Home sales and capital goods orders both declined in May due to lingering inflation and high interest rates, Bloomberg reported. Capital goods shipments dropped by 0.5 percent, the sharpest dip in three months.
Tag: inflation
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INFLATION RATE FLAT-LINES IN MAY, FANNING HOPES OF FED RATE CUT
U.S. inflation’s pace was unchanged in May at an annual rate of 2.6 percent, the Commerce Department reported. Service prices rose 0.2 percent but were offset by a 0.4-percent decrease in goods prices, the largest since last November.
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BANK OF ENGLAND LEAVES KEY RATE UNCHANGED
As economists expected, the Bank of England’s (BoE’s) governing committee held its key interest rate at its 16-year high of 5.25 percent, where it has been since August 2023.
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RETAIL SALES FALL FLAT IN MAY
U.S. retail sales increased by a scant 0.1 percent in May as retailers had to offer more discounts to entice cash-strapped consumers to buy, the commerce department reported.
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MILITARY AID IS BALLOONING U.S. BUDGET DEFICIT
U.S. military aid to Israel and Ukraine is helping to push this fiscal year’s budget deficit from the $1.4 trillion estimated in February to $1.9 trillion, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has projected.
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FED HOLDING BACK ON INTEREST RATE CUTS
The central banks of Canada and the European Union cut their interest rates this month for the first time in the current cycle, but the U.S. Federal Reserve is in no hurry to follow suit.
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U.S. SMALL BUSINESS SENTIMENT INCHES UP
Owners of small businesses felt slightly more confident in May about their current and future prospects than they did in April, according to the National Federation of Independent Business’s (NFIB) Small Business Optimism Index.
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CONSUMER BLUES
U.S. consumers’ gloom deepened again in June, according to the University of Michigan’s monthly survey of consumer sentiment, after also slipping in April and May.
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CANADA’S CENTRAL BANK CUTS INTEREST RATE
On 5 June, the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) became the first central bank among G7 countries to cut its key interest rate during the current inflationary cycle.
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EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK CUTS INTEREST RATE BY QUARTER POINT
As expected, the European Central Bank (ECB) cut its key interest rate on loans from 4.25 percent to 4 percent last week.