SACRAMENTO — Gov. Gavin Newsom reached a deal with apartment owners and developers Friday on legislation that would cap how rapidly rents can rise as the state grapples with a housing crisis. The deal would cap annual rent increases at 5% plus inflation, with a 10% maximum increase. That's lower...
Powell Says Fed Will Aid Economy, but Trump Escalates Attack
WASHINGTON — Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell signaled Friday that the Fed stands ready to cut interest rates further if the economy needs it but wasn't clear about when or by how much. Powell had barely finished speaking to central bankers in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, before President Donald Trump escalated...
Fed Cuts Key Rate in Its First Reduction in More Than Decade
WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve cut its key interest rate Wednesday for the first time in a decade to try to counter threats ranging from uncertainties caused by President Donald Trump's trade wars to chronically low inflation and a dim global outlook. The Fed also repeated a pledge to "act...
Fed Signals Neither a Rate Hike nor a Cut Is Likely Soon
WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve left its key interest rate unchanged Wednesday and signaled that it's unlikely to either raise or cut rates in coming months amid signs of renewed economic health but unusually low inflation. The Fed left its benchmark rate — which influences many consumer and business loans...
US Consumer Spending Posts Big Gains
WASHINGTON — U.S. consumer spending surged 0.9% in March, the biggest gain in nearly a decade, as inflation pressures remain non-existent. The March gain was the biggest monthly increase since August 2009, the Commerce Department reported Monday. That's a marked improvement after three months of lackluster readings in this key...
Fresno Unified Trustees Will Decide Measure X Projects Friday
One of the thorniest issues for many school boards is deciding which construction projects to fund. For Fresno Unified's seven trustees, the challenge is how to spend $172 million in remaining Measure X bonds. That might sound like a lot of money — and it is — but the district's...
Social Security Checks Will Grow in 2019 as Inflation Rises
WASHINGTON — Tens of millions of Social Security recipients and other retirees will get a 2.8 percent boost in benefits next year as inflation edges higher. It's the biggest increase most retired baby boomers have gotten. Following a stretch of low inflation, the cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA, for 2019 is...
Inflation, Gas Prices, Tariffs Squeeze Consumers
The price of a can of Coca-Cola? Likely going up. A package of Pampers? That too. Plane tickets? They also may be more expensive. These items and more may cost more in the coming months as people start feeling the effects of higher fuel prices and raw-material costs as well...
Iran's Currency Plunges as New US Sanctions Loom
TEHRAN, Iran — Iran's currency plummeted to a record low Monday, a week before the United States restores sanctions lifted under the unraveling nuclear deal, giving rise to fears of prolonged economic suffering and further civil unrest. Already last month, protesters clashed with police outside parliament in Tehran in three...
Why Your Paycheck Isn't Keeping Pace With Inflation
The Republican Party trumpeted the $1,000 bonuses that some of America's largest companies said they were giving rank-and-file employees following the passage of the GOP tax cuts. The party's public relations effort made for good headlines. But the reality was a different story. People working for Walmart, Lowe's and Home...