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August 2008
- Lower Oil, Inflation Rally Stocks
  
  MarketWatch | Aug 22, 08 3:36 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Stocks rallied today amid light trading but still saw weekly losses as oil prices fell and financials rebounded, helped in part by a speech by Ben Bernanke that eased inflation fears, MarketWatch reports. The Dow surged 197.85 to 11,628.06; the Nasdaq gained 34.33, closing at 2,414.71; and the S&P 500 climbed 14.47 to 1,292.19. More »
- Consumer Prices Jump in July; Inflation at 17-Year High
  
  Associated Press | Aug 14, 08 9:07 AM CDT
  
  (AP) - US consumer prices shot up 0.8% in July, twice the expected rate, pushed higher by surging energy and food costs, the AP reports. The spike left inflation running at 5.6%, the fastest pace in 17 years, the Labor Department reported today. It marked the third straight month of soaring prices, following jumps of 0.6% in May and 1.1% in June. More »
- Fed Again Leaves Funds Rate at 2%
  
  Associated Press | Aug 5, 08 2:07 PM CDT
  
  (AP) - The Federal Reserve declared today that it was keeping its target for the federal funds rate, the interest that banks charge each other, at 2%. Confronted with the perils of a slumping US economy and rising inflation, the Fed decided for a second consecutive meeting to leave interest rates unchanged. The decision to leave rates alone had been widely expected by financial markets. More »
July 2008
- Consumer Prices Surge Most Since '91
  
  Bloomberg | Jul 16, 08 9:35 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Consumer prices rose a staggering 1.1% in June, Bloomberg reports. The figure far surpassed analyst estimates, and brings the year-over-year figure to 5%–the biggest surge since 1991. Core inflation, which excludes food and energy, rose a more-than-expected 0.3%. “Inflation has galloped,” one economist said. “It puts the Fed in a really tricky position. I don't see how they can change rates this year.” More »
- Europe Hikes Interest Rates to Curb Inflation
  
  MarketWatch | Jul 3, 08 8:29 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The European Central Bank today adjusted interest rates for the first time in more than a year, reports MarketWatch, raising the main rate by a quarter-point to 4.25%. The increase comes just after a report that inflation in the eurozone has reached 4%, the highest rate since the introduction of the euro in 1999. The move was expected, and the euro remained strong, hovering at around $1.58. More »
June 2008
- As Expected, Fed Holds Steady
  
  Associated Press | Jun 25, 08 1:40 PM CDT
  
  (AP) - The Federal Reserve decided today leave a key interest rate unchanged, bringing an end to a string of consecutive rate cuts aimed at keeping the country out of a deep recession. The federal funds rate will remain at 2%—the first time in 10 months the Fed has failed to reduce interest rates at one of its regular meetings. More »
- Fed Likely to Hold Rates— for Now
  
  Reuters | Jun 25, 08 6:17 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Despite fears that inflationary forces are revving, the Federal Reserve will probably hold the interbank federal funds rate at 2% today, hoping the bargain basement rate can help kick-start a stalled economy that’s been hamstrung by a tenacious housing slump and a credit crunch hangover, Reuters reports. More »
- US Economy Isn't Bouncing Back
  
  Newsweek | Jun 8, 08 5:11 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Forget those predictions of a US economic revival in 2008, Daniel Gross writes in Newsweek . The four horsemen of the economy—credit and housing crises, food and energy prices—are getting meaner, while booming commodities and crunching credit are curbing attempts to fight back. "As a result, the consumer-driven economy may not bounce back as rapidly as it did in the fraught months after 9/11," Gross writes. More »
- Jobless Rate Posts Biggest Jump in 22 Years
  
  Bloomberg | Jun 6, 08 8:43 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Unemployment saw its biggest leap in two decades in May, spiking from 5.0% to 5.5%, as companies scale back their workforces in the face of recession, Bloomberg reports. Analysts had expected a more modest climb, to 5.1%; unemployment hasn’t been this high since October 2004. Payrolls also fell by 49,000. More »
April 2008
- Rate-Cut News Sweeps Away Rally
  
  Wall Street Journal | Apr 30, 08 3:38 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - News of today's Fed interest-rate cut swept away a market rally, and stocks ended down. Language in the Fed statement indicating that further trims were unlikely spooked investors, the Wall Street Journal reports, though that news was expected. The Dow ended down 11.81 to 12,820.13; the Nasdaq was off 13.30 to 2,412.80; and the S&P down 5.35 to 1,385.59. More »
- Fed Trims Rate to 2%
  
  Wall Street Journal | Apr 30, 08 1:31 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - As expected, the Federal Reserve cut a key US interest rate today, the Wall Street Journal reports, trimming its overnight rate a quarter-point to 2%. Seven consecutive cuts have the rate down from 5.25% in September as the Fed attempts to keep the economy from stalling under credit woes. "Economic activity remains weak," today's statement says, and markets "remain under considerable stress." More »
- Fed Ponders Pause in Rate Cuts—After 1 More
  
  Wall Street Journal | Apr 24, 08 10:05 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The Federal Reserve may be ready to cool its torrid rate-cutting after a likely .25% percentage point cut at its meeting next week, the Wall Street Journal reports. Futures markets are betting Chairman Ben Bernanke is unlikely to rest just yet, with little change in the month-to-month economic picture, but will pause after that to assess the cuts' effect and avoid stoking inflation. More »
- Stocks Rise Despite Oil Surge
  
  Wall Street Journal | Apr 15, 08 3:36 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Hopeful economic indicators outweighed surging crude prices today, and stocks responded with a modest rally. "There's a little bit of investor optimism cropping up here to hold the market together," a strategist told the Wall Street Journal . The Dow ended up 60.41 at 12,362.47, the Nasdaq up 10.22 at 2,286.04, and the S&P 500 up 6.11 at 1,334.43. More »
- Bank of England Cuts Interest Rate
  
  Bloomberg | Apr 10, 08 7:35 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The Bank of England today cut its benchmark interest rate 25 basis points to 5%, reports Bloomberg, hoping to keep the nation’s economy out of recession. Despite the third cut since December, BoE’s rate remains the highest among the Group of Seven industrialized nations; policymakers have drawn fire for being “behind the curve” in responding to the credit crisis. More »
- Bernanke: Adjustment Is Mostly Over
  
  Wall Street Journal | Apr 2, 08 10:24 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Ben Bernanke for the first time acknowledged the possibility of a US recession, but he also voiced optimism that “much” of the adjustment period was over, the Wall Street Journal reports. His testimony before Congress seemed to suggest an end to aggressive stimulus measures—noting that rates had already been cut “substantially” and inflation was still a “source of concern.” More »