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Consumer prices rose 0.4 percent in December from November, putting them 1.4 percent above December 2019’s level, the U.S. Commerce Department reported. Core prices – those other than food and energy – were up 0.1 percent on the month and 1.6 percent on the year.  The COVID War and economic shutoff have boosted prices for...

The U.S. jobs market remains weak, Jerome Powell, chair of the U.S. Federal Reserve, acknowledged in a webcast for Princeton University. Also, inflation has barely begun to stir and remains far below the Fed’s 2-percent target rate, he noted. Therefore, “now is not the time to be talking about exit” from the Fed’s policies of...

It was not a Merry Christmas. U.S. retail sales dipped 0.7 percent in December from November, the U.S. Commerce Department reported. Afraid of getting hit by COVID, running out of money, and locked down by politicians with tighter social restrictions, consumers reduced their store visits. “Faced with rising transmission of the virus, state restrictions on...

The U.S. economy will expand by 4.3 percent in 2021, according to a consensus of economists polled by the Wall Street Journal. Last month, the consensus had foreseen a 3.7-percent growth outlook for the new year. What will drive it up?  The same lines that have been repeated for three months: a more aggressive vaccination...

The U.S. booked a budget deficit of $572.9 billion in the first quarter of its new fiscal year, a fiscal hole of 60.7 percent, or $216.3 billion, deeper than during the same period a year earlier. The budget gap widened as spending zoomed up 18.7 percent to pay for pandemic-related health care and an array...

Arguing that bold, broad actions are needed to pull the economy back onto its tracks, President-elect Joe Biden unveiled his $1.9-trillion “American Rescue Plan” on 14 January. Key measures include: $20 billion for a national vaccination program, $50 billion for COVID testing, and hiring 100,000 new public health workers; adding $1,400 to the $600 payments...

At November’s end, 1.6 percent fewer jobs were advertised than a year previous, the first slip since August, the U.S. Labor Department reported. At the same time, layoffs jumped 17.6 percent to 1.9 million, as layoffs in the lodging and hospitality industries more than doubled due to new restrictions on social mobility. Layoffs have largely...

During the week of 9 January, the number of first-time claims for unemployment payments surged to 965,000 from 784,000 the week before, the U.S. Labor Department reported. The number was the highest since the week of 22 August. Analysts had expected 800,000 new claims. The unemployment rate held firm at 6.7 percent. Workers filing late...