints of weakness in recent data. The following graphics show what economists are thinking now and how their forecasts—and the economy—have evolved over recent months and years. After looking at […]
By Vince Golle and Craig Stirling The Federal Reserve’s favored inflation yardsticks are poised to show the tamest monthly advances since late last year — a stepping stone for officials to begin lowering interest rates, possibly as soon as September. Economists expect no change in the May personal consumption expenditures price index and a minimal 0.1% gain in the core measure that excludes […]
By Nick Timiraos The Federal Reserve voted to lower interest rates by a half percentage point, opting for a bolder start in making its first reduction since 2020. The long-anticipated pivot followed an all-out fight against inflation the central bank launched two years ago. Eleven of 12 Fed voters backed the cut, which will bring the […]
Inflation slowed down on an annual basis in August, with the Consumer Price Index rising by 2.5 percent compared to a year ago. This is a noticeable drop from July’s 2.9 percent and a significant decline from the peak of 9.1 percent seen in 2022. Next week, Federal Reserve officials are expected to lower interest […]
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 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 Jeanna Smialek Federal Reserve officials left interest rates unchanged in their final policy decision of 2023 and forecast that they will cut borrowing costs three times in the coming year, a sign that the central bank is shifting toward the next phase in its fight against rapid inflation. Interest rates are now set to a range […]
By Steve Matthews and Catarina Saraiva Federal Reserve officials shifted their tone this week, inching closer to the conversation markets have long been having: When will the central bank begin cutting interest rates? A litany of policymakers — including six who will vote on policy next year — indicated in recent days that they were comfortable with keeping rates […]
By Steve Matthews and Matthew Boesler Two Federal Reserve officials signaled they favored pausing interest-rate increases, while a third policymaker said the central bank’s task in subduing inflation was not complete. “We at the Federal Reserve probably have more work to do on our end to try to bring inflation back down,” Minneapolis Fed President […]
