ReportWire

Tag: Inflation

  • Fed meeting minutes reveal deep splits on December rate cut decision

    [ad_1]

    Some Federal Reserve officials who supported cutting a key interest rate earlier this month could have instead backed keeping the rate unchanged, minutes released Tuesday show, underscoring the divisions and uncertainty permeating the central bank.

    At their December 9-10 meeting, Fed officials agreed to cut their key interest rate by a quarter point for the third time this year, to about 3.6%, the lowest in nearly three years.

    Yet the move was approved by a 9-3 vote, an unusual level of dissent for a committee that typically works by consensus. Two Fed officials supported keeping the rate unchanged, while one wanted a larger, half-point reduction.

    The minutes underscored the deep split on the 19-member policymaking committee over what constitutes the biggest threat to the economy: weak hiring or stubbornly elevated inflation. If a sluggish job market is the biggest threat, then the Fed would typically cut rates more. But if still-high inflation is the bigger problem, then the Fed would keep rates elevated, or even raise them. 

    Just 12 of the 19 members vote on rate decisions, though all participate in discussions.

    The minutes showed that even some Fed officials who supported the rate cut did so with reservations. Some Fed officials wanted to wait for more economic data before making any further moves, the minutes said. Key economic data on jobs, inflation, and growth were delayed by the six-week government shutdown, leaving Fed officials with only outdated information at their meeting earlier this month.

    The minutes don’t identify specific officials. But how they vote is public, and two policymakers dissented in favor of keeping rates unchanged: Jeffrey Schmid, the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, and Austan Goolsbee, president of the Chicago Fed.

    The third dissent was from Fed governor Stephen Miran, who was appointed by President Donald Trump in September and favored a half-point cut.

    When the Fed reduces its key rate, over time it can lower borrowing costs for homes, cars, and credit cards, though market forces also affect those rates.

    At its December meeting, the Fed also released quarterly economic projections, which also showed the extent of the divisions on the Fed committee. Seven officials projected no cuts in 2026, while eight forecast two or more reductions. Four supported just one cut.

    Weaker job market

    A weaker job market would likely spur the Fed to reduce borrowing costs more quickly. Two weeks ago, the government reported that employers had cut about 40,000 jobs in October and November, while the unemployment rate rose to 4.6%, a four-year high.

    Inflation, meanwhile, remains above the Fed’s 2% target, complicating the central bank’s next moves. In November, annual inflation cooled to 2.7%, down from 3% in September, but last month’s data were likely distorted by the shutdown, economists said, which forced the government to estimate many price changes rather than measuring them directly.

    Powell said after the Dec. 10 meeting that the central bank cut rates out of concern that the job market is even weaker than it appears. 

    While government data shows that the economy added just 40,000 jobs a month from April through September, Powell said that figure could be revised lower by as much as 60,000, which would mean employers actually shed an average of 20,000 jobs a month during that period.

    “It’s a labor market that seems to have significant downside risks,” Powell told reporters. “People care about that. That’s their jobs.”

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • IRS increases 2026 business mileage rate by 2.5 cents

    [ad_1]

    WASHINGTON — The standard mileage rate for the business use of a car, truck, van or other vehicle will increase by 2.5 cents in 2026.

    The IRS announced Monday that beginning Jan. 1, the standard mileage rate for a qualifying vehicle will be 72.5 cents per mile, up 2.5 cents from 2025.

    The rate will be 20.5 cents per mile driven for medical purposes, down a half cent from 2025 and will be 20.5 cents per mile driven for moving purposes for certain active-duty members of the Armed Forces and certain members of the intelligence community, which is reduced by a half cent from last year.

    The change, meant to reflect updated cost data and annual inflation adjustments, applies to fully-electric and hybrid automobiles, and gas and diesel-powered vehicles.

    Use of the standard mileage rates is optional. People who use a their car for work may instead choose to calculate the actual costs of using their vehicle.

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • Surging silver and gold slide after CME raises margin requirements

    [ad_1]

    Silver and gold futures are falling sharply after the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, one of the world’s largest trading floors for commodities, required traders to put up more cash to invest in precious metals

    NEW YORK — Silver and gold futures fell sharply Monday after the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, one of the world’s largest trading floors for commodities, asked traders to put up more cash to make bets on precious metals with prices surging this year.

    This year, gold futures are up 65% and silver has more than doubled.

    The CME raised margin requirements for gold, silver and other metals in a notice posted to the exchange’s website Friday. These notices require traders to put up more cash on their bets in order to insure against the possibility that the trader will default when they take delivery of the contract.

    Exchanges sometimes boost margin requirements when a commodity or other security goes on a significant run. In its notice, the CME said it was raising margin requirements “per the normal review of market volatility.”

    Silver futures tumbled 8% early Monday while gold slid 5%

    Silver prices have skyrocketed this year, topping records dating back to the early 1980s when traders tried and failed to corner the silver market. Supplies have dwindled, with production at major mines slowing. At the same time there’s been an increased industrial need for silver for solar panels as well as data centers.

    Silver futures were roughly $30 an ounce at the beginning of 2025, and briefly touched $80 an ounce before the CME’s announcement.

    Gold futures have risen due in part to geopolitical uncertainty and fears that a bubble is forming in some stock markets. Silver is sometimes referred to among investors as the “poor man’s gold” because it trades in similar patterns as gold for a fraction of the price. But unlike gold, silver has more industrial applications so it tends to more volatile and more exposed to economic cycles.

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • Why beef prices are so high right now

    [ad_1]


    Why beef prices are so high right now – CBS News









































    Watch CBS News



    Beef prices are up 15% compared to last year, while chicken and pork prices are only up around 1%. “CBS Saturday Morning” goes behind-the-scenes to figure out what’s behind the spike.

    [ad_2]
    Source link

  • Average US long-term mortgage rate ticks down to 6.18% this week

    [ad_1]

    WASHINGTON — The average rate on a 30-year U.S. mortgage ticked down modestly this week, remaining in the same narrow range of the past two months.

    The average long-term mortgage rate fell to 6.18% from 6.21% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Wednesday. A year ago, the rate averaged 6.85%.

    Borrowing costs on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, popular with homeowners refinancing their home loans, rose this week. The rate averaged 5.50%, up from 5.47% last week. A year ago it averaged 6%, Freddie Mac said.

    Mortgage rates are influenced by several factors, from the Federal Reserve’s interest rate policy decisions to bond market investors’ expectations for the economy and inflation. They generally follow the trajectory of the 10-year Treasury yield, which lenders use as a guide to pricing home loans.

    The 10-year yield was at 4.15% at midday Wednesday, up modestly from last week’s 4.12%.

    The average rate on a 30-year mortgage has been mostly holding steady in recent weeks since Oct. 30 when it dropped to 6.17%, its lowest level in more than a year.

    Mortgage rates began easing in July in anticipation of a series of Fed rate cuts, which began in September and continued this month.

    The Fed doesn’t set mortgage rates, but when it cuts its short-term rate that can signal lower inflation or slower economic growth ahead, which can drive investors to buy U.S. government bonds. That can help lower yields on long-term U.S. Treasurys, which can result in lower mortgage rates.

    Even so, Fed rate cuts don’t always translate into lower mortgage rates.

