from KVUE
Fed’s Powell Highlights Slowing Job Market in Signal That Rate Cuts May Be Nearing
The Federal Reserve faces a cooling job market as well as persistently high prices, Chair Jerome Powell said in testimony to Congress, a shift in emphasis away from the Fed’s single-minded fight against inflation that suggests it’s moving closer to cut…
by Christopher Rugaber
ABC News
WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve faces a cooling job market as well as persistently high prices, Chair Jerome Powell said in testimony Tuesday to Congress, a shift in emphasis away from the Fed’s single-minded fight against inflation of the past two years that suggests it is moving closer to cutting interest rates.
The Fed has made “considerable progress” toward its goal of defeating the worst inflation spike in four decades, Powell told the Senate Banking Committee.
“Inflation has eased notably” in the past two years, he added, though it still remains above the central bank’s 2% target.
Powell pointedly noted that “elevated inflation is not the only risk we face.” Cutting interest rates “too late or too little could unduly weaken economic activity and employment,” he said.
Gold Ticks Higher with Focus On U.S. Inflation Data
by Brijesh Patel
Reuters.com
July 9 (Reuters) – Gold prices eked out gains on Tuesday despite a stronger dollar and higher bond yields, as investors looked forward to the U.S. June inflation data due later this week for more clarity on the U.S. interest rate path.
Spot gold rose 0.2% to $2,363.64 per ounce as of 14:35 p.m. ET (1835 GMT), after dropping more than 1% in the previous session. U.S. gold futures settled about 0.2% higher to $2,367.90.
The dollar was up about 0.2% against its rivals, making gold more expensive for other currency holders, while benchmark 10-year Treasury yields inched higher.
There’s an expectation that the Federal Reserve is more likely to start cutting rates as early as September, which is contributing positively to current market conditions, said Bart Melek, head of commodity strategies at TD Securities.
Why Commodities Like Silver, Oil and Gold Are Soaring Amid Inflation
by Frank Holmes
Forbes
If you were in charge of the Fourth of July spread last week, you probably noticed a hike in prices. According to the American Farm Bureau Federation, the cost of a typical Independence Day spread for 10 people jumped to $71.22 this year, up 5% from last year and a whopping 30% from five years ago.
That may not seem like much, but this inflation has a compounding effect on commodities. Research from Goldman Sachs shows that a 1 percentage point increase in U.S. inflation has historically led to a real return gain of 7 percentage points for commodities. Meanwhile, the same trigger caused stocks and bonds to decline by 3 and 4 percentage points, respectively.
This data supports the potential of commodities as an inflation hedge.
Breitbart Business Digest: Chickenflation – Welcome to the Fast Food Price Crisis
by Alexander Marlow
Breitbart.com
Would You Like a Side of Inflation with That?
$43.99. That is the price of “12 delicious pieces of fire-grilled chicken with a choice of 3 large sides, warm tortillas and fresh salsa” at El Pollo Loco, at least according to one online influencer.
(I checked the prices for the same meal at the local franchise in my suburban-Los Angeles neighborhood, and it’s $41.79; so prices do very a little bit.)
As the political class debates whether Joe Biden is going to actually get nominated by the Democrat Party, much of America is dealing with a new reality: fast food is no longer synonymous with cheap food.
We see Bidenflation all around us in new ways every day.
Stock Market Today: U.S. Stocks Rise to Records Ahead of Key June Inflation Report
US stocks jumped to record highs ahead of key economic data releases this week.
by Matthew Fox
Business Insider
US stocks jumped to record highs on Monday ahead of key economic data scheduled for this week.
Investors will be keenly focused on the June consumer price index report on Thursday, with Core CPI expected to rise 3.1% year-over-year, compared to May’s CPI report of 3.3%.
More inflation data will be released on Friday with the release of the June PPI report, which is expected to rise 0.1% on a month-over-month basis.
The new inflation data will help inform investors and the Federal Reserve about the path of interest rates for the rest of this year. Current market forecasts suggest the Fed’s September FOMC meeting will bring the first rate cut.
This Week’s U.S. Inflation Report Could Have Serious Implications for Stocks
A softer-than-expected number could pressure the Fed to signal an interest rate cut is likely in September — or even open the door to one later this month
by Joseph Adinolfi
Market Watch
Like all marquee economic releases, the June consumer price index numbers could have serious ramifications for markets, but investors will be paying especially close attention this month, as the timing of the Federal Reserve’s first interest-rate cut could hang in the balance.
At the very least, a smaller than expected rise in inflation could encourage Fed Chair Jerome Powell to more forcefully prime the market for a rate cut at the Fed’s September meeting, but some believe that a sufficiently weak number could even open the door to a rate cut in a few weeks, something that futures-market traders have dismissed as extremely unlikely, according to CME Group data.
Javier Milei Signs Economic Reforms Into Law
With his initial reforms now in effect, the Argentine president announced the “second phase” of his war against inflation and the deficit.
by Katarina Hall
Reason.com
Argentine President Javier Milei’s economic reforms were signed into law and immediately went into effect on Monday, marking the beginning of an era of privatization and deregulation aimed at revitalizing the country’s struggling economy.
Milei, alongside Chief of Cabinet Guillermo Francos and Minister of Economy Luis Caputo, signed the comprehensive reform package and its accompanying fiscal package this morning.
“Argentina is immersed in a serious and deep economic, financial, fiscal, social, pension, security, defense, tariff, energy, health and social crisis without precedent, which affects all levels of society and the very functioning of the State,” the omnibus bill states. The extensive document is made up of over 200 articles that broadly deregulate and reform these sectors.
Here is a Look at Gold, Upcoming Interest Rate Decision, Plus Another Wave of Inflation
from King World News
Here is a look at gold, upcoming interest rate decision, plus another wave of inflation.
Gold
July 8 (King World News) – Graddhy out of Sweden: Said on March 5th that this chart was saying miners were going to outperform general equities going forward. And, miners did also bottom there and then.
No need for great big picture charting to be complicated.
Bidenflation: California Dad Spends $444 at Trader Joe’s to Feed Six Children
by Amy Furr
Breitbart.com
A man in California spent more than $400 dollars at Trader Joe’s to feed his six children for a week and a half, as Americans struggle to survive in President Joe Biden’s (D) economy.
The father shared a video online that showed a receipt from the store in Westlake Village in Los Angeles County, Fox Business reported Saturday.
“Here’s what it takes to feed six kids in about a week and a half,” the man said in the video. The camera then pans down to show the bottom of the receipt which says the total bill was $444.38:
War and Inflation
by Llewellyn H. Rockwell Jr.
Mises.org
The US central bank, called the Federal Reserve, was created in 1913. No one promoted this institution with the slogan that it would make wars more likely and guarantee that nearly half a million Americans will die in battle in foreign lands, along with millions of foreign soldiers and civilians.
No one pointed out that this institution would permit Americans to fund, without taxes, the destruction of cities abroad and overthrow governments at will. No one said that the central bank would make it possible for the United States to be at large-scale war in one of every four years for a full century. It was never pointed out that this institution would make it possible for the US government to establish a global empire that would make imperial Rome and Britain look benign by comparison.
You can line up 100 professional war historians and political scientists to talk about the 20th century, and not one is likely to mention the role of the Fed in funding US militarism.