Reuters US Economy

By Lewis Krauskopf NEW YORK (Reuters) – A critical inflation report next week will test a U.S. stock market already consumed by worries over Federal Reserve hawkishness and potential fallout from the largest bank failure since the financial crisis. Friday’s mixed U.S. jobs report eased some worries about big rate hikes, days after Fed Chair …

Inflation data on deck for markets hit by worries about Fed, banks Read More »

By Andrea Shalal WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Shifts in U.S. employment over the past two years toward sectors with higher wages and productivity, and higher average hours worked, may drive further gains in labor productivity going forward, two top Treasury Department economists said on Friday. The U.S. recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic has seen employment recovering “much …

Shifts in US employment may drive gains in labor productivity -Treasury Read More »

By Saqib Iqbal Ahmed NEW YORK (Reuters) – Wall Street’s most closely watched index of market anxiety jumped on Friday and options volume on the index soared to a near 4 year high as a growing crisis at SVB Financial weighed on stocks. The Cboe Volatility Index, an options-based indicator dubbed the Wall Street “fear …

Wall Street ‘fear gauge’ options volume jumps to 4-year high as bank stocks sell off Read More »

By Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss NEW YORK (Reuters) – A rapid fall in bank reserves held at the Federal Reserve, coinciding with an expected shortage of U.S. Treasury bills as the debt ceiling battle looms, has raised concerns from investors about potential stress in financial markets. Reserves, which are funds the Fed requires banks to hold as …

Analysis-Declining U.S. bank reserves add wrinkle to contentious debt ceiling issue Read More »

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. government posted a $262 billion budget deficit in February, up 21% from a year earlier, as outlays grew and revenues fell, due largely to higher tax refunds issued as the Internal Revenue Service worked through a substantial backlog of unprocessed returns. The Treasury Department said on Friday the deficit last …

U.S. deficit grows to $262 billion in February as tax refunds surge Read More »

By Ann Saphir (Reuters) – Federal Reserve policymakers may feel less pressed to ramp up the pace of their policy tightening this month after data Friday showed wage gains slowed in February, rekindling hopes inflation will ease as the pandemic-disrupted labor market normalizes. Also fueling bets the Fed will stick to a quarter-point interest-rate increase …

Fed under less pressure to speed rate hikes as wage gains cool Read More »

By Lucia Mutikani WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. economy added jobs at a brisk clip in February, but monthly wage growth slowed and the unemployment rate rose, pointing to some labor market loosening and prompting financial markets to dial back expectations that the Federal Reserve would raise interest rates by half a percentage point this …

Strong US job growth persists; wage inflation shows signs of slowdown Read More »

By Leika Kihara TOKYO (Reuters) – Retiring Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said on Friday his 2015 “Peter Pan” speech explaining the need for a positive attitude and belief to defeat deflation wasn’t his idea, but that he trusted its message. In June of that year, Kuroda alluded to the fairy tale in explaining …

‘Peter Pan’ speech on deflation wasn’t my idea, says BOJ’s Kuroda, but it was right Read More »