By MARTHA BELLISLE Washington state has enacted new rent stabilization laws, becoming one of the first states to set firm limits on rent increases to protect tenants. Signed by Gov. Bob Ferguson, House Bill 1217 caps rent hikes at 7% plus inflation or 10% (whichever is lower) and includes single-family homes and manufactured housing, the latter […]
by Arben Skivjani After starting the quarter below its long-term average, employment ended September on a high note, with an increase of nearly 254,000 jobs. This brings the total number of jobs created in the first nine months of the year to 1.8 million, which is 24% below the level seen during the same period last […]
By Phil Mobley, Chad Littell That asking office rents have actually risen in an era of historically high vacancy rates presents something of a conundrum to commercial real estate observers. Several factors help explain this phenomenon, but the rapid rise in consumer prices that peaked in 2022 is an important piece of interpretive context. After a slight […]
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 Michael Mackenzie and Liz Capo McCormick Bond traders are piling into bets that the US economy is on the verge of deteriorating so quickly that the Federal Reserve will need to start easing monetary policy aggressively — potentially before their next scheduled meeting — to head off a recession. Previous worries about the risk of elevated inflation have virtually disappeared, swiftly […]
By Catarina Saraiva and Ananya Chag Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago President Austan Goolsbee emphasized the central bank will not overreact to any one report, adding policymakers will get a lot of data prior to the Fed’s next meeting. Goolsbee, who spoke on the heels of the release of a weaker-than-expected employment report, said it’s the Fed’s job to figure out […]
By Jeanna Smialek What to know about the Fed’s decision. Federal Reserve officials left interest rates unchanged in their June decision and predicted that they will cut borrowing costs just once before the end of 2024, a sign that they plan to be patient before turning a corner in their fight against rapid inflation. Central bankers lifted interest rates […]
