Hill Country News

Consumers shop for meat at a Safeway grocery store in Annapolis, Maryland, on May 16, 2022, as Americans brace for summer sticker shock as inflation continues to grow. (JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images/TNS)

US retail sales show consumer standing firm in face of inflation

U.S. retail sales grew at a solid pace in April, reflecting broad-based gains and suggesting demand for merchandise remains resilient despite rampant inflation. The value of overall retail … more

Olivia Rockeman, Bloomberg News (TNS) | 5/18/22

The Federal Reserve is on what appears to be a longer period of raising rates.

Biggest winners and losers from the Fed’s interest rate hike

Last week, the Federal Reserve announced that it is raising interest rates by half a percentage point, bumping the federal funds rate to a target range of 0.75 to 1.00 percent. The move follows an … more

James Royal, Bankrate.com (TNS) | 5/10/22

The U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. (Dreamstime/TNS)

Small businesses worry final aid package will neglect them again

Steven Gentile had to shut down his amusement park for the entire 2020 season, burning through his emergency fund halfway through the year and taking on over $1 million in … more

Lindsey McPherson, CQ-Roll Call (TNS) | 5/10/22

AB InBev, the world’s largest brewer and maker of Stella Artois, on Thursday reported profit growth that was almost twice as much as analysts expected. (Dreamstime.com/TNS)

Costly beer and cars? Consumers, and profits, fine with that

Consumers seem undaunted by higher prices of everything from luxury cars to beer, letting companies like Anheuser-Busch InBev NV and BMW AG boost profits despite economic threats ranging from … more

Thomas Mulier, Elisabeth Behrmann, Bloomberg News (TNS) | 5/8/22

Passengers make their way through Delta Airlines Terminal Two at Los Angeles International Airport on Tuesday, April 19, 2022, in Los Angeles. Delta CEO Ed Bastian said international and business passengers are coming back strong. (Gary Coronado/Los Angeles Times/TNS)

Delta CEO predicts busy summer travel season

Even as he sees long-term changes to how people work and travel for business, Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian said international and business passengers are coming back strong. Travel across the … more

Sarah Freishtat, Chicago Tribune (TNS) | 5/7/22

IT Help desk consultants from left to right Stephen Griffin, Brandon Mahan, in back, left, Ariel Hernandez, and Duan Kibbee, director of IT, standing right, all work together in the IT department at American Financing on April 5, 2018, in Aurora, Colorado. (Helen H. Richardson/The Denver Post/TNS)

Higher mortgage rates dim the outlook for lenders focused on refinancing loans

Consumers aren’t the only ones feeling the pinch from the rapid rise in interest rates this year. More mortgage firms are starting to let workers go as demand for mortgage refinancings falls … more

Aldo Svaldi, The Denver Post (TNS) | 5/7/22

Rachel Ybarra, left, and Justin Ferguson, two members of the union organizing committee, outside their Starbucks in Seattle on Dec. 21, 2021. Starbucks workers around the country are attempting to unionize. (Amanda Snyder/Seattle Times/TNS)

US labor board accuses Starbucks of retaliatory firings

Starbucks Corp. violated federal law by firing, threatening, and carrying out surveillance on union activists in New York, U.S. labor board prosecutors alleged in a complaint. The agency’s … more

Josh Eidelson, Bloomberg News (TNS) | 5/7/22

Activists hold a sign as they gather on International Women's Day to oppose the growing assault on abortion rights ahead of a U.S. Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, expected in late spring, March 8, 2022, in Los Angeles, California. (Frederic J. Brown/AFP/Getty Images/TNS)

Abortion rollback risks erasing decades of economic gains for US women

Overturning Roe v. Wade risks widening economic inequality in the U.S., threatening decades of gains for women in places where abortion could be all but banned. On Tuesday the Supreme Court … more

Katia Dmitrieva, Olivia Rockeman, Bloomberg News (TNS) | 5/6/22

Traders work the floor of the New York Stock Exchange during morning trading on May 05, 2022 in New York City. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images/TNS)

Wall Street staggers with ‘vicious’ $1.3 trillion stock selloff

A day after celebrating the Federal Reserve’s signal that it wouldn’t be making any jumbo-sized moves, traders woke up on Thursday deciding that the central bank will struggle to fight … more

Vildana Hajric, Ryan Vlastelica, Bloomberg News (TNS) | 5/5/22

Dallas-Fort Worth's home prices were up more than 20 percent in the first quarter, but double-digit price growth is not uncommon throughout the U.S. (Shafkat Anowar/The Dallas Morning News/TNS)

