Inflation Figures/Price Indices

Christine Lagarde, president of the European Central Bank, said the bank could increase its key interest rate in July for the first time in 11 years. Photo: Georg Wendt/Zuma Press…

Measures of consumer spending and inflation on Friday cap a full week of economic data.TuesdaySurveys of purchasing managers from the U.S., Europe and Japan are expected to point to a slowing global economy in May, with disrupted supply chains and surging prices taking their toll on economic growth. The new-orders measures will be closely scrutinized for hints of a slide into recession over coming months. Measures of consumer spending and inflation on Friday cap a full week of economic data.TuesdaySurveys of purchasing…

The Federal Reserve’s efforts to slow inflation are raising the possibility of higher unemployment, a slower-growing economy and a recession, prospects that could create new headaches for the Biden administration.As the country heads into midterm-election season, much of the political discussion has centered around solid economic growth and robust employment versus the damaging impact of inflation. More recently, warnings about the prospect of an economic downturn—which could come in 2023 according to some estimates—have…

TOKYO—Nearly a decade after its central bank targeted 2% inflation, Japan on Friday finally reached its goal. But instead of celebration, the occasion prompted concern about the effects of high energy and raw-material costs on a struggling economy. Overall consumer prices in April were up 2.5% from a year earlier, government data showed. It was the first time since September 2008 that inflation topped 2%, excluding the impact of sales-tax increases. It was also the fastest rise since 1991. The Bank of Japan first set a 2%…

The global economy is in danger of entering a period of so-called stagflation, or high inflation and weak growth, policy makers and corporate leaders say, which could erode living standards around the world.Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Wednesday became the latest leader to warn of turbulence for the global economy. “Certainly the economic outlook globally is challenging and uncertain,” Ms. Yellen said in Bonn, Germany, ahead of a meeting of leaders of seven wealthy nations. “Higher…

LONDON—The U.K.’s annual rate of inflation jumped to a forty-year-high in April, the highest level recorded by an industrialized nation since the start of the global price surge last year. Consumer prices in April were 9% higher than a year earlier, a jump from 7% in March and the highest inflation rate since March 1982, the Office for National Statistics said. The pace is now the highest recorded by one of the Group of Seven rich economies in about a year. The pace is also…

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell is set to take questions Tuesday on the U.S. economic outlook and its implications for the labor market, inflation and central-bank policies. Mr. Powell, who was confirmed to a second four-year term last week by the Senate with a large bipartisan majority, is scheduled to speak at The Wall Street Journal’s Future of Everything Festival for a 35-minute interview beginning at 2 p.m. Eastern time. The appearance comes as…

Walmart Inc. WMT 0.11% sales grew during the most recent quarter, while higher product, supply-chain and employee costs ate into profits. U.S. comparable sales, those from stores or digital channels operating for at least 12 months, rose 3% in the quarter ended April 29, led by strength in food categories, the company said Tuesday when it reported earnings. The number of U.S. transactions stayed flat during the quarter, while the…

Federal Reserve Bank of New York leader John Williams said Monday that bond market volatility doesn’t look problematic to him, in comments that reiterated his view that the central bank will need to forcefully tighten monetary policy to contain inflation. The churn seen in government bonds over recent weeks is “more or less in line with” what one would expect to see given general uncertainty over the outlook and the shift in Fed policy, Mr. Williams said. “I’m not seeing signs of market dysfunction in…

Despite signals of economic trouble in the U.S., such as soaring inflation, falling stock prices and wavering consumer confidence, one important indicator is flashing American strength: the dollar.Even as the Dow tumbles, The Wall Street Journal’s dollar index has risen 8% this year. Against China’s yuan, the dollar is up 7%, with much of it in just the past month. Against Japan’s yen it’s up 12% and against Switzerland’s franc it’s up 10%. The currency move has important economic implications. A strong national currency…