Reuters US Economy

By Ankika Biswas, Lisa Pauline Mattackal and Saeed Azhar (Reuters) -The S&P 500 index and technology-laden Nasdaq rose on Wednesday to post record high closes, as data pointing to a softening economy raised hopes the Federal Reserve could cut interest rates in September. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed slightly lower, pressured by selling in …

S&P 500, Nasdaq post record closing highs as data stokes hope for rate cut Read More »

BERLIN (Reuters) – A solid rise in business activity in June ended a positive second quarter for the German service sector, albeit with the rate of expansion easing slightly, a survey showed on Wednesday. The HCOB final services Purchasing Managers’ Index eased to 53.1 in June from to 54.2 in May, slightly below a preliminary …

Upturn in German services activity slows in June, PMI shows Read More »

By Lucia Mutikani WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. job openings rose in May after posting outsized declines in the prior two months, but the trend remained consistent with an easing in labor market conditions that could pave the way for the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates this year. The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, …

US labor market steadily easing despite rise in job openings Read More »

By Michael S. Derby (Reuters) – A Supreme Court case upending how government regulators do their work thrusts Federal Reserve bank overseers into extended uncertainty and potential risk, although the ruling should not complicate the central bank’s ability to provide support to markets in times of stress. The court, in an opinion released on Friday, …

Fed bank oversight powers grow more uncertain in wake of court action Read More »

By Davide Barbuscia NEW YORK (Reuters) – A measure of the borrowing costs on loans between banks and other participants in the U.S. repurchase agreement (repo) market hit its highest level since January on Monday, New York Federal Reserve data released on Tuesday showed. The Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR), a measure of the cost …

US overnight funding rate hits highest since January Read More »

By Balazs Koranyi and Howard Schneider SINTRA, Portugal (Reuters) -The U.S. is back on a “disinflationary path,” Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said on Tuesday, but policymakers need more data before cutting interest rates to verify that recent weaker inflation readings provide an accurate picture of the economy. Data for May showed the Fed’s preferred …

Fed’s Powell says US on ‘disinflationary path,’ but more data needed before rate cuts Read More »

By Balazs Koranyi SINTRA, Portugal (Reuters) – The European Central Bank’s next interest rate cut is still a relatively easy decision, but subsequent moves should only come once inflation is clearly heading towards the 2% target, ECB policymaker Pierre Wunsch said in an interview. The ECB cut rates in early June but made no commitment …

ECB’s next rate cut an easy decision before choices become hard, Wunsch says Read More »

BRASILIA (Reuters) – A director of Brazil’s central bank said on Monday that if fiscal policy is always expansionary, it puts a lot of pressure on the floating exchange rate or monetary policy, making disinflation more costly. Speaking on the 30th anniversary of the Plano Real, the new currency that tamed hyperinflation in Latin America’s …

Brazil’s central bank director says expansionary fiscal policy harms disinflation Read More »

By Lucia Mutikani WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. manufacturing contracted for a third straight month in June as demand remained subdued, while a drop in a measure of prices paid by factories for inputs to a six-month low suggested that inflation could continue to subside. The weakness at the end of the second quarter reported by …

US manufacturing extends slump; inflation pressures ebbing Read More »