Most Won’t Feel Fed Rate Increase
Washington — For anyone considering whether to buy a home or car, the Federal Reserve’s interest rate increase Wednesday shouldn’t make much difference. The rates that most people pay for mortgages, auto loans or college tuition aren’t expected to jump anytime soon. The Fed’s benchmark interest rate has limited influence on those things. Still, the Fed’s move to lift its key rate by a quarter-percentage point will raise short-term...
Stocks End Mixed Despite Jobs Data
New York — Stocks had a mixed reaction Friday to the surprisingly strong October jobs report as investors adjusted to the prospect of higher interest rates as early as next month. While the major indexes, on the surface, had a muted reaction to the jobs numbers, a look at the individual parts of the market showed investors were actively reshuffling their portfolios. Dividend-paying stocks, which are typically bought for their...
Jobs Data Ups Odds Of Hike
The U.S. job market has almost fully healed from the deep wounds of the Great Recession, raising expectations that the Federal Reserve will begin withdrawing its support for the recovery by the end of the year. Government data released Friday showed that the economy added a blockbuster 271,000 jobs in October — the highest amount this year and beyond analysts’ most optimistic forecasts. The unemployment rate dipped to 5 percent, and...
Economy Adds a Surprising 271,000 Jobs
Washington — An unexpected surge of hiring last month accompanied by strong wage gains suggests that the U.S. labor market remains solid and increases the likelihood that the Federal Reserve will make its first interest rate increase in nearly a decade next month. The Bureau of Labor Statistics said Friday that employers across a broad spectrum of industries added a net 271,000 new jobs in October. That is far more than most analysts’...
Grass-Fed Beef Fills Market Niche
Deleon Springs, Fla. — Cow No. 150, her pregnant belly bulging, nosed around rancher David Strawn’s pickup hoping to find something good to eat in the bed of the truck. For decades, Strawn’s family raised cows, lambs and pigs on this lakeside spread about 40 miles north of Orlando. But when his father died in 2002, Strawn shifted the family business to grass-fed cattle, eventually eliminating the other animals. Strawn loves a good...
