As oil prices continue to spike, the White House and the oil industry have been engaged in tit-for-tat all week about whether more can be done to ramp up domestic energy supplies. The industry and many of its largely Republican allies in Washington have criticized the White House over what they say are onerous regulations, a slow permitting process, and President Biden’s revocation of the Keystone XL pipeline permit. In response, the White House said that the pipeline would still be under… Source link
Read More »Biden bans Russian oil, warns of ‘Putin price hike’ at pump
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden announced Tuesday the U.S. will ban all Russian oil imports, toughening the toll on Russia’s economy in retaliation for its invasion of Ukraine, but he acknowledged it will bring costs to Americans, particularly at the gas pump. The action follows pleas by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to U.S. and Western officials to cut off the imports, which had been a glaring omission in the massive sanctions put in place on Russia over the invasion…. Source link
Read More »Amazon stock soars 15% after earnings, will hike Prime membership fee
Amazon (AMZN) reported fourth quarter results on Thursday and announced it will raise its Prime membership fee to $139 per year from $119 in the U.S. The stock is soaring in after-hours. These are the top- and bottom-line results for Amazon’s fourth quarter. Earnings per share: $27.75 vs $3.77 expected Revenue: $137.4 Billion vs $137.82 Billion expected AWS net sales: $17.78 Billion vs $17.23 Billion expected This is the third time since the launch of Amazon Prime that the e-commerce giant… Source link
Read More »March rate hike likely, as Fed looks to be ‘nimble’ on inflation
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell on Wednesday all but confirmed that the central bank will raise interest rates in its next policy-setting meeting in mid-March, as the central bank continues to battle rising prices. “I would say that the committee is of a mind to raise the federal funds rate at the March meeting, assuming conditions are appropriate for doing so,” Powell said in a press conference after the central bank opted to hold the short-term federal funds rate at near zero. But… Source link
Read More »Powell Backs March Liftoff, Won’t Rule Out Hike Every Meeting
(Bloomberg) — Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the central bank was ready to raise interest rates in March and didn’t rule out moving at every meeting to tackle the highest inflation in a generation. Most Read from Bloomberg “The committee is of a mind to raise the Fed funds rate at the March meeting” if conditions are there to do so, Powell told a virtual press conference on Wednesday, while noting that officials have not made any decisions about the path of policy because it… Source link
Read More »If the Fed wanted to stop inflation, it would need to hike rates to nearly 6%: expert
Interactive Brokers founder Thomas Peterffy says he is worried about the higher interest rates coming soon from a Federal Reserve behind the curve on inflation. “I am worried about high interest rates because the Fed is talking about raising rates to 1% or even 2%. Inflation is 7% — 1% or 2% doesn’t mean anything. If they really wanted to stop inflation, they would have to raise rates to 4%, 5%, 6%,” Peterffy said on Yahoo Finance Live. Peterffy thinks the Fed wouldn’t go that high on… Source link
Read More »Oil rebounds after plunge on OPEC+ supply hike
Oil prices dropped more than 4% before rebounding on Thursday after OPEC+ announced it would continue its supply hike of 400,000 barrels per day per month, despite the threat of Omicron variant cases. Oil analysts had been split on whether the cartel would hold steady with its output hike or pause it amid uncertainty about demand given the threat of the new variant. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude (CL=F) touched $63 a barrel shortly after 9 a.m. ET. By 2 p.m. in the afternoon, future… Source link
Read More »Another Netflix price hike? Why one analyst says streaming giant is ‘substantially underpriced’
Netflix (NFLX) has faced both positives and negatives in Q3 — from beating subscriber growth estimates to battling backlash over the release Dave Chappelle’s comedy special “The Closer.” But at least one analyst seems to think the streaming behemoth is leaving money on the table, with its content slate drawing massive buzz in the face of fierce criticism. On Thursday, the stock spiked to a new record high at $654, with some on Wall Street expecting a test of levels at or near $700. “Netflix… Source link
Read More »Fed seeks to downplay rate hike prospects as taper talks advance
The Federal Reserve is not expected to announce any major policy change at the conclusion of its meeting on Wednesday, but markets could jitter from Fed signals that one could be coming soon. The Fed has signaled that it will likely start pulling back on its extraordinary monetary support before the end of the year. The Fed’s playbook calls for slowing its asset purchase program first, followed by interest rate hikes down the line. But Fed Chairman Jerome Powell has already communicated to… Source link
Read More »Walmart to give 565,000 hourly store associates at least $1 an hour raise in latest wage hike
Walmart (WMT), the nation’s largest private employer, is raising wages for 565,000 of its nearly 1.2 million store associates, marking the retailer’s third wage hike for hourly associates in the last year. “Effective Sept. 25, associates in the Frontend, Food & Consumable and General Merchandise work groups will receive at least a $1 an hour raise. That means a raise for more than 565,000 store associates. It’s our third wage investment in store associates over the past year,” U.S…. Source link
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