Page 2 - Tim Quinlan News Today

U.S. stock indexes close at record highs as inflation cools-

U.S. retail sales for April came in below expectations, breaking a trend of strong sales reports and leading some economists to wonder if the consumer is slowing down.

"Higher rates are intended to cool consumer demand; the trouble for the Fed is: it's not working."

"Higher rates are intended to cool consumer demand; the trouble for the Fed is: it's not working."

The possibility that the U.S. economy could enter a period of stagflation came into focus Thursday as the quarterly GDP report showed a sharp slowdown in growth and a surprising surge in inflation.

“When you’ve got a full piggy bank, you don’t feel like you have to set aside as much from each paycheck,” said Tim Quinlan at Wells Fargo.

Today, mortgage application rates fell after two consecutive weeks of growth and economists look ahead to tomorrows measure of economic growth.

Today, service industry data will complete the picture of an economy that may still be running hot, while Federal Reserve speakers including Chair Jerome Powell will provide insight into the next steps for monetary policy.

Today, economists continue to digest the inflation data that came out last week and look ahead to labor market data that will be released this week.

Personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index, the Federal Reserves preferred inflation measure, rose 2.4 percent in January, as inflation continued to cool amid high interest rates, the Commerce Department reported on Thursday.