The US Federal Reserve on Wednesday said business contacts in many regions of the US are expressing less optimism amid a host of adverse developments, from plunging stock prices to uncertainty about a widening trade dispute.
In its latest report on economic conditions around the country, the Fed said that eight of its 12 regions reported the economy was expanding at a moderate pace as the new year began.
While the outlook remained generally positive, the report said that business executives had grown more worried about “increased financial market volatility, rising short-term interest rates, falling energy prices and elevated trade and political uncertainty.”
The report, known as the Beige Book, says a few districts experienced a slowdown in economic activity.
Information from the report will be used when Fed officials meet next on Jan. 29 and Jan. 30.
The Fed boosted the rate four times last year, with the last quarter-point increase coming last month. At the time, officials signaled that it would increase rates twice more this year.
Those rate hikes have been attacked by US President Donald Trump, who has charged that the central bank represented his “biggest threat,” because they ran the risk of crashing the stock market and sparking a recession.
US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell and other Fed officials have stressed recently that low inflation levels will allow them to be “patient” in deciding how much more to raise interest rates.
Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City President Esther George, one of the Fed’s leading supporters of higher rates, on Tuesday said she believed the Fed could delay further rate hikes for a time.
“A pause in the normalization process would give us time to assess if the economy is responding as expected with a slowing of growth to a pace that is sustainable over the longer run,” George said in a speech in Kansas City.
The Beige Book found that labor shortages were among the biggest issues facing employers, reflecting unemployment that has fallen close to a 50-year low.
While wages are up, the report said the gains have remained “moderate” with overall inflation also remaining moderate.
Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) yesterday said that its research institute has launched its first advanced artificial intelligence (AI) large language model (LLM) using traditional Chinese, with technology assistance from Nvidia Corp. Hon Hai, also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), said the LLM, FoxBrain, is expected to improve its data analysis capabilities for smart manufacturing, and electric vehicle and smart city development. An LLM is a type of AI trained on vast amounts of text data and uses deep learning techniques, particularly neural networks, to process and generate language. They are essential for building and improving AI-powered servers. Nvidia provided assistance
GREAT SUCCESS: Republican Senator Todd Young expressed surprise at Trump’s comments and said he expects the administration to keep the program running US lawmakers who helped secure billions of dollars in subsidies for domestic semiconductor manufacturing rejected US President Donald Trump’s call to revoke the 2022 CHIPS and Science Act, signaling that any repeal effort in the US Congress would fall short. US Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, who negotiated the law, on Wednesday said that Trump’s demand would fail, while a top Republican proponent, US Senator Todd Young, expressed surprise at the president’s comments and said he expects the administration to keep the program running. The CHIPS Act is “essential for America leading the world in tech, leading the world in AI [artificial
DOMESTIC SUPPLY: The probe comes as Donald Trump has called for the repeal of the US$52.7 billion CHIPS and Science Act, which the US Congress passed in 2022 The Office of the US Trade Representative is to hold a hearing tomorrow into older Chinese-made “legacy” semiconductors that could heap more US tariffs on chips from China that power everyday goods from cars to washing machines to telecoms equipment. The probe, which began during former US president Joe Biden’s tenure in December last year, aims to protect US and other semiconductor producers from China’s massive state-driven buildup of domestic chip supply. A 50 percent US tariff on Chinese semiconductors began on Jan. 1. Legacy chips use older manufacturing processes introduced more than a decade ago and are often far simpler than
Gasoline and diesel prices this week are to decrease NT$0.5 and NT$1 per liter respectively as international crude prices continued to fall last week, CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) said yesterday. Effective today, gasoline prices at CPC and Formosa stations are to decrease to NT$29.2, NT$30.7 and NT$32.7 per liter for 92, 95 and 98-octane unleaded gasoline respectively, while premium diesel is to cost NT$27.9 per liter at CPC stations and NT$27.7 at Formosa pumps, the companies said in separate statements. Global crude oil prices dropped last week after the eight OPEC+ members said they would
RSS