Economic News and Analysis

The latest news and analysis about the health of the US economy.

(Reuters) -Citigroup must face a revived lawsuit claiming it caused more than $1 billion of losses by orchestrating and concealing a vast fraud at the now-bankrupt Mexican oil and gas services company Oceanografia, a U.S. appeals court ruled on Thursday. A three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Miami said 30 Oceanografia vendors, creditors and bondholders adequately alleged that Citigroup substantially aided the fraud, and a lower court judge erred in dismissing the nine-year-old case. Danielle Romero-Apsilos, a Citigroup spokeswoman, declined to comment.

Citigroup must face $1 billion lawsuit claiming it aided Mexican oil company fraud

(Reuters) -Citigroup must face a revived lawsuit claiming it caused more than $1 billion of losses by orchestrating and concealing a vast fraud at the now-bankrupt Mexican oil and gas services company Oceanografia, a U.S. appeals court ruled on Thursday. A three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Miami said 30 Oceanografia vendors, creditors and bondholders adequately alleged that Citigroup substantially aided the fraud, and a lower court judge erred in dismissing the nine-year-old case. Danielle Romero-Apsilos, a Citigroup spokeswoman, declined to comment.
Reuters 1 hour ago
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Americans haven't had this little faith in finding a new job since 2021

Americans haven't had this little faith in finding a new job since 2021

American workers are the least confident they've been in over four years about finding a new job if they become unemployed, according to a new survey released by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York on Thursday.
Yahoo Finance 2 hours ago
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Why the Fed Isn’t Ready to Join Other Central Banks in Cutting Rates

Why the Fed Isn’t Ready to Join Other Central Banks in Cutting Rates

The U.S. faces risks of higher inflation and unemployment. Countries without tax hikes on imports are focused on the hit to growth.
The Wall Street Journal 2 hours ago
Food storage demand cooling amid trade war, inflation fears

Food storage demand cooling amid trade war, inflation fears

Cold storage real estate investment trust Americold said it has seen a significant slowdown in demand over the past 30 to 45 days. The post Food storage demand cooling amid trade war, inflation fears appeared first on FreightWaves.
FreightWaves 2 hours ago
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Trump castigates Fed's Powell for not cutting rates, downplays inflation risk

Trump castigates Fed's Powell for not cutting rates, downplays inflation risk

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump renewed his criticism on Thursday of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, calling him a "fool" and complaining that the Fed is refusing to lower interest rates. Trump has been on a virtual war path against Powell in recent weeks, threatening to fire him -- and then backing away from that threat. Trump, speaking one day after the Fed, as financial markets had widely expected, kept its key borrowing rate unchanged, said cutting interest rates would be "like jet fuel" for the economy, "but he doesn't want to do it."
Reuters 2 hours ago

Featured Content

Americans haven't had this little faith in finding a new job since 2021

Americans haven't had this little faith in finding a new job since 2021

American workers are the least confident they've been in over four years about finding a new job if they become unemployed, according to a new survey released by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York on Thursday.
The Fed will 'wait and see' if something bad happens in US economy

The Fed will 'wait and see' if something bad happens in US economy

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell offered investors a consistent message on Wednesday: patience.
Strong labor market data doesn't mean the coast is clear for the US economy

Strong labor market data doesn't mean the coast is clear for the US economy

A strong April jobs report may have masked other signs of weakening in the US economy, which has Wall Street increasingly calling for a recession in 2025.
Fed's rate cuts, like Trump's tariffs, look to be on 90-day pause: Morning Brief

Fed's rate cuts, like Trump's tariffs, look to be on 90-day pause: Morning Brief

The delay gives the Fed room to breathe and permission to do nothing but watch.
Fed holds rates steady, defying Trump's call for cuts

Fed holds rates steady, defying Trump's call for cuts

The Federal Reserve held interest rates steady Wednesday for the third meeting in a row, defying President Trump's repeated calls for the central bank to loosen monetary policy further.
Buffett's Berkshire departure, Fed decision, and another rush of earnings: What to know this week

Buffett's Berkshire departure, Fed decision, and another rush of earnings: What to know this week

The S&P 500 clinched its longest winning streak since 2004. The week ahead will see the Federal Reserve put that to the test.
Are we in a recession? Here are the umpires who make the final call.

