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.
Last month, Washington Post reporter Hannah Natanson penned a first-person piece about her long year as “the federal government whisperer,” receiving tips from hundreds of federal workers. On Wednesday, the FBI searched her home, a source familiar with the situation told CNN.
Price hikes picked up speed for US-based businesses toward the end of last year, a potential signal that inflation has yet to peak and prices could soon rise faster for consumers.
Trump is threatening to take “strong action” against Iran just after capturing the leader of Venezuela. His administration is criminally investigating the chair of the Federal Reserve and is taking a scorched-earth approach on affordability by threatening key profit drivers for banks and institutional investors.
Perhaps no data point better encapsulates the American economy right now than this nugget from Delta’s quarterly earnings:
China recorded the world’s biggest ever trade surplus in 2025, as well as a 20% jump from 2024, capping off a year in which the world’s largest manufacturer defied US trade pressure by ramping up exports to other global markets.
Saks Global, the parent company of luxury retailer Saks Fifth Avenue, filed for bankruptcy protection late Tuesday, according to court documents filed in US Bankruptcy Court in Houston, Texas.
China on Wednesday reported a strong export run in 2025 with a record surplus of nearly $1.2 trillion, as producers braced for three more years of a Trump administration set on slowing the production powerhouse by shifting US orders to other markets.
Microsoft says it will ask to pay higher electricity bills in areas where it’s building data centers, in an effort to prevent electricity prices for local residents from rising in those areas. The move is part of a broader plan to address rising prices and other concerns sparked by the tech industry’s massive buildout of artificial intelligence infrastructure across the United States.
US consumer prices rose 2.7% annually in December, closing out a year that saw slight progress on inflation but continued affordability concerns for many Americans.
The BBC is taking steps to have Donald Trump’s defamation lawsuit against it dismissed, a court document showed.
Amazon executives laid out their vision for Alexa’s future in an interview with CNN at the CES tech convention, where the company launched a new Alexa website and updates to other Amazon products.
After cutting interest rates three times in a row last year, the Federal Reserve indicated last month it probably won’t lower interest rates again for a while. A months-long pause, cemented by key economic data released Friday, may indeed be the best-case scenario for the world’s largest economy.
What is Corporate America so afraid of?