Interest rates

The two aims shouldn't compete, they say.

“We want to see strong growth and a strong labor market,” said Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.

Many investors see big companies as healthy and want to get into the market before the Federal Reserve cuts interest rates.

In an effort to stimulate a sluggish economy, the government got creative and started applying negative interest rates.

We'll be getting a sense of how they're doing as they report quarterly results this week.

Rising interest rates, a volatile stock market and a strict regulatory environment are just some of the factors that held back corporate dealmaking in 2023. Some of those obstacles could ease in 2024, but they aren't going away.

Debt levels are rising and interest rates remain high. Delinquencies are also on the rise.

Do they wait for lower rates in the future or borrow what they need today? It’s a question of cost versus opportunity.

A report out Thursday from the real estate data firm ATTOM finds that a home, and all its related costs, now eat up about 34% of the average wage nationwide.

The Federal Reserve and others will update monetary policy, balancing inflation with the recession risk. Investors hope for rate cuts.