The Senate Banking Committee held a hearing today entitled, “CARES Act Oversight of Treasury and the Federal Reserve: Building a Resilient Economy.” Testifying were Fed Chairman Jerome Powell and Treasury Secretary, and former Fed Chair, Janet Yellen. As the title suggests, the hearing was all about COVID and its impact on the economic outlook since the outbreak began more than 20 months ago,. Powell noted a few key points from the Fed’s perspective:
The economy started to recover quickly last spring only to be set back by the Delta variant over the summer.
The decline in Delta COVID cases in September corresponded with “a pick-up in economic growth.”
Part of the impact of the Delta varia...
What You Need to Know Today: Russia rejected calls for a ceasefire in the Black Sea, including a proposal to halt attacks on civilian shipping that could help restore grain flows from Ukrainian ports. Tyson Foods announced plans to permanently close its Joslin, Illinois, beef processing facili...
The big news in the cattle markets yesterday was Tyson Foods’ move to close two more beef plants. One of them, the Joslin, Illinois, plant was shuttered immediately after the announcement. The other, in Eagle Mountain, Utah, is a case-ready plant that does not slaughter cattle. Tyson also...
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released the Consumer Price Index (CPI) on Wednesday. In July, the CPI rose 0.1 percent, seasonally adjusted, and rose 3.4 percent over the last 12 months, not seasonally adjusted. The index for all items less food and energy, or the “core” infla...