Fed Holds Rates, Consumer Spending Surges, Major Media and Restaurant Deals Announced
The Fed holds rates steady, retail sales exceed expectations, Fox acquires Roku, Pizza Hut changes ownership, and Reagan Airport plans a July 4 shutdown.
Fed Leaves Rates Alone in Warsh’s 1st Meeting
There’s a new Federal Reserve Chair, but the result of the Fed’s latest meeting didn’t change.
The Fed board voted Wednesday to leave interest rates where they are.
In Kevin Warsh’s first meeting since replacing Jerome Powell, the Federal Open Market Committee voted unanimously to keep its benchmark overnight borrowing rate in a range of 3.5%-3.75%. That’s where it’s been since the Fed lowered rates by three-quarters of a percentage point late last year. Read Full Article
Consumer Spending Had a Good May as Potential Slowdown Looms
U.S. retail sales had a better month in May than experts expected. But those same experts are saying it may not last long.
According to a report from Reuters, a slowdown is likely “as the cushion from larger tax refunds against higher prices diminishes.”
The Commerce Department’s Census Bureau released Wednesday, retail sales jumped 0.9% last month after a downwardly revised 0.4% uptick in April. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast retail sales, which are mostly goods and are not adjusted for inflation, rising 0.5% after a previously reported 0.5% increase in April. Read Full Article
Fox, Roku Reach $22 Billion Deal
Fox Corp., looking to pair its sports and news programming with a top-tier streaming service, announced on Monday that it’s buying Roku.
Fox figures the cash-and-stock deal, worth some $22 billion, will help the company take advantage as audiences more and more shift their attention to online viewing.
According to a report from Reuters, the deal gives Fox access to the more than 100 million households using Roku’s streaming platform. Read Full Article
LongRange Capital to Acquire Most Pizza Huts
STAMFORD, Conn. – LongRange Capital, a private equity firm with a customer-centric and operationally-oriented approach to building and growing businesses, announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Pizza Hut, excluding Mainland China, from Yum! Brands, Inc. Read Full Article
Reagan Airport Shutting Down for the 4th of July
Travelers headed to Washington DC around the Fourth of July holiday better check to see what’s open.
Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport will close beginning at noon on July 4 because of events celebrating the U.S. 250th anniversary. Scheduled events in the capital region include a military flyover, the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority said Tuesday. Read Full Article