Economic news can have big effects on the value of financial assets. But it can be difficult to assess those effects in detail, especially when data are released over a business day and amid a backdrop of many other shocks to asset prices.
The president’s new tariff deadline has passed, but many countries won’t see their higher rates take effect until next week. That’s partly because the United States has negotiated deals with Vietnam and Indonesia, but also because it isn’t clear whether China will comply.
As the economy slows, more people are finding it harder to afford basic living expenses. That’s why one in three adults over 50 say they are worried they won’t have enough money to support themselves in retirement. The problem is that slow growth should, in normal times, drive prices down, not up. But the combination of weak consumer demand and near-zero unemployment is creating a toxic one-two punch: deflation and stagflation.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics released a report today on wholesale price inflation, which rose a softer-than-expected 0.4 percent. The result cemented bets that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates in September, though there are still disagreements about how much.