Consumer Outlook Plunges Amid Fears of More Price Hikes Ahead
Video Credit: Wibbitz Top Stories - Duration: 01:31s - Published
Consumer Outlook Plunges Amid Fears of More Price Hikes Ahead
Consumer Outlook , Plunges Amid Fears of , More Price Hikes Ahead.
CNN reports that sentiment about the economy among
consumers in the United States has plummeted
to the lowest level in the past six months.
According to the latest consumer survey by the
University of Michigan, consumers are also bracing
for more price increases in the year ahead.
.
The consumer expectations gauge,
which is closely monitored by the White House,
dropped 13%, representing the most significant
single month decline since mid-2021.
The latest news is still better than
last May when inflation was at 4%
compared to the current 3.5% reading.
However, CNN points out that despite inflation
being lower than the same time last year, the numbers
have been moving in the wrong direction.
The trajectory has shifted
economist expectations for
the Federal Reserve to cut rates.
.
The latest Fed report saw expectations
for year-ahead inflation increase
to 3.5% from the 3.2% forecast in April.
.
At the same time, long-run
expectations for inflation also
increased to 3.1% from April's 3.0%.
.
According to Chicago Federal Reserve
President Austan Goolsbee, the latest data , "bodes awful for progress on inflation.".
There isn’t, at this time,
much evidence in my view that
inflation is stalling out at 3%, Austan Goolsbee, Chicago Federal Reserve President, via CNN
New US Home Construction , Sinks to Slowest Pace in 4 Years.
Government data released on June 20 indicates that new home construction in America dropped in May to the slowest pace since June 2020, Yahoo Finance reports. .
Housing starts dropped 5.5%,
and building permits dipped 3.8%.
Home completions also fell to the lowest amount since September 2022.
High interest rates, set by the Fed to help tame inflation, have resulted in high mortgage rates.
But recent data has suggested that inflation has started to cool, which may give the Fed the confidence it needs to lower rates.
The weakest U.S. housing starts
since the pandemic-led shutdowns
are fairly convincing evidence of
restrictive monetary policy. , Sal Guatieri, senior economist at BMO Capital Markets, via note.
While a growing population and
workforce are providing some support,
US home builders won’t become
busier until borrowing costs fall, Sal Guatieri, senior economist at BMO Capital Markets, via note.
Meanwhile, other data released on June 20 showed that first-time applications for unemployment benefits dropped last week.
However, continuing claims rose
for a seventh consecutive week
Credit: Wibbitz Top Stories Duration: 01:30Published
Mortgage Rates Continue , to Fall, Raising Hopes of the , Fed Cutting Rates.
ABC reports that borrowing costs for
home loans continued to ease this week,
with the average rate on a 30-year mortgage
falling to its lowest level since April.
According to mortgage buyer
Freddie Mac, the rate fell from
6.95% to 6.87% last week. .
That figure is still significantly higher than
what the rate was during the same time last year,
which was at an average of 6.67%. .
15-year fixed-rate mortgages
also eased, falling from
6.17% last week to 6.13%. .
During the same time last year,
the average rate was at 6.03%.
Those higher rates can add hundreds of dollars
to monthly costs for borrowers, which limits the
purchasing options of potential homebuyers.
Mortgage rates fell for
the third straight week
following signs of cooling
inflation and market
expectations of a
future Fed rate cut, Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist, via ABC.
ABC reports that rates are influenced by a number
of factors, including the Federal Reserve's interest
rate policy and the 10-year Treasury yield.
ABC reports that rates are influenced by a number
of factors, including the Federal Reserve's interest
rate policy and the 10-year Treasury yield.
Due to yields also beginning to ease, the Federal
Reserve could start to drop its main interest rate
after hiking it up to the highest level in over 20 years.
Last week, Fed officials suggested that they would make
just one cut to their benchmark interest rate in 2024,
down from previous projections of three cuts for the year.
Credit: Wibbitz Top Stories Duration: 01:31Published
Surge of New Applications for , Unemployment Benefits , May Signal Cooling Job Market.
Last week, the number of people in the
United States filing for unemployment benefits
reached the highest level in ten months last week. .
