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US inflation rose 3.2% in February — yet another stubbornly high figure that won’t inspire the Federal Reserve to slash interest rates this spring.

February’s Consumer Price Index — which tracks changes in the costs of everyday goods and services — came in a tick higher than the 3.1% headline inflation figure economists surveyed by FactSet expected.

Consumer prices have not fallen year-over-year since President Joe Biden’s term began in January 2021.

The closest the economy has gotten to a yearly decrease since Biden took office was in July 2022, when the inflation rate remain “unchanged,” at a sky-high 8.5%.

Overall, prices are up staggering 19% since December 2020, the month before Biden moved into the White House — despite the president’s Bidenomics agenda, which he has consistently claimed works to reduce the [governments] deficit.

However, Treasury data shows the red ink topped $1.7 trillion in 2023 — a sum that nearly doubled over the course last year.

On a monthly basis, price growth edged 0.4% higher last month, driven primarily by the indexes for shelter and gasoline, which contributed to more than 60% of the advance.

Core CPI a number that excludes volatile food and energy prices slowed to 3.8% in February after advancing 3.9% in December and January.

The figure, a closely-watched gauge among policymakers for long-term trends, was slightly above the 3.7% figure economists at FactSet expected.

The latest inflation figures are apt to disappoint central bankers, who have been unsuccessful in tamping down inflation closer to their 2% goal, as well as investors who were banking on the first of three interest rate cuts to take place within the first half of the year.

Aside from shelter and gasoline, the Bureau of Labor Statistics attributed the CPIs increase to rises across airline fares, motor vehicle insurance, apparel and recreation.

The indexes for personal care and household furnishings, meanwhile, dropped.

The food index was unchanged in February, as was the food at home index, though the food away from home index rose 0.1% for the month.

Unlike the CPI, February’s jobs report said that the unemployment rate edged higher — a welcome sign that the economy is slowing.

The closely watched jobs report showed that the unemployment rate rose to 3.9%, breaking a three-month streak where the rate held steady at 3.7% an uptick that likewise will boost the Federal Reserves case for rate cuts in the coming months, which most traders are now pegging for June.

Still, US employers increase payrolls by a surprisingly strong 275,000 last month, according tot he Labor Department, blowing past the 198,000 job gains economists expected.

Also in February, the annual increase in wages edged up by five cents, to $34.57, after increasing by 18 cents in January.

Wage increases have historically been a key measure of inflation as they’re attributed to higher inflation rates because the cost of goods and services rises as companies pay their employees more.

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Recent data echoes what Fed Chair Jerome Powell told US lawmakers last week — that progress on lowering inflation is not assured.

He said that central bankers would like to see more data that confirm and make us more confident that inflation is moving sustainably down to 2% before reducing the policy rate.

The remarks come nearly rwo years after inflation peaked at a staggering 9.1% in June 2022, pushing Fed officials to begin a rate-hiking campaign that lifted the benchmark federal funds rate 11 times in 2022 and 2023, landing on its current 22-year high, between 5.25% and 5.5%, in July 2023.

Nonetheless, policymakers have been able to dodge a recession, which has been atributed to the healthy job market.

Even billionaire hedge fund tycoon Ray Dalio and JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon were wrong about their recession predictions.

In September 2022, Dalio — the founder of Bridgewater Associates, the world’s largest hedge fund — told MarketWatch that the US will likely slide into a recession in 2023 or 2024, citing the Fed’s interest rate hikes in its effort to curb inflation at the time.

Shortly thereafter — and as recently as November — Dimon also sounded the alarm on a possible recession, warning Wall Street of a so-called “hard landing” where the economy would rapidly decline, blaming “runaway inflation,” interest rates and the effects of Russia’s war in Ukraine during an interview with CNBC.

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Sources: Red Sox deal Devers to Giants in stunner

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Sources: Red Sox deal Devers to Giants in stunner

The San Francisco Giants are acquiring All-Star slugger Rafael Devers from the Boston Red Sox, sources confirmed to ESPN’s Jeff Passan on Sunday evening.

The Giants are sending starter Jordan Hicks and 23-year-old lefty Kyle Harrison, among others, to Boston in exchange, sources said.

Devers, 28, is in just the second season of a 10-year, $313.5 million contract he signed to stay in Boston in January 2023, however his relationship with the team suffered a significant blow after the star third baseman was reportedly blindsided by a move to designated hitter in the spring.

Tensions flared again last month after Devers refused an offer from the team to move him to first base after starting first baseman Triston Casas was ruled out for the season with a knee injury.

It reached a point where Red Sox owner John Henry met with the disgruntled star, making a rare trip to meet the team on the road and smooth things over after Devers’ pointed comments about the request to switch positions again.

