The American economy extended a streak of resilience and expanded at an annual rate of 2 percent in the first three months of the year, even as global energy prices surged in the first weeks of war with Iran. The data from the Commerce Department offered the first official snapshot of how the U.S. economy…
With the flow of energy through the Middle East still mostly blocked and oil prices rising, policymakers in Europe are confronting the immediate impact of higher costs and trying to decipher the potential economic damage of a prolonged conflict. On Thursday, officials at the European Central Bank and Bank of England are expected to hold…
The Federal Reserve is preparing to hold interest rates steady on Wednesday for its third straight meeting this year — and likely the final one for Jerome H. Powell as chair. Since policymakers last gathered in March, the war in Iran has continued to drag on, compounding the potential economic damage. Inflation has already risen…
Roughly seven weeks into the war with Iran, investors have shrugged off the sky-high price of oil, sending the S&P 500 this week to a fresh record high. That exuberance on Wall Street has offered a sharp contrast with the hardships facing many Americans, who are feeling the financial blowback of a conflict that President…
From the start of the 2020s, American businesses have been formidable in maintaining and growing their profits. Despite a gantlet of challenges — a pandemic, tariffs, high inflation and wars in key commodity hubs — profits have leaped ahead. Corporate profits have reached a record share of the U.S. economy, data show. And a measure…
