Business News

Powell at Jackson Hole: ‘The time has come’ for the Fed to soon begin reducing interest rates

JACKSON, Wyoming (AP) — With inflation nearly defeated and the job market cooling, the Federal Reserve is prepared to start cutting its key interest rate from its current 23-year high, Chair Jerome Powell said Friday. Powell did not say when rate cuts would begin or how large they might be, but the Fed is widely expected to announce a modest quarter-point cut in its benchmark rate when it meets in mid-September. “The time has come for policy to adjust,” Powell said in his keynote speech at the Fed’s annual economic conference in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Powell emphasized that inflation, after the worst price spike in four decades inflicted pain on millions of households, appears largely under control.

Takeaways from Fed Chair Powell’s speech at Jackson Hole

WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell all but proclaimed mission accomplished in the fight against inflation and signaled that interest rate cuts are coming in a much-anticipated speech Friday in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Under Powell, the Fed raised its benchmark rate to the highest level in 23 years to subdue inflation that two years ago was running at the hottest pace in more than four decades. Inflation has come down steadily, and investors now expect the Fed to start cutting rates at its next meeting September — an expectation that essentially got Powell’s endorsement Friday.

Canadian union issues 72-hour strike warning to freight railroad hours after it resumes service

TORONTO (AP) — A Canadian workers union issued a 72-hour strike notice to one of Canada’s two major freight railroads only three hours after the company’s trains had begun rolling again following a potentially economically devastating stoppage. Teamsters Canada spokesperson Marc-André Gauthier says the union filed its strike notice against Canadian National shortly after it announced that it plans to challenge a government order that forced it into arbitration with both CN and Canadian Pacific Kansas City Ltd. Canadian National spokesman Jonathan Abecassis said the railroad is committed to getting back to powering the economy while the union is focused on returning to the picket line. CPKC railroad’s trains remain parked in the middle of the messy labor dispute.

Justice Department accuses RealPage of a scheme to help landlords hike rents in antitrust lawsuit

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department has filed an antitrust lawsuit against real estate software company RealPage, accusing it of an illegal scheme that allows landlords to coordinate to hike rental prices. The lawsuit accuses the company of violating antitrust laws through its algorithm that landlords use to get recommended rental prices for apartments. Justice Department officials say the algorithm allows landlords to align their prices and avoid competition that would keep rents down. In a statement, RealPage said the Justice Department’s claims were “devoid of merit and will do nothing to make housing more affordable.”

Fires break out on abandoned Greek-flagged oil tanker Sounion that Yemen rebels attacked in Red Sea

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Fires have broken on a Greek-flagged oil tanker previously attacked by Yemen’s Houthi rebels this week. The vessel now appears to be adrift in the Red Sea. It wasn’t immediately clear what had happened to the Sounion. The oil tanker had been abandoned by its crew on Thursday and reportedly anchored in place. The rebels are suspected to have gone back and attacked at least one other vessel that later sank as part of their monthslong campaign against shipping in the Red Sea. But the Houthis made no immediate comment. The British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center reported the fires in a note to mariners on Friday night.

Stock market today: Wall Street rises toward records after Fed says ‘time has come’ for rate cuts

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are climbing closer to their records after the head of the Federal Reserve finally said out loud what Wall Street has been expecting for a while: Cuts to interest rates are coming soon to help the economy. The S&P 500 was 0.8% higher Friday after Fed Chair Jerome Powell said the time has come to lower its main interest rate from a two-decade high. It’s back within 0.9% of its all-time high set last month. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 322 points, and the Nasdaq composite was 1.1% higher. Treasury yields also eased in the bond market.

Are convention viewing numbers a hint about who will win the election? Don’t bet on it

NEW YORK (AP) — The final results will be in on Friday: was the Democratic or Republican convention more popular with television viewers? Yet if you’re wondering whether that might be an indicator of success in November, it’s probably not worth a bet. Over the last 16 presidential election cycles going back to 1960, eight times the party with the most-watched summer convention won the election. Eight times they lost. That includes 2016, when the Democrats and Hillary Clinton had more viewers than Donald Trump — but the Republican had the last laugh. Noted pundit Jeff Greenfield said Democrats may be boosted by sheer star power this summer.

How to prepare for the Fed’s forthcoming interest rate cuts

NEW YORK (AP) — The Federal Reserve is poised to cut its benchmark interest rate next month from its 23-year high, with consequences for consumers when it comes to debt, savings, auto loans and mortgages. Right now, most experts envision three quarter-point Fed cuts — in September, November and December — though even steeper rate cuts are possible. “The time has come” for the Fed to reduce interest rates, Powell said in his keynote speech at the Fed’s annual economic conference in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Based on Powell’s remarks and recent economic data, the central bank is expected to cut its key rate by a quarter-point when it meets next month and to carry out additional rate cuts in the coming months.

Kamala Harris with Beyoncé? Yes, but the star singer was only heard through loudspeakers

Would she be there or not? Beyoncé, not Kamala Harris. The vice president introduced herself to the country she hopes to lead in the climactic moment of the Democratic convention Thursday after an oddly anticipatory evening where people wondered whether or not she’d be joined by a music superstar in a surprise appearance. In the end, Beyoncé’s campaign theme song “Freedom” was only heard through loudspeakers. Harris delivered a speech less than half the length of Republican opponent Donald Trump’s acceptance of the Republican nomination last month. And unlike the other headline speakers at this week’s Democratic convention, she appeared before 11 p.m. on the East Coast.

A top Delta executive is leaving weeks after the airline’s slow response to tech outage

A high-ranking Delta Air Lines executive is leaving the company, just a few weeks after Delta canceled thousands of flights and struggled to recover from a technology outage. Delta said Friday that Chief Operating Officer Michael Spanos will leave at the end of August. CEO Ed Bastian says Spanos will take a job at another company, but he’s not naming the company. Spanos spent most of his career at PepsiCo and the Pepsi Bottling Group and was CEO of amusement-park operator Six Flags Entertainment before joining Delta just last year. Chief operating officers typically run the day-to-day affairs of a company.