Free Republic

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., said Sunday she’s "very worried" that measures taken by the Federal Reserve to tame inflation are going to put "millions" of Americans out of work. During an appearance on CNN’s "State of the Union," Warren said she’s concerned that the Fed’s continued raising of interest rates could "tip" the country into a recession. "I am very worried about this, because the causes of inflation, things like the fact that COVID is still shutting down parts of the economy around the world, that we still have supply chain kinks, that we still have a war going on...

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell delivered a stern commitment Friday to halting inflation, warning that he expects the central bank to continue raising interest rates in a way that will cause “some pain” to the U.S. economy. In his much-anticipated annual policy speech at Jackson Hole, Wyoming, Powell affirmed that the Fed will “use our tools forcefully” to attack inflation that is still running near its highest level in more than 40 years. Even with a series of four consecutive interest rate increases totaling 2.25 percentage points, Powell said this is “no place to stop or pause” even though benchmark...

The economy shrank by 0.6% in the second quarter compared to the same period last year — the second consecutive quarter that the nation’s gross domestic product contracted, thus signaling the onset of a recession, according to the latest data. The US Commerce Department issued a revised reading of second-quarter figures on Thursday — nearly a month after its initial report measured a 0.9% contraction compared to the year prior, Fox Business reported. In the first quarter of this year, GDP fell by 1.6% — the worst-performing quarter since the spring of 2020. At the time, much of the country...

The crises are now coming home to roost.We’re now entering the third inning of the problems exacerbating around the globe. This is why I created World’s Biggest Trade… and why I give away the momentum indicator to help you navigate these markets in real-time.Right now, the energy sector is holding broad market momentum in barely positive territory. But there’s no doubt now that we are a world in crisis.Harvest is coming. Winter is coming. The recession is here… and will worsen.This is a world in crisis… and it’s high time that our media acts like it and stops painting a...

The U.S. economy shrank at slightly slower pace in the second quarter than previously reported, but continued to meet the criteria for a so-called technical recession as raging inflation and higher interest rates weighed on spending. Gross domestic product, the broadest measure of goods and services produced across the economy, shrank by 0.6% on an annualized basis in the second quarter, the Commerce Department said in its second reading of the data on Thursday. That is below the initially reported 0.9% decline. GDP already contracted by 1.6% in the period from January to March, the worst performance since the spring...

One in six American households is struggling to pay their power bills. High energy prices and persisting inflation are eating away at incomes. A total of 19.9% of all U.S. households reported that they kept their home at a temperature tha One in six American households is struggling to pay their power bills. High energy prices and persisting inflation are eating away at incomes. A total of 19.9% of all U.S. households reported that they kept their home at a temperature that felt unsafe for at least one month in the last year. ...

NBC Nightly News seemed to have discovered that the U.S. is in a “housing recession” under President Joe Biden on Aug. 18, after MRC Business ripped the network for initially ignoring the story. CNBC on Aug. 15 reported that The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index “dropped 6 points in August to 49” for its eighth consecutive monthly decline. Anything below a 50 is considered negative. NAHB Chief Economist Robert Dietz said in a statement obtained by CNBC that “‘[t]ighter monetary policy from the Federal Reserve and persistently elevated construction costs have brought on a housing...

CNN is apparently desperate to convince Americans to stop taking the glass-half-empty view of absurdly high gas prices that declined somewhat. Look on the bright side, says CNN: think of the small gas price dip as a $100-a-month raise instead! “Next time you stop at a gas station, think of it as a $100-a-month tax cut. Or a maybe $100-a-month raise,” CNN tweeted to its over 59 million followers on Aug. 19. The original CNN Business Senior Writer Chris Isidore’s propaganda piece was headlined: “America just got a $100-a-month raise.” CNN’s tweet was massively ratioed with over a whopping 7,100...

The ABC, CBS and NBC evening news shows ignored reporting on a devastating poll that shows the American people are not buying President Joe Biden’s spin on the meaning of a recession. An IBD/TIPP poll released Aug. 9 found that a “solid majority of Americans — 62% — think the U.S. economy is in a recession, up from 58% a month ago, 53% in June and 48% in May.” This followed news that the U.S. GDP contracted for the second month in a row to meet the technical definition of a recession. To make the report worse, the “IBD/TIPP Economic...

The ABC, CBS and NBC evening news networks continued their pathetic gambit to shield President Joe Biden from any suggestion that his economy is in a recession. CNBC reported Aug. 15 that The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index “dropped 6 points in August to 49” for its eighth consecutive monthly decline. Anything below a 50 is considered negative. Fox Business reported that the result marked the “worst stretch for the housing market since the 2008 financial crisis.” NAHB Chief Economist Robert Dietz said in a statement obtained by CNBC that “‘[t]ighter monetary policy from the...

