White House National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett praised Thursday’s consumer price index (CPI) report, which showed inflation rose less than expected. "It was just an absolute blockbuster report," Hassett told "Varney & Co.""Before the numbers come out, we look at the forecast from everybody we can find on Bloomberg. We've looked at 61 forecasts, and this number came in better than every single one of them," he added. TRUMP TOUTS BRINGING COUNTRY BACK FROM 'BRINK OF RUIN' Hassett continued, honi ...

Benzinga examined the prospects for many investors' favorite stocks over the last week — here's a look at some of our top stories.Markets closed the week with moderate gains as softer inflation data and stable unemployment renewed investor confidence in a potential 2026 rate cut by the Federal Reserve. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 both advanced, buoyed by broad-based sector strength, while the Nasdaq Composite snapped back from earlier weakness, led by a tech rebound. Investors interpreted t ...

Thinkstock Quick Read Annuities provide guaranteed lifetime income like Social Security but carry high fees and surrender charges. Fixed annuities offer predictable payments without market risk but may not keep pace with inflation. Make sure you understand the pros and cons of an annuity before buying one. If you’re thinking about retiring or know someone who is, there are three quick questions causing many Americans to realize they can retire earlier than expected. take 5 minutes to learn more he ...

During a Cabinet meeting in early December, Trump called affordability a Democratic “scam” and “a con job” (4). But as affordability concerns mount, Republicans are growing anxious about next year’s midterm elections (5). And, before she decided to resign from Congress, Marjorie Taylor Greene accused the current administration of “infuriating people” by “gaslighting” them on affordability (6).Affordability has become a hot topic in the U.S., one that helped propel Zohran Mamdani to victory in the New York m ...

Geopolitics added a constant background hum. Tensions in the Middle East, the war in Ukraine, and fragile US-China relations – namely on the trade front – regularly unsettled markets.Inflation became the second recurring fault line. Headline pressures eased, but progress was uneven, particularly in services. Every upside surprise reopened the debate about how restrictive policy really needed to be, and each time the result looked familiar: a firmer Dollar and a reminder that the disinflation process was not ...

The grocery store sector is feeling the effects of inflation, as food prices in August rose faster than the all-items Consumer Price Index, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service. That means food prices were rising higher than the rate of inflation, which was 3% in September, but we don't know for sure because of the October government shutdown. Grocery stores have no data to consider after August, as the government shutdown halted the USDA's Food Price Outlook publica ...

Welcome to this week’s edition of Top Stock Highlights.This week brought positive developments across Singapore’s economy and property market. Economists sharply upgraded the city-state’s 2025 GDP growth outlook, while Keppel DC REIT moved to consolidate ownership of two data centres. Meanwhile, a CapitaLand-UOL consortium emerged as the top bidder for a landmark Hougang Central mixed-use site.MAS December 2025 Economic Survey Economists have sharply raised Singapore’s 2025 GDP growth forecast to 4.1%, up f ...

The S&P 500 (SNPINDEX:^GSPC) rose 0.88% to 6,834.50, the Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQINDEX:^IXIC) gained 1.31% to 23,307.62 on tech strength, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDEX: ^DJI) added 0.38% to 48,134.89, all navigating volatile quad‑witching flows. Market movers AI‑linked and broader tech names led market gains today. Strength in Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) and Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) bouyed prices while consumer stocks lagged. Nike (NYSE:NKE) and Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) slid on underwhelming ear ...

“I think the president will take this as good news. The investors will think that interest rates will get cut more, so it was positive news — there’s no other way to spin it.”“I was surprised. It was a better number than anyone was expecting,” he said (4). “People were expecting it to be above 3% — it was well below 3%.”“I have not looked at the internals — I’ll look at them now — but it suggests that the internals are good as well,” he said. “Let's see. ... Seasonally adjusted index for all items, less foo ...

Delayed data on the job market and inflation offered little clarity about the state of the U.S. economy. ...