Are we in a recession? Here are the umpires who make the final call.

Economists warn that an official recession may not be declared for months or even years, as the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) relies on a broader set of indicators and retrospective data to determine economic downturns.
Manufacturing activity hits 5-month low as Trump tariffs leave businesses in 'state of near paralysis'

Manufacturing activity hits 5-month low as Trump tariffs leave businesses in 'state of near paralysis'

Manufacturing activity declined in April as President Trump's tariffs clouded the outlook for businesses.
Continuing jobless claims reach highest level since November 2021, initial claims hit 2-month high

Continuing jobless claims reach highest level since November 2021, initial claims hit 2-month high

Unemployment claim filings moved higher to end April as investors closely watch for any signs of further cooling in the labor market.
Negative GDP data is the latest to offer 2 views on the US economy: Morning Brief

Negative GDP data is the latest to offer 2 views on the US economy: Morning Brief

Instead of clarity, the "hard" growth data is seen as a distortion or a warning.
Mortgage rates hold steady after few surprises from labor data, Fed meeting

Mortgage rates hold steady after few surprises from labor data, Fed meeting

Market calm left mortgage rates little changed from a week earlier. The average rate on a 30-year loan was 6.76%.
Yahoo Finance 2 hours ago
NY Fed survey finds deteriorating views on household financial situation

NY Fed survey finds deteriorating views on household financial situation

NEW YORK (Reuters) -Americans’ views on their current and future financial situations, as well as their expectations for future earnings and income, soured in April, amid mixed views on the outlook for inflation, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said on Thursday. In its latest Survey of Consumer Expectations, the bank found that last month, as President Donald Trump initiated a dramatic trade war against the rest of the world, households’ perceptions of their current and future financial situations “deteriorated sharply.” Survey respondents also projected slower gains in income and earnings in April relative to March, and for unemployment to rise and for it to be harder to find a job.
Reuters 3 hours ago
The Bank of England cuts interest rates as tariffs endanger global economic growth

The Bank of England cuts interest rates as tariffs endanger global economic growth

The Bank of England has cut its main interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point, citing lower UK inflation.
CNN Business 5 hours ago
Global central banks diverge as tariff risks hamper US Fed

Global central banks diverge as tariff risks hamper US Fed

LONDON (Reuters) -Big central banks are diverging as White House tariffs threaten to raise U.S. inflation and a dash out of the dollar sparks disinflationary currency strength elsewhere. The U.S. Federal Reserve is holding rates steady for now, while Switzerland is moving closer to negative rates once again, and Japan remains an outlier with its bias to hike rates. Here's a look at where 10 developed-market central banks stand.
Reuters 5 hours ago
OPEC April oil output edges lower despite plans for hike, survey finds

OPEC April oil output edges lower despite plans for hike, survey finds

LONDON (Reuters) -OPEC oil output edged lower in April despite a scheduled output hike taking effect, a Reuters survey found, led by a cut in Venezuelan supply on renewed U.S. attempts to curb the flows and smaller drops in Iraq and Libya. The reduction comes despite OPEC+, which comprises OPEC and its allies including Russia, beginning in April to unwind its most recent layer of output cuts. The full extent of the rises will depend partly on the impact of attempts by U.S. President Donald Trump to clamp down on supply from Iran and Venezuela.
Reuters 6 hours ago
Central banks in Europe keep easing on the agenda even as Fed stays firmly on hold

Central banks in Europe keep easing on the agenda even as Fed stays firmly on hold

FRANKFURT (Reuters) -Europe's central banks stood in stark contrast to their U.S. counterpart on Thursday, cutting interest rates or hinting at policy easing to come, even as the Federal Reserve kept a steady hand overnight and left investors guessing about its next move. Most of the world's biggest central banks have been cutting borrowing costs this year due to slowing inflation, diverging from the Fed, normally the world's trendsetter, as the U.S. could now be facing an inflation surge from the fallout of a global trade war. Tariffs will disproportionately hit the U.S., the world’s largest consumer, as the new duties along with the sharp weakening of the dollar make imported goods more expensive.
Reuters 6 hours ago