Stock market today: Stocks slump worldwide as allure grows to buy a Treasury bill and chill

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street is slumping again Thursday as stock prices drop worldwide on expectations that U.S. interest rates will stay high well into next year. The S&P 500 was 1% lower in afternoon trading. That follows a similar drop from Wednesday after the Federal Reserve...

Home sales fell again in August as homebuyers grapple with rising mortgage rates and prices

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes fell for the third month in a row in August, as higher mortgage rates, rising prices and a dearth of properties on the market shut out many would-be homebuyers. Existing home sales fell 0.7% last month from July to a...

The average long-term US mortgage rate edged up to 7.19% this week, slightly below its 2023 high

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The average long-term U.S. mortgage rate edged up again this week, another setback for would-be homebuyers navigating an increasingly less affordable housing market. The average rate on the benchmark 30-year home loan rose to 7.19% from 7.18% last week, mortgage...

Bank of England joins US Fed in keeping interest rates unchanged after inflation declines

LONDON (AP) — The Bank of England on Thursday joined the U.S. Federal Reserve in pausing interest rate increases after a surprising fall in U.K. inflation eased concerns about the pace of price rises. In a development that few predicted just two days ago, the central bank kept its...

Turkey’s central bank hikes interest rates again in further shift in economic policies

ISTANBUL (AP) — Turkey’s central bank raised its key interest rate by 5 percentage points Thursday, another large but expected hike that signals a continued push toward more traditional economic policies under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The bank hiked its policy rate to 30%,...

Worries are rising about inflated profit expectations on Wall Street

NEW YORK (AP) — Corporate profits may have already hit bottom: After falling for much of the last year, S&P 500 companies are expected to report 0.2% profit growth for the summer. While that sounds anemic, it would be the first quarter of growth in a year, according to FactSet....

Sweden's central bank hikes key interest rate, saying inflation is still too high

STOCKHOLM (AP) — Sweden’s central bank raised its key interest rate Thursday, saying that “inflationary pressures in the Swedish economy are still too high,” although there were signs that inflation had begun to fall. The Riksbank raised its policy rate by a quarter of a...

Bank of England holds main interest rate steady after nearly two years of hikes in wake of surprise fall in inflation

Fed keeps rates unchanged and signals optimism about a potential 'soft landing'

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve left its benchmark interest rate unchanged Wednesday for the second time in its past three meetings, a sign that it’s moderating its fight against inflation as price pressures have eased. The Fed's policymakers also signaled that they expect...

Text of the policy statement the Federal Reserve released Wednesday

WASHINGTON (AP) — Below is the statement the Fed released Wednesday after its policy meeting ended: Recent indicators suggest that economic activity has been expanding at a solid pace. Job gains have slowed in recent months but remain strong, and the unemployment rate has remained...