The numbers: The Philadelphia Federal Reserve said Thursday its gauge of regional business activity remained in contractionary territory for the second straight month in October. The index improved 5 points but remained at negative 9.0. This is the index’s 15th negative reading in the past 17 months. Economists polled by…

Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank President Patrick Harker has underscored the importance of maintaining the federal funds rate at its current level, within the 5.25% to 5.5% target range. His remarks were made on Monday during a Philadelphia banking conference and at the Mortgage Bankers Association Annual Convention. Harker emphasized the…

The numbers: The number of Americans who applied for unemployment benefits last week fell to a nine-month low of 198,000, defying expectations that layoffs would rise as higher U.S. interest rates pinched the economy. New jobless claims declined from a revised 211,000 in the prior week, the government said. New…

BRASILIA (Reuters) – There was unanimity in the Brazil central bank’s latest policy decision that an interest-rate-cut pace of 50 basis points would be suitable for the upcoming meetings, the bank’s director of institutional relations, Mauricio Moura, said on Monday “I voted at the last meeting for a 50 basis…

The numbers: The leading economic index sank 0.7% in September and was negative for the 18th month in a row — but the U.S. is still on track to post a sizable increase in economic growth in the third quarter. Economists polled by the Wall Street Journal had forecast a 0.4%…

By Rachel Savage MARRAKECH, Morocco (Reuters) – The International Monetary Fund (IMF) urged sub-Saharan African policymakers last week to cut costly fuel subsidies and raise more in taxes, measures that may be hard to implement as governments grapple with tough spending choices amid high debt. The region has been hit…

The U.S. economy has gotten a pop from higher defense spending since the late spring. Now a new conflict in Israel as well as the ongoing Ukraine war could provide another boost in the months ahead. In the 2023 fiscal year that ended in September, the U.S. supplied about $60…

By Karen Freifeld (Reuters) -The U.S. will take steps to prevent American chipmakers from selling semiconductors to China that circumvent government restrictions, a U.S. official said, as part of the Biden administration’s upcoming actions to block more AI chip exports. The new rules, details of which Reuters is reporting for…

With the release of the September CPI-W inflation number, the Social Security Administration announced that the COLA for 2024 will be 3.2% (see Figure 1). The adjustment is based on the increase in the CPI-W for the third quarter of 2023 over the third quarter of 2022.  Some bemoan that…

By Siddharth Cavale NEW YORK (Reuters) – Walmart (NYSE:) signaled it has enough staff for the holidays, in another sign that top U.S. retailers, fearing a seasonal shopping slowdown, are holding off on the typical hiring sprees for the peak period. “We’re staffed and ready to serve the customers this…