US inflation rose 3.7% in September — higher than economists predicted

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2 years ago

October 13, 2023

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US inflation rose 3.7% in September, more than economists expected and still well above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target, as the central bank weighs whether to hike interest rates again by year’s end.

The reading for the Consumer Price Index a closely watched measure of inflation that tracks changes in the costs of everyday goods and services matches the reading in August, and is slightly above the 3.6% advance that economists expected, according to data by the Bureau of Labor Statistics released Thursday.

On a monthly basis, inflation slowed to 0.4% from 0.6% in August, partly because of lower pressure from energy prices.

However, core CPI a number that excludes volatile food and energy prices and serves as a closely watched gauge among policymakers for long-term trends held steady at 0.3% month to month and rose 4.1% from a year ago, in line with expectations.

Though September’s CPI is also a cooldown from inflation’s 9.1% peak in June 2022, it still remains well above the Fed’s 2% goal. Stock futures dropped ahead of the market opening as traders increased their bets of another rate hike to around 50%, up from 30% earlier this week.

“The bigger picture is that the trend is still quite encouraging, but the fight continues,” said Olu Sonola, head of US regional economics at Fitch Ratings in New York. “They [Fed officials] may now want to extend the pause to December, given the recent increase in long-term rates.”

The gasoline index’s 2.1% advance was also a large contributor to the CPI, the data showed, though the federal agency said shelter’s 0.2% increase accounted for over half of the increase.

Gasoline experienced an eye-watering 10.6% increase last month, when AAA figures showed that the average price for a gallon of gas was $3.85.

As of Thursday, a gallon of gas in the US averages $3.65, according to AAA.

While many investors had been willing to look past the volatile energy numbers, a surprisingly resilient labor market has some worried that inflation could be more stubborn.

September’s employment report revealed that the US economy added a whopping 336,000 jobs last month — an unexpected surge that contradicts the notion the Fed may tamp down its aggressive tightening regime.

The blowout number was nearly double the 170,000 jobs economists had expected, and also sharply higher than an upwardly revised 227,000 jobs added in August, according to fresh data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics last week.

The news sent yields on US Treasury bonds to their highest levels in 16 years and sent the Dow Jones Industrial Average into the red for 2023.

Since inflation hit a four-decade peak last summer, the central bank has worked to bring the stubborn figure down by hiking rates another 25 basis points to a 22-year high in August in hopes of an economic slowdown.

The benchmark federal funds rate currently sits between 5.25% and 5.5%. Last month, Fed officials unanimously decided to hold the record-high rate steady for the second time in six policy meetings so far this year.

But thanks to a strong labor market, the US economy has avoided a downturn, and even the Fed has said its no longer predicting the economy will slip into a recession by the end of the year.

“We must wait for more data to see if this is just a blip or if there is something more fundamental driving the increase such as higher rent increases in larger cities offsetting softer increases in smaller cities,” said US Bank of America Securities economist Stephen Juneau.

“When deciding whether to raise rates one last time this year, the FOMC will be asking whether inflation needs another nudge or if its getting to 2% on its own. Its increasingly looking like the latter,” NerdWallet data analyst Elizabeth Renter told The Post.

“The Fed, astheyreall too happy to remind us, is laser focused on getting inflation down to 2%.”

Fed Chair Jerome Powell has said central bankers will be taking a data-dependent approach moving forward, leaving more interest rate hikes before years end up in the air.

Markets were spooked ahead of the jobs report, falling more than 1% when the Labor Department released its Job Openings and Labor Turnover Summary, which showed job openings increased to 9.61 million in August up from 8.9 million in July.

With Post wires.

Business

Trump reveals Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch could be involved in TikTok deal

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2 hours ago

September 22, 2025

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Trump reveals Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch could be involved in TikTok deal

Donald Trump has revealed that media mogul Rupert Murdoch and his son Lachlan could be part of a deal in which TikTok in the United States will come under American control.

The US president also namedropped Michael Dell, the founder and CEO of Dell Technologies, as a possible participant in the deal during an interview with Fox News, which is owned by the Murdochs.

“I think they’re going to be in the group. A couple of others. Really great people, very prominent people,” Mr Trump said. “And they’re also American patriots, you know, they love this country. I think they’re going to do a really good job.”

Mr Trump said that Larry Ellison, founder and CEO of software firm Oracle, was part of the same group. His involvement in the potential TikTok deal had previously been revealed.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Saturday that Oracle would be responsible for the app’s data and security, with Americans set to control six of the seven seats for a planned TikTok board.

This comes after Mr Trump said he and China’s Xi Jinping held a “very productive call” on Friday, discussing the final approval for the TikTok deal, much of which is still unknown.

Once confirmed, the deal should stop TikTok from being banned in the US after lawmakers decided it posed a security risk to citizens’ data.

Officials warned that the algorithm TikTok uses is vulnerable to manipulation by Chinese authorities, who can use it to push specific content on the social media platform in a way that is difficult to detect.

Congress had ordered the app shut down for American users by January 2025 if its Chinese owner ByteDance didn’t sell its assets in the country – but the ban has been delayed four times by President Trump.

Mr Trump said on Sunday that he might be “a little prejudiced” about TikTok, after telling reporters on Friday: “I wasn’t a fan of TikTok and then I got to use it and then I became a fan and it helped me win an election in a landslide.”

After the call with Mr Xi, Mr Trump said in a Truth Social post: “We made progress on many very important issues, including Trade, Fentanyl, the need to bring the War between Russia and Ukraine to an end, and the approval of the TikTok Deal.”

