Author: omc_admin

By Howard Schneider PALO ALTO (Reuters) – The Fed should not commit to further interest rate cuts until it is clear whether the Trump administration’s tariff policies lead to persistent inflation or a less serious, one-time adjustment in prices, St. Louis Fed President Alberto Musalem said on Friday. Musalem said he currently puts even odds on either of the two paths for inflation. In theory, tariffs should prompt a one-time price jump similar to the imposition of a tax; but coming off the heels of recent high inflation the effect could be longer-lasting, and may also be more persistent since…

By Howard Schneider PALO ALTO (Reuters) -President Donald Trump’s unfolding trade policy may curb U.S. productivity and possibly require higher interest rates to contain inflation in a less efficient economy, Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook said on Friday. “I expect to see a drag on productivity in the near term stemming from the recent changes to trade policy and the related uncertainty,” Cook said in remarks prepared for a delivery at an economics conference at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution. Uncertainty around Trump’s plans could discourage investment, Cook said, while the rising cost of imported intermediate goods and equipment could also…

By Alexandra Alper WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. federal human resources agency at the heart of billionaire Trump adviser Elon Musk’s efforts to slash the federal workforce on Friday canceled a contract it had awarded to Workday and which had excluded other bidders. The contract for a new cloud-based HR platform, signed on May 2 and awarded without seeking bids from rivals, had raised eyebrows among current and former employees of the Office of Personnel Management. They had described the sole-source contract as irregular, given the competition in an industry that includes ADP and SAP, and expressed surprise to see OPM’s…

By Michael S. Derby and Ann Saphir (Reuters) -Top U.S. bank lending officers reported weaker demand from businesses and consumers for many types of credit during the first three months of the year, according to a Federal Reserve report released on Monday, reversing a short-lived surge in loan demand the previous quarter. The number of banks reporting weaker demand for commercial and industrial loans outnumbered those reporting stronger demand by the biggest margin in a year for small firms, the central bank’s April Senior Loan Officer Survey detailing activity during the first quarter showed. For large firms, demand for loans…

(Bloomberg) — Oil dropped as the global trade war hurt the outlook for demand, with data indicating signs of strain in the US economy. Most Read from Bloomberg West Texas Intermediate slipped 2.6% to settle around $60 a barrel, the lowest close in more than two weeks. The widely referenced US consumer confidence gauge weakened significantly in data released Tuesday, another sign of the pessimism stemming from President Donald Trump’s levies. Additional reports due this week, including manufacturing data out of China, will shed further light on the economic strength of the world’s biggest importer of crude. A handful of…

Consumer confidence fell to its lowest level in 13 years, according to the Conference Board’s most recent survey released Tuesday. Survey respondents were most concerned about President Donald Trump’s tariff policies and how they would impact prices. Consumer confidence fell for the fifth straight month on the heels of President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariff policies, driving up prices and spooking Americans. The Conference Board’s most recent survey for its Consumer Confidence Index, published Tuesday, shows confidence dropped nearly eight points in April to 86. Consumers’ expectations for the future are now at a 13-year low, according to the Conference Board.…

April was one of the wildest months in recent memory for markets, capped off by a key data release that showed the economy shrank last quarter for the first time in years. After tumbling Wednesday morning, the S&P 500 and the Dow gradually clawed back losses and pushed into the green to close out the day. The Dow gained 142 points, or 0.35%. The S&P 500 rose 0.15%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell 0.09%. The S&P 500 and Dow notched a seven-day winning streak, their best continuous rally this year. However, the indexes closed out April in the red as…

Gerard Bottino / SOPA Images / LightRocket via Getty Images Bookings for cruises to the Caribbean are strong, but have been choppy for trips to Europe, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings said Wednesday. Executives said consumers seem more comfortable sticking closer to home amid economic uncertainty. Royal Caribbean Group also envisions Americans booking trips closer to home, executives said Tuesday. Americans aren’t giving up on vacations, but cruise operators say they’re sticking closer to home. Bookings for Caribbean-bound cruises remained brisk in the first three weeks of April, but trips to Europe were weak, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCLH) executives said…

Oil prices fell on Tuesday morning as fears about the impact of a US-China trade war on demand for fuel persisted. Brent crude futures dropped 1.5% to $63.84 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) was down 1.4% to $61.18 a barrel. US officials had struck a more positive tone on Monday about potential deals with trading partners, with Treasury secretary Scott Bessent saying that the administration had seen “many countries come forward and present some very good proposals”. Read more: FTSE 100 LIVE: Stocks flat as former Bank of England governor Carney clinches Canada election victory However, there…

(Bloomberg) — Mexico’s economy expanded slightly in the first quarter on a jump in agricultural output, allowing President Claudia Sheinbaum to avoid recession as she steers the nation through an unpredictable US tariff policy. Most Read from Bloomberg Gross domestic product grew 0.2% in the three months through March, above the 0.1% median estimate of economists surveyed by Bloomberg, after a 0.6% decline in the prior quarter. From a year before, GDP expanded 0.8%, higher than the 0.7% median estimate, according to preliminary data published Wednesday by the national statistics institute. Quarterly growth was driven by an 8.1% surge in…