Holiday shopping turned out even better than expected in December as shoppers picked up the pace to close out a strong 2023, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday.Retail sales increased 0.6% for the month, buoyed by a pickup in clothing and accessory stores as well as online non-store businesses. The...
Javier Ghersi | Moment | Getty ImagesCorporate debt defaults soared last year and could be a problem again in 2024 as cash-strapped companies deal with the burden of high interest rates, S&P Global Ratings reported Tuesday.The number of companies that failed to make required payments on their debt totaled...
Christopher Waller, governor of the US Federal Reserve, during a Fed Listens event in Washington, D.C., on Friday, Sept. 23, 2022.Al Drago | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesFederal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller acknowledged Tuesday that interest rate cuts are likely this year, but said the central bank can take its...
German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz arrives for the weekly federal government cabinet meeting on Oct. 11, 2023 in Berlin, Germany.Michele Tantussi | Getty Images News | Getty ImagesEurope's largest economy contracted by 0.3% year-on-year in 2023, as high inflation and firm interest rates bit into growth, the Federal Statistical Office of Germany...
A customer shops for milk at a grocery store on December 12, 2023 in San Anselmo, California. Justin Sullivan | Getty Images News | Getty ImagesWholesale prices unexpectedly declined in December, providing a positive signal for inflation, the Labor Department reported Friday.The producer price index fell 0.1% for the month...
The U.S. Treasury building in Washington, D.C., on Aug. 15, 2023.Nathan Howard | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesThe U.S. government ran up another half a trillion dollars in red ink in the first quarter of its fiscal year, the Treasury Department reported Thursday.For the period from October 2023 through December...
Prices that consumers pay for a variety of goods and services rose more than expected in December, according to a Labor Department measure Thursday that shows inflation still holding a grip on the U.S. economy.The consumer price index increased 0.3% for the month, higher than the 0.2% estimate at...
Ongoing disruption to trade flows through the Red Sea could hit global economic growth, the head of one of the world's largest container shipping firms said Thursday.Maersk CEO Vincent Clerc said it remained unclear whether passage through the waterway would be re-established in "days, weeks or months," in comments...
Vanishing Turkish Currency: 1 Turkish Lira with the Portrait of Kemal AtatürkTurkishManuel Augusto Moreno | Moment | Getty ImagesThe Turkish lira hit a fresh record low against the U.S. dollar on Thursday, trading at 30.005 to the greenback just before noon local time. It marks the first time that...
Consumers shop at a retail chain store in Rosemead, California, on Dec. 12, 2023.Frederic J. Brown | AFP | Getty ImagesEconomists expect that inflation nudged higher in December, a trend that could call into question the market's eager anticipation that the Federal Reserve will slash interest rates this year.The...