US Retail Sales Beat Expectations, Boost First-Quarter Growth Estimates

Published on April 15, 2024

WASHINGTON—U.S. retail sales increased more than expected in March amid a surge in receipts at online retailers, further evidence that the economy ended the first quarter on solid ground. The report from the Commerce Department on Monday, which followed news this month of robust employment gains in March and a pick-up in consumer inflation, bolstered expectations that the Federal Reserve could delay cutting interest rates until September. It prompted economists at Morgan Stanley to raise their gross domestic product (GDP) growth estimate for the first quarter to a 2.7 percent annualized rate from a 2.4 percent pace. The economy grew at a 3.4 percent rate in the fourth quarter....

Continue reading on website
Other news

US Attempts to ‘Bring South Africa to Its Knees’ Will Backfire, Says Pretoria

April 15, 2024
JOHANNESBURG—The government of South Africa has thrown down the gauntlet to its United States counterpart, saying American repercussions against it for taking actions contrary to Washington’s policy positions could “amount to self-sabotage.”In an opinion piece published in Britain’s Financial Times newspaper recently, South Africa’s Minister of International Relations, Naledi Pandor, wrote: “Seeki

Canada Announces More Sanctions on Belarus as Opposition Leader Visits Ottawa

April 15, 2024
Canada is imposing more sanctions on officials in Belarus as the country’s exiled opposition leader visits Ottawa.Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly has laid sanctions on 21 people accused on human-rights violations in Belarus since its 2020 presidential election, which was widely denounced as fraudulent.The eastern European country has maintained many Soviet Union-era restrictions and policies