At the January Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting, the Federal Reserve chose to keep interest rates unchanged. Both Fed Governor Michelle Bowman (who is a voting member of the committee) and retiring Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic (who is not) have characterized the current U.S. economy as “resilient,” where annual inflation has stayed static,…
At a moderated talk held by the Rotary Club of Atlanta, retiring Federal Reserve of Atlanta President and CEO Raphael Bostic argued that the economy is in a “resilient” place, with a feared recession that “just hasn’t happened.” That resilience from 2025 will carry through to 2026, Bostic forecasted. Noting his conversations with business leaders,…
At the January Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting, the Federal Reserve chose to keep interest rates unchanged. Recent monetary policy decisions have been facing conflicting incentives; the Fed’s mandate is maximum employment and price stability, but the labor market has been showing signs of weakness as inflation has also been going up or staying…
Lower mortgage rates at the end of 2025 prompted a refinance rush among current homeowners, helping boost prepayment rates to their highest level in three years, according to a new report from ICE Mortgage Technology. The monthly mortgage prepayment rate rose to 0.91% in December, just below the 3.5‑year high set in October, ICE reported…
Above, Fed Chair Jerome Powell The Federal Reserve has announced its interest rates will remain unchanged during its Jan. 28 meeting. This follows three straight rate cuts from the prior three Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meetings of 2025. The FOMC announced at its first meeting of 2026 that it has kept interest rates at…
The optimism of a new year does not seem to have brought a boost to U.S. consumer confidence—quite the opposite, in fact. According to the latest survey from the Conference Board, consumer confidence has fallen to its lowest level since 2014, lower even than the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic. “Confidence collapsed in January, as…
Consumer sentiment showed minor improvements as the first month of 2026 nears its close, with expectations toward the future looking mostly positive, according to the latest data. The University of Michigan’s latest Survey of Consumers found that the Index of Consumer Sentiment grew to 56.4 in January, up 3.5 points or 6.6% from December. The…
The Federal Reserve is reportedly split when it comes to further interest rate cuts in 2026, operating with a “wait-and-see” attitude depending on how inflation moves during the year. The latest results from the Fed’s preferred gauge of inflation—the Bureau of Economic Analysis’s Personal Consumption Expenditure (PCE) report—showed inflation dipping then inching back up. Delayed…
Despite a hopeful moment of decline in November, inflation looks to be stagnant in December, remaining paused from hitting the Federal Reserve’s 2% goal, according to the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics data. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) for December saw a slight increase of 0.3% for the all items index, landing at 2.7% annual…
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell—a target of personal attacks and intense pressure from President Donald Trump and others in his administration—is now facing a criminal inquiry over renovations to the central bank’s headquarters. In a highly unusual video message posted to the Fed’s website Sunday evening, Powell said that the Fed was served Friday with…
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