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Homebuyers are feeling whiplashed by surging mortgage rates, and the outlook just turned grim. The average rate on the 30-year mortgage increased to 7.37% on Thursday, a steep climb from 7.11% at the beginning of the week, according to Mortgage News Daily. The quarter-point increase comes as rattled investors respond to a hotter-than-expected inflation reading. At the same time, a separate measure tracking weekly average rates rose to 6.88%, up from 6.82% the week prior, Freddie Mac found. Elevated rates have left would-be buyers in a pinch, causing both repeat and first-time buyers to step away from any purchase plans....

The New York Times economics parody writer Pauk Krugman — because that’s all he’s been reduced to now — can’t seem to avoid sleepwalking his way into huge, unforced errors. In another Apr. 9 column praising President Joe Biden’s alleged “Goldilocks” economy, Krugman was adamant that “while there was a wave of inflation, it seems to have broken.” Yes, Krugman wrote this just a day before the Bureau of Labor Statistics released its Apr. 10 report showing that consumer prices spiked hotter than expected at 3.5 percent year-over-year and 0.4 percent month-over-month. CNBC analyzed that core consumer prices (excluding food...

A recent research paper by four noted economists, including Larry Summers, the former Treasury Secretary under Barack Obama and former Harvard President, discovered that the real inflation rate during the Biden years, using pre-1983 calculations reached 18% in 2022. The number is the highest inflation rate the country has seen in over 50 years. This research project was published by these four authors at the nonpartisan National Bureau of Economic Research in late February and is just now making waves. Marijn A. Bolhuis is an economist in the Macro Policy division of the International Monetary Fund’s Strategy, Policy, and Review...

As we approach what is likely to be the most chaotic presidential election in U.S. history, trouble signs are starting to erupt for the U.S. economy. In fact, CNN is actually admitting that “the long-predicted storm clouds in the economy may actually be forming”. I can’t remember the last time that I saw a CNN article with a headline like that. But at this point, it is becoming extremely difficult for the mainstream media to avoid the truth. Inflation is getting worse at the same time that many key sectors of our economy are slowing down. If you thought that...

On Thursday’s broadcast of Bloomberg’s “Balance of Power,” White House Council of Economic Advisers member Heather Boushey stated that President Joe Biden is fighting inflation and its impact by “lowering the cost of student debt for all of those borrowers” with the student loan plan he announced earlier in the week. Boushey said, “[T]he President has been focused on using all the tools that he has at his disposal to make sure that he lowers costs for families. So, this is the first President to be negotiating with Big Pharma over prescription drug prices. That’s going to lower prices for...

Reporting from Western New York: gas price at my local gas station jumped $0.13 in the last 24 hours. I've never seen a hike that fast. Is anyone else seeing the same thing? I already see gold prices shooting up. Is this gas price? Starting to catch up to it now?

Here's a look at what's gone wrong at both chains.. These are tough times for two big US dollar store chains. In the past month, Family Dollar said it will close nearly 1,000 stores and 99 Cents Only said it will go out of business. Both companies said inflation and shoplifting have contributed to their troubles. While inflation has pressured the companies' low-income customer base and shoplifting has squeezed their profits, those factors alone can't explain their difficulties. Years of strategic mistakes and underinvestment have plagued Family Dollar and 99 Cents Only, retail analysts say. Both brands were acquired by...

Claim: President Joe Biden claimed on Wednesday that inflation was “skyrocketing” when he took office. “Look we have dramatically reduced inflation from 9% down to close to 3% we’re in a situation where we’re better situated and we were we took office, where we inflation was skyrocketing,” Biden said Wednesday at a White House press conference. The president was reacting to the latest report on the consumer price index, which showed inflation rose at an annualized rate of 4.6 percent in March, the fourth consecutive month in which inflation has exceeded expectations.

Influential investor says US inflation and growth are not at levels where interest rates can fall Please use the sharing tools found via the share button at the top or side of articles. Copying articles to share with others is a breach of FT.com T&Cs and Copyright Policy. Email licensing@ft.com to buy additional rights. Subscribers may share up to 10 or 20 articles per month using the gift article service. More information can be found at https://www.ft.com/tour. https://www.ft.com/content/680c17d1-0d55-4697-aff8-7dcca8c06679?accessToken=zwAGFb2KHEZYkc9oDBfRDVVGl9Ov-H3MqMBmeQ.MEUCIEKUOo8tpYNQH1TIRs1UXW0onmSrH2MkZ28gZyBrU5T-AiEAledOG31n_SXP-FsEVXres7m4-IDthSiN4Xyky3Mv9yQ&sharetype=gift&token=c10df47e-f8fc-4ea2-a059-1720789b4224 Persistent inflation and hot US growth have left the Federal Reserve’s rate-cutting hopes “off track”, Bridgewater’s Bob Prince said on Tuesday, adding...

Inflation ticked higher once again in March, with consumer prices up 0.4 percent over the previous month and 3.5 percent compared to one year earlier. The latest data marks the third month in a row that the consumer price index (CPI), a closely watched gauge of inflation, has come in hotter than expected, likely throwing cold water on hopes that the Federal Reserve would begin cutting interest rates soon.

