“‘I have opposed efforts to ban deadly weapons of war like the assault rifle he used to carry out this crime. The time has now come for me to take responsibility for this failure. ‘” — Rep. Jared Golden That’s Jared Golden, a Democrat who represents Maine’s second district — home…

By Kirsty Needham SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australia and the United States will announce plans to cooperate on critical minerals and bolster Pacific Islands infrastructure when Prime Minister Anthony Albanese visits Washington this week, a senior Biden administration official said. Albanese’s White House schedule begins Tuesday, Washington time, and is focused…

The numbers: Consumer spending rose a a sharp 0.7% in September, underscoring the recent strength in the U.S. economy. Analysts polled by the Wall Street Journal had forecast a 0.5% gain. Consumer spending is the main engine of the U.S. economy. Outlays grew a robust 4% in the third quarter,…

By David Gaffen (Reuters) – A broad swath of global industrial and consumer bellwethers reported stronger-than-expected earnings in their most recent quarter, as resilient spending patterns kept profits afloat despite high interest rates. Giants like Coca-Cola (NYSE:), General Electric (NYSE:) and Novartis (SIX:) exceeded expectations on Tuesday as reporting season…

The numbers: The cost of goods and services rose a higher-than-expected 0.4% in September, keeping the pressure on the Federal Reserve as it weighs whether to raise interest rates again. Inflation as measured by the so-called PCE price index rose 0.4% for the second month in a row, spurred in…

(This Oct. 23 story has been corrected to clarify that the six-month sanctions relaxation timeline applies to the oil and gas license, not to bonds, in paragraph 2) CARACAS (Reuters) – The Venezuela Creditors Committee said on Monday it is confident an orderly debt restructuring can occur, following an electoral…

The numbers: Consumer sentiment improved slightly at the end of October, but higher gas prices left people more worried about inflation. The final reading of the sentiment survey edged up to 63.8 from 63.0 earlier in the month, the University of Michigan said Friday. The index had touched a nearly…

By Pete Schroeder WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. regulators will begin grading banks on which communities and geographies they service via online lending under tougher new rules modernizing fair lending standards to be finalized on Tuesday. The changes to 1977 Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) regulations draw a line under a contentious…

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – More than a year after the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) was signed into law, the European Commission has concluded that it is still too early to determine if its green subsidies are having an adverse impact on manufacturing in Europe. EU governments expressed alarm that the…

The numbers: Initial jobless claims rose by 10,000 to 210,000 in the week ended Oct. 21, the Labor Department said Thursday.  Economists polled by The Wall Street Journal had estimated new claims would rise 9,000 to 207,000.  Last week claims fell a revised 11,000 to 200,000. That compared with the…