For just the second time in modern history, the Federal Reserve started quantitative tightening in June to draw down its unprecedented $9 trillion balance sheet. The central bank’s assets on hand have more than doubled since the start of the pandemic. “I would just stress how uncertain the effect is of shrinking the balance sheet,”…

The Federal Reserve on Wednesday announced a move it hasn’t made in decades: Raising its benchmark interest rate by three-quarters of a percentage point, effectively doubling the bank borrowing rate to 1.5%-1.75%. The last time the Fed exercised this large of a one-time hike was in 1994 in an effort to get ahead of inflation.…

In one more sign inflation isn’t budging, wholesale prices surged 10.8% in May from a year ago, near a record annual pace. The producer price index measures inflation before it reaches consumers. Consumer prices were also hot in May, rising 8.6% over the year, a fresh 40-year high. As for wholesale goods, the Bureau of…

A bill aimed at controlling the cost of international shipping for American businesses and improving the supply chain is headed to President Joe Biden’s desk. Sponsors of the Ocean Shipping Reform Act hope it will help tackle rampant inflation, as prices rose 8.6% in May compared to the previous year. The House of Representatives passed…

The Wall Street hangover from last week’s shocking inflation report continued into the new week, as Wall Street officially entered a bear market. The S&P 500 dropped 3.9% Monday, and is now down more than 20% from the record high it set in January. Monday marked the first time the S&P 500 has confirmed a…

For the first time ever, the national average price of gas surpassed $5 per gallon, according to gas price trackers GasBuddy and American Automobile Association. As of Monday, the price hovered around $5.01, AAA reported. After the price of a gallon of gas surged nearly $2 in the past year, though, experts warn we haven’t…

Consumer prices in May proved inflation still has a stranglehold on the country, rising 8.6% from one year ago — the fastest pace in 40 years. May’s data exceeds expectations with analysts believing prices had peaked in March at 8.5% before falling to 8.3% in April, but rising energy and food prices continue to burden…

The federal government is making progress in bringing down the national debt. A record-setting $308 billion surplus in April certainly helped, and the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates the federal budget deficit will shrink to around $1 trillion this year due to surging tax revenue and the end of COVID-19 pandemic-related financial aid programs. This…

According to the World Bank’s latest Global Economic Prospects report, worldwide growth is expected slow down even more than previously thought. The report has global economic growth at 2.9% in 2022, down from the 5.7% growth seen in 2021 as well as the 4.1% growth predicted for 2022 back in January. “The war in Ukraine,…

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is facing Congress one week after her headlining confession on cable news, admitting, “I was wrong [in 2021] about the path that inflation would take.” While her committee appearances in front of the Senate on Tuesday and House on Wednesday are to go over the president’s budget proposal, there’s something more…