Feds

CNBC's Jim Cramer on Thursday said that the rapid slide in the cryptocurrency market shows that the Federal Reserve is making progress in its arduous struggle to tamp down inflation."There is one front in the war on inflation that's been an outstanding total victory for the Fed, and that's the battle against financial speculation," he said."With the immolation of crypto, the Fed's job is almost complete, but they don't seem to know it yet. … They're just gearing up to throw people out of work to make it clear that…

Inflation remained elevated in May, measured by the Federal Reserve’s preferred gauge, driven in large part by a jump in energy and food prices.Consumer prices rose 6.3% in May from a year earlier, the same as in April but down slightly from 6.6% in March, as measured by the Commerce Department’s personal-consumption expenditures price index, which it reported Thursday. The March rise was the fastest since January 1982. Inflation remained elevated in May, measured by the Federal Reserve’s preferred gauge, driven in…

The Federal Reserve’s sprint to withdraw stimulus in the midst of concern that high inflation could be more persistent is underscoring the need to improve the resilience of the U.S. Treasury market, according to a report prepared by former senior policy makers.The Group of 30, an independent group of central bankers, financiers and current and past regulators, released the report to highlight the status of recommended overhauls to the $23 trillion market for U.S. government debt. The report followed an initial set of…

Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland President Loretta Mestersaid Wednesday that the central bank might no longer be able to ignore sources of inflation that monetary policy can’t easily address given how those types of rising prices can affect consumers’ moods.Ms. Mester, who is a voting member of the rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee this year, assessed in her prepared text what inflation expectations mean for central-bank policy. She didn’t address the near-term monetary-policy outlook. Federal Reserve Bank…

Federal Reserve Bank of New York President John Williams said Tuesday that the U.S. central bank will be weighing another large rate rise when it meets next month, while noting that he also believes the economy can escape falling into recession. “We’ve got to get interest rates higher and we need to do that expeditiously,” Mr. Williams said. “In terms of our next meeting. I think, you know, 50 or 75 is clearly going to be the debate” among policy makers, although the actual size of the rate increase…

Nicki Minaj’s husband Kenneth Petty could face 15 months in prison for failing to register as a sex offender in the state of California.TMZ reports federal prosecutors are refusing to allow Petty to serve his sentence under home confinement, as they argue that the couple’s Calabasas mansion doesn’t equate to a formidable punishment for Petty.Petty, who is a registered sex offender in the state of New York because he was convicted of first-degree attempted rape in the state in 1995, relocated to California with Minaj in…

Federal Reserve officials acknowledge that their powers to achieve inflation and job goals function more like a battle ax rather than a dagger in their precision, but even so, they aren’t seeking to upgrade the monetary policy tool kit. Over Wednesday and Thursday, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell weighed in on the economic outlook and the central bank’s struggle to lower very high levels of inflation, often stemming from sources totally beyond the central bank’s reach, without sending unemployment…

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell is set to return to Capitol Hill on Thursday morning for the second of two days of testimony, this time before the House Financial Services Committee. Before a Senate panel on Wednesday, Mr. Powell said the central bank’s battle against inflation could lead it to raise interest rates high enough to cause a recession. “It’s not our intended outcome at all, but it’s certainly a possibility,” Mr. Powell said before the…

Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard said the economy appears on track for more expansion this year, and that the central bank must meet market expectations for rate rises as part of its effort to rein in inflation. “U.S. labor markets remain robust, and output is expected to continue to expand through 2022,” Mr. Bullard said in materials for a presentation in Spain. But he added, “Risks remain substantial and stem from uncertainty around the Russia-Ukraine war and the possibility…

Governor Christopher Waller says the Fed took a significant step toward achieving its inflation goal when it raised its key interest rate by 0.75 percentage point on Wednesday. Photo: Bess Adler/Bloomberg News…