ABC reports that the news comes as a potential
sign that the U.S. labor market may be slowing
under the burden of high interest rates. .
The week ending June 8 saw
applications for jobless benefits
rise by 13,000 to reach 242,000. .
According to Labor Department
data, that is up from 229,000 new
applications the week before.
The number also represents the highest
number of new applications since August
of 2023, while also being significantly higher
than the 225,000 new claims forecast.
ABC reports that weekly unemployment claims have
lingered at historically low levels since millions of
jobs disappeared with the COVID-19 pandemic.
ABC reports that weekly unemployment claims have
lingered at historically low levels since millions of
jobs disappeared with the COVID-19 pandemic.
Since March of 2022, the Federal Reserve has raised
benchmark rates 11 times in an attempt to reign in
inflation which has risen to a four-decade high.
While the latest data suggests that consumer
inflation cooled in May, the Federal Reserve
has decided to leave rates at a 23-year high.
According to Fed Chair Jerome Powell, officials
are waiting for more evidence that prices
are reaching their target of two percent.
ABC reports that a total of 1.82 million
Americans were collecting unemployment
benefits in the week ending June 1. .
ABC reports that a total of 1.82 million
Americans were collecting unemployment
benefits in the week ending June 1.
Credit: Wibbitz Top Stories Duration: 01:30Published
Fed Holds Steady , With Interest Rates at , 2-Decade High.
On June 12, the Federal Reserve chose to hold
interest rates at a two-decade high while it
waits to see more signs of inflation going down.
'The Guardian' reports that officials at the United States
central bank expect to make a single rate cut
in 2024, according to the latest projections.
In previous projections,
policymakers expected the Fed
to make three cuts in 2024. .
At the latest meeting, the Fed chose to
keep rates at the same place they've been
for nearly a year, between 5.25% and 5.5%.
Despite recent data suggesting that inflation
may be easing, the Fed clearly doesn't see it moving
at a pace that would lead it to start cutting rates.
In May, inflation cooled slightly across the U.S.,
according to the latest consumer price index, however
consumers remain frustrated over skyrocketing prices.
In May, inflation cooled slightly across the U.S.,
according to the latest consumer price index, however
consumers remain frustrated over skyrocketing prices.
'The Guardian' reports that price growth has
slowed significantly since surging over 9%
in 2022, its highest level in a generation.
'The Guardian' reports that price growth has
slowed significantly since surging over 9%
in 2022, its highest level in a generation.
May saw prices for air fare and fuel go
down, inflation for grocery prices remained
flat, and shelter costs continued to rise.
May saw prices for air fare and fuel go
down, inflation for grocery prices remained
flat, and shelter costs continued to rise.
Overall, prices remained unchanged on a month-to-month
basis as the Fed emphasized that it would wait for
inflation to hit its previously-stated target of 2%.
The committee does not expect
it will be appropriate to reduce
the target range until it has
gained greater confidence
that inflation is moving
sustainably toward 2%, Federal Reserve statement, via Fox News
Credit: Wibbitz Top Stories Duration: 01:31Published
European Central Bank , Cuts Interest Rates.
The action was confirmed on June 6 at
the central bank's meeting, CNBC reports. .
The European Central Bank's (ECB) key
rate will go from 4% down to 3.75%.
The ECB Governing Council issued a statement.
Based on an updated assessment of
the inflation outlook, the dynamics of
underlying inflation and the strength
of monetary policy transmission, , ECB Governing Council, via statement.
... it is now appropriate to
moderate the degree of monetary
policy restriction after nine months
of holding rates steady, ECB Governing Council, via statement.
This is the first time that interest rates
have been cut since September 2019. .
Updated macroeconomic projections indicate that 2024's "annual average headline inflation outlook" has been increased from 2.3% to 2.5%, CNBC reports.
For 2025, it was raised from 2% to 2.2%.
The projection for 2026 stayed at 1.9%.
The ECB's next meeting is in July, where another rate cut is unlikely, experts say.
The slight upgrade to the inflation forecast
was to be expected, inflation has been printing
a little bit hotter than markets were expecting,
but in terms of the timing of the next cut
I’d still be looking to September, Dean Turner, chief euro zone economist at
UBS Global Wealth Management, to CNBC.
