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[ad_1] Shoppers may get an early present this holiday season: falling prices in many gift-giving categories. On Thursday, Walmart CEO Doug McMillon said deflation could be coming as general merchandise and key grocery items, such as eggs, chicken and seafood get cheaper. He said the retailer expects some of the stickier higher prices, such as the ones for pantry staples, to "start to deflate in the coming weeks and months," too. "In the U.S., we may be managing through a period of deflation in the months to come," he said on the company's Thursday earnings call. "And while that would put more unit pressure on us, we welcome it, because it's better for our customers." For more than a year, consumers have coped with inflation that peaked around four-decade highs and drove up the cost of nearly everything, including groceries, rent and utilities. But McMillon's comments echoed what the government and other retailers said earlier this week, o

[ad_1] Travelers at LaGuardia Airport in New York on June 30, 2022. Leslie Josephs | CNBC Airfare fell 6.4% in January from a year earlier, the Labor Department said in its monthly consumer price index report on Tuesday. It might not last too long. January is typically a slower month for travel as customers take fewer trips following the New Year's holiday. Domestic travel usually picks up during school breaks and spring holidays. The drop comes even though carriers are facing capacity constraints this year, in part because of an engine recall from Pratt & Whitney , congested airspace and delayed aircraft deliveries. Meanwhile, airline executives have forecast robust demand this year, even in the domestic market, which has faced more competition from international destinations that opened up in the wake of the pandemic. Those trends could help lift fares. "The capacity decline is related to artificial constraints due to aircraft delivery delays and GTF engine issues

[ad_1] Federal Reserve Bank Governor Michelle Bowman gives her first public remarks as a Federal policymaker at an American Bankers Association conference In San Diego, California, February 11 2019. Ann Saphir | Reuters Federal Reserve Governor Michelle Bowman expressed skepticism over the possibility of a digital U.S. dollar, noting Tuesday the multiple risks such a system could impose. A central bank digital currency (CBDC) could intrude on the privacy of users and harm the banking system while providing few benefits that aren't otherwise available for banked and unbanked consumers alike, Bowman said in a speech. related investing news "We must ensure that consumer data privacy protections embedded in today's payment systems continue and are extended into future systems," she said in prepared remarks at Georgetown University. Bowman further noted "the risk that a CBDC would provide not only a window into, but potentially an impediment to, the freedom Ameri

[ad_1] The consumer price index rose 3.2% from a year ago in July, a sign that inflation has lost at least some of its grip on the U.S. economy. Prices accelerated 0.2% for the month, in line with the Dow Jones estimate, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Thursday. However, the annual rate was slightly below the 3.3% forecast though higher than June. Excluding volatile food and energy prices so-called core CPI also increased 0.2% for the month, equating to a 12-month rate of 4.7%. The annual rate for core also was slightly below a Dow Jones consensus estimate for 4.8%. Markets reacted positively to the report, with futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average up nearly 200 points and Treasury yields mostly lower. Almost all of the monthly inflation increase came from shelter costs, which rose 0.4% and were up 7.7% from a year ago. The BLS said more than 90% of the increase came from that category, which accounts for about one-third of the CPI weighting. Food prices incre

[ad_1] A worker prepares a 155mm artillery shell at the Scranton Army Ammunition Plant in Scranton, Pennsylvania, U.S., February 16, 2023. Brendan McDermid | Reuters Companies added jobs at a brisk pace in February as the U.S. labor market kept humming, payroll services firm ADP reported Wednesday. Private payrolls increased by 242,000 for the month, ahead of the Dow Jones estimate for 205,000 and well above the upwardly revised 119,000 jobs gain, from 106,000, in January . Wage growth decelerated slightly, with those remaining in their jobs seeing a 7.2% annual increase, down 0.1 percentage point from a month ago. Job changers saw growth of 14.3%, compared to 14.9% in January. The report comes with Federal Reserve officials watching jobs data closely for clues on where inflation is headed. Remarks Tuesday from Fed Chairman Jerome Powell, who called the jobs market "extremely tight," triggered a sell-off on Wall Street amid expectations that the central bank could accele

[ad_1] Demand for mortgages increased for the second straight week , despite some volatility in mortgage rates. Total application volume rose 6.5% last week compared with the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's seasonally adjusted index. The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($726,200 or less) decreased to 6.71% from 6.79%, with points falling to 0.79 from 0.80 (including the origination fee) for loans with a 20% down payment. That was the average, but mortgage rates were largely higher for most of the week before dropping sharply Friday on news of the Silicon Valley Bank failure. Despite rates being higher, mortgage applications to purchase a home rose 7% for the week but were still 38% lower than the same week a year ago. Homebuying basically stalled in early February, after rates rose about a full percentage point, but buyers seem to be coming back now, perhaps because they are concerned

[ad_1] As the summer hiring market heats up, small and seasonal businesses may find they're missing a key demographic to fill roles – teen workers. Outplacement firm Challenger Gray projected teens will gain 1.1 million jobs in 2023, down slightly from last year's numbers and the lowest forecast since 2011. The group said this spring that teens are once again working at pre-pandemic levels, but cautioned many teens who are willing to take on jobs are likely already in the workforce. The unemployment rate for teens aged 16 to 19 crept up slightly in June to 11% from the previous month, according to Friday's June jobs report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Meanwhile the labor participation rate fell year on year, to 36.3% from 42.9% in June 2022. That could mean fewer available workers for businesses like Grotto Pizza that rely heavily on teens, according to hiring manager Glenn Byrum. Across Grotto's 20 locations in Delaware and Maryland, teens make up a litt

[ad_1] Almost all Federal Reserve officials at their June meeting indicated further policy tightening is likely, if at a slower pace than the rapid-fire rate increases that had characterized monetary policy since early 2022, according to minutes released Wednesday. Policymakers decided against a rate increase amid concerns over economic growth, even though most members think further hikes are on the way. Citing the lagged impact of policy and other concerns, they saw room to skip the June meeting after enacting 10 straight rate increases. Officials felt that "leaving the target range unchanged at this meeting would allow them more time to assess the economy's progress toward the Committee's goals of maximum employment and price stability." Federal Open Market Committee members voiced hesitance over a multitude of factors. They said that a brief pause would give the committee time to assess the impacts of the hikes, which have totaled 5 percentage points, the mos