Category: U.S. Inflation

US Mortgage Rates Rise to 5.78 Percent After Fed Rate Hike, in Biggest Jump Since 1987

U.S. mortgage rates jumped to 5.78 percent in the largest one-week increase since 1987, reported Freddie Mac on June 16, after the Federal Reserve hiked interest rates the day prior, adding further pressure on homebuyers and slowing down the already weak housing market. The average for a 30-year loan jumped to 5.78 percent by more…


Target Warns of Weaker Profits Due to Overstocked Stores and Inflation

Target announced in a June 7 press statement that its earnings would take a short-term hit, after marking down unwanted merchandise and canceling orders in an attempt to rid itself of excess inventory in order to save on costs, causing its shares to drop nearly 4 percent in the afternoon. The major retailer anticipates that its…


Americans Are Cutting Vacation Plans Short Due to Rising Gas Prices and Inflation: Survey

Americans want to go on vacation this summer despite concerns about rising gas prices and inflation, according to a May 25 survey by the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA), but not without misgivings over costs. About 57 percent of survey respondents said they still have plans to take a summer vacation this year, an…


Inflation of US Housing Market Slows Down as Higher Mortgage Rates Shrink Demand

The rate of home price inflation in the United States is expected to decline to about 10 percent by the end of 2022 and slow even further over the next two years, as high housing prices and increased mortgage rates push out prospective buyers, according to a Reuters poll on May 31. Forty-year high consumer…


Shares of Dollar Tree and Dollar General Rise as Inflation Pushes Shoppers to Find Bargains

Shares of Dollar Tree Inc. and Dollar General Corp. surged on May 26 after upbeat financial news for 2022 from the two discount retail chains in the their first-quarter earnings reports. Many shoppers are flocking to discount retailers as U.S. inflation rates hit a four-decade high. “Despite ongoing headwinds due to supply chain pressures and heightened…


Former Obama Economic Advisor Doubts a Recession Would Cure Inflation

There is rising concern in Washington that interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve will spark a recession in the United States within the next year. However, some are saying that even a recession caused by the actions of the central bank may not be enough to curtail inflation. The former chair of former President…


Americans More Pessimistic on Economy, Biden Administration: Survey

Americans are increasingly pessimistic about the state of the economy and Joe Biden’s presidency, according to a CBS News poll from May 22, with 63 percent of respondents describing the state of the country as “uneasy” and “worrying.” Inflation stands at a 40-year high and increasingly steep gas prices are stifling living standards for most Americans, with…


Consecutive High Gas Prices Are ‘Unprecedented’ With Summer Season Around The Corner, AAA Says

U.S. gas prices have been climbing for the past 11 consecutive days in a row, amid the worse energy supply crisis in decades, according to the American Automobile Association (AAA). The drivers association said that the current stretch of record high prices is unprecedented. The national average for a gallon of gas hit $4.59 on May 20, a slight…


Bernanke says the Fed’s slow response to inflation ‘was a mistake’

The Federal Reserve’s slow response to the global inflation crisis “was a mistake,” said Former Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke during an appearance on CNBC that aired on May 16. Bernanke said that the central bank’s slow response to inflation has allowed the crisis to escalate into one of the worst periods in financial history since the early…


Dollar Rally Accelerates Slide in Metals

Gold and other precious metals dropped on Thursday, with palladium shedding more than 8 percent, as investors flocked to the dollar-driven by bets the U.S. Federal Reserve will stick to aggressive rate hikes. Spot gold fell 1.6 percent to $1,823.14 per ounce by 01:51 p.m. EDT (1751 GMT). U.S. gold futures settled down 1.6 percent at $1,824.60….