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The job market caught fire in September. Will it burn the economy?

Employers added 336,000 jobs last month, the Labor Department said on Friday, blowing past even the rosiest forecasts.

Will $1 billion tax bill make Mass. more competitive? Don’t count on it.
Some tax experts say the reforms will do little to spur companies to invest or expand here, or to stem the exodus of residents seen during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Paying the price for a do-little Congress
The stopgap government funding deal to avoid a federal shutdown was an unexpected display of bipartisan sanity. But paralysis in Congress is bad for the economy.

A couple of months investors would rather forget

Stocks are way down and bond yields are near a 16-year high. Here’s what’s behind Wall Street’s dour mood.

US government estimates economy grew last quarter at a 2.1% rate, unchanged from previous projection
Consumer spending, business investment, and state and local government outlays drove the second-quarter economic expansion.

Larry Edelman
Mass. tax relief package has a little something for everyone (to hate)
Businesses see only marginal improvement to the state’s competitive standing. Equity advocates say the legislation doesn’t go far enough.

larry edelman | trendlines
Don’t hold your breath for lower interest rates
The central bank's latest forecast surprised more than a few Fed watchers, rattled financial markets, and dimmed hopes for a quick reprieve from high borrowing costs.

Larry Edelman | Trendlines
Tax relief is just one piece of the competitive puzzle
Legislative leaders have reached a compromise on a tax relief bill aimed at making Massachusetts “more affordable, equitable, and competitive.” — but more needs to be done.

Latest Headlines in Economy

Fed keeps rates unchanged but signals likelihood of another hike this year to fight inflation

The move to leave its benchmark rate at about 5.4 percent suggests that the Fed thinks it has time to wait and see if the 11 rate hikes it unleashed starting in March 2022 will continue to cool rising prices.

Retail sales rise 0.6% in August largely due to a spike in gas prices

Americans stepped up retail spending modestly from July to August as the price of gasoline jumped, cutting into budgets as many families send their kids off to school.

Incomes grew in Greater Boston last year, but not as fast as inflation

The area is still among the most affluent places in the country, but the annual income increase of 3.5 percent was outpaced by all but two of the nation’s 40 largest cities.

Sharply higher gas prices pushed up inflation in August, yet underlying price measures cooled

Despite the seemingly divergent figures, the decline in the core measure could add to optimism that inflation is coming under control.

Larry Edelman | Trendlines

Inflation is toast — even if the Fed won’t say so yet

Inflation has cooled significantly — from more than 9 percent in June 2022 to 3 percent a year later — but central bank policy makers aren’t ready to declare victory.

Larry Edelman | Trendlines

A cooler job market is just what we need

Employers are hiring at a slower but still healthy pace, more evidence that a recession isn’t inevitable in the fight against inflation.

Inflation and consumers show staying power as fed eyes another rate move

If Americans remain willing to pay up to buy products that they both need and want, it could allow companies to keep charging more, making it more difficult to fully stamp out inflation.

US economic growth for last quarter is revised down to a 2.1 percent annual rate

Though the economy has been slowed by the Fed’s strenuous drive to tame inflation with interest rate hikes, it has managed to keep expanding, with employers still hiring and consumers still spending.