Markets

Britain’s main financial regulator said today that a key benchmark interest rate will be phased out by the end of 2021. LIBOR, the London Interbank Offered Rate, was badly damaged a few years ago in a multibillion dollar rate-rigging scandal. The Brits hope a new benchmark, called SONIA — the Sterling Over Night Index Average — will take […]

Some good news for avocado fans: After hitting record highs this year, the price of the creamy superfruit is beginning to stabilize. The news comes as U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue visits with his counterpart today in Mexico, where most of the avocados consumed in the U.S. are grown. We explore avocado’s recent ups and […]

After decades of losing ground to overseas manufacturers using cheap labor, the U.S. textile industry is showing signs of revival. The resurgence is fueled in part by increased R&D into advanced fabrics — like fire-retardant material and smart garments filled with high-tech sensors. It’s meant a growing number of textile industry jobs — but jobs […]

Ford shares have been on a steady slide for the past three years now. That’s quite a remarkable place for Ford to be, especially given the company continues to put out the F-150 pickup, the hottest selling truck in the world. Shareholders don’t seem very impressed by Ford’s plans to transition into a future powered […]

As the Federal Reserve concludes its July meeting, many expect it won’t announce a hike in the interest rate. One big thing that factors into that decision is inflation. One of the Fed’s mandates is to keep prices stable – to prevent rampant inflation. Raising interest rates can help, but the Fed has been in […]

Many would agree that the key to economic growth, in the U.S. and elsewhere, has long been productivity — how many widgets produced per hour worked. Many would also agree that the U.S. is suffering from a downturn in productivity. But Neil Irwin, senior economics correspondent for The New York Times, thinks it may be […]

Commodity trading — often a big money maker for banks and hedge funds — has been subdued in recent months, leading to significant drops in revenue. Goldman Sachs recently said its commodity trading unit had the worst quarter on record, and other banks are in a similar situation. The reasons behind the slump? Lack of volatility and […]

The Federal Reserve probably will not announce a rate hike on the second day of its Federal Open Market Committee meeting on Wednesday. But there’s a decent chance it will again by year’s end. And since the Fed started raising rates 18 months ago, we’ve seen the federal funds rate rise a full 1 percent. […]

Telecom giant AT&T will report its second quarter earnings after the market closes today. The company’s shares are down 15 percent this year amid increased competition among wireless providers and more cord cutting in the cable space. Now AT&T is going for a big deal to help it stay ahead of the curve. Click the […]

Sears has inked a deal with Amazon that it hopes will boost its flagging sales. Amazon will begin selling appliances by Kenmore — one of Sears’ flagship brands. But there could also be a downside for the struggling department store chain. Click the audio player above to hear the full story.