Tag: economic performance

[ad_1] Real Estate By Shaina Mishkin Dec 23, 2023, 1:00 am EST Share Reprints Many home buyers no doubt are relieved to see this year’s inhospitable real estate market in their rear view mirrors. Mortgage rates nearly hit 8% as prices remained firm, making purchases the most expensive in decades. A limited selection of existing homes on the market added to the pain. Continue reading this article with a Barron’s subscription. View Options [ad_2] Source link

[ad_1] As 2023 draws to a close, there are many known unknowns – especially on the geopolitical front – and presumably as many unknown unknowns lurking on the horizon. Producing any forecast for the global economy is thus more difficult than usual. For their part, investment houses seem to be expecting a further slowdown in 2024, with many flummoxed by the fact that we haven’t had a major slump already. The inflation outlook poses an even bigger challenge. The past few years have shown that inflation can be heavily affected – at least on a headline basis – by uncertainty ... Read more

[ad_1] The Federal Reserve is winning the battle against high inflation, but the fight is not over yet, a parade of senior bank officials told Wall Street this week. Why the stern lecture? Fed insiders appear to have been taken by surprise by a big market rally after the central bank left a key short-term interest rate unchanged last week. Stocks jumped to a record high and long-term rates fell sharply. Giddy investors viewed the Fed decision and encouraging words from its chair, Jerome Powell, as a sign the central bank would begin to cut interest rates starting in March ... Read more