Slowing GDP, Rising Inflation Bad Timing for Biden, Bad News for the Fed

The date April 25 might not be one that the Federal Reserve, Wall Street, and the White House will look back on with great nostalgia. New government data showed a slowing economy and accelerating inflation that dampened rate cut expectations and triggered a selloff in the stock market. In the first quarter, gross domestic product (GDP) rose at a much worse-than-expected 1.6 percent, down from 3.4 percent in the October–December period. Renewed inflation pressures were another critical finding in the latest GDP report. The GDP Price Index, a measurement of prices paid for goods and services by businesses, consumers, and governments, surged to a higher-than-expected 3.1 percent, up from 1.7 percent in the fourth quarter....