Mr Trump later told reporters at the White House that Xi had approved the deal, but said it still needed to be signed.

Representatives for the Murdochs, Mr Dell and Mr Ellison have not yet commented on a potential TikTok deal.

Business

Gatwick second runway given green light by government

Published

2 hours ago

September 22, 2025

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Gatwick second runway given green light by government

Gatwick’s second runway has been given the go-ahead by the government.

The northern runway already exists parallel to Gatwick‘s main one, but cannot be used at the same time, as it is too close.

It is currently limited to being a taxiway and is only used for take-offs and landings if the main one has to shut.

The £2.2bn expansion project will see it move 12 metres north so both can operate simultaneously, facilitating 100,000 extra flights a year, 14,000 jobs, and £1bn a year for the economy.

It would also mean the airport could process 75 million passengers a year by the late 2030s.

Gatwick is already the second busiest airport in the UK, and the busiest single runway airport in Europe.

No public money is being used for the expansion plan, which airport bosses say could see the new runway operational by 2029.

The expansion was initially rejected by the Planning Inspectorate over concerns about its provisions for noise prevention and public transport connections.

Campaigners also argued the additional air traffic will be catastrophic for the environment and the local community.

A revised plan was published by the planning authority earlier this year, which it said could be approved by the government if all conditions were met.

The government says it is now satisfied this is the case, with additions made including Gatwick being able to set its own target for passengers who travel to the airport by public transport – instead of a statutory one.

Nearby residents affected by noise will also be able to charge the airport for the cost of triple-glazed windows.

And people who live directly under the flight path who choose to sell their homes could have their stamp duty and estate agent fees paid for up to 1% of the purchase price.

CAGNE, an aviation and environmental group in Sussex, Surrey, and Kent, says it still has concerns about noise, housing provision, and wastewaster treatment.

The group says it will lodge a judicial review, which will be funded by local residents and environmental organisations.

‘Disaster for the climate crisis’

Green Party leader Zack Polanski criticised the second runway decision, posting on X: “Aviation expansion is a disaster for the climate crisis.

“Anyone who’s been paying any attention to this shambles of a Labour Govenrment (sic) knows they don’t care about people in poverty, don’t care about nature nor for the planet. Just big business & their own interests.”

Friends of the Earth claimed the economic case for the airport expansion has been “massively overstated”.

Head of campaigns Rosie Downes warned: “If we’re to meet our legally-binding climate targets, today’s decision also makes it much harder for the government to approve expansion at Heathrow.”

Shadow transport secretary Richard Holden welcomed the decision but said it “should have been made months ago”, claiming Labour have “dithered and delayed at every turn”.

“Now that Gatwick’s second runway has been approved, it’s crucial Labour ensures this infrastructure helps drive the economic growth our country needs,” he said.

A government source told Sky News the second runway is a “no-brainer for growth”.

“The transport secretary has cleared Gatwick expansion for take-off,” they said. “It is possible that planes could be taking off from a new full runway at Gatwick before the next general election.

“Any airport expansion must be delivered in line with our legally binding climate change commitments and meet strict environmental requirements.”

Technology

Apple-supplier Luxshare shares pop 10% on report of OpenAI hardware deal

Published

3 hours ago

September 22, 2025

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Apple-supplier Luxshare shares pop 10% on report of OpenAI hardware deal

In this photo illustration, the Luxshare Precision company logo is seen displayed on a smartphone screen.

Sopa Images | Lightrocket | Getty Images

Shenzhen-listed Luxshare saw its shares jump about 10% on Monday, following a report that the Chinese device assembler had signed a deal with OpenAI to produce a consumer AI device.

The company, which is also a supplier for Apple, is already developing a prototype of the device using ChatGPT large language models, The Information reported Friday, citing people familiar with the matter.

One source said that one of the products OpenAI has talked to suppliers about making would resemble a smart speaker without a display, which could put it in competition with Apple devices using Siri, with the company targeting late 2026 or early 2027 for its first device launches.

Luxshare’s 10% jump brought its year-to-date gains to about 50%. Most stocks on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange aren’t allowed to trade up or down more than 10% in a single day, relative to the previous day’s closing price. The company is also reportedly considering a secondary listing in Hong Kong this year.

Luxshare and OpenAI did not immediately respond to CNBC’s requests for comment.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman on path to profitability: Willing to run at a loss to focus on growth

OpenAI has long been signaling a desire to push into dedicated AI devices, presenting a potential challenge to Apple and its iPhone.

As part of these plans, The Information reported that OpenAI has been poaching staff from Apple to join its hardware division, now led by ex-Apple executive Tang Tan.

Earlier this year, the AI company, headed by Sam Altman, partnered with former Apple designer Jony Ive after buying his hardware startup, io Products, in a $6.4 billion deal. Ive is responsible for designing many of Apple’s most iconic products, including the iPhone, iPad and MacBook Air.

An OpenAI partnership with Luxshare would bring Apple’s longtime supplier — responsible for assembling items like the AirPods and Vision Pro — into the AI comapny’s orbit.

The AI company has also approached China-based Goertek, which also assembles AirPods, HomePods and Apple Watches, to provide components, including speaker modules, for its planned devices, according to the Information report.

OpenAI has been pushing deeper into hardware, hiring the former head of Meta’s Orion augmented reality glasses initiative in November to lead its robotics and consumer hardware efforts.

In the same month, OpenAI invested in robot startup Physical Intelligence, which focuses on “bringing general-purpose AI into the physical world,” according to its website.