    Home shoppers who can afford to pay cash or finance at current mortgage rates are in a more favorable position than they were a year ago. Home listings are up sharply from last year, and many sellers have resorted to lowering their initial asking price as homes take longer to sell, according to data from Realtor.com.

    Still, affordability remains a challenge for many aspiring homeowners, especially first-time buyers who don’t have equity from an existing home to put toward a new home purchase. Uncertainty over the economy and job market are also keeping many would-be buyers on the sidelines.

    Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes rose in November from the previous month, but slowed compared to a year earlier for the first time since May despite average long-term mortgage rates holding near their low point for the year. Through the first 11 months of this year, home sales are down 0.5% compared to the same period last year.

    Economists generally forecast that the average rate on a 30-year mortgage will remain slightly above 6% next year.

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • Asian markets mostly advance after the S&P 500 hits record high

    [ad_1]

    HONG KONG — Asian markets mostly advanced Wednesday after the benchmark S&P 500 closed at another record high following a report that the U.S. economy grew at an unexpectedly strong 4.3% annual rate in July to September.

    The U.S. government’s first estimate of growth for the third quarter showed inflation remained high, while a separate report said consumer confidence faded further in December. The U.S. economy expanded at a 3.8% annual pace in April-June.

    Trading in Asia was thin, with many global markets due to be closed Thursday for Christmas. Markets in the U.S. will end early Wednesday for Christmas Eve and stay closed for Christmas.

    Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 was unchanged at 50,411.10 and South Korea’s Kospi slipped 0.1% to 4,113.83.

    In Chinese markets, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 0.2% to 25,818.93. The Shanghai Composite index edged 0.2% higher, to 3,929.25.

    In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 slipped nearly 0.4% to 8,762.70.

    Markets in Hong Kong and Australia closed early due to Christmas Eve.

    Taiwan’s Taiex picked up less than 0.1% while the Sensex in India gained 0.1%.

    Gold and silver extended their rally after hitting record highs this week driven by heightened geopolitical tensions. The price of gold rose 0.4% early Wednesday to $4,525.50 per ounce, adding to gains of about 70% for the year. Silver rose 1.8%.

    U.S. futures edged lower early Wednesday.

    On Tuesday, big gains for tech stocks pushed the S&P 500 up 0.5%, even though most stocks in the index fell. It closed at 6,909.79. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.2% to 48,442.41, while the Nasdaq composite rose 0.6% to 23,561.84.

    Nvidia advanced 3% and Google’s parent company, Alphabet, edged up 1.5%.

    Novo Nordisk jumped 7.3%, after U.S. regulators approved a pill version of the weight-loss drug Wegovy, the first daily oral medication to treat obesity.

    The government’s update on the economy showed inflation hovering higher than the central bank prefers. The Federal Reserve’s favored inflation gauge — called the personal consumption expenditures index, or PCE — climbed to a 2.8% annual pace last quarter, up from 2.1% in the second quarter.

    On Wednesday, the Labor Department will release its weekly data on applications for jobless benefits, which stands as a proxy for U.S. layoffs.

    Investors are betting the Fed will hold steady on interest rates at its January meeting. Recent reports show high inflation and shaky confidence among consumers worried about high prices. The labor market has been slowing and retail sales have weakened.

    In other dealings early Wednesday, the dollar continued to fall against the Japanese yen, after officials said they could intervene with excessive moves in the yen. The dollar was trading Wednesday at 155.96 yen, down from 156.17 yen.

    The euro slipped to $1.1793 from $1.1796.

    Oil prices edged higher as traders kept an eye on risks of supply disruptions in Venezuela and Russia.

    U.S. benchmark crude oil added 7 cents to $58.45 per barrel. Brent crude edged 3 cents higher, to $61.90 per barrel.

    ___

    AP Business Writer Damian J. Troise contributed to this story.

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • US drivers are seeing lower gas prices this holiday season

    [ad_1]

    This holiday season, many U.S. drivers are getting the gift of lower gas prices.

    According to data from motor club AAA, December has been the cheapest month for prices at the pump this year. The national average for unleaded gasoline has stayed below the $3 mark since Dec. 2, falling to its lowest level of about $2.85 a gallon on Monday.

    That figure has inched up slightly since, sitting at closer to $2.86 a gallon Tuesday — but overall, consumers hitting the road ahead of the Christmas holiday will likely continue to see mild prices.

    As always, some states have cheaper averages than others, due to factors ranging from nearby refinery supply to local fuel requirements. Hawaii had the highest average of about $4.44 a gallon on Tuesday, per AAA — followed by $4.30 in California and $3.92 in Washington. Meanwhile, Oklahoma had the lowest average at about $2.30 per gallon, followed by nearly $2.42 in both Arkansas and Iowa.

    Still, nationwide, unleaded gasoline is down more than 18 cents than it was at this time last year, and 21 cents from a month ago. So far, AAA says that prices seen this month mark the cheapest December for gas prices since 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic roiled the economy.

    The travel organization notes that this month’s cheaper prices arrive as supply remains strong. Crude oil, the main ingredient in gasoline, has also been at a relatively mild level — with West Texas Intermediate remaining below the $60 per barrel mark for most of December.

    Relief at the pump is welcome for consumers who have been feeling higher prices in other parts of their budgets — as worries about the costs of goods ranging from groceries to holiday gifts rise amid ongoing inflation and U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs on foreign imports.

    Government data actually showed that consumer prices cooled in November, rising at just 2.7% from a year earlier. But year-over-year inflation still remains well above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target — and economists quickly warned that last month’s numbers were suspect because of delays and possible distortions from the 43-day federal shutdown.

    Most Americans have continued to express anger and frustration about the high cost of living — as well as an uncertain job market. On Tuesday, the Conference Board said that its consumer confidence index fell in December to its lowest level since April.

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • Visa: Sales are up 4.2% for first 7 weeks of the holiday period; pace lags last year

    [ad_1]

    NEW YORK — Consumers stepped up their spending, particularly on items like gadgets and clothing, for the first seven weeks of the holiday shopping period. But the pace was slower than a year ago amid worries about higher prices and other economic concerns, according to new data from Visa released Tuesday.

    From Nov. 1 through Sunday, holiday sales rose 4.2%, a slower clip from the 4.8% increase during the same period a year ago, according to the company’s Visa Consulting & Analytics division, which analyzed a subset of Visa payments network data in the U.S.

    The figure includes all methods of payment including cash and card.

    The data, which exclude sales from auto dealerships, gas stations, and restaurants, are not adjusted for inflation including the impact from President Donald Trump’s tariffs.

    When adjusted, retail sales rose a more modest 2.2% for that time frame, according to Visa’s principal U.S. economist Michael Brown. That compares to the inflation-adjusted 3% sales gain last year.

    “It’s certainly not a spectacular season,” Brown told The Associated Press. “It’s sort of an average holiday season given concerns about macro economic growth, inflation. There’s still a lot of uncertainty among the consumer population.”

    Retailers have described shoppers as being selective when making holiday purchases, choosing to focus on gifts for under the tree instead of holiday decor like ornaments for the tree, for example. Many households are struggling with higher prices in groceries, rent and imported goods hit by tariffs. The latest job report, released by the Labor Department last week, also shows a souring employment picture.

    As a result, consumers’ mood has been gloomy, though it improved last month as worries about inflation eased a bit, according to the University of Michigan.

