Author: News Room

Less than six months ago, Federal Reserve officials were wringing their hands about the state of the labor market. No major cracks had emerged, but monthly jobs growth had slowed and the unemployment rate was steadily ticking higher. In a bid to preserve the economy’s strength, the Fed took the unusual step of lowering interest rates by double the magnitude of its typical moves.Those concerns have since evaporated. Officials now exude a rare confidence that the labor market is strong and set to stay that way, providing them latitude to hold rates steady for awhile.The approach constitutes a strategic gamble,…

Less than six months ago, Federal Reserve officials were wringing their hands about the state of the labor market. No major cracks had emerged, but monthly jobs growth had slowed and the unemployment rate was steadily ticking higher. In a bid to preserve the economy’s strength, the Fed took the unusual step of lowering interest rates by double the magnitude of its typical moves.Those concerns have since evaporated. Officials now exude a rare confidence that the labor market is strong and set to stay that way, providing them latitude to hold rates steady for awhile.The approach constitutes a strategic gamble,…

President Trump has so far restrained himself from trying to meddle with the Federal Reserve on matters related to monetary policy during his second term. But some of the more than 50 executive orders he has signed since returning to the White House are leaving an imprint on the central bank.The latest evidence is a decision by the Fed to halt hiring for permanent workers. The central bank has removed all job postings listed on its website aside from a single summer internship opportunity.The Fed acted after Mr. Trump mandated a governmentwide hiring freeze, ordering that no federal position vacant…

The European Union spent last year drawing up secret plans for what the bloc would do if President Trump made good on his threats of imposing higher tariffs on European goods and services.Now, as those threats go from hypothetical to potentially imminent, its plans are coming into broad focus.Hit specific, politically sensitive sectors — like products made in Republican states — with targeted tariffs meant to inflict maximum pain. Don’t escalate into a tit-for-tat competition if it’s avoidable. Do move quickly and decisively, potentially using new tactics that could hit service providers like big Silicon Valley technology firms.It’s a rough…

Branford Marsalis has traveled the world over, but one trip back to his hometown, New Orleans, still stands out. He was visiting from Los Angeles, where he was the bandleader on “The Tonight Show” in the early 1990s, and was invited on a local talk show that was being broadcast from the Superdome.Marsalis, now 64, knew the building well. An avid sports and music fan, he saw many Saints football and Jazz basketball games there, as well as concerts and other events. He also sold programs at Saints games. The joy of those days hit him when he walked into…

A few days after President Trump issued an order urging the private sector to end “Illegal D.E.I. Discrimination and Preferences,” the Rev. Al Sharpton led about 100 people into a Costco in East Harlem for a so-called buy-cott. The idea was to shop and support the company for maintaining its diversity, equity and inclusion policies amid pressure from the new administration.But the gesture by the civil rights activist did not win universal acclaim on the political left. In interviews, self-identified socialists and other leftists worried that Mr. Sharpton’s action helped bolster the company at a moment when it faced pressure…

President Trump met this week with the PGA Tour commissioner, the tour said on Thursday, as the Justice Department considers whether to approve a venture between the United States’ premier golf circuit and one backed by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund.The meeting at the White House on Tuesday was an unusual foray for an American president into global sports diplomacy but squared with his decades-long ambitions to act as a sports power broker. It was also the latest expression of his closeness to LIV Golf, the Saudi-backed tour.In addition to the PGA Tour commissioner, Jay Monahan, Mr. Trump hosted Adam…

The Senate voted along party lines on Thursday to confirm Russell T. Vought to lead the Office of Management and Budget, putting in place one of the most powerful architects of President Trump’s agenda to upend the federal bureaucracy and slash spending that the administration thinks is wasteful.The 53-to-47 vote returns Mr. Vought to the White House budget office that he also led during Mr. Trump’s first term. During his tenure, he took steps to expand the number of federal employees required to work during a government shutdown, froze military aid for Ukraine and railed against spending on foreign aid.Mr.…

The White House is following through on its plan to cut back on news subscriptions inside government agencies.A spokeswoman for the Agriculture Department, Audra Weeks, said on Thursday that the agency had canceled its subscriptions to Politico Pro, a news and information service, after reviewing its media contracts. It was not immediately clear whether the department had ended its subscriptions to other news outlets.President Trump and his administration have ratcheted up criticism and scrutiny of the press since taking office last month. Brendan Carr, the newly named chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, has ordered an investigation into PBS and…

C. Richard Kramlich, an early investor in Silicon Valley who co-founded the investment giant New Enterprise Associates, helping to fuel the booming tech industry, died on Saturday at his home in San Francisco. He was 89.His death was announced by New Enterprise Associates.Mr. Kramlich (pronounced CRAM-lick), whose career spanned more than five decades, was among the earliest backers of Apple Computer; the software companies Silicon Graphics and Macromedia; and the computer networking companies Juniper Networks and 3Com, whose founders invented the Ethernet.He co-founded his own firm, New Enterprise Associates, or NEA, building it from an initial $16 million fund in…