Canada also cut interest rates on June 5, while Sweden and Switzerland cut rates earlier this year.
Canada also cut interest rates on June 5, while Sweden and Switzerland cut rates earlier this year.
Canada also cut interest rates on June 5, while Sweden and Switzerland cut rates earlier this year.
The U.S. Federal Reserve continues
to battle America's rate of inflation.
Credit: Wibbitz Top Stories Duration: 01:31Published
Study Warns California , Continues to Face , Threat of Megadrought.
'Newsweek' reports that California may
not have cured the state's water woes,
despite several years of snow-heavy winters. .
According to NASA satellite data, recent snowfall has been insufficient to offset the impact of an ongoing megadrought across the western states. .
A new paper published in the journal, 'Geophysical Research
Letters', details how groundwater supplies remain
concerning for both domestic and agricultural use.
Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellites
revealed that the entire Great Basin groundwater supply
has dropped by 16.5 cubic miles in the last 20 years.
The data highlights that while snowmelt does
help resupply groundwater levels, it is not
enough to replenish the current diminished levels.
In years like the 2022-23 winter,
I expected that the record amount
of snowfall would really help to
replenish the groundwater supply.
But overall, the decline continued, Dorothy Hall, Study co-author and University
of Maryland earth scientist, via NASA statement.
'Newsweek' reports that the U.S. southwest
has been facing a megadrought since
the beginning of the millennium. .
A megadrought is a drought
that lasts two or more decades. , Jonathan Overpeck, Dean of environmental studies at the University of Michigan, via 'Newsweek'.
The current southwest
megadrought started in 1999
and has become the longest
drought in U.S. history, and also the
most severe in at least 1,200 years, Jonathan Overpeck, Dean of environmental studies at the University of Michigan, via 'Newsweek'.
With the ongoing threat of
drought, farmers downstream
often can't get enough water.
The ultimate solution will have to
include wiser water management, Dorothy Hall, Study co-author and University
of Maryland earth scientist, via NASA statement
Credit: Wibbitz Top Stories Duration: 01:31Published
Netanyahu's first visit to the White House since 2020 comes a day after he gave a fiery speech to Congress in which he vowed "total victory" against Hamas and denounced American opponents of the war in Gaza as "idiots".
Credit: euronews (in English) Duration: 02:21Published
Pete Buttigieg is fully onboard with getting Vice President Kamala Harris elected to the White House ... whether or not she selects him as her running mate... TMZ.com
This baloney has a first name, and it's C-R-A-S-H ... because an Oscar Meyer Wienermobile got into a wreck in Chicago, and ended up on its side!!! The.. TMZ.com
Harris still has to be formally nominated by the party at its convention in Chicago in a few weeks' time, and it is not yet known if she will face a challenger.
Credit: euronews (in English) Duration: 26:10Published
Abby Elliott reveals how the anxiety of this season compares to the previous two on FX's 'The Bear.' Plus, she talks shooting in Chicago and possibly directing or writing her own episode.
Credit: The Hollywood Reporter Duration: 02:17Published
'The Daily Show' will broadcast live from the two major political conventions this summer, with Jon Stewart hosting. The Hollywood Reporter can exclusively reveal that Comedy Central's late night show will go live on the final night of each convention - that's July 18th for the Republicans in Milwaukee and August 22nd for the Democrats in Chicago.
Credit: The Hollywood Reporter Duration: 01:17Published
Justin Timberlake Arrested , in New York.
TMZ reports that Timberlake was arrested on DWI charges in the Hamptons on June 18. .
Sources say he was partying at the
American Hotel before getting behind the wheel.
He reportedly blew a stop sign
in front of police, so they
began to follow him.
The police say Timberlake's car was
swerving, so they pulled him over.
A field sobriety test was conducted,
which Timberlake reportedly failed. .
He refused to take a
breathalyzer test, sources say. .
Timberlake was later "arraigned and
released without bail," TMZ reports. .
His next court date is
scheduled for July 26.
Timberlake is currently on tour.
His next shows are scheduled for
June 21 and June 22 in Chicago
Credit: Wibbitz Top Stories Duration: 01:30Published
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