    When all the numbers are in, Visa expects holiday sales data will more or less be in line with its prediction of a 4.6% sales increase for the November and December period combined.

    Still to come are several of the holiday shopping season’s top 10 busiest days including Tuesday, the day after Christmas and the Saturday after Christmas, according to Sensormatic, which tracks retail foot traffic.

    The Visa data is in line with the forecast from the National Retail Federation, the nation’s largest retail industry trade group. It expects sales over November and December of between $1.01 trillion and $1.02 trillion. That would be up 3.7% to 4.2% over last year.

    Predicting the shopping season has been challenging as the 43-day federal government shutdown delayed economic reports including those covering monthly retail sales figures. The federal government is gradually catching up.

    Last week, the Commerce Department reported that sales at U.S. retailers and restaurants were unchanged in October from September in a report delayed by more than a month. A big drag on October data was a drop in sales at motor vehicles and auto parts dealerships, hurt by the expiration of federal government subsidies that sliced demand for battery-powered electric cars.

    According to Visa, e-commerce sales rose 7.8% for the first seven weeks of the period, fueled by promotions that started early in the season.

    Still, shopping at physical stores dominates — 73% of holiday payment volume was in physical stores, while 27% of retail spending happened online, Visa said.

    Sales at general merchandise stores, or big discounters like Target and Walmart that sell all types of merchandise, rose 3.7%, Visa said.

    Electronics have emerged as the hottest category, with sales rising 5.8% during this time frame, fueled in part by devices, powered by artificial intelligence, Visa said.

    Tariffs played a key role in how shoppers bought, Brown said.

    Clothing and accessories sales accelerated at a 5.3% pace from Nov. 1 through Dec. 21 from a 4.1% increase last year. The category wasn’t as affected by tariffs as other areas like holiday home decor, which is predominantly made in China, Brown said. That category saw a slim 0.8% sales gain.

    And a still weak housing market hurt sales of home improvement items like building materials and garden accessories, which recorded a 1% sales increase, Visa said.

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • A tale of two Ralphs — Lauren and the supermarket — shows the reality of a K-shaped economy

    [ad_1]

    John and Theresa Anderson meandered through the sprawling Ralph Lauren clothing store on Rodeo Drive, shopping for holiday gifts.

    They emerged carrying boxy blue bags. John scored quarter-zip sweaters for himself and his father-in-law, and his wife splurged on a tweed jacket for Christmas Day.

    “I’m going for quality over quantity this year,” said John, an apparel company executive and Palos Verdes Estates resident.

    They strolled through the world-famous Beverly Hills shopping mecca, where there was little evidence of any big sales.

    John Anderson holds his shopping bags from Ralph Lauren and Gucci at Rodeo Drive.

    (Juliana Yamada / Los Angeles Times)

    One mile away, shoppers at a Ralphs grocery store in West Hollywood were hunting for bargains. The chain’s website has been advertising discounts on a wide variety of products, including wine and wrapping paper.

    Massi Gharibian was there looking for cream cheese and ways to save money.

    “I’m buying less this year,” she said. “Everything is expensive.”

    • Share via

    The tale of two Ralphs shows how Americans are experiencing radically different realities this holiday season. It represents the country’s K-shaped economy — the growing divide between those who are affluent and those trying to stretch their budgets.

    Some Los Angeles residents are tightening their belts and prioritizing necessities such as groceries. Others are frequenting pricey stores such as Ralph Lauren, where doormen hand out hot chocolate and a cashmere-silk necktie sells for $250.

    People shop at Ralphs in West Hollywood.

    People shop at Ralphs in West Hollywood.

    (Juliana Yamada / Los Angeles Times)

    In the K-shaped economy, high-income households sit on the upward arm of the “K,” benefiting from rising pay as well as the value of their stock and property holdings. At the same time, lower-income families occupy the downward stroke, squeezed by inflation and lackluster income gains.

    The model captures the country’s contradictions. Growth looks healthy on paper, yet hiring has slowed and unemployment is edging higher. Investment is booming in artificial intelligence data centers, while factories cut jobs and home sales stall.

    The divide is most visible in affordability. Inflation remains a far heavier burden for households lower on the income distribution, a frustration that has spilled into politics. Voters are angry about expensive rents, groceries and imported goods.

    “People in lower incomes are becoming more and more conservative in their spending patterns, and people in the upper incomes are actually driving spending and spending more,” said Kevin Klowden, an executive director at the Milken Institute, an economic think tank.

    “Inflationary pressures have been much higher on lower- and middle-income people, and that has been adding up,” he said.

    According to a Bank of America report released this month, higher-income employees saw their after-tax wages grow 4% from last year, while lower-income groups saw a jump of just 1.4%. Higher-income households also increased their spending year over year by 2.6%, while lower-income groups increased spending by 0.6%.

    The executives at the companies behind the two Ralphs say they are seeing the trend nationwide.

    Ralph Lauren reported better-than-expected quarterly sales last month and raised its forecasts, while Kroger, the grocery giant that owns Ralphs and Food 4 Less, said it sometimes struggles to attract cash-strapped customers.

    “We’re seeing a split across income groups,” interim Kroger Chief Executive Ron Sargent said on a company earnings call early this month. “Middle-income customers are feeling increased pressure. They’re making smaller, more frequent trips to manage budgets, and they’re cutting back on discretionary purchases.”

    People leave Ralphs with their groceries in West Hollywood.

    People leave Ralphs with their groceries in West Hollywood.

    (Juliana Yamada / Los Angeles Times)

    Kroger lowered the top end of its full-year sales forecast after reporting mixed third-quarter earnings this month.

    On a Ralph Lauren earnings call last month, CEO Patrice Louvet said its brand has benefited from targeting wealthy customers and avoiding discounts.

    “Demand remains healthy, and our core consumer is resilient,” Louvet said, “especially as we continue … to shift our recruiting towards more full-price, less price-sensitive, higher-basket-size new customers.”

    Investors have noticed the split as well.

    The stock charts of the companies behind the two Ralphs also resemble a K. Shares of Ralph Lauren have jumped 37% in the last six months, while Kroger shares have fallen 13%.

    To attract increasingly discerning consumers, Kroger has offered a precooked holiday meal for eight of turkey or ham, stuffing, green bean casserole, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, cranberry and gravy for about $11 a person.

    “Stretch your holiday dollars!” said the company’s weekly newspaper advertisement.

    Signs advertising low prices are posted at Ralphs.

    Signs advertising low prices are posted at Ralphs.

    (Juliana Yamada / Los Angeles Times)

    In the Ralph Lauren on Rodeo Drive, sunglasses and polo shirts were displayed without discounts. Twinkling lights adorned trees in the store’s entryway and employees offered shoppers free cookies for the holidays.

    Ralph Lauren and other luxury stores are taking the opposite approach to retailers selling basics to the middle class.

    They are boosting profits from sales of full-priced items. Stores that cater to high-end customers don’t offer promotions as frequently, Klowden of the Milken Institute said.

    “When the luxury stores are having sales, that’s usually a larger structural symptom of how they’re doing,” he said. “They don’t need to be having sales right now.”

    Jerry Nickelsburg, faculty director of the UCLA Anderson Forecast, said upper-income earners are less affected by inflation that has driven up the price of everyday goods, and are less likely to hunt for bargains.

    “The low end of the income distribution is being squeezed by inflation and is consuming less,” he said. “The upper end of the income distribution has increasing wealth and increasing income, and so they are less affected, if affected at all.”

