November 12, 2024 United States: US Online Food Prices Post First Year-on-Year Drop Since Covid   Online grocery prices declined in October from a year earlier, the first such drop since the arrival of Covid more than four years ago.   Food costs fell 0.1% from the same period of 2023, according to data from

November 11, 2024 United States: Fed’s Kashkari Says Economy Strong, But Inflation Not Vanquished Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis President Neel Kashkari said the US economy has remained remarkably strong as the central bank progressed in beating back inflation, but the Fed was still “not all the way home.”   “We need to finish the job,” Kashkari

November 8, 2024 United States: Treasuries Set for Best Week in Two Months After Trump Whiplash Treasuries are poised for their best week since early September after a volatile five days of trading dominated by Donald Trump’s victory in the presidential election. US bonds rallied again on Friday as investors trimmed the huge run-up in rates

November 7, 2024 United States: US Initial Jobless Claims Tick Up, Remaining at Pre-Covid Levels Applications for US unemployment benefits ticked up last week, remaining near average pre-pandemic levels. Initial claims increased by 3,000 to 221,000 in the week ended Nov. 2. That was roughly in line with the median forecast in a Bloomberg survey of

November 6, 2024 United States: US Mortgage Rates Rise Again, With Recent Jump Most in Two Years US mortgage rates continued to climb, putting a further damper on refinancing and homebuying activity. The contract rate on a 30-year mortgage increased 8 basis points to 6.81% in the week ended Nov. 1, the highest since July, according to

November 5, 2024 United States: Treasuries Slip on Election Day as Volatility Hits One-Year High US Treasuries fell and a gauge of bond volatility rose to the highest in a year as traders counted down to a presidential election that remains too close to call.   The yield on 10-year Treasuries rose as much as

November 4, 2024 United States: ‘Trump Trade’ Doubts Drag on Dollar, Boosting US Treasuries Treasury yields fell sharply, and the dollar weakened as investors pared bets on Republican Donald Trump prevailing in Tuesday’s US election.   The yield on 10-year Treasuries dropped as much as 11 basis points to 4.27% after a new poll suggested

November 1, 2024 United States: Treasuries Soar as Distorted US Jobs Data Fuels Bets on Fed Cut US government debt rallied after the economy generated just 12,000 jobs last month amid storms and strikes, leaving intact expectations that the Federal Reserve will lower interest rates next week.   Treasuries advanced on Friday, led by the

October 31, 2024 United States: Key US Inflation Gauge and Spending Pick Up in Solid Economy The Federal Reserve’s preferred measure of underlying US inflation posted its biggest monthly gain since April, bolstering the case for a slower pace of interest-rate cuts following last month’s outsize reduction.   The so-called core personal consumption expenditures price index, which

October 30, 2024 United States: US Economy Expands at 2.8% Rate, Powered by Resilient Consumer   The US economy expanded at a robust pace in the third quarter as household purchases accelerated ahead of the election and the federal government ramped up defense spending.   Inflation-adjusted gross domestic product increased at a 2.8% annualized after rising 3%