More from Brent Jabbour
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Preview: What will Fed Chair Jerome Powell say at Jackson Hole?
The Federal Reserve is giving no credence to calls for emergency rate cuts or panic over the labor market or stock market since July’s disappointing jobs report. Following signals that inflation continues to ease, all signs point to a September rate cut, though there is a lot of data to be released between now and… -
How big will the Fed go with rate cuts after July’s inflation report?
Following the latest jobs report that showed a weakening labor market, consumer prices rose by less than 3% on an annual basis for the first time since March 2021. Given the Federal Reserve’s dual mandate of price stability and maximum employment, one is coming into focus while the other is slipping away. How to interpret… -
What the latest inflation report means for mortgage rates as refinancing surges
After mortgage rates hit their lowest levels in more than a year last week, applications to refinance surged 35% compared to the previous week. The Mortgage Bankers Association Refinance Index is up 118% from a year ago. The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate has gone from under 3% in 2021 to nearly 8% in October… -
Inflation in July falls below 3% for first time since March 2021
Consumer price inflation rose slightly in July, in line with expectations. July’s 2.9% annual rise came in a tick below the 3% expected, clearing the way for the Federal Reserve to wait until September to take action after the month’s troubling jobs report. The Bureau of Labor Statistics numbers out Wednesday morning, Aug. 14, rose 0.2%… -
Starbucks snags Chipotle’s CEO, giving stock much-needed caffeine boost
Starbucks’ stock shot up more than 22% on Tuesday, Aug. 13, when the company announced it is swapping out CEOs. Laxman Narasimhan is out effective immediately, while the coffee giant poached Chipotle CEO Brian Niccol to turn things around like he did for the burrito business. Niccol has been CEO of Chipotle since 2018. He will… -
How falling mortgage rates could impact housing affordability this year
Mortgage rates hit the lowest level in more than a year, which is a little like putting the cart before the horse, but lenders know the horse is coming. That horse is the Federal Reserve cutting interest rates, which experts believe will happen in September. What will all of this mean for housing affordability? Watch the… -
Conservatives want to give Dunkin’ Donuts the ‘Bud Light treatment’
Conservatives want to give Dunkin’ Donuts the Bud Light treatment. Calls to boycott the coffee giant’s more than 13,000 locations are splattered across social media with the hashtag #BoycottDunkinDonuts. It all started when Chris Pavlovski, the CEO of Rumble, YouTube’s conservative counterpart, said Dunkin’ didn’t want to advertise on his site because of its “right wing… -
Elon Musk sued this advertising group into the ground over X ‘boycott’
Elon Musk’s X filed a federal antitrust lawsuit on Tuesday, Aug. 6, against the World Federation of Advertisers and four members for what the company’s CEO says was a “systematic, illegal boycott against X.” The companies include CVS Health and Mars Inc., both of which were part of the trade group’s Global Alliance for Responsible… -
Fed cutting rates before September like ‘yelling fire in a crowded theater’
Many argue the Federal Reserve missed the boat after failing to cut rates to ease financial conditions two days before latest jobs report triggered a recession indicator on Friday, Aug. 2. The Federal Open Market Committee is not scheduled to meet again until Sept. 17-18. Now, experts are making the case for deeper rate cuts… -
Here’s why this former Fed adviser says we are already in a recession
The creator of a recession indicator that was triggered this past week said her rule is broken this time around and there’s no recession right now. But not everyone agrees. In fact, a different recession indicator points to the U.S. having entered a recession in October of last year. “We’re not in a recession,” Sahm… -
Google’s antitrust loss ‘a warning’ to Big Tech: The government can win
Pressure is building on Big Tech after a federal court ruled Google is a monopoly. Google isn’t the only one the government is going after. Apple, Meta and Amazon are actively fighting lawsuits. While Google’s appeal plays out, tech firms will be eyeing the courts, Federal Trade Commission and Department of Justice for clues to… -
FTC Chair Lina Khan got under Big Tech’s skin. Now they want her gone.
In the wake of a federal judge ruling that Google is a monopoly for its search business practices, all eyes are turning to other antitrust cases in the works. But even before the Google decision brought by the Justice Department, the Federal Trade Commission and its celebrity chair were feeling the political heat. FTC Chair… -
Break up Google? How the search giant might be punished for antitrust ruling
The antitrust ruling against Google on Monday, Aug. 5, is groundbreaking. By declaring Google is a monopoly, it marked the biggest tech antitrust ruling since Microsoft in the ’90s. It’s not that the government never takes up these cases; it’s that the government doesn’t often win. And to be fair, it hasn’t won yet. Google plans…