    The Andersons on Rodeo Drive also picked up presents at Gucci and Dior.

    “We’re spending around the same as last year,” John Anderson said.

    At Ralphs, Beverly Grove resident Mel, who didn’t want to share her last name, said the grocery store needs to go further for its consumers.

    “I am 100% trying to spend less this year,” she said.

    [ad_2]

    Caroline Petrow-Cohen

    Source link

  • President Trump delivers year-end address to the nation | Special Report

    [ad_1]

    President Trump delivered a prime-time address from the White House on Wednesday night, touting the administration’s actions during the first 11 months of his second term and outlining his goals for the next three years. CBS News’ Norah O’Donnell anchors a special report.

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • Fed’s Hammack Signals Holding Rates Steady for Months

    [ad_1]

    Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland President Beth Hammack said she saw no need to change U.S. interest rates for months ahead after the central bank cut borrowing costs at its last three meetings, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday.

    Hammack opposed recent rate cuts as she is more worried about elevated inflation than the potential labor-market fragility that prompted officials to lower rates by a cumulative 75 basis points over the past few months, the report added.

    Hammack told the Journal that the Fed didn’t need to change its benchmark interest rate, currently in a range between 3.5 percent and 3.75 percent, at least until the spring.

    By then, Hammack said, it would be able to better assess whether recent goods price inflation was receding as U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs are more fully digested through the supply chain, the report said.

    Hammack said that November’s consumer price index of 2.7 percent probably understated 12-month price growth due to data distortions, the report added.

    “My base case is that we can stay here for some period of time, until we get clearer evidence that either inflation is coming back down to target or the employment side is weakening more materially,” Hammack told the Journal in a podcast interview recorded on Thursday, citing inflation concerns.

    Speaking at an event in Cincinnati earlier this month, Hammack said she wanted to focus on high inflation and that she would prefer monetary policy to be tighter.

    Hammack said the current policy rate was right, around a neutral level, but would prefer a slightly more restrictive stance to help put more pressure on inflation.

    Hammack will be a voting member of the FOMC next year, which oversees important decisions regarding monetary policy and interest rates.

    Reporting by Abu Sultan in Bengaluru; Editing by Andrew Heavens, Ros Russell and Gareth Jones

    [ad_2]

    Reuters

    Source link

  • In his national address, President Trump claimed he’s bringing prices down. Here’s what the data shows.

    [ad_1]

    After nearly two months without new consumer price data, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released its latest report Thursday, providing a glimpse at energy costs, food prices and other everyday expenses.

    According to the consumer price index, inflation slowed in November, with prices rising 0.2% over the 0.3% observed in September. (BLS could not collect October data because of the government shutdown.)

    Still, inflation remains stubbornly high. Compared with a year ago, consumer costs are up about 2.7%.

    Thursday’s report came just a day after President Donald Trump delivered a prime-time address from the White House in which he largely discussed affordability concerns, from housing costs to grocery prices, saying the U.S. is “poised for an economic boom.”

    “The last administration and their allies in Congress looted our treasury for trillions of dollars, driving up prices and everything at levels never seen before. I am bringing those high prices down and bringing them down very fast.”

    In truth, of the 11 everyday costs tracked month to month by the consumer price index, only five have decreased since January.

    Here’s a closer look at the president’s claims and how prices are changing, or not, during his second term in office.

    To see the average U.S. price of a specific good, click on the drop-down arrow below and select the item you wish to view.

    Eggs

    In the wake of all-time highs set earlier this year, egg prices have collapsed in recent months.

    That downward trend continued in November, with the price dropping a whopping 63 cents from September and settling at $2.86 per dozen. It’s the first time since June 2024 that the average nationwide price for a dozen large Grade A eggs registered below the $3 mark.

    This steep drop-off in prices is a result of a declining number of bird flu cases in commercial and backyard flocks. In the first two months of 2025, tens of millions of birds were affected by highly pathogenic avian influenza across 39 states, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture data. With entire flocks culled to prevent the spread of the virus, the egg supply was strained, leading to shortages in stores and record costs for consumers.

    Following another spike in cases in the early fall, the number of new infections appears to be subsiding again, with less than 2 million U.S. birds affected in the past two months. More notably, zero outbreaks among egg-laying chickens have been reported in November and December.

    Consequently, costs are “falling rapidly” as highlighted by Trump in his prime-time address earlier this week.

    “The price of eggs is down 82% since March, and everything else is falling rapidly. And it’s not done yet, but boy are we making progress. Nobody can believe what’s going on.”

    While egg prices have dropped considerably from March’s record high of $6.23 per dozen, the difference of roughly $3.37 from March to November represents a 54% decrease — not the 82% cited by the president.

    In a statement given to the Tribune, a White House official clarified that he was referring to wholesale costs, not retail prices.

    Milk

    The cost of milk also saw a measurable decrease from the previous month, falling 13 cents.

    A gallon of fresh, fortified whole milk is now priced at $4.00 — that’s 2.5% less than it was in December 2024, before Trump took office.

    Bread

    The average price of white bread fell in November to $1.79 per pound, marking a three-year low for the pantry staple. Time for bread pudding, anyone?

    Bananas

    The cost of bananas fell slightly from September’s all-time highs, dropping just a fraction of a cent to $0.66 per pound in November.

    Recent price inflation is likely a byproduct of the president’s trade war, with tariffs imposed on the country’s top banana suppliers like Guatemala, Ecuador, Costa Rica, Colombia, Honduras and Mexico — all of which are currently subject to an import tax of at least 10%.

    But in mid-November, Trump took action to combat rising grocery costs, announcing that some agricultural products would be exempt from tariffs due to “current domestic demand for certain products” and “current domestic capacity to produce certain products.”

    Both fresh and dried bananas were among the listed exemptions, indicating that lower prices may be around the corner.

    Oranges

    No data on orange prices was available for November.

    However, in September, the cost of navel oranges was listed at $1.80 per pound, less than a cent shy of record highs and nearly 18% more than they were at the start of the Trump administration.

    Drastically low domestic orange production combined with steep tariffs on foreign growers have been helping to push costs skyward. But, as with bananas, oranges are now exempt from most reciprocal tariffs.

    Tomatoes

    As of November, the cost of field-grown tomatoes was $1.83 per pound. That price is 8 cents lower than the previous month of data and down roughly 12% since Trump took power.

    The change is somewhat abnormal given the growing season, as prices typically rise in the fall and peak in the early winter months, and could be attributable to the Trump administration’s recent course reversal on many of its tomato tariffs.

    Chicken

    The cost of fresh, whole chicken fell for a fourth consecutive month, to $2.04 per pound — its lowest price in a year.

    Rising feed costs and the effects of bird flu on the poultry supply chain have driven persistently higher prices, but with the number of cases dropping again, we could see lower prices in the new year.

    Still, the average cost is only about 2 cents less than it was when President Joe Biden left the White House.

    Ground beef

    Ground beef is getting more expensive.

    After shoppers saw some relief in September from climbing costs, the price of ground beef jumped another 18 cents.

    Rising costs can be attributed to a confluence of factors. The U.S. cattle inventory is the lowest it’s been in almost 75 years, and severe drought in parts of the country has further reduced the feed supply, per the USDA. Additionally, steep tariff rates on top beef importers also played a part in higher prices stateside, but as of Nov. 13 high-quality cuts, processed beef and live cattle are exempt from most countries’ levies.