Hicks and Harrison give a pitching-starved Red Sox team more depth on their staff while Devers provides a huge boost to a middling Giants offense.

Devers has more than 200 career home runs to his name and has a .894 OPS for Boston this season.

The deal was first reported by Fansided.

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Ohtani’s pitching return might be coming soon

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Ohtani's pitching return might be coming soon

Shohei Ohtani‘s pitching debut for the Los Angeles Dodgers might be quickly approaching.

Manager Dave Roberts told reporters Sunday that Ohtani would throw another simulated game in the coming days that could “potentially” be his last one, and a source told ESPN’s Buster Olney that Ohtani should join the Dodgers’ rotation “sooner rather than later,” potentially within the week.

Ohtani took a big step forward during his most recent simulated game at Petco Park on Tuesday, throwing 44 pitches over the course of three innings against a couple of lower-level minor league players. Ohtani’s fastball reached the mid- to upper-90s, and he exhibited good command of his off-speed pitches in what amounted to his third time facing hitters. Afterward, Roberts said there was a “north of zero” chance Ohtani could join the rotation before the All-Star break.

Because of his two-way designation, the Dodgers can carry Ohtani as an extra pitcher, which means he can throw two to three innings and have someone pitch after him as a piggyback starter. At this point, it seems that is the Dodgers’ plan.

The Dodgers’ pitching staff has again been plagued by injury, with 14 pitchers on the injured list, including four starting pitchers the team was heavily counting on for 2025 — Blake Snell, Tony Gonsolin, Roki Sasaki and Tyler Glasnow.

If Ohtani returns in July — the likely outcome at this point — he will be 22 months removed from a second repair of his ulnar collateral ligament.

The update isn’t as optimistic for Sasaki. He paused his throwing program and is set for a lengthy layoff. Sasaki has not pitched in a game since May 9 and is not part of the team’s long-term pitching plans this season.

“I think that’s what the mindset should be,” Roberts said. “Being thrust into this environment certainly was a big undertaking for him, and now you layer in the health part and the fact he’s a starting pitcher, knowing what the build-up [required to return] entails … I think that’s the prudent way to go about it.”

Sasaki, 23, went 1-1 with a 4.72 ERA in eight starts after joining the Dodgers from the Pacific League’s Chuba Lotte Marines, averaging less than 4⅓ innings per start. He walked 22 and struck out 24 in 34⅓ innings, and his fastball averaged 95.7 mph, down 3-4 mph from his average in Japan.

Roberts said Sasaki was pain free when he resumed throwing in early June, but the pitcher was shut down after feeling discomfort this past week. Sasaki recently received a cortisone injection in the shoulder; Roberts said no further scans are planned.

“I don’t think it’s pain,” Roberts said. “I don’t know if it’s discomfort, if it’s tightness, if he’s just not feeling strong, whatever the adjective you want to use. That’s more of a question for Roki, as far as the sensation he’s feeling.

“He’s just not feeling like he can ramp it up, and we’re not going to push him to do something he doesn’t feel good about right now.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Judge 1-for-12 as NY swept: Got to swing at strikes

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Judge 1-for-12 as NY swept: Got to swing at strikes

BOSTON — Aaron Judge blamed himself for swinging at pitches outside the strike zone as the New York Yankees were swept in a three-game series against the Boston Red Sox.

“You got to swing at strikes,” Judge said after going 1-for-12 in the series, which Boston completed with a 2-0 victory on Sunday.

Judge struck out three or more times in three straight games for only the third time in his major league career.

“That usually helps any hitter when you swing at strikes,” Judge added. “Definitely some pitches off the edge or off the edge in, you know, taking some hacks just trying to make something happen.”

Judge had a tying solo homer in the opener Friday night but struck out nine times as the Yankees were swept in a series for the first time this season.

New York scored only four runs in the three games, matching its fewest in a three-game series at Fenway Park, on June 20-22, 1916 and on Sept. 28-30, 1922.

“It’s very hard,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said of facing Judge. “He’s so good at what he does. We used our fastballs in the right spots, we got some swing and misses.”

“Throughout the years we’ve been aggressive with him,” Cora added. “Sometimes he gets us, sometimes we do a good job with that. It’s always fun to compete against the best, and, to me, he’s the best in the business right now.”

Judge’s major league-leading average dipped to .378.

“I don’t think much of it,” teammate Ben Rice said. “If I could have that guy hitting every single at-bat even if he’s not at his best, I would do it. I’m sure he’ll bounce back. He’ll be all right.”

Judge faced Garrett Whitlock with two on in the eighth Sunday and bounced into an inning-ending double play.

“He’s one of the greatest hitters in the world,” Whitlock said. “It’s special to watch him play and everything. We tried to execute and had some execution this weekend.”

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