Big in Texas, double-digit home price gains are also a national phenomenon

Across the country, 70% of metro areas experienced double-digit home price gains in the first quarter, according to a new report from the National Association of Realtors. Prices for existing … more

Mitchell Parton, The Dallas Morning News (TNS) | 5/5/22

A "now hiring" sign is posted in the window of an ice cream shop in Los Angeles, California on Jan. 28, 2022. (Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images/TNS)

US companies added 247,000 jobs in April, ADP data show

U.S. companies added in April the fewest jobs in the pandemic recovery, underscoring the persistent challenges faced by small firms to increase headcount in a tight labor … more

Reade Pickert, Bloomberg News (TNS) | 5/5/22

Federal Reserve Board Chairman Jerome Powell speaks on Capitol Hill, on Jan. 11, 2022, in Washington, D.C. (Brendan Smialowski/Pool/Getty Images/TNS)

Fed orders biggest interest rate hike since 2000 to combat inflation

For the first time in 22 years, the Federal Reserve on Wednesday pushed up interest rates by a full half-percentage point — a significant escalation of its efforts to get control … more

Don Lee, Los Angeles Times (TNS) | 5/4/22

Grocery shopping in Rosemead, California on April 21, 2022.

US inflation-adjusted consumer spending unexpectedly rose in March

U.S. inflation-adjusted consumer spending rose in March despite intense price pressures, indicating households still have solid appetites and wherewithal for shopping.Purchases of goods and services, … more

Olivia Rockeman, Bloomberg News (TNS) | 5/4/22

A sign is posted in front of a Citibank branch office on July 14, 2021, in San Francisco, California. Citibank reported better than expected second-quarter earnings with revenue of $17.47 billion. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images/TNS)

How some US companies are supporting workers on abortion

The bombshell leak of a Supreme Court draft ruling overturning the right to abortion has put the issue to the forefront of the coming U.S. election battle, and will likely reverberate around … more

Alex Millson, Bloomberg News (TNS) | 5/3/22

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell testifies before the Senate on July 17, 2018, in Washington, D.C. (Douglas Christian/Zuma Press/TNS)

Powell’s Fed set to go big and keep going until inflation tamed

Jerome Powell doesn’t like to bless bets in financial markets, but he could shift the needle this week on how high investors expect the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates to cool … more

Craig Torres, Bloomberg News (TNS) | 5/2/22

Shop LQ plans to build a 200,000-square-foot headquarters in Cedar Park, housing a TV studio, officers and a warehouse distribution center.

Cedar Park paves way for television shopping network HQ

At a council meeting last month, Cedar Park approved a zoning change that will pave the way for television shopping network Shop LC to move its headquarters from Round Rock to Cedar Park.?Plans to … more

Staff Reports | 4/14/22

U.S. President Joe Biden announces steps to ease rising consumer prices at POET Bioprocessing, in Menlo, Iowa, on April 12, 2022. (Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images/TNS)

US producer prices jump 11.2% from a year ago, the most on record

Prices paid to U.S. producers jumped in March from a year ago by the most in records back to 2010, topping all estimates and underscoring persistent early stage inflationary pressures that risk … more

Olivia Rockeman, Bloomberg News (TNS) | 4/13/22

Gasoline prices hover around $4.00 a gallon for the least expensive grade at several gas stations in the nation's capital on April 11, 2022, in Washington, D.C. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images/TNS)

US inflation quickens to 8.5%, ratcheting up pressure on Fed

U.S. consumer prices rose in March by the most since late 1981, bolstering expectations that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates by half a point next month. The consumer price index … more

Olivia Rockeman, Bloomberg News (TNS) | 4/12/22

A sign is posted on the exterior of Google headquarters on January 30, 2014 in Mountain View, California. Google is poised to dodge court sanctions after it was called out by the Justice Department for hiding documents from government lawyers. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images/TNS)

Google poised to dodge sanctions in records-hiding row with US

Alphabet Inc.’s Google is poised to dodge court sanctions after it was called out by the Justice Department for hiding documents from government lawyers. A federal judge said Friday he … more

Malathi Nayak, Bloomberg News (TNS) | 4/11/22

The Robert F. Kennedy Justice Department Building on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C. The U.S. Justice Department is throwing more resources into identifying and prosecuting fraudsters who produce fake documents that are used to defraud government assistance programs. (William Perry/Dreamstime/TNS)

Fake bank records are readily available as US hunts for fraud

For anyone who wants a phony pay stub or doctored tax return, an easy source is just a click away. A website called banknovelties.com claims it can provide “fake bank statements” as … more

Greg Farrell, Bloomberg News (TNS) | 4/10/22

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