    Still, since the change of administrations, ground beef costs have ballooned by 18% — translating to $1 per pound price increases at the grocery store.

    As of November, a pound of 100% ground beef chuck would set you back about $6.50.

    Electricity

    Electric costs have also been steadily rising.

    At approximately 19 cents per kilowatt-hour, the current price of electricity is a fraction of a cent off August’s high. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the average American household uses 899 kWh every four weeks, translating to a monthly bill of about $170.

    Thankfully, the White House appears to be working to mitigate mounting costs. In his presidential address, Trump claimed that within the next 12 months his administration will have opened 1,600 new electrical generating plants.

    “Prices on electricity and everything else will fall dramatically,” Trump said.

    For many Americans, relief is needed. Since last December, the average price of electricity per kilowatt-hour has increased more than 7%.

    Gasoline

    Declining gas prices were another highlight of Trump’s Wednesday night remarks.

    The cost of gasoline has tumbled from the record-setting prices Americans saw three summers ago under Biden, and just last month, the price at the pump dropped more than 10 cents per gallon.

    “On day one I declared a national energy emergency,” Trump said. “Gasoline is now under $2.50 a gallon in much of the country. In some states, it by the way, just hit $1.99 a gallon.”

    According to the latest CPI data, the average nationwide cost for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline is $3.23. And though prices are noticeably lower than they were two to three years ago, that average remains higher than it was just a year ago and up nearly 3% during the Trump presidency.

    Prices in Chicago, meanwhile, are about the same month-over-month, costing an average of $3.29 per gallon, according to EIA data.

    Natural gas

    Bucking its previous downward trend, piped utility gas, or natural gas, is another expense that’s climbing. The nationwide cost jumped 3 cents in November, landing at $1.64 per therm.

    On average, Americans are paying close to 8% more to heat their homes, ovens and stovetops than when Biden left office. Year-over-year, that gap is even more drastic: a roughly 10% change or difference of 15 cents per therm.

    [ad_2]

    Claire Malon

    Source link

  • CNBC Daily Open: Investors might not want to take U.S. inflation numbers in November at face value

    [ad_1]

    A food shopper browses for groceries ahead of the Thanksgiving Day holiday at an Albertsons supermarket in Redmond, Washington, U.S., November 24, 2025.

    David Ryder | Reuters

    The U.S. inflation numbers in November looked supremely encouraging, with the annual headline rate coming in 0.4 percentage points less than expected. But don’t get too happy about them yet.

    It’s the first consumer price report released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics since the U.S. government shutdown ended: October’s figures vanished into the void because the agency was “unable to retroactively collect these data.”

    The BLS added that November’s CPI “did not include 1-month percent changes for November 2025 where the October 2025 data are missing.” It also said that certain survey data were “carried forward to October 2025 from September 2025.”

    Evercore ISI’s Krishna Guha said it appears the BLS “put in zero inflation in multiple categories” when calculating housing inflation in some cities.

    In other words, it’s a noisy report. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell once described setting interest rates as “navigating by the stars under cloudy skies.” With November’s CPI report, the stars aren’t just obscured by clouds — they could be mirages, unidentified flying objects, a seagull that picked up an LED light from the beach.

    Nonetheless, investors celebrated the numbers. The CPI report, along with a 10.2% surge in Micron shares on the back of an expectation-busting earnings report, lifted major indexes.

    Perhaps it’s the holidays suffusing the air with unbridled cheer. Or maybe it’s all rather like having a feast during Christmas — the calories only count in the new year.

    — CNBC’s Sean Conlon contributed to this report.

    What you need to know today

    And finally…

    The Bank of England (BOE) in the City of London, UK, on Monday, Dec. 15, 2025.

    Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images

    [ad_2]
    Source link

  • News Analysis: Trump’s math problem: Rising prices, falling approval ratings

    [ad_1]

    WASHINGTON — President Trump made dozens of promises when he campaigned to retake the White House last year, from boosting economic growth to banning transgender athletes from girls’ sports.

    But one pledge stood out as the most important in many voters’ eyes: Trump said he would not only bring inflation under control, but push grocery and energy prices back down.

    “Starting the day I take the oath of office, I will rapidly drive prices down, and we will make America affordable again,” he said in 2024. “Your prices are going to come tumbling down, your gasoline is going to come tumbling down, and your heating bills and cooling bills are going to be coming down.”

    He hasn’t delivered. Gasoline and eggs are cheaper than they were a year ago, but most other prices are still rising, including groceries and electricity. The Labor Department estimated Thursday that inflation is running at 2.7%, only a little better than the 3% Trump inherited from Joe Biden; electricity was up 6.9%.

    And that has given the president a major political problem: Many of the voters who backed him last year are losing faith.

    “I voted for Trump in 2024 because he was promising America first … and he was promising a better economy,” Ebyad, a nurse in Texas, said on a Focus Group podcast hosted by Bulwark publisher Sarah Longwell. “It feels like all those promises have been broken.”

    Since Inauguration Day, the president’s job approval has declined from 52% to 43% in the polling average calculated by statistician Nate Silver. Approval for Trump’s performance on the economy, once one of his strongest points, has sunk even lower to 39%.

    That’s dangerous territory for a president who hopes to help his party keep its narrow majority in elections for the House of Representatives next year.

    To Republican pollsters and strategists, the reasons for Trump’s slump are clear: He overpromised last year and he’s under-performing now.

    “The most important reasons he won in 2024 were his promises to bring inflation down and juice the economy,” Republican pollster Whit Ayres said. “That’s the reason he won so many voters who traditionally had supported Democrats, including Hispanics. … But he hasn’t been able to deliver. Inflation has moderated, but it hasn’t gone backward.”

    Last week, after deriding complaints about affordability as “a Democrat hoax,” Trump belatedly launched a campaign to convince voters that he’s at work fixing the problem.

    But at his first stop, a rally in Pennsylvania, he continued arguing that the economy is already in great shape.

    “Our prices are coming down tremendously,” he insisted.

    “You’re doing better than you’ve ever done,” he said, implicitly dismissing voters’ concerns.

    He urged families to cope with high tariffs by cutting back: “You know, you can give up certain products,” he said. “You don’t need 37 dolls for your daughter. Two or three is nice, but you don’t need 37 dolls.”

    Earlier, in an interview with Politico, Trump was asked what grade he would give the economy. “A-plus-plus-plus-plus-plus,” he said.

    On Wednesday, the president took another swing at the issue in a nationally televised speech, but his message was basically the same.

    “One year ago, our country was dead. We were absolutely dead,” he said. “Now we’re the hottest country anywhere in the world. … Inflation is stopped, wages are up, prices are down.”

    Republican pollster David Winston, who has advised GOP members of Congress, said the president has more work to do to win back voters who supported him in 2024 but are now disenchanted.

    “When families are paying the price for hamburger that they used to pay for steak, there’s a problem, and there’s no sugarcoating it,” he said. “The president’s statements that ‘we have no inflation’ and ‘our groceries are down’ have flown in the face of voters’ reality.”

    Another problem for Trump, pollsters said, is that many voters believe his tariffs are pushing prices higher — making the president part of the problem, not part of the solution. A YouGov poll in November found that 77% of voters believe tariffs contribute to inflationary pressures.

