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Friday, August 01, 2025Key U.S. Inflation Gauge Rises Slightly
The Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge climbed a little higher last month, with prices rising 2.6% in June compared with a year ago. The Commerce Department reported Thursday prices were up from an annual pace of 2.4% in May. Excluding the volatile food and energy categories, prices rose 2.8% in the past year, the same as the previous month, which was revised higher. Those figures are above the Fed’s 2% target rate. That rise in prices led to the Fed’s decision to not cut its key interest rate
Friday, August 01, 2025U.S. Announces Higher Tariffs, Including 35% on Canada
President Donald Trump’s tariff rates were supposed to kick in Friday, but have now been delayed a week. Trump signed a pair of executive orders this week that increase tariffs on merchandise from some 70 countries. The orders also increased tariffs on products made in Canada, one of the country’s largest trading partners, to 35 percent. Higher tariff rates were scheduled to begin Friday, but now won’t take effect for another week in order to give Customs and Border Protection officials time to prepare,
Friday, August 01, 2025Consumer Confidence Rose Slightly in July
The way Americans view the U.S. economy improved in July, but they appear to still be concerned about the impact of the country’s shifting implementation of tariffs on their economic futures. The Conference Board, a global, nonprofit think tank and business membership organization, said Tuesday that its consumer confidence index rose to 97.2 in July, a 2-percent increase from the 95.2 registered the previous month. The increase in confidence was in line with analysts’ forecasts. In April, American
