Business News

Fed’s Powell highlights slowing job market in signal that rate cuts may be nearing

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve faces a cooling job market as well as persistently high prices, Chair Jerome Powell said in written testimony Tuesday, a shift in emphasis away from the Fed’s single-minded fight against inflation that suggests it’s moving closer to cutting interest rates. The Fed has made “considerable progress” toward its goal of defeating the worst inflation spike in four decades, Powell said in testimony to the Senate Banking Committee. “Inflation has eased notably” in the past two years, he added, though it remains above the Fed’s 2% target. Powell pointedly noted that “elevated inflation is not the only risk we face.” Cutting rates “too late or too little could unduly weaken economic activity and employment,” he said.

‘This is break glass in case of emergency stuff’: Analysts alarmed by threats to US data gathering

Statisticians and demographers are sounding the alarm about threats to official data gathering in the U.S. They warn that funding for the federal statistical agencies is inadequate and measures in a House appropriations bill could undermine what Americans know about themselves. A report released Tuesday by the American Statistical Association also warns that the agencies lack protections against political interference. Other advocates worry about the appropriations bill being considered by the GOP-controlled Congress. They say that bill would limit how many times a respondent can be contacted by federal agencies, and would therefore miss many more people.

Here’s what to know about Boeing agreeing to plead guilty to fraud in 737 Max crashes

Boeing has agreed to plead guilty to fraud to settle charges stemming from the crashes of two of its 737 Max jets. If a judge in Texas accepts the deal, Boeing won’t have to go on trial. The plea deal was disclosed in a court filing late Sunday. It’s not yet a sure thing, however. Relatives of some of the passengers who died in the Max crashes have indicated they will ask a federal judge to throw out the agreement. Under the deal, Boeing will pay another fine, bringing the total to $487.2 million, and be required to invest at least $455 million in making additional safety improvements.

The US housing slump deepened this spring. Where does that leave home shoppers and sellers?

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The nation’s housing market sales slump is dragging on into its third straight year, as evidenced by another weak spring homebuying season. Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes fell in the March-May period from a year earlier, and early June data point to another down month. The lackluster spring sales are a reflection of the affordability challenges many home shoppers face due to elevated mortgage rates, a shortage of properties on the market and record-high home prices. Economists are projecting mortgage rates will ease modestly by the end of this year. But a small decline in rates may not be enough to improve affordability, and may drive prices higher.

Rent inflation remains a pressure point for small businesses

NEW YORK (AP) — Rent inflation remains a pressure point for small businesses. The Bank of America Institute found that average monthly rent payment growth for the bank’s small business clients rose 12% year-over-year in May. The rent payments per client closely track the nonresidential real estate rents component of the Producer Price Index, which suggests the increases are largely due to inflation rather than small businesses upgrading to bigger or better space. Easing wage inflation has taken some pressure off of small businesses, Bank of America says.

A driverless car hits a person crossing against the light in China, highlighting a challenge for AI

BEIJING (AP) — A driverless ride-hailing car in China hit a pedestrian, and people on social media are taking the carmaker’s side, because the person was reportedly crossing against the light. Chinese tech giant Baidu said in a statement to Chinese media that its car began moving when the light turned green and had minor contact with the pedestrian. Images posted online show a person sitting on the street in front of the driverless car with its rooftop sensors. The Chinese financial news outlet Yicai said the incident on Sunday in the city of Wuhan highlights the challenge that autonomous driving faces in complex situations.

Paramount and Skydance merge, signaling end of a family reign in Hollywood and the rise of new power

NEW YORK (AP) — The entertainment giant Paramount will merge with Skydance, closing out a decades-long run by the Redstone family in Hollywood and injecting desperately needed cash into a legacy studio that has struggled to adapt to a shifting entertainment landscape. It also signals rise of a new power player, David Ellison, the founder of Skydance and son of billionaire Larry Ellison, the founder of the software company Oracle. The new combined company is valued at around $28 billion.

Stock market today: Wall Street wavers amid congressional testimony from Powell

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks wobbled on Wall Street as Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s testifies before the Senate Banking Committee. The S&P 500 was up 0.2% in morning trading Tuesday. The Nasdaq composite was up 0.4%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 112 points, or 0.3%. Consumer goods company Helen of Troy, which makes Osprey and OXO products, sank 30% after posting first-quarter results that fell far short of forecasts. Treasury yields rose slightly in the bond market. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note edged up to 4.31%.

More than 3 million pass through US airport security in a day for the first time as travel surges

Agents for the U.S. Transportation Security Administration on Sunday screened 3 million airline passengers in a single day for the first time ever. The record topped the June 23 mark of more than 2.99 million screened passengers. Eight of the 10 busiest days in TSA’s history have come this year, as the number of travelers tops pre-pandemic levels. TSA was created after the terror attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, and replaced a collection of private security companies that were hired by airlines. The agency operates under the Department of Homeland Security, which said that agents on Sunday checked 35 passengers every second.

Thanks to a $1 billion gift, most Johns Hopkins medical students will no longer pay tuition

Most medical students at Johns Hopkins University will no longer pay tuition thanks to a $1 billion gift from Bloomberg Philanthropies. Starting in the fall, the gift announced Monday will cover full tuition for medical students from families earning less than $300,000. Living expenses and fees will be covered for students from families who earn up to $175,000. Bloomberg Philanthropies previously gifted $1.8 billion to Johns Hopkins in 2018 to ensure that undergraduate students are accepted regardless of their family’s income. The former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg received a Bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Johns Hopkins University in 1964.