    Trump’s popularity hasn’t dropped through the floor; he still has the allegiance of his fiercely loyal base. “He is at his lowest point of his second term so far, but he is well within the range of his job approval in the first term,” Ayres noted.

    Still, he has lost significant chunks of his support among independent voters, young people and Latinos, three of the “swing voter” groups who put him over the top in 2024.

    Inflation isn’t the only issue that has dented his standing.

    He promised to lead the economy into “a golden age,” but growth has been uneven. Unemployment rose in November to 4.6%, the highest level in more than four years.

    He promised massive tax cuts for the middle class, but most voters say they don’t believe his tax cut bill brought them any benefit. “It’s hard to convince people that they got a tax break when nobody’s tax rates were actually cut,” Ayres noted.

    He kept his promise to launch the largest deportation campaign in U.S. history — but many voters complain that he has broken his promise to focus on violent criminals. In Silver’s average, approval of his immigration policies dropped from 52% in January to 45% now.

    A Pew Research Center survey in October found that 53% of adults, including 71% of Latinos, think the administration has ordered too many deportations. However, most voters approve of Trump’s measures on border security.

    Republican pollsters and strategists say they believe Trump can reverse his downward momentum before November’s congressional election, but it may not be easy.

    “You look at what voters care about most, and you offer policies to address those issues,” GOP strategist Alex Conant suggested. “That starts with prices. So you talk about permitting reform, energy prices, AI [artificial intelligence] … and legislation to address healthcare, housing and tax cuts. You could call it the Affordability Act.”

    “A laser focus on the economy and the cost of living is job one,” GOP pollster Winston said. “His policies on regulation, energy and taxes should have a positive impact, but the White House needs to emphasize them on a more consistent basis.”

    “People voted for change in 2024,” he warned. “If they don’t get it — if inflation doesn’t begin to recede — they may vote for change again in 2026.”

    [ad_2]

    Doyle McManus

    Source link

  • What to know about the Bank of Japan’s interest rate hike

    [ad_1]

    The Bank of Japan raised its key policy rate to a 30-year high on Friday to help curb inflation, as widely expected, and financial markets took the move in stride.

    The 0.25 percentage point hike took the BOJ’s benchmark short-term rate to 0.75%, its highest level since September 1995. It will raise costs for mortgages and other loans, but also boost yields on savings deposits.

    “It is highly likely that wages and prices will continue to rise moderately,” BOJ Gov. Kazuo Ueda told reporters. “Risks to the economy have diminished, but we must remain vigilant.”

    Inflation has long remained above the BOJ’s target of about 2%. It was 3% in November, excluding volatile fresh food costs.

    The 0.75% rate is still low by most standards, but the BOJ has kept that rate near or below zero for years, trying to pull the economy out of a deflationary funk. Since the pandemic, most other central banks, like the U.S. Federal Reserve, have raised rates to counter spiking inflation and then begun cutting them to help their slowing economies recover momentum.

    Japan’s own economy contracted at a 2.3% annual rate in the last quarter, but improved business sentiment and price pressures have led the BOJ to relent and raise rates. Here are some things to know about its decision.

    Since Japan’s economic bubble burst in the early 1990s, the central bank has kept borrowing costs low to encourage more spending by businesses and consumers.

    Lower interest rates have also helped the central bank manage the country’s massive national debt, which amounts to nearly triple the size of the economy.

    As Japan’s population has aged and begun declining, its economy has slowed and that led to deflation, or falling prices due to weak demand. Even with cheap credit, investment has lagged, stunting economic growth.

    In early 2013, the central bank launched what was dubbed a “big bazooka” of monetary easing, cutting interest rates and purchasing government bonds and other securities to help channel more money into the economy. When the COVID-19 pandemic struck, the benchmark interest rate was at minus 0.1%. The BOJ only began raising it in 2024, the first hike in 17 years, after inflation stabilized above its target of about 2%.

    The Japanese yen has weakened against the U.S. dollar and many other major currencies. So Japanese consumers and companies pay more now for imported food, fuel and other items needed to keep the world’s fourth largest economy running.

    The strong appetite for investing in dollar-denominated shares of companies linked to the artificial intelligence boom has also pulled money out of the yen and into dollars.

    So inflation has risen faster than wages, squeezing household budgets and raising costs for businesses.

    Higher interest rates will raise the value of the yen against the dollar, likely drawing investment into Japan seeking higher yen-denominated yields. That could push the yen higher, given that the BOJ has signaled it expects to continue raising rates.

    “The BOJ’s stance towards rate hikes reflects the fact that inflation is becoming entrenched,” Kei Fujimoto, a senior economist at SuMi Trust, said in a commentary. “If drivers such as a further depreciation of the yen accelerate inflation going forward, it is possible that the pace of rate hikes will also increase accordingly.”

    The planned rate hike was reported by Japanese media ahead of time, giving investors a head start on adjusting their portfolios.

    Initially, the yen weakened after Friday’s rate hike, as the dollar rose to 157 yen, nearly twice its level in 2012 and near its highest level this year.

    Still, even small changes in interest rates can have a big impact. Analysts have forecast that higher rates in Japan may undermine an investment strategy known as the “carry trade.” That involves investors borrowing cheaply in yen and then using that money to invest in higher paying assets elsewhere.

    Carry trades are lucrative when stocks and other investments are climbing, but losses can snowball if many traders face pressure to sell stocks or other assets all at once.

    Higher rates in Japan may also crimp demand for other assets, including cryptocurrencies. Last week, expectations about the rate hike caused the price of bitcoin, for example, to drop below $86,000. It had bolted to record highs near $125,000 in early October. Bitcoin was trading at about $88,000 early Friday.

    Judging the timing and scale of changes to interest rates and other monetary policies is the biggest challenge for central banks, given the time it takes for such moves to ripple throughout the real economy and financial markets.

    Like the Federal Reserve, Japan’s central bank struggles to balance the need to boost business activity and create jobs with the imperative of containing inflation.

    The BOJ held off on raising rates earlier given uncertainties over how U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs might hit automakers and other exporters. A deal setting U.S. duties on imports from Japan at 15%, down from the earlier plan for a 25% rate, has helped ease those concerns.

    Ueda, the BOJ governor, noted that with inflation at about 3%, real interest rates remain in negative territory.

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • CPI report shows inflation rose at a 2.7% annual pace in November, cooler than expected

    [ad_1]

    The Consumer Price Index rose at an annual rate of 2.7% in November, cooler than economists had forecast and providing a sign that price pressures may be easing.

    By the numbers

    The CPI was expected to rise 3% on an annual basis last month, according to economists surveyed by financial data firm FactSet. In the most recent inflation reading, from September, the CPI rate rose 3% on an annual basis.

    November’s cooler inflation data comes after prices had inched higher throughout much of the year, with economists pointing to the impact of the Trump administration’s tariffs. 

    The CPI tracks the changes in a basket of goods and services typically bought by consumers, providing a snapshot of price changes on everyday items such as food and apparel. 

    So-called core inflation, or CPI data that excludes volatile food and energy prices, rose by 2.6% over the past 12 months, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said. Economists polled by FactSet had predicted a 3% increase for that measure. 

    Food prices rose 2.6% on an annual basis in November, down from 3.1% in September.

