The Fed continued its campaign to raise interest rates, with a 75 basis point hike this week. One consequence of the monetary tightening has been big exchange rate moves, with currencies such as the pound hitting multi-year lows against the dollar.
To determine whether the U.S. economy has turned the corner in the fight against inflation, it helps to look at a component that is both central and less volatile than food and energy. The cost of shelter in the U.S. accounts for nearly a third of the consumer price index and…
Apparel inventories have exploded while sales have slowed, resulting in tough strategic choices for apparel retailers.
Corporate inventories may be getting out of control. There's lots of reasons why and lots of strategies for rectifying the imbalance.
U.S. imports were down from June to July, while exports rose. For imports, this continues a pullback that dates to March 2022. Looking back to the onset of the pandemic or even the year before, though, imports have shown substantial growth.
South Korea is the first country to report August trade data, providing a “canary in the coal mine” for global activity. Total export growth is slowing and its shipments of semiconductors have started to fall. Neither bode well for global trade activity or the economy at large.
Governments want to know more and more about where and how products were made. Are companies ready to answer all these questions about their supply chains?
In a major speech, Fed Chair Jay Powell predicted a prolonged battle to bring down inflation. While there have been some positive inflation numbers of late, the more positive numbers were the less reliable ones. The Fed clearly sees prolonged, elevated inflation as a threat.