US inflation slowed in April, providing a glimmer of hope for weary Americans
CNN
After a hot start to 2024, inflation cooled back down in April, providing a hint of hope for Americans worn down by elevated prices.
After a hot start to 2024, inflation cooled back down in April, providing a bit of hope for Americans worn down by elevated prices. Consumer prices were up 3.4% for the 12 months ended in April, easing from 3.5% the month before, according to the latest Consumer Price Index report released Wednesday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. On a monthly basis, prices rose 0.3%, a slower pace of growth than the 0.4% seen in the two months prior. Economists were expecting a 0.4% monthly increase and an annual gain of 3.4%, according to FactSet consensus estimates. Rising gasoline and shelter costs accounted for more than 70% of the monthly increase in overall inflation, according to the report. While elevated housing costs and high prices at the pump continue to weigh on Americans, Wednesday’s report did provide some welcome news on another staple spending area: Grocery prices fell for the first time in a year, dropping 0.2% from March.
Fed officials are set to announce their latest rate decision Wednesday afternoon, along with a new forecast for the path of the American economy as the war in Iran stretches on.
“The speed with which American democracy is currently dismantled is unprecedented in modern history,” one of the world’s top democracy researchers says in a new report.
Oil prices held steady Wednesday after Iraq clinched a deal to resume some crude exports via Turkey. It’s not a ton of oil, but it’s what amounts for good news these days as the Strait of Hormuz remains largely blocked.
The US-Israeli war with Iran, now stretching into its third week, is dashing hopes that the Federal Reserve will lower interest rates at all this year.
A federal judge says the Trump administration must let more than 1,000 sidelined Voice of America employees return to work by next week.
Former judges side with Anthropic and raise concerns about Pentagon’s use of supply chain risk label
Nearly 150 retired federal and state judges have filed an amicus brief on Tuesday supporting AI company Anthropic in its lawsuit against the Trump administration for designating it a “supply chain risk,” CNN has learned.
Attacks on commercial ships in the Middle East this month have all but closed the vital Strait of Hormuz to oil tankers. One of the few alternative routes for oil exports from the region goes through the Red Sea. But now even that lifeline is in danger.
When Mona Panjwani opened One40 Rooftop, a swanky restaurant in lower Manhattan last year, one of the biggest dilemmas besides the menu was choosing the reservation platform.
What could get more expensive because of the war in Iran?
Gas prices have skyrocketed due to the US-Israel war on Iran, putting even more financial strain on many Americans’ wallets.
United Food and Commercial Union Local 7, the union representing the 3,800 striking workers, said that JBS failed to meet its demands during contract negotiations over higher wages, life-saving safety equipment and improved healthcare.
Every day brings a new complaint — or three — from the Trump administration about the American news media’s coverage of the Iran war.
Traffic through the strait, normally the conduit for a fifth of global oil output, has been severely curtailed since the start of the Iran conflict. But Iran itself is shipping oil through the waterway in almost the same volumes as before the war, earning the cash needed to sustain its economy and war effort.