    Thursday’s report provides the first glimpse of recent inflation data since late October, when the Bureau of Labor Statistics released September CPI data. 

    Data collection was disrupted due to the government shutdown, which delayed the September and November CPI reports. The Labor Department on Thursday said it didn’t collect October data due to the shutdown, but said it was able to retroactively acquire some non-survey data for the month.

    Edited by

    Aimee Picchi

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • Fact-checking Trump’s affordability claims as Americans remain concerned about the economy in poll

    [ad_1]


    Fact-checking Trump’s affordability claims as Americans remain concerned about the economy in poll – CBS News









































    Watch CBS News



    President Trump touted the initiatives he says are turning the economy around after the Biden administration. CBS News’ Michael George examines the facts, and Anthony Salvanto provides more polling details on the economy.

    [ad_2]
    Source link

  • The Bank of England cuts its key interest rate from 4% to 3.75%

    [ad_1]

    LONDON — The Bank of England on Thursday cut its key interest rate for the first time in four months amid signs that the stubbornly high inflation that has plagued British consumers and businesses is beginning to ease.

    Policymakers at Britain’s central bank voted 5-4 to reduce the base rate by a quarter of a percentage point to 3.75% on Thursday, the lowest since February 2023.

    The move came a day after the Office for National Statistics reported that consumer price inflation slowed to 3.2% in the 12 months through November, from 3.6% a month earlier.

    The figure was below the Bank of England’s forecast of 3.4%. That gave policymakers room to cut interest rates in an effort to bolster Britain’s stagnant economy. Statistics released earlier this week showed a weakening jobs market, with the number of job vacancies declining and the unemployment rate rising to 5.1%, the highest since January 2021.

    Even so, the bank’s Monetary Policy Committee was divided on whether to cut interest rates, with four members remaining focused on the fight against inflation, which is still well above the Bank of England’s 2% target.

    British consumer prices are also rising faster than in other parts of Europe and North America. The inflation rate in the 20 European countries that use the euro currency remained at 2.1% in November. The U.S. inflation rate was 3.0% in September, the latest figures released due to the government shutdown.

    Lower interest rates help spur economic growth by reducing borrowing costs, which can lead to increased spending by consumers and boost investment by businesses. But that can also fuel higher prices.

    Central bankers have to weigh those competing forces, trying to prevent inflation from eroding the value of earnings and savings without putting an unnecessary brake on economic growth.

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • Six polls that show Donald Trump is in deep economic trouble

    [ad_1]

    A series of national polls show President Donald Trump facing sustained disapproval over his handling of the U.S. economy, with warning signs even emerging among core Republican voters. 

    From record-low approval ratings to cracks in his MAGA base, the numbers suggest that Trump’s economic brand is under strain heading into the 2026 midterms.

    The White House maintains that Trump “inherited the worst inflation crisis in a generation from Joe Biden’s incompetence” and points to how the administration “rapidly cooled inflation to a 2.5 percent annualized rate.”

    A spokesman previously told Newsweek: “Turning the Biden economic disaster around has informed nearly every action the Trump administration has taken since Day One.”

    Newsweek contacted the White House via email outside of regular business hours for further comment.  

    Why It Matters

    The findings highlight the erosion of public satisfaction in the handling of a key pillar of Trump’s political identity—economic stewardship—at a pivotal moment before the 2026 midterm elections. As inflation and the rising cost of living persist, the administration’s capacity to maintain party unity and voter confidence could shape both legislative battles in Congress and the broader fight for control over the House and Senate.

    What To Know

    Trump’s second-term calling card was supposed to be economic revival. Instead, a raft of recent polls suggests Americans are dissatisfied with his handling of the economy, inflation, and affordability. 

    1. AP-NORC: Worst Economic Approval Rating From First or Second Term

    An Associated Press-NORC poll conducted December 4—8, 2025 found that only 31 percent of Americans approve of Trump’s handling of the economy, down from 40 percent in March, marking the lowest economic approval rating measured of his first or second term with this particular pollster. 

    The poll, involving 1,146 adults and a four-point margin of error, reported a significant drop in support among Republicans: approval fell from 78 percent in March to 69 percent in December.

    The survey also revealed that two-thirds of Americans rated the economy as “poor,” a sentiment unchanged since Biden’s final year in office.

    It also showed that financial strain is forcing nearly half (48 percent) of Americans to cut back on nonessential holiday spending, with 87 percent saying grocery prices are higher than usual. Lower-income households are especially hard hit, with increased numbers delaying major purchases or cutting back on essentials.

    2. Fox News: Trump Rated Worse Than Biden on Economy

    Separate polling from Fox News, conducted November 14-17 among 1,005 registered voters, found that 76 percent rate the U.S. economy negatively under Trump, up from 70 percent at the end of the Biden administration. 

    Voters blamed Trump for the economic situation at a two-to-one ratio over Biden (62 percent versus 32 percent).

    3. NBC News: MAGA Base Shows Cracks

    An NBC News Decision Desk poll, conducted by SurveyMonkey with a margin of error of plus or minus 1.9 percentage points, shows Trump’s overall approval at 42 percent, with 58 percent disapproval. 

    While 70 percent of MAGA Republicans still strongly approve, that’s an eight-point drop since April. 

    Economic concerns dominate in the poll, which surveyed 20,252 adults online from November 20 to December 8, with respondents citing inflation and cost-of-living pressures as top worries, despite Trump’s insistence that affordability is a “hoax.”

    4. Reuters/Ipsos: Affordability Still Hurts

    An online Reuters/Ipsos poll of 4,434 nationwide respondents, with a margin of error of two percentage points in either direction, shows Trump’s overall approval at 41 percent, up slightly from November.

    But his rating on cost-of-living issues remains weak at 31 percent, despite climbing from the previous month of 26 percent. 

    The poll, conducted between December 3 and 8, highlights that affordability is the dominant concern for voters, even as Trump touts tariff rollbacks and tax cuts.

    5. The Economist/YouGov: Net Negative on Economy

    The Economist’s tracker places Trump’s net approval at -16 percent, with Americans “especially dissatisfied” on inflation and economic management. 

    Ratings that were briefly positive after his inauguration have collapsed into strongly negative territory following tariff hikes and affordability woes.

    Inflation/prices (23 percent), and jobs and the economy (15 percent) were also rated as voters’ top concerns, signaling how important it is for Trump to score well on these issues. 

    6. Harvard CAPS/Harris: Inflation Tops Voter Concerns

    While this poll, which was conducted online within the United States on December 2-4, 2025, among 2,204 registered voters, shows Trump’s overall approval rebounding to 47 percent post-shutdown, his weakest issue remains inflation, where he scores just 40 percent approval. 

    A majority of voters (59 percent) say affordability is their top economic worry, suggesting that even perceived gains aren’t translating into confidence.

    What People Are Saying

    White House spokesman Kush Desai told Newsweek last week: “President Trump and every member of his Administration are clear-eyed about the fact that Americans continue to reel from the lingering effects of Joe Biden’s generational economic crisis. 

    “Turning the Biden economic disaster around has informed nearly every action the Trump administration has taken since Day One, from unleashing American energy to cut gas prices to signing historic drug pricing deals to cut costs for American patients. 

    “Much work remains, and every member of the Trump administration continues to focus on recreating the historic job, wage, and economic growth that Americans enjoyed during President Trump’s first term.”