The Second Quarter decline in GDP met the traditional definition of an economic recession. On top of that productivity fell at its steepest pace on an annual basis since this statistic began being recorded in 1948. The price of labor per unit of output rose at a 10.8% rate. That followed a 12.7% rate of growth in the first quarter. Despite these statistics President Biden continues to insist that "we're not in a recession. A recession is when there are no jobs available, but there are currently over 10 million job openings out there. People aren't taking these jobs because...

BERLIN, Aug 16 (Reuters) - German investor sentiment fell slightly in August on concerns the rising cost of living will hit private consumption, and suggesting Europe's largest economy is tipping into recession. The ZEW economic research institute said on Tuesday its economic sentiment index fell to -55.3 points from -53.8 in July. A Reuters poll had pointed to an August reading of -53.8. "The still high inflation rates and the expected additional costs for heating and energy lead to a decrease in profit expectations for the private consumption sector," ZEW researcher Michael Schroeder said in a statement. "In contrast, the...

General conditions index drops 42 points to negative 31.3 — the second largest decline on record The numbers: The New York Fed’s Empire State business conditions index, a gauge of manufacturing activity in the state, plummeted 42.4 points to negative 31.3 in August, the regional Fed bank said Monday. This is the second largest monthly decline on record and among the lowest levels in the survey’s history, the regional Fed bank said. Economists had expected a reading of 5.0, according to a survey by The Wall Street Journal. Any reading below zero indicates deteriorating conditions. Key details: The index for...

The pandemic housing boom is over. Welcome to the housing recession. That was the message from the National Association of Home Builders on Monday. The NAHB/Wells Fargo housing market index unexpectedly dropped six points to a reading of 49, below the breakeven point indicating a deteriorating market. This is the eighth straight monthly decline for the index of homebuilder sentiment. Apart from a brief period at the start of the pandemic, this is the first below 50 reading since 2014.

The home builder confidence index fell to 49 in August for the eighth straight month. Economists surveyed by the Wall Street Journal expected the number to be 54. The numbers: The National Association of Home Builders’ monthly confidence index fell 6 points to 49 in August, the trade group said Monday. The August reading of 49 is the first time since May 2020 that the index fell below a break-even measure of 50. One year ago, the index stood at 75. In January this year, the index was at 83. The decline was the eighth straight month in August. Economists...

General conditions index drops 42 points to negative 31.3 — the second largest decline on record The numbers: The New York Fed’s Empire State business conditions index, a gauge of manufacturing activity in the state, plummeted 42.4 points to negative 31.3 in August, the regional Fed bank said Monday. This is the second largest monthly decline on record and among the lowest levels in the survey’s history, the regional Fed bank said. Economists had expected a reading of 5.0, according to a survey by The Wall Street Journal. Any reading below zero indicates deteriorating conditions.

Average gas prices fell below the all important psychological mark of $4 a gallon today, according to AAA. Prices have fallen for 58 days in a row now, giving consumers some much needed breathing room.“Americans today will spend nearly $400 million less on gasoline than they did in mid-June,” said a GasBuddy blog early this week. The GasBuddy app helps customers find the lowest-cost pumps near them. Gas prices peaked at over $5 in mid-June, with customers in some parts of the country paying as much as $6.43 per gallon.Why are gas prices falling? Gas prices are the lowest they’ve...

The economy has just seen two successive quarters of negative growth in Gross Domestic Product (GDP). That means we are in a recession. However, since the unemployment rate is at a full employment level and since the economy continues to add hundreds of thousands of new jobs each month, some economists say that we can’t be in a recession. Maybe, though, we are experiencing something new: a full-employment recession. There is no doubt that the economy today is producing at rate that is about 2.5% less than the rate at year end 2021. In other words, we haven’t seen economic...

Started 7 minutes late, lasted for 30 minutes and was basically an infomercial for the DNC. Here are the lowlights: 1. Seniors will only pay $2K a year in out of pocket prescriptions (???) 2. Climate change, climate change, climate change. 4K tax credit for buying a USED EV (LOL), Mayor of Houston spouted off about planting trees and making the city fleets EV (rolls eyes). 3. 15% minimum tax on corporations won't effect small biz BECAUSE most are pass through entities (um, yeah right) 4. Social justice and equity. The main speaker sounded like Kamala Harris and KJP combined....

While investors’ eyes remain fixed on the Dow Jones and the Fed’s interest rate hikes, American workers must heed the disturbing signals from the labor market. As the US economy totters on the brink of a possible recession, employees must be ready for anything. Many workers benefited from the critical labor shortage that followed the pandemic recovery, with low-wage workers enjoying perks traditionally reserved for managers, such as sign-on bonuses. Yet, in recent weeks, there are indications that the labor market could be cooling off, particularly in high-skill sectors like tech. Data from the Labor Department shows unemployment claims in...