The numbers: The US posted a budget surplus of $308 billion in April — the largest on record — owing to a large increase in federal taxes and lower spending after the end of government stimulus. Based on current trends, the government could register a budget deficit of under $1 trillion in fiscal 2022 for […]
Stock and bond investors expecting a “watershed” moment in Wednesday’s inflation data were left disappointed, analysts and economists said, leaving open the debate over whether the market is close to putting in a bottom. The April consumer price index was certainly hotly anticipated, attracting the sort of pre-release scrutiny usually reserved for items like the […]
Stocks swung between gains and losses Wednesday after fresh data showed inflation eased slightly in April but not as much as economists expected. The S&P 500 rose 0.7% in morning trading. The index snapped a three-day losing streak Tuesday, hitting pause on a stretch of pressure that came as investors braced for the Federal Reserve […]
READING, Pa.—Emily Mascitis has one of the most important jobs you never knew existed. As Americans’ monthly bills climb at the fastest rate in four decades, it is Ms. Mascitis’s work that confirms the $9 you just paid for a 4-pound bag of clementines isn’t an anomaly. Newsletter Sign-up The 10-Point. A personal, guided tour […]
US stocks swung between gains and losses on Tuesday as uncertainty over inflation, interest rates and the economy continued to weigh on the market. All three major indexes opened higher, with the technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite up 2.8% at one point. By late morning, stocks had mostly erased those gains and appeared on track to extend […]
The list of reasons why the financial market’s wild swings can keep going and even worsen is growing by the day — starting with the fact that investors aren’t yet pricing in worst-case scenarios for inflation and the US economy. Though Wednesday’s consumer-price index report for April should offer more clues, the data won’t entirely […]
If you’ve turned on a TV, listened to the radio, or surfed internet news sites recently you’ve almost certainly heard that there is a crisis, and a panic, about inflation. You’ve been told it’s the reason the Federal Reserve is jacking up interest rates. It’s the reason the stock market has been plunging. It’s a […]
Another turnaround Tuesday may be in the cards after a litany of concerns including stagflation dragged the S&P 500 SPX, +1.00% below 4,000 for the first time since 2021. As investors try to regroup from the worst three-day stock stretch in two years, one more hard day of selling for the S&P might be a […]