    Desai also previously told Newsweek: “President Trump inherited the worst inflation crisis in a generation from Joe Biden’s incompetence, and his Administration has rapidly cooled inflation to a 2.5 percent annualized rate. Americans can count on inflation continuing to fall and real wages continuing to rise.” 

    Trump said in a Truth Social post: “When will I get credit for having created, with No Inflation, perhaps the Greatest Economy in the History of our Country?…When will Polls reflect the Greatness of America at this point in time, and how bad it was just one year ago?”

    Larry Reynolds, a 74-year-old Republican retiree from Wadsworth, Ohio, said: “I still back Trump’s approach in principle but believe the president’s escalating tariffs have become self-defeating…I don’t think it’ll be anything really soon. I think it’s just going to take time.”

    Democratic National Committee Rapid Response Director Kendall Witmer, said in a statement to Newsweek: “Donald Trump’s train wreck of an economy is catching up to him, and it’s no wonder voters are pissed. Trump promised to ‘lower costs on Day One,’ but prices are soaring, and good-paying jobs are out of reach for everyday Americans. Trump’s plan of action so far has been to call affordability a ‘hoax’ and tell Americans not to ‘be dramatic.’ Meanwhile, working families are skipping meals, forgoing critical medical care, and depleting their savings as Trump doubles down on his disastrous economic policies. While Trump twiddles his thumbs, Democrats are working tirelessly to bring down prices and lower the cost-of-living.”

    What Happens Next

    Expanding discontent over the economy poses risks for Republican prospects in the 2026 midterms, opening opportunities for primary challenges and Democratic gains in key swing districts. 

    The White House has launched a national tour seeking to shore up public confidence, while also deploying new policy measures and messaging that target ongoing inflation and the cost of living.

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • Federal Reserve cuts key rate, sees healthier economy next year

    [ad_1]

    WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve reduced its key interest rate by a quarter-point for the third time in a row Wednesday but signaled that it may leave rates unchanged in the coming months.

    The cut decreased the Fed’s rate to about 3.6%, the lowest it has been in nearly three years. Lower rates from the Fed can bring down borrowing costs for mortgages, auto loans, and credit cards over time, though market forces can also affect those rates.

    Chair Jerome Powell suggested at a news conference that after six rate cuts in the past two years, the central bank can step back and see how hiring and inflation develop. In a set of quarterly economic projections, Fed officials signaled they expect to lower rates just once next year.

    Fed officials “will carefully evaluate the incoming data,” Powell said, adding that the Fed is “well positioned to wait to see how the economy evolves.”

    The chair also said that the Fed’s key rate was close to a level that neither restricts nor stimulates the economy, a significant shift from earlier this year, when he described the rate as high enough to slow the economy and quell inflation. With rates closer to a more neutral level, the bar for further rate cuts is likely higher that it was this fall.

    “We believe the labor market will have to noticeably weaken to warrant another rate cut soon,” Ryan Sweet, global chief economist at Oxford Economics, said.

    Three Fed officials dissented from the move, the most dissents in six years and a sign of deep divisions on a committee that traditionally works by consensus. Two officials voted to keep the Fed’s rate unchanged: Jeffrey Schmid, president of the Kansas City Fed, and Austan Goolsbee, president of the Chicago Fed. Stephen Miran, whom Trump appointed in September, voted for a half point cut.

    December’s meeting could usher in a more contentious period for the Fed. Officials are split between those who support reducing rates to bolster hiring and those who’d prefer to keep rates unchanged because inflation remains above the central bank’s 2% target. Unless inflation shows clear signs of coming fully under control, or unemployment worsens, those divisions will likely remain.

    “What you see is some people feel we should stop here and we’re in the right place and should wait, and some people think we should cut more next year,” Powell said.

    A stark sign of the Fed’s divisions was the wide range of cuts that the 19 members of the Fed’s rate-setting committee penciled in for 2026. Seven projected no cuts next year, while eight forecast that the central bank would implement two or more reductions. Four supported just one. Only 12 out of 19 members vote on rate decisions.

    President Donald Trump on Wednesday criticized the cut as too small, and said he would have preferred “at least double.” Trump could name a new Fed chair as soon as later this month to replace Powell when his term ends in May. Trump’s new chair is likely to push for sharper rate cuts than many officials will support.

    Stocks jumped in response to the Fed’s move, in part because some Wall Street investors expected Powell to be more forceful in shutting down the possibility of future cuts. The broad S&P 500 stock index rose 0.7% and closed near an all-time high reached in October.

    Powell was also optimistic about the economy’s growth next year, and said that consumer spending remains resilient while companies are still investing in artificial intelligence infrastructure. He also suggested growing worker efficiency could contribute to faster growth without more inflation.

    Still, Powell said the committee reduced borrowing costs out of concern that the job market is even weaker than it appears. While government data shows that the economy has added just 40,000 jobs a month since April, Powell said that figure could be revised lower by as much as 60,000, which would mean employers have actually been shedding an average of 20,000 jobs a month since the spring.

    “It’s a labor market that seems to have significant downside risks,” Powell told reporters. “People care about that. That’s their jobs.”

    The Fed met against the backdrop of elevated inflation that has frustrated many Americans, with prices higher for groceries, rents, and utilities. Consumer prices have jumped 25% in the five years since COVID.

    “We hear loud and clear how people are experiencing really high costs,” Powell said Wednesday. “A lot of that isn’t the current rate of inflation, a lot of that is e mbedded high costs due to higher inflations in 2022-2023.”

    Powell said inflation could move higher early next year, as more companies pass tariff costs to consumers as they reset prices to start the year. Inflation should decline after that, he added, but it’s not guaranteed.

    “We just came off an experience where inflation turned out to be much more persistent than anyone expected,” he said, referring to the spike in 2022. “Is that going to happen now? That’s the risk.”

    The Fed’s policy meeting took place as the Trump administration moves toward picking a new Fed chair to replace Powell when his term finishes in May. Trump’s nominee is likely to push for sharper rate cuts than many officials may support.

    Trump has hinted that he will likely pick Kevin Hassett, his top economic adviser. But on Wednesday, Trump said he would meet with Kevin Warsh, a former Fed governor who has also been on the short list to replace Powell.

    Trump added that he wants someone who will lower interest rates. “Our rates should be the lowest rates in the world,” he said.

    A government report last week showed that overall and core prices rose 2.8% in September from a year earlier, according to the Fed’s preferred measure. That is far below the spikes in inflation three years ago but still painful for many households after the big run-up since 2020.

    Adding to the Fed’s challenges, job gains have slowed sharply this year and the unemployment rate has risen for three straight months to 4.4%. While that is still a low rate historically, it is the highest in four years. Layoffs are also muted, so far, as part of what many economists call a “low hire, low fire” job market.

    The Fed typically keeps its key rate elevated to combat inflation, while it often reduces borrowing costs when unemployment worsens to spur more spending and hiring.

    Powell will preside over only three more Fed meetings before he steps down. On Wednesday, he was asked about his legacy.

    “I really want to turn this job over to whoever replaces me with the economy in really good shape,” he said. “I want inflation to be under control, coming back down to 2%, and I want the labor market to be strong.”

    ___

    Associated Press Writers Collin Binkley and Alex Veiga in Los Angeles contributed to this report.

    [ad_2]

    Source link