Funky cold Joe Biden is his reaction to inflation caused by his outragous spending. His legion of sycophants are now saying inflation is a good thing or don’t notice it. But Biden will never stop spending . Coming into today’s CPI number, which followed three previous red-hot inflation prints, we said that it’s time for a “miss” (the first of 2024) not because the data demands it – on the contrary, prices continue to rise at a frightening pace – but because a dovish CPI print today would be the last opportunity for the Fed to set a timetable for...

The consumer price index, a key inflation gauge, rose 3.5% in March, higher than expectations and marking an acceleration for inflation. Shelter and energy costs drove the increase. Energy rose 1.1% after increasing 2.3% in February, while shelter costs were higher by 0.4% on the month and up 5.7% from a year ago. Following the report, traders pushed the first expected rate cut out to September, according to CME Group calculations.

Americans looking for shelter from inflation are unlikely to find any at home. Inflation under the Biden administration has sent the costs of maintaining a household soaring. Rent, electricity, and garbage collection prices are all up nearly six percent. The price of rent and associated shelter costs have jumped more than five percent since March 2023: — Owners’ equivalent rent (the opportunity cost of not renting out the home you own): Up 5.9 percent since March 2023 / Up 0.4 percent since February 2024 — Water and sewer maintenance services: Up 5.1 percent since March 2023 / Up 0.5 percent...

KEY POINTS * The consumer price index, a key inflation gage, rose 3.5% in March, higher than expectations and marking an acceleration for inflation. * Shelter and energy costs drove the increase on the all-items index. Energy rose 1.1% after increasing 2.3% in February, while shelter costs were higher by 0.4% on the month and up 5.7% from a year ago. * Following the report, traders pushed the first expected rate cut out to September, according to CME Group calculations. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The consumer price index accelerated at a faster than expected pace in March, pushing inflation higher and likely dashing...

Jamie Dimon, the CEO of JPMorgan Chase, issued a sober warning for the U.S. economy in his annual letter to investors this week. Dimon pointed to wars breaking out in Europe, the Middle East, and growing tensions with China as major drivers to economic uncertainty which have helped fuel “higher energy and food prices, inflation rates and volatile markets.” The crises on the foreign policy front are largely a reflection of President Joe Biden’s weakness on the world stage as America’s adversaries have felt that they have more latitude in what they are able to get away with under the...

During an interview with Univision that took place on March 20 and was released on Tuesday, President Joe Biden responded to a question on what he would say to people who don’t feel economic growth or job creation in their paychecks and pockets by stating that “it’s not yet” reflected and touting his work on overdraft and junk fees. Interviewer Enrique Acevedo asked, “I’ve heard you talk about economic growth, job creation. What do you say to the families — not just Latino families — but families across the country, that don’t feel that economic growth, that job creation reflected...

U.S. inflation pressures quickened again last month, with core price pressures also rising past Wall Street forecasts, a reading that will cast further doubt on market bets for a June interest rate cut from the Federal Reserve. The headline consumer price index for March was pegged by the Commerce Department at 3.5%, rising from the prior month's tally of 3.2% and coming in ahead of Wall Street's 3.4% consensus forecast. On a monthly basis, inflation edged 0.4% higher, matching the 0.4% gain in February but also coming in ahead of Wall Street's 0.3% forecast. So-called core inflation, which strips out...

By the end of 1819, so many banks, persons, and businesses had declared bankruptcy that each defaulted to ownership by the notorious Second Bank of the United States (SUSB), thus making the SUSB one of the largest and most important property owners in the early republic. Many elites benefitted from its seemingly endless largess, but most Americans despised it as a “monster.” Not only did it seem to own everything in sight (and beyond!), but it also had been responsible for the inflation and sudden deflation that had caused the Panic/Depression of 1819. Its first president, William Jones, had been...

Joe Biden’s massive electric vehicle (EV) agenda will subsidize the lifestyles of America’s well-to-do while hitting average people the hardest.... The Biden administration is aggressively regulating the U.S. auto market to drastically increase the proportion of EVs sold over the coming decade, but consumer demand has not taken off as quickly as proponents had projected despite the subsidies made available by Biden’s flagship climate bill, the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). Manufacturers are slashing prices of their EVs to make the vehicles more appealing to consumers, which will increase prices for internal combustion engine (ICE) cars to compensate; this dynamic will...

Tyranny by the Numbers: The Government Wants Your Money Any Way It Can Get ItThe government wants your money.It will beg, steal or borrow if necessary, but it wants your money any way it can get it.This is what comes of those $1.2 trillion spending bills: someone’s got to foot the bill for the government’s fiscal insanity, and that “someone” is the U.S. taxpayer.The government’s schemes to swindle, cheat, scam, and generally defraud taxpayers of their hard-earned dollars have run the gamut from wasteful pork barrel legislation, cronyism and graft to asset forfeiture, costly stimulus packages, and a national security...