The Federal Reserve’s heavily telegraphed move to slow its pace of monetary-policy tightening next week risks sending a message to markets that the central bank is well on its way to reining in inflat...
Tag: The Economy
Why Higher Interest Rates Won’t Solve the Inflation Problem
Interest rates are heading higher, and the economic toll from the rapid, ongoing rise in the cost of credit is only starting to unfold. But higher rates won’t fully fix the inflation problem. There ar...
Will Home Prices Crash? Don’t Count on It. Here’s Why.
The housing market is cooling, but the downturn may be overhyped. That is both a blessing and a curse. Data released this past week showed that U.S. home prices fell in August at the steepest month-ov...
The Fed Has Another Problem. States Are Doling Out Stimulus Funds
A spending spree is coming, and it may do more harm than good. An analysis by Deutsche Bank economists shows that 20 U.S. states have recently enacted, or are in the process of enacting, stimulus prog...
Europe’s Unfolding Crises Could Impact U.S. Stocks. Here’s How.
U.S. investors are watching the Federal Reserve but the European Central Bank is likely to keep hiking rates to pull down prices, and those moves deserve more attention. Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg Text si...
The Fed Is About to Ramp Up Balance-Sheet Shrinkage. It May Get Dicey.
Fed Chairman Jerome Powell, shown during a postmeeting press conference late last month, has suggested balance-sheet shrinkage may go on for up to 2½ years. Drew Angerer/Getty Images Text size There i...
Car Repos Are Exploding. That’s a Bad Omen.
The jobs report and minutes from the Federal Reserve’s June meeting were the economic highlights of the week, but they are, respectively, a lagging indicator and old news. This column instead digs int...
Gas-Tax Holiday Is a Gimmick. Here Are Some Better Ideas.
President Biden’s proposed gas-tax holiday is both a gimmick and dead on arrival. Yet, it is attracting inordinate attention across Washington and on Wall Street. There are viable ways to improve ener...
Avoiding Recession May Require Moving the Inflation Goal Post
Fed chief Jerome Powell, shown at a May 4 press conference, has said the central bank remains committed to bringing inflation down to 2%. Al Drago/Bloomberg Text size Signs of economic weakness are pi...
Consumers Aren’t OK. Why April Retail Sales Are Misleading.
Walmart sales climbed in the first quarter from a year ago, but flat transaction numbers suggest inflation drove the gain. Here, a Walmart in San Leandro, Calif., last year. David Paul Morris/Bloomber...
Fed Hawkishness May Be Near Its Peak, Even if Inflation Isn’t
Fed Chairman Jerome Powell, shown earlier this month at his postmeeting press conference, says the price pressures need to be reined in even at the expense of economic pain. But how far is he willing ...
Inflation Isn’t Close to Peaking. Why Prices Will Keep Rising.
The producer price index showed surging prices for meat and fish categories, costs that tend to crop up in the grocery store. Here, a market in Monterey Park, Calif., on a recent day. Frederic J. BROW...
Why Housing May Not Get as Hammered as Usual in This Rate Hike Cycle
Traditional home buyers are sure to be pinched by rising mortgage rates, but better-financed investors could keep prices rising. Here, a home for sale in Houston last summer. Brandon Bell/Getty Images...
Housing Market Is the Fed’s Frankenstein, and It Won’t Be Easily Tamed
Fed chief Jerome Powell says there is an ‘element of uncertainty around the balance sheet’ and the central bank’s plans to shrink it from the pandemic-inflated $9 trillion at which it now stands. Grae...
Forget Fed Rate Hikes. How It Handles Its $9 Trillion in Assets Is What Really Matters.
Federal Reserve Board Chairman Jerome Powell, shown late last year at a House hearing, faces some big policy decisions this year. Brendan Smialowsky/AFP/Getty Images Text size If there is one takeaway...