Latest Economic policy News

Next Week: Trade balance, Fed policy meeting, consumer credit

Nov. 01, 2024 13:08 PM EDT

A look at some of the key business events and economic indicators upcoming Next week. OUT OF BALANCE The Commerce Department releases its latest monthly tally of the nation’s trade gap Tuesday. The gap between the value of goods and services the U.S....

Average rate on a 30-year mortgage in the US rises for fifth straight week

Oct. 31, 2024 13:12 PM EDT

The average rate on a 30-year mortgage in the U.S. rose for the fifth straight week, returning to its highest level since early August. The rate rose to 6.72% from 6.54% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. That's still down from a year ago, when the rate averaged...

Argentina's president fires his foreign minister after vote in favor of ending US embargo on Cuba

Oct. 30, 2024 19:58 PM EDT

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Argentina’s President Javier Milei on Wednesday dismissed his foreign affairs minister hours after the country voted in favor of lifting the U.S. economic embargo of Cuba at the U.N. General Assembly. Argentine Foreign Minister Diana Mondino was...

Stock market today: Nasdaq edges back from its record as chip companies and Eli Lilly slump

Oct. 30, 2024 17:18 PM EDT

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stock indexes edged lower Wednesday after drops for Eli Lilly and chip companies overshadowed a jump for Google’s parent company. The S&P 500 slipped 0.3% after drifting between small gains and losses several times, though it’s still near its all-time...

UN General Assembly condemns the US economic embargo of Cuba for a 32nd year

Oct. 30, 2024 17:06 PM EDT

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. General Assembly voted overwhelmingly Wednesday to condemn the American economic embargo of Cuba for a 32nd year after its foreign minister strongly criticized the Biden administration and expressed hope a new president would end it. The vote in the...

US economy grew at a solid 2.8% pace last quarter on strength of consumer spending

Oct. 30, 2024 10:55 AM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. economy grew at a healthy 2.8% annual rate from July through September, with consumers helping drive growth despite the weight of still-high interest rates. Wednesday’s report from the Commerce Department said the gross domestic product — the...

American consumers feeling much more confident as Election Day nears

Oct. 29, 2024 15:56 PM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — American consumers are feeling quite a bit more confident this month as Election Day approaches, a business research group says. The Conference Board said Tuesday that its consumer confidence index jumped to 108.7 in October from 99.2 in September. It was the...

Allies hope a Trump win changes the system for mortgages. Some warn it will make them pricier

Oct. 25, 2024 00:28 AM EDT

If Donald Trump wins the presidential election, Republicans hope he will fulfill a longstanding GOP goal of privatizing the mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which have been under government control since the Great Recession. But Democrats and some economists warn that,...

Yellen says isolationism 'made America and the world worse off' in speech to global finance leaders

Oct. 22, 2024 10:50 AM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told world financial leaders Tuesday that the U.S. economy has grown stronger because the Biden administration rejected isolationism, offering a barely veiled criticism of former President Donald Trump’s policies two weeks before the U.S....

Police in Haiti battle a gang coalition trying to seize control of the entire capital

Oct. 21, 2024 12:14 PM EDT

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Police on Monday clashed with gunmen trying to take over one of the few communities in Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, that is not controlled by gangs. Solino has been under attack since Thursday, with